The Unexpected Visitor & Trail Cam Surprise!

During the quickly quiet month of August, it’s hard not to dwell on the idea that summer is nearing a close as teachers and students avoid the stores filled with back to school reminders and that smell. You know what I’m talking about- the fresh, plastic smell of new backpacks and packages on socks- it’s deadly to the spirit.

Honestly, this summer hasn’t been completely full of sunshine, yet that can be okay if you make the best of it. Though our vegetable garden has little to show, our flowers are truly delighted at being watered so often.

If you’re looking for a way to relax and let those silly worries float away, look to nature and go for a walk outside!

One of our hobbies at Little Pond is to use a trail cam to see what visitors may stop by who we otherwise can’t get near to photograph. As you know, our beavers are not totally camera shy, but our resident Kingfisher and Great Blue Heron are different stories.

Usually on the trail cam, we have nearly fifty pics of random branches that move ever so slightly in the wind. Ours is not an expensive model, though it does take eight double-A batteries. Placing it in the right spot takes practice, and we’re still practicing!

Patience won as we set our cam down for 3 days at the edge of the pond. As you can see below, we scored an awesome pic of our heron, a bird who knows when old dog and I leave for our daily walks way before we even touch the meadow.

We see him use his huge wings to lift his body and fly away to our neighbor’s pond. If you’ve never heard a heron’s squawk, please take a few minutes to listen: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/sounds

What can we learn from our friend? What can he teach us about patience? And how can a trail cam also give us a lesson in relishing in moments?

Though our relative time of summer sun is short in New England, the days invite us to explore our surroundings, breath deeply, and celebrate unexpected moments like this one.

Watch out your window for some bird friends to visit or butterflies taking nourishment from flowers. As a reminder, please be aware of taking down all bird feeders and cleaning baths as we are now seeing songbirds suffer from an unknown sickness causing premature death.

You can read more here:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/songbirds-are-mysteriously-dying-across-eastern-us-scientists-are-scrambling-find-out

It’s easy and completely our human nature to look ahead so far as to miss what is in front of us. As we think about the fall air’s arrival and the katydids’ songs that signal a return to non-summer life, take a moment today, tomorrow, and each day after to think about how nature reminds us to slow down and to feel, breathe, and look at the scenery.

A simple trail cam helps!

If you are unable to purchase one, no worries at all. There are many live bird cams to watch and enjoy!

Here is a favorite website with multiple cams and a great place to relax and unwind if you can’t head outside:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/all-cams/

Please check them out and send me an email to tell me all about your live, or semi-live, experiences:) littlepondstories@gmail.com

Until then, much love and enjoy!

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