The mystery of an eggshell
Yes, dear reader, it’s been 100 days now. One hundred days of opening the door, walking outside. Through blizzard, through frigid thirteen below zero days, through a tropical vacation down in southern Florida. It’s been everything. It’s been fun, it’s been not-so-fun, it’s been a learning experience, it’s been the best year of my life so far!! (OK, I’ve said that before. But this year is hands-down one of the best, so far.)
Should I list all 100 activities enjoyed outside? A solstice party, walking on snow, sitting under a spruce tree, dogsled races, meditating outdoors, dozens and dozens of walks, winter camping, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, filling the wood room, winter festivals, roof shoveling (scary!), outdoor art shows, after-dark explorations, reading outside at 10 degrees (brrr…), learning how to photograph all sorts of wild creatures & natural phenomenon, boating….OK! That’s enough.
Mostly I’ve simply walked outside and listened to the stories that nature wants to share and then just…elaborated on them a tiny bit. Way fun! (Much more fun since the shivering during below zero days has abated. We hope it’s abated for this year anyway.)
Looks like a field of spruce cones to rake up, doesn't it?
We shall add raking to the list, as of today. I surveyed the extensive litter of spruce cones beneath the pine tree with a sigh. You’d think one might feel more enthusiasm for a little spring spruce-up (no pun intended!) but the yard-cleaning-up energy seemed slow to start. Instead I peered down at the oddest thing. An egg shell! Where had it come from? I looked up and down and attempted to solve the mystery.
Here are two probable answers: 1) from a nest up high there in the spruce or 2) it’s a broken shell from our compost heap that somehow migrated beneath the spruce.
Before beginning the raking, I meandered out to check the mail. Guess what’s lying beneath a pine tree near the mailbox? Another nearly identical egg shell! If it wasn’t the 100th day of this blog, the title would be: The Day of the Egg Shells. Are they falling from the sky?
Time to rake.
Tiniest perfect feather hidden among the spruce cones
The first ten minutes of raking I was a bit unenthusiastic, but after discovering the above feather my spirits lifted. I needed the wheelbarrow to load up the spruce cones, but it’s buried behind lawn tractor and snowmobile in the shed. What to do? I found two large white buckets and snow-scooped the cones into the buckets. Carried them across the lawn and dumped them. Maybe ten to twelve trips. By then, I was enjoying the rhythm of outdoor spring cleaning.
Getting reacquainted with our rake
No need to worry; I’m sure there will be plenty more outdoor chores this spring…
8 comments
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March 30, 2009 at 8:39 pm
KD
Every morning at the Quinta in Portugal I swept the leaves and pods that fell from the trees into buckets. It took about an hour to clean the property and it was referred to as the ‘morning meditation’. Sounds similar to your adventure!
March 30, 2009 at 8:39 pm
KD
PS Congratulations on Day 100!
March 31, 2009 at 7:04 am
Cindy
The 1st Hundred Days….horray! Loved the photos from yesterday – even the hind feet one, but the ice and the fairy moss are my favorites! I forgot to tell you the other day that your Scavenger Hunt idea was/is a great one…I may not send you what I find, but I look for cool things everyday on my walk with the dogs. I’m sending them to you in my head, OK? Have a great and wondermous adventure today, dear.
March 31, 2009 at 10:41 am
flandrumhill
Wow on the spruce cone photo. Congratulations on the first 100 days.
April 1, 2009 at 3:08 pm
treehousejukebox
Wow, that’s a lot of cones!
Congratulations on #100!!!!!!!!
April 1, 2009 at 7:20 pm
centria
KD, I remember your stories of “morning meditation” in Portugal when you swept those leaves & pods into buckets. I WISH I’d remembered while raking. Next time…you’re an inspiration & I love you & thanks!
Cindy, hey I must be getting those images from your head to mine. I even dreamed about you last night! However it was a strange make-no-sense type of dream and you were working with a bunch of kids at a football game in my hometown. Go figure. I kept thinking, “There’s Cindylou! I must go talk to her…”
flandrumhill and Emma, you guys both liked the spruce cone photo, did you? I should have called you up to rake.
Thanks for the congratulations. All of you guys have made this commitment extra fun.
March 30, 2011 at 7:21 am
Elisa's Spot
Wow! I have never seen so many cones all in one place! Was that before you raked? Or were they corralled? There are about 20 spruce that were all planted together at the tree place. Maybe there are cones like that and the township people keep them from piling like that, though I DO see white pine cones, but still not nearly that many! It’s silly that it is making me ooo and ahh so much!
March 31, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Kathy
That was BEFORE I raked, under the spruce tree. Seems like there were a lot that year. You know how some years there are lots of cones, and other years very few? This year it looks like there are very few. The cycles of nature are very interesting.