November

The fall blanket of leaves continue to fall providing protection for all of this year’s seeds that are dormant and will burst forth again in Spring. Mornings are colder and requiring sleeves. I hear the wrens more than other birds this time of year and I have been enjoying the activity of Eastern Bluebirds. We have a Cooper’s Hawk who is busy on the hunt for all the squirrels and chipmunks chasing down the falling acorns and other tree fruits. Deer are busy in the nighttime which comes earlier and earlier every night. We have to be very careful and alert driving on country roads. The moon lights up the ground more effectively now that most of the trees are barren of their leaves. I am craving fire and night air.

August

Giant Sensitive Plant

I imagine in every journal I’ve ever written in if we were to consider my mood in August it would be haggard. I am desperate for rest and stillness. I also feel like I have to squeeze every little thing in before it’s cold. I have to glean every second of daylight and do all the things and be all the ways.. whew. I’m so tired. And can someone please ask the crickets to stop sneaking into my house?

Will summer ever be over?

In the words of the old timers, “It’ll be here before you know it.”

In the mornings there is more breeze - the wind is more restless - bolder. I can not explain it but I know it’s different from its summer sibling.

Dead leaves on the ground are growing more abundant - the first leaves that emerged in spring perhaps? 

The world will soon belong to the spiders.

Birds are so weary. The rearing of their young is so.much.work. They barely sing.

Everyone is tired.  August heat is not for the faint of heart. Be extra kind - simply because you can.

Check in with the sky. Gaze at the clouds. Which way does the wind blow?

Take note of the pink skies in the evenings.

Pink is the first layer of the Fall’s great painting.

Exhale.

We’ve got this. Fall is around the corner.

July

Baby it’s hot outside.  It’s so hot even the birds don’t sing in the middle of the day.  People naturally talk about the weather and it still seems like it surprises them when it feels like 110 degrees outside in July and August here in Georgia.  The key to surviving our summers is play in the evenings and early mornings - though I have recently been observing that mornings are generally more humid than the evenings.  

The bird feeders are slow.  We need rain.  Real rain.  Keeping water in the bird baths is challenging.  

My favorites birds this time of year are the Wood Thrush whose flute like song fills the wooded flood plain; the Eastern Wood Pewee who hides mid canopy and calls off and on in its nasally PPEEEEoooohhWEEEEE song; and the quick melodic song of the showy Summer Tanager always lightening the mood.  

The thing to do in July?  Seek water.  Stay cool.

June

It’s summertime.. And the livin’ is easy.  Fish are jumping and the cotton is high.. Your daddy’s rich and your ma’s good looking.. So hush little baby, don’t you cry. 

~ Gershwin/Wakeman

The longest days of the year rapidly approach with the summer solstice. By the end of this month the days will begin to shorten.  Growth will turn towards seed making.  The dark will start to once again creep in calling us into contemplation.

Thunderstorms roll in with powerful lightning from seemingly nowhere.  As quickly as they come they go.  The very last vestiges of Spring can be found in the early morning and the tree frog song of the evening.

Soon, the heat here is Georgia will fully settle into its rightful place.  The Black Billed Cuckoo will call.  And we will seek rest and the refreshment of water sources.  

It is time to practice rest when we need it so we do not overheat as summer presses down upon us here in the south.

May

With the emergence of the XIX cicadas we are reminded that things buried for a long time can still grow and become a voice in the ecosystem. I will let you decide for yourselves whether you also love the sounds of the cicadas. What I call the sounds of summer. I look forward to the familiar hum of the Katydids.

The weather in May is amazing. All things seem possible. They are renewed and refreshed. Beauty is everywhere you look in all the shades of flowers. It is time to LIVE.

The first of the broods are fledging. The canopy is filled with begging calls. Male birds still give chase to other males. The Cardinal is the first song I catch each morning as Dawn greets me.

I want to be outside and savor every second of every day while the air is fresh. While the sky is blue. While thunder rolls. I want to cut the roses and water the tomatoes. I want to catch the toads.

I feel alive. Awake. Ready to grow with the turning of the spring towards summer.

This little black and white warbler flew into my studio window. Though I wouldn’t wish harm on the little bugger it was a dream to hold it for a few moments to confirm it was okay. I held it like this until I felt it relax a little. Then I just held it in my open hand. Its talons clinging to my fingers. I offered to set it down. It stayed with me calm as a cucumber while it caught its breath. I feel like I earned its trust. When it was ready Little Witsy flew up to the top of the bird feeder and then on to a nearby pine. Tomorrow when I hear its song I’ll know we’re friends and I think he’ll know me as a friendly neighbor. (Hopefully he will tell his friends!)

April

An ode to April.

You release your pollen on the wind. Each particle is its own master as it settles to the ground in a dusty yellow haze. Some of your holy particles land in just the right place to fertilize a flower - the great unity of male and female to start something new.

All the buds of this year's growth swell and unfurl into the deepest shades of greens imaginable. Every moment of every second is filled with the possibility of germination. Which flowers will be pollinated and grow? What will be fertilized to make seed?

Male songs fill the air to woo females. Bees buzz. Crickets chirp. Tree frogs croak. The sound of life is filled with the urgency of mating. It is a busy time. 

The morning rises with sweet Melodie’s of love. The days continue to lengthen calling all of life into the growing season. Winter is over. Spring has arrived. It’s time to nurture that which needs fertilizing.

March

I hope that Spring is calling you outside. 

At my bird feeders and in the tree tops males sing to woo the ladies.. territorial chasing is actively happening and I’ve seen some females begging for food. Those poor male birds work so hard.. Cardinal song starts with the rising sun. The Barred Owl brings us night and bright stars.  Bloodroot has emerged with Hepatica. and other Spring ephimerals  Red Buds, Cherries, Plums, Maples have all begun to flower in pastel shades of pinks and purples Leaf buds swell. It won’t be long until everything is coated in pollen and painted in vibrant shades of green. 

The desire to chase the warmth of the sun has arrived. 

There are still some cold nights that await.  The subtle reminder that winter takes her time and eases out.

Seeds that have been growing within the dark soil are stirring.  They too are being called to seek the sun. 

The sweet Spring balance between dark and light has arrived. 

February

The light and warm comfort the sun provides in February brings with it a natural stirring of energy. Migrant birds are back on the move. Our yard has been host to a small flock of Dark Eyed Juncos. The tree tops vibrate with the Pine Warbler’s trill calling the trees into action..

During the dark time of the year we have tended. We have mended. Hopefully we have laid somethings to dream in the eternal sleep.. It is now time to sing and read by the fire in the last weeks of Winter.

Forsythia and Daffodils bring us the richest yellows of summer. Springs Ephimerals peak out from just under the leaf layers. Black Cherry Trees and Red Buds prepare for bloom. The buds of this year’s coming growth begins to swell on trees.  The Spring Peepers and Upland Chorus Frogs herald in warmer weather. 

Suddenly possibility exists again.

Life has adapted to the cold of winter.

Around our fires we plan for the coming seasons.