A Short Walk in the Early Spring Woods

I was good. I did some more yard cleanup this morning. But, then, it just got too darn hot. I'm a child of the cold. Eighty degrees in early April is just too much to deal with. So, I came in and puddled around.

But, I got bored, so, I decided to take a short walk in the woods. I had been hearing a red-bellied woodpecker, and I wanted to see if I could see any signs of him.



It didn't take me long to find those signs. I came upon this dead tree, not too far into the woods. Near the top, there were some obviously fresh holes.




The problem with me is that, once I get into the woods, I have a hard time coming back out. I kept going. It's pretty quiet and still, yet, but I did see some wild strawberries.



My Dad told me that, when he was a young man, the woods was farmland. And, in that area, the farmer raised strawberries. When I was a kid, I could go into the woods, and still find lots of them, gone wild, tiny and delicious. It's fascinating to me that, all these years later, some descendants still remain.

I found some grapevines. Well, there are lots of them. But, these must be very old. Look how they have entwined again and again around this poor tree.



And, I found lots of deer paths through the leaves.



The land drops off sharply, as you go towards the bay. As I got to that point, I could see the bay in the distance. I won't be able to do that, once the leaves come out.



But, the find of the day was still ahead. I saw some little yellow flowers ahead of me.



They were coltsfoot, one of the earliest wild flowers that bloom around here. It's been years since I have seen any.



A little beyond them, I decided to turn around and come back home. Isobelle Golightly's Lady is coming to visit on Sunday. We're going to poke around in the woods. I figure I'll save this for when she is here.



So, I came home, only to find this in the middle of the floor.



Apparently, someone else doesn't like the heat any more than I do.