Category Archives: Outdoors

A Summer Sunrise and Owl

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The magic of mornings! 

The first light of Dawn warmed a tree trunk with a soft orange hue.

tree trunks get the light

A brilliant burst shines on one branch!

watching the morning sun shine on the woods

sunlit branch

No sooner than I could adjust my digital companion, the woods lit up like fire!

first morning light

I always feel lucky to be awake at sunrise, but after a long sleepless night, the beauty I saw in all that color was a blessing from nature; a true Green Healing!  I knew I was going to get some good sleep.

As I headed inside to bed, I looked in the other direction, toward the creek, and perched on a tall dead tree trunk was my friend, the Owl!

I couldn’t believe my eyes at first, even though I often see our two resident Barred owls.  Usually, I’ll hear or sense them before I see one, but not on this early summer morning.

The mystical bird hadn’t made a sound and when our eyes literally met, I felt instinctively that it had watched me all along. 

I had an odd feeling that this owl was not one of our residents.  There was an unfamiliar look in its eyes and each time I tried to get a little closer, the bird flew five or six feet away, which is most unlike the owls who live in my corner of woods. 

Perhaps it was one of the resident owls that was merely hungry and not too happy that I was interrupting breakfast.

After my long sleepless night, and then my  having seen the woods slowly come alive in a great orange light, I suspected the owl was a spirit animal.

Whoa!  As I was writing this post,  shortly after midnight, an Owl hooted as loud as I’ve ever heard one from my window!  It was no ordinary hoot either.  It sounded like a happy celebration, and as if the Owl was telling the whole woods about it! 

Barred Owl hissing and hunting

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The Butterfly Whispered a Call to Play

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The white butterfly that healed my heart!

My day wasn’t going well and it was still early.  Heading outside to hang around a butterfly, I guess, is one way I’m coping with confusing times.

I’ve probably written before that I love the smaller, perhaps less noticed butterflies, as much as I do the fantastically big and colorful ones.  They might be small, but up close, they have amazing patterns and intricate details.

While sitting with my morning coffee, feeling altogether displaced, which is an experience that hit me hard after a recent move, I was drawn to the white butterfly dancing around my container plants. 

I had moved the plants to the corner of the lawn, hoping they might catch some rain.  I put the bird bath in the middle of the containers, which to my surprise, created a space I especially liked.

I’m pretty sure my winged visitor was the  Cabbage White Butterfly. 

A pair showed up about ten days ago and have since been fluttering around my sparse container garden.

Mostly, the butterfly was getting some needed morning sunshine, favoring the Lemon Balm for this purpose, and the yellow Lantana for sipping nectar.

I sat down in the grass.  A few times, I thought the pretty white butterfly was going to land on my arm or shoulder, but instead, it playfully swooped and danced around me and my camera. 

A silent call to play took hold and for a little while, I was free to play, just like the pretty white butterfly!

 

Click on images for a closer look. 

Thanks for visiting Green Healing Notes!

American Robin Listening for Worms

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“Sounds like A Worm to Me!” 

American Robin

new camera 2835Robins are a fun bird to watch! 

I mentioned in an earlier post that a neighbor and I were birdwatching together one day, when he told me the American Robin hops, and then stops, so that it may hear a worm. 

So, you can imagine my delight when I captured a few images of this Robin listening for what I feel safe in assuming, worms! 

I can’t think of a better springtime song for a Robin, as the sound of a worm in the cool dirt.

robin march listeningThanks for visiting Green Healing Notes!

Green Healing ~ In Town with Birds

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Green Healing in the Rain

Two Red-breasted stand near rocks and planter during rain storm
We Love Rain!

“You ready for the wind storm?”  my neighbor asked. 

He was carrying a bag of groceries.  I was fiddling around with my containers, thinking about what I might plant in them this year. 

I wondered if I wanted anything, not so much to be prepared, but to go along with a wind storm.

I decided to go out and grab a Coca-cola.  I also decided to take Ruthie with me.

By the time we returned, which was less than ten minutes, the wind and rain were powerful.  Ruthie was afraid to get out of the car.  I felt badly that I had taken her out. 

Ruthie  is terribly sweet and the most sensitive dog in the world.  That’s part of what makes her who she is and incredibly lovable.

We sat inside the car for a few minutes, listening to the howling wind and sound of heavy rain fall on the car.  Things slowed for a moment, but as soon as I opened the door, a gust of rain came down and Ruthie jumped back in the car.  Pretty soon the wind stopped and all was quiet. 

The storm had gone as quickly as it had arrived.

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My yard was a series of shallow ponds, that obviously, the Robins love!

They surprised me with a vigor and ability to stand still, while rain fell in buckets on their red-breasted bodies. 

Most of the Robins took cover when the rain fell harder, but one stood its ground through the length of the storm. 

Standing in the rain, the red-breasted Robin

The persistent and patient Robin kept looking at me and once, when I was taking a photo of a very wet Cardinal, the wet Robin hopped in front of the camera just in time to get in the photograph.

The Robin likes to get attention!

Do You See Me? I AM ROBIN!

I loved the storm.  I also loved that Ruthie and I were home to see the birds that came afterwards! 

All the birds were here!

Most unusual, was a visit from a Bluebird.  Normally, the Mockingbird aka “King of the Yard,” simply will not allow bluebirds to cross the little rain-made creek where the lawn meets the trees.

I couldn’t get a photo because the Bluebird came to the suet hanging by my front door near where I was standing.  I did however have a wonderful macro view!

Thank you for visiting Green Healing Notes!

Tree and Bird ~ Natural Beauty

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Winged in Flight

Backyard Delights!

The cool air drew me outside today.  I’ve been under the weather lately, but this mid-November morning brought me healing energy, for which I am most grateful.

I’m also grateful for my friend, Ruthie Mae.  She’s my pretty dog who recently turned eight years old.  She’s one of a kind and I sure do love her.  She helps me in lots of ways. 

Ruthie helps to get me outside and whether we sit on the deck for a view and breath of fresh air or take a walk, being outdoors is healing.

Since the arrival of fall, my backyard birds have changed.  The Cardinals stayed until a couple of weeks ago, so I’m not sure where they are now, but many of the birds that spent the summer here went on to warmer places. 

The Mourning Doves stuck around and lately, they come in large flocks to forage amongst leaves, grass and fallen seeds.

The temperatures have dropped.  I decided to add sunflower seeds to the bird station after having changed over to a simple offering of smaller seeds, along with fresh water in the bird baths. 

Within ten minutes, my yard once again became a little haven, very much like I would imagine Heaven. 

Sometimes, I’ll be standing at the door looking out from my window, and just like in a fairytale movie, all sorts of pretty birds fly into the yard at once.  Often times, a larger bird will slowly glide over us too.  I usually see a shadow first and then a wonderful view as it circles above. 

I am always captured by a magical sense of awe when my yard comes alive with color and sounds and movement.

Thank you for visiting Green Healing Notes.  I hope you enjoy a view of these beautiful moments I’ve tried to capture. 

Backyard Beauty ~ Mourning Doves

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“By virtue of their melancholy call, Mourning Doves have been fittingly named as such. Their distinctive “wooo-oo-oo-oo” sounds may evoke a feeling of grief over the loss of a dearly beloved.

A pair of Mourning Doves (Zenaidura macroura) perched on tree branch.

The Mourning Dove (Zenaidura macroura)

But far from representing death, the symbolism of Mourning Doves is actually more optimistic and spiritual. Beyond their sorrowful song is a message of life, hope, renewal and peace.”

(www.brighthubeducation.com) The Eloquent Symbolism of Mourning Doves

The pair of Mourning Doves were, in the beginning of our meeting, weary of me and my little Canon.  The slightest movement or noise always prompted their swift flight into the woods.

Through the passing seasons, I’ve become familiar to the doves and they’ve grown comfortable with me.  I like watching them walk the way they do, with obvious intention, bobbing their soft pretty heads in the grass.

The birds first appeared in my backyard during Winter.  Our dog had very recently passed  and my heart was full of grief. 

I heard the ‘cooing’ sound one day and to my surprise, when I opened the door, two Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura), were perched about ten feet away on a line that had once been a dog-run.  Our new bird-feeder was hanging from it, which I guess attracted the birds.

The birds presence struck my heart-strings.

Sadness had the biggest part of my heart when my new backyard flyers arrived.  I missed our dog in a terrible way.   I felt flooded with loss and pain.

“The Blackfoot tribe associated the dove with protection and safe return from battle, and dove feathers were often carried by war leaders as talismans to help them bring their men back safely.  In some Eastern Algonquian tribes, turtledoves (an old-time name for Mourning Doves) were associated with the spirit world, and heard at certain times, their cries could be omens of death.” 

SOURCE: www.native-languages.org, Native American Indian Dove and Pigeon Mythology.

I did wonder if the birds appearance was an omen.  I wondered about my death.  I was not well, and hadn’t been in some time.  In fact, my health was at an all time low. 

The thought that my life might soon end had passed through my mind more than once during Winter and when the Mourning Doves appeared, I was acutely aware of the doom I felt.

I decided to allow my intuition to guide me in my understanding of the birds timely arrival to our little home.

Doves (Columbidae) have strong maternal instincts and both parents go to great lengths to protect their nests and hatchlings.  Perhaps this is the meaning of their visit, I thought to myself. 

Part of the sadness I often feel, apart from being physically ill, which is depressing, is that I just can’t seem to get things right in my life, particularly regarding family and home.  I have devoted most of my time to being available in this arena, but sometimes it seems like I haven’t made much progress.

Surviving our most recent winter was especially difficult.  I was truly worn out!  I spent a lot of time in my bedroom watching movies, crying over the loss of our dog, and trying to be more available to my sweet Ruthie. 

She had been the greatest nurse in the world to her pack mate.  She never left his side and did amazing things to help him feel better before his time was up on this earth.  Now, she needed me.

A Robin had come to stay for the season, living off the Holly berries on the little tree near my bedroom window.  Every day I watched the bird fly from his high resting place in the Sweet Gum tree, down to my porch railing, where he feasted and occasionally, warded off other interested birds.

Watching the Robin made my days of hibernation more interesting and gave me a direct connection with nature.

The doves spent the rest of the cold weather perched on high branches, just past my backyard tree line.

Spring started what has been an incredible bountiful time in my yard for the many birds that decided to call this place home.

Carolina Wrens nested by my window.  I listened and watched them from the first days the mother started gathering materials (some of which came from my LL Bean sleeping bag), until the last little hatchling literally fell from the nest. 

The Cardinals like my yard too!  I’ve been especially humbled watching both the female and male feed their young.  All the birds I’ve seen in my yard are incredibly attentive and committed parents. 

My backyard birdwatching has touched me in a primal way.  

Strangely, I have wanted to be more like the birds.  Watching them care for their families was humbling.  I wished for whatever it is they have that makes them so incredibly focused on their task at hand.  I told a friend my thoughts on the matter.

“They are animals,” my friend said.  “You are human,” he added.  “We (humans) have such greater ability to think and ponder on things than birds do.  All they have to do is gather food.” 

I understood what my friend was saying, but the longing in me remained.

Spring has passed and Summer is whispering an inevitable departure.  My backyard has been more quiet during these last days of August. 

I’m happy to report that the beautiful winged doves are still around.  They’re foraging in the grass as I write, along with a couple of Cardinals and a Rufus-sided Towhee.  I think I’ll take a walk outside, quietly, so that I can get a more intimate view.

Below is a gallery of Mourning Doves in my yard.  You may click on each photo for a larger view.  I hope you enjoy!

Mourning Dove, I AM!
Backyard Beauty!
Good Morning, Mourning Dove!
The Doves, together.
Miss dogkisses, You are too close to show off my long feathered tail!
Easy Does It…
The Quiet Winged Visitor
Dove and Cardinal

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Birdwatching with Ruthie Mae

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I watch birds and Ruthie Mae watches squirrels. 

Summer Tanager for Green Healing Notes, a blog

I AM A SUMMER TANAGER! I BATHE in a PIE PLATE!

I like the morning time, before the world and my obligations begin.  I like the quiet, so that I may hear Mother Nature’s winged symphony!

My very sweet and smart dog, Ruthie Mae, was my suet-guard this morning.  (Suet is for the birds).  The squirrels act like I put it out there for them, until Ruthie shows up and amazingly, I can watch my backyard birds for hours without one squirrel coming close.

Ruthie is largely a Black Mouth Cur, with the Spirit of a great hunter, but she’s also an Egyptian Beetlehound Princess, the latter title of which she earned shortly after she rescued me. 

Ruthie has two black beauty marks on each side of her little face and natural eyeliner that makes her look like Cleopatra.  She hunts insects like she was born for that purpose, but Ruthie is also a truly amazing medical companion animal.  I am proud and grateful to be friends with such an awesome being as Ruthie Mae!

Lately, the Summer Tanager is a regular visitor.  The male is red and the female a beautiful golden color.

Golden Bird, Female Summer Tanager

I AM FEMALE SUMMER TANAGER!

I like the way Summer Tanager fly.  They swoop in great long colorful strides across the yard.   They’re also challenging to capture in photos.  I’m always reminded when the Tanager stops by, that some things are meant to be experienced in the moment.

Ruthie Mae knows I like the birds.  She barked at one once, but she immediately looked at me to see if I approved.  I only had to say no one time.  She’s a smart dog.

I AM RUTHIE

I AM RUTHIE

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