Storm coming.
This morning I slept a little late and hand to scramble to make breakfast and get to the office on time. Granted, the office is only a flight of stairs away, but still—I was movin’ fast.
Meadow vole.
And work awaited. And I got some done, with an occasional glance out the southern windows at a lovely, partly-cloudy summer day. On trips out with dog, I heard the neighborhood birds singing—yellow warbler, titmouse, house finch (of course), cardinal. But by mid-afternoon, the sky had darkened, and I dimly recalled the forecast calling for a slight chance of thundershowers, so I changed into my cycling attire, asked Jack to guard the house, and took off on my bike.
It was a swift ride. A fair-sized blue cloud loomed in the west. I hit the post offices, the bank, even the grocery store for some corn tortillas (which I’d somehow managed to run out of last night). The first big cloud seemed to sail away, but by the time I was heading back south from Rockport Village, a second, larger one had appeared, and I thought I felt a slight spatter of rain, so I took it up a notch on the straightaway. My thighs burned as I pumped as fast as I could in the highest gear I’ve got, and at some point I realized I was traveling at a greater velocity than I ever had before using only the power of my legs—unaided by wind or gravity. Granted, the shoulder had fresh smooth pavement, but still. I was movin’ fast.
Pulled up into the parking lot just as it began to rain for real.
Before long, though, the little shower had passed, so I grabbed Jack and we headed for Beech Hill. A bit of wind had risen, and the sky remained mostly cloudy, though a patch of blue shone behind some towering cumulus in the northwest sky. Not many birds to speak of—in fact, I didn’t ID any at all until about a third of the way up, when a goldfinch flew over, chattering. Eventually, I heard towhee, veery, crow, and raven, yellowthroat, waxwing, and robin. A catbird called out in alarm as we ascended. And then I heard thunder.
Storm coming.
When we emerged into the upper fields, I saw a massive gray-blue mass hovering beyond the western hills. That’s where the thunder came from. Spotted a waxwing (first bird I’d actually seen, in fact), and together Jack and I caught sight of a vole scampering up the path to Beech Nut. But I figured it was time to high-tail it back down.
Thunder rumbled behind us as we descended. Deer flies buzzed and sweat soaked my T-shirt as I strode down at a rapid pace—about as fast as Jack could go without breaking into a gallop, in fact. Heard a pewee, the first vireo of the day (odd), and the first ovenbird (also odd). We got to the sugar bush when Jack suddenly began to look to our left. Something had got his attention, clearly, and I’ve learned to heed such a sign, so we stopped. No sooner had I turned to scan in that direction when a flock of about a half-dozen turkeys, adults and young, took off from low hiding places not fifteen feet away. They flew off and up into the trees and out of view. That was a surprise. Just as we piled in the pickup, it began to rain.
I checked the clock in the pickup. We’d made it up and down in 40 minutes—unquestionably our quickest hike of the wooded trails. We were really movin’ fast.
And it continued to rain—heavily at times—all evening and into the night. It’s still raining, in fact, albeit lightly, as I write this. A nice, soaking rain.
Inland hills.
And a minute ago I stepped out on the deck to the sound of the fog horns moaning.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:15 p.m, I hiked the wooded trails.
1. American goldfinch (voice)
2. Eastern towhee (voice)
3. Veery (voice)
4. Common yellowthroat (voice)
5. Common raven (voice)
6. Cedar waxwing
7. American robin (voice)
8. Gray catbird (voice)
9. American crow (voice)
10. Savannah sparrow (voice)
11. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
12. Chestnut-sided warbler (voice)
13. Eastern wood-pewee (voice)
14. Red-eyed vireo (voice)
15. Ovenbird (voice)
16. Wild turkey
Elsewhere
17. Northern cardinal
18. Yellow warbler
19. House finch
20. Herring gull
21. Tufted titmouse
22. House sparrow
23. Chipping sparrow
24. Mourning dove
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, savannah sparrow, tufted titmouse, veery, wild turkey, yellow warbler
