Give and take

The last three days the weather moderated with temperatures in the twenties and varying amounts of sunshine.  Even though we still have more than a foot of snow on the ground, I snatched up the opportunity for some long walks in the woods.  2 1/2 hours on Saturday with the three dogs, 5 hours on Sunday by myself and 3 1/2 hours today with the dogs.  My legs feel like Jello, but my mind and spirit have definitely been rejuvenated. 

You have to look carefully at the picture to see this.  I came across this "track" in the snow.  These parallel lines in the snow looked like someone had taken a giant comb and raked the top of the snow.  The marks continued on the top of the snow 6 to 8 feet in length and then ended in a set of tracks.   My first thought was impressions in the snow made by a bird's wing as I have seen wing prints in the snow many times.  But this was too long and too straight to be made with a wing. With the snow being so deep, I have to admit that it took me a minute or two to read the story that the land was telling me.  Those tracks were turkey tracks.  The parallel lines in the snow were made by the turkey's tail is it flew over to the edge of the woods and landed in the snow.  I followed the turkey tracks as the turkey walked into the woods for a little ways.  A cool finding to be sure.  I've seen wild turkeys out and about twice in the last two days.  Molly, the brittany, came across a carcass of a turkey that had died and was buried in the snow.  I had to put the remains in a tree so she wouldn't lay there and chew on it.  It was mostly eaten and mostly gone so I have no idea if it was left over from a coyote or dog attack or if it just died natural.  As I was putting the parts in a tree, I was reminded as a story that appeared in the newspaper back when I was in college.  Someone was walking in the woods and found several rabbit skins and rabbit parts hanging in a tree.  They reported the finding to local authorities and the story was that Satan worshippers had a ceremony and the rabbits were hung and offered as a sacrifice.  Fortunately calmer heads prevailed and it was determined that the rabbit hides and intestines had been placed there by rabbit hunters.  This is something that is commonly done after field dressing the rabbit so that the hunter's dogs don't get into all the left over parts and eat them.  The Satan worshipper story sure was a lot more fun.

Toward the end of today's walk, I decided to cut across the middle of the field right through the garden area.  As I got closer, I could see a huge patch of bright red in the snow.  Hmmmmmm? I thought perhaps an animal had provide a meal for something else so I walked on over.  It was a watermelon.  As I looked down the row where the watermelons had grown, there was melon after melon after melon that had been dug up and eaten by the deer.  It was a regular watermelon slaughter.  I smiled thinking about even in the depth of winter, the garden is still providing.

About 15 minutes before sunset tonight, I took the dogs past a brushy spot in the corner of the pasture.  We had been out almost three hours and technically had been rabbit hunting, but the deep snow makes the rabbits want to stay deep in their holes during the day.  But quite often, the dogs can get a rabbit up and running in this spot by the pasture and they did.  They circled the rabbit perfectly and I was able to take a shot and bring home a rabbit for supper.  The picture with the young beagle Buddy was taken after we got back to the house and it was starting to get dark hence the flash.  I think the rabbit dressed out quite nicely and will make a good meal for Mike and I.

Living on a farm, one becomes intimately aware of the give and take that is necessary for life.  And I am not just talking about us humans.  The plants soak up nutrients from the soil.  The animals eat the plants.  Some animals like the turkey that I found in the woods died so that something else could live.  We take care of the land.  The land gives back to us.  The deer, turkey and rabbits have been eating the leftovers from the garden.  We provide them with food and they in turn are food for us.  We are all connected.  Give and take. That is how it has been since the beginning of life on this planet.  I am blessed to be living life in the front row.