Fire in the woods.
2:30 p.m.
The sun beckons, despite a forecast of rain. I check the radar and notice some weather coming. Decide to go cycling anyway. See dark blue in the northwest sky. Think about all the birds I heard calling first thing this bright morning—jays, robins, finches, sparrows, doves, crows.
3 p.m.
The quick southbound ride was fast and easy, but for a while now I’ve been heading north into a little wind. The dark clouds now loom up ahead of me. In my head I begin composing a social media post about outracing thundershowers. I pass a couple roadside crows that don’t mind a bike flying by within a few feet of them. I see a turkey vulture.
Ripples.
3:45 p.m.
Zipping south again, wind at my back. In The Zone. I hear an odd growly sound and look down to see a black dog running along beside me, nipping at my heels. “Hey!” I holler—and nearly veer into Route 1 traffic. Fast dog. When another “Hey!” gets no reaction, I change my strategy. “Try and catch me now,” I say and leave the dog in the dust. I compose a different social media post in my head.
4:15 p.m.
With weather brewing and the sun now obscured, I figure Jack and I ought to get our Beech Hill hike in a little early. It begins to rain lightly during our short drive to the wooded trailhead. As we start up the trail, a familiar, woody aroma rises from the earth around us. Petrichor.
4:20 p.m.
I stop at the brook to take photos of the ripples made by the tiny raindrops.
4:30 p.m.
As we near the summit, the rain stops and the sun emerges. Clouds to the west, clear sky to the east. A slick of fresh water makes Beech Nut’s rock walls gleam. I hear the note of a song sparrow and the peep! of a phoebe.
Beech Nut.
4:40 p.m.
Soon after we enter the woods, I hear several distant bird calls: flicker, jay, cardinal—and another call I don’t at once recognize. I have an idea it might be a sapsucker [which, after listening to a recording of its call later, I confirm]. After listening a while, we continue down the hillside.
4:55 p.m.
Coming around a curve in the trail near the vernal pool, I spot a blue jay, which soon flaps quietly away. As the pond comes into view between the trees, I hear more bird activity—chickadees, a nuthatch, a robin. We stop, and I pick out the birds one by one. Then I hear quacking and audible wingbeats and watch as a male mallard descends into the pond, answering a question I’d contemplated more than once lately. (They slow, find an opening between the trees, then float nearly straight down into the little pool.) Watching the mallard, I become aware of other bird action. First, I hear a song I don’t know (ruby-crowned kinglet, perhaps?) and might even catch sight of the little bird flitting high in the canopy with the chickadees, but I can’t make an ID. Then I hear a loud rapping and notice a pileated woodpecker hammering merrily away at a tree stump just a few feet from the pond. It doesn’t seem to mind having a human and a dog nearby, so long as plenty of brush and branches separate us. We stand there for probably fifteen minutes, at least.
5:15 p.m.
Back home, getting out of the pickup, I can’t help but notice four turkey vultures soaring in an equidistant flight formation low above the oaks out back of my place, southbound. Soon after we get settled, it begins to rain. Kind of hard. I step out under the porch roof to feel and smell and taste the rain—and see a wild turkey hen snooping around the neighbor’s dooryard.
Bay view.
11 p.m.
I take Jack out to pee. The moonless sky seems clean. It’s filled with plenty of stars, and the peepers sound happy to be alive.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. American robin
2. Herring gull (voice)
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. American crow (voice)
5. Common raven
6. Eastern phoebe
7. Song sparrow (voice)
8. American goldfinch (voice)
9. Blue jay
10. Northern cardinal
11. Yellow-bellied sapsucker (voice)
12. Northern flicker
13. Mallard
14. White-breasted nuthatch
15. Pileated woodpecker
16. Ruffed grouse (drumming)
Elsewhere
17. House finch
18. Mourning dove
19. Rock pigeon
20. Turkey vulture
21. Wild turkey
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common raven, eastern phoebe, herring gull, house finch, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker, rock pigeon, ruffed grouse, song sparrow, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch, wild turkey, yellow-bellied sapsucker
