Lycopodium
Lycopodium
by Maxwell C. Wheat, Jr.
They are the elves’ Christmas trees
Grandfather would say
of Ground Pine and Cedar
Once in the sun I laid on snow
eye level to see colored lights and bulbs
the size of frozen dew drops
They are lycopodiums, he’d say
teaching me again to pronounce the name
because scientific words have the sounds of poetry
Lie-ko-po-dee-um
You’ve got it, he’d laugh
his hearty red face broadening behind his white beard
his abundant frame rollicking
When I return home for the holidays
I always walk back to our woods
think of Grandfather assuring a small boy
Yes,I’ll see that the elves have a happy Christmas
I am glad lie-ko-po-dee-um is evergreen
Nature Haiku [Nine Loons]
Common Loons on Red House Lake
By Young Naturalist C, Young Naturalist E and Adele
Nine Loons
Nine Loons on the Lake
Fishing for their favorite food
Ooo da loo da loo
(more…)
Roger Tory Peterson
Roger Tory Peterson
Born: 28 August 1908 Birthplace: Jamestown, New York
” . . . the man who made America
a nation of birdwatchers.”
William Zinsser
Writer and Critic
Your dashes are arrows
in A Field Guide to the Birds, the green-bound “Peterson”
tucked into belts, pushed into pockets, stuffed into backpacks
Arrows that lead eyes of millions,
squinting through binoculars,
to the red-brown cap and black “stick-pin”
identifying the passerine in snowy branches.
“That’s it,” the new birder exclaims,
pulls out list, checks off the “Winter Chippy,”
American Tree Sparrow
Arrows that glide to crest and black necklace of Blue Jay,
“golden slippers” of Snowy Egret,
yellow “spectacles,” black sideburns, of Kentucky Warbler,
purple throat, green crown, decurved bill of Lucifer Hummingbird,
white tail tip of Eastern Kingbird.
The Bald Eagle with white head and tail is “all field mark.”
In the salt marsh in May, the birder thinks “Life Bird?”
Focuses on shorebird
prodding mud flat with Short-billed Dowitchers,
Red Knots, Ruddy Turnstones. Greater Yellowlegs,
Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers,
Semi-palmated and Black-bellied Plovers.
She has identified all with the dried, wrinkled pages of her “Peterson.”
She studies what she knows to be a plover,
concentrates glasses on this bird feeding
by greening shoots of Spartina grass.
Again, she stares at your art,
your arrow guide slanting to the back.
She rereads your description:
“spangled with golden spots above.”
Suddenly, her freckled face is a loud smile,
her whisper a bursting
“Golden Plover!”
Field Guide, 1996
The Roger Peterson Institute of Natural History
Pileated Woodpecker [Poem]
Pileated Woodpecker
dressed for his coronation
in ebony cape,
ermine trim,
scarlet-crested crown.
But would royalty be caught
backing down a dead hickory?
Monarch Butterfly [Poem]
Monarch Butterflies
Regal autumn travelers
robed for mediaeval pageantry
in velvet orange and black
Moving in great procession
on tissue wings
from Canada to Monterey, the Sierra Madre
The North American Continent a court for this lepidoptery
New-tropical Migrants [Poem]
Chestnut-sided Warbler
New-tropical Migrants
We have always seen warblers
as brilliancies of the North Woods:
lemon yellow of Black-throated Green
flame wings and tail of American Redstart
But the Redstart is Cuba’s “Little Candelita,”
the Black-throated Green flies his colors from Ecuador
Our boreal yellows, reds, blues are tropical,
burnt orange of Blackburnian,
orange-red of Bay-breasted
What do we send back?
Blackburnian with only the yellow,
Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Pine we can not tell apart – –
“Confusing Fall Warblers.”
Color them up, we say.
Paint back the cheeks and flanks of Chestnut-sided,
brighten back the pigments of Black-throated Blue
Send these warblers back.
On the Big Day in May
in Sugar Maple and Tamarack
we will check off glories of the rain forest
Lets Go for Bluebirds [Poem]
“Let’s Go for Bluebirds!”
Grandfather would call on a March morning,
snow sparkling in the sun.
Pulling on his wool cap,
He’d lead me down the cow path,
crusts of ice crackling under our boots
“Wait. Let’s look around,” he’d whisper
when we reached the orchard,
searched rows of apple trees,
gray trunks gnarled,
branches craggy
If I heard the singer,
blue-backed, red-breasted thrush,
I waited for Grandfather to point,
trying to keep his voice to a hoarse whisper,
“There he is. On that high branch.”
And what did he always add?
“A piece of sky has landed in the trees!”
Nature Haiku [Poem]
Photo by Marg (thanks Marg)
Nature Haiku
Mockingbird at night
would disturb the universe
and sing forever
Redstart [Poem]
Redstart
Fiesta flashes
of vermilion orange
flung from flaming tail,
fire wings
of Cuba’s “Little Candelita”
tumbling
plummeting upward
in Canadian green
of long spruce
under which
our eyes
tango
By: Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr ©
Red Tailed Hawk [Poem]
Red tailed Hawk
Her shrill “kee-er-r-r” startles the air
The raptor soars above Allegany State Park
Her span of wings
floats on warm push of thermal column
Her fanned-out tail glows from the solar cauldron
The God-hawk radiates over the Cosmos
By: Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr ©
Brown Creeper [Poem]
Brown Creeper
with long claws
stiff bracing tail
spirals up oak
curved slender bill
probes for beetles
Suddenly, the Sharp-shin
The small bird is no where
The accipiter has passed
A piece of bark is on the move again
By: Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr © (more…)
Christmas Fern
Christmas Fern
By Maxwell C. Wheat, Jr.
“Come see the Christmas stockings,”
Says Grandmother, taking our hands
Leading us to the stream in our back woods
There on the bank
She shows us fronds of ferns lined with leaflets
Each shape like a fat “L”
“They’ll fit on elves’ feet, Nanny.”
“They’re upside down,” my brother laughs
“The elves’ll fall out.”
“Why, Edmund,” Grandmother chuckles
“don’t you know why elves’ feet
Are pointed and curled?”
(more…)
Nature Haikus – December
By Young Naturalist E
December
Snow flakes fall softly
Church bells are ringing clearly
Happy children play
(more…)
Nature Haikus – by E
By Young Naturalist E
The grass was so soft
The shade was cool on my face
Birds are twittering
(more…)
Nature Haikus – Road Kill
Opossum that wasn’t roadkill.
By Young Naturalist C
Road Kill
Blood is everywhere
Unlucky small animal
Torn into pieces (more…)
Nature Haikus – Cardinal
By Young Naturalist C
Cardinal
Red as a cherry
Sitting on a low tree branch
Singing a sweet song (more…)
Nature Haikus – Geese
By Young Naturalist C
Geese
In a v-shaped form
honk, honking into the sky
Long into the night
(more…)
Nature Haikus – Snowflakes
By Young Naturalist C
Snowflakes
Swirling, whirling down
In a winter wonderland
In different shapes (more…)
Nature Haikus – Fall
By Young Naturalist C
Fall
A leaf falling down
Inside a mix of colors
Of red, gold and orange (more…)
Fiesta Poem
Fiesta
by Maxwell Croyden Wheat, Jr.
Comes with warblers,
waves of warblers
moving up the continents:
Yellows, Bay-breasteds
Black-throated Blues, Greens.
Myrtles, Magnolias
flourishing wing-tail skirts of white and yellow, Redstarts flashing flamenco fans of orange and red, Chestnut-sideds displaying headdresses of sun
Then, Blackburnians
flown from flames of Aztec fires,
Prothonotary emblazoned with Inca gold
Kenn Kaufman at RTPI
Kenn Kaufman spent the evening talking to many guest and members of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) in Jamestown, New York. Kenn is the fourth author who has been invited to speak at the Distinguished Speaker Series at RTPI (funded through the Johnson Foundation). Kenn is best known as the author of the book Kingbird Highway and his Kaufman Focus Field Guides. Tonight was the official release date for his newest Focus Guide on the Insects of North America and it looks like a very useful guide for any nature enthusiast (I know its going in my library).
Chickadee
March 21, 1858 Standing by the mud-hole in the swamp, I hear the pleasant phebe note of the chickadee. It is, methinks, the most of a wilderness note of any yet. It is peculiarly interesting that this, which is one of our winter birds also, should have a note with which to welcome to spring.
Henry David Thoreau – THOREAU ON BIRDS
My 2006 blogging review of this site
There is always that one moment in your life when something happens and your life is turned upside down! This could be your first up close encounter of that colorful small bird. You then find yourself becoming a birdwatcher within a matter of seconds. You remember those brown streaks down its body as clearly and those mini sideburns on its head. That’s right “how could I have forgotten its bright yellow ball cap on its head”?? You’re then looking through a line up of birds in your new field guide trying to figure out what it could be? Well, this Chestnut-sided Warbler wasn’t the bird that started my new love of blogging but a Black Bear visiting my bird feeder is what did me in!
For as long as I live, I will never forget my heart pumping almost 100 miles per/hour and this bears trashy mildew smell following it (the original post can be seen HERE). Yes, I have come across bears on numerous occasions but this one encounter was very special! It was me and the bear eye-to-eye and I had never been so scared in my life! Luckily I was able to capture a few photos before my neighbors dog started barking.
This was a time period which I had started visiting some of my flickr friends blogs and something just clicked that this would be a great experience to share through a blog? I find myself 6 months after starting this blog and excited that this will be my 100th post here on “Mon@rch’s Nature Blog”. I can’t believe how quickly time has gone by and I never would have expected to have so much to say to everyone.
I guess this is the perfect opportunity to reflect on a few of my favorite post from 2006 which I think you should go back and revisit again (or visit for the first time).
Back in August we rescued this Beaver who somehow got trapped in one of the Administration Buildings window wells. This is something that I could have never imagined having to save but there is no doubt that this has to be my all time favorite post for 2006. To see more go to: Is that a …. Your kidding me …
My saddest post for 2006 would have to be the loss of “Marshmallow” the albino woodchuck who everyone in the park tried to see but still fell in love with. This poor little thing lost its life when given the option of challenging a dog or taking its chances with a vehicle. To see more go to: It’s not my fault that I am a mutant!
My most proud moment of 2006 was when the kids and I were able to complete our two day adventure backpacking along the North Country Trail. We started from my house and hiked to the kid’s parent’s campsite. To see more go to: Day 1 and Day 2
I think one of the most interesting discovery I had for 2006 was the young Woodturtle we found that had a broken shell. To be honest, that whole day was fun discovering wildflowers, herps, birds, ect… but this Woodturtle is a critter that I think about all the time. To see more go to: Young Woodturtle
There is no doubt that I banded many wonderful birds this season. I also had an amazing year banding the Northern Saw-whet Owls and documenting each day on this blog. But, I have to give this Barred Owl the award for my largest bird banded in 2006. To see more go to: An unusual visitor at the banding station
Lycopodium by Maxwell C. Wheat is such a wonderful poem and one that I have been thinking about using for Christmas for quite a while now. I have to give this post the award for the longest planned blog for 2006. Do expect more poems by Max to be posted here in 2007. To read the poem go to: Lycopodium
There were so many posts in this blog that I wanted to include but I needed to keep it down to only a few of my all time faves! So, please take the time to review the others from 2006 and I would love to hear which post were your favorites.
Might 2007 bring many wonderful things to blog and Happy New Year to everyone!
Lycopodium
Lycopodium
by Maxwell C. Wheat, Jr.
They are the elves’ Christmas trees
Grandfather would say
of Ground Pine and Cedar
Once in the sun I laid on snow
eye level to see colored lights and bulbs
the size of frozen dew drops
They are lycopodiums, he’d say
teaching me again to pronounce the name
because scientific words have the sounds of poetry
Lie-ko-po-dee-um
You’ve got it, he’d laugh
his hearty red face broadening behind his white beard
his abundant frame rollicking
When I return home for the holidays
I always walk back to our woods
think of Grandfather assuring a small boy
Yes,I’ll see that the elves have a happy Christmas
I am glad lie-ko-po-dee-um is evergreen
Used by permission All rights reserved
Wheat, M.C. Jr. (2000) Following Their Star – Poems of Christmas and Nature. Cow Meadow Promotions. p.27
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 