peepers

Peepers – Version 2023 (ND #139)

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Ethereal Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

Peepers – Version 2023

I almost wrote a post some three weeks ago now, and I regret that I didn’t. I know it was still February; indeed, I’m pretty sure it was within a week of my last post (the one about Love Nature Magic). The reason why I regret not having written it is because I’m now unable to definitively document my experience for posterity. And it feels significant that peepers – version 2023 – were emerging from their muddy domiciles in February.

We all know how weird this winter of 2023 has been. For those who find the price of heating oil, inflated due to the war in Ukraine, to be onerous, it’s been a blessing. But for those who enjoy at least one good blizzard wrapping them in the cocoon of a snowed-in home, it’s definitely been a dud of a season.

But it gave me chills to hear these harbingers of springtime calling out across the fields an entire month earlier than usual. Better late than never, I suppose (my documenting, I mean.) It’s interesting to me to read the first post I wrote about peepers. I was excited to hear them then, as I always am – but it was the spring equinox when I wrote that post in 2019. And that’s still nearly two weeks away!

Full Worm Moon – 2023; Photo: L. Weikel

Full Worm Moon and Saturn Sign Change

We started this week out with a glorious full moon just yesterday morning (7:40 a.m. ET to be exact). And then an hour later, the planet Saturn entered a new sign for the first time in approximately 2.5 years.

Interestingly, for the past five years or so, Saturn has been hanging out in astrological signs that it ‘enjoys’ or feels good in: Capricorn and then Aquarius. Saturn is considered the ‘ruler’ of these two signs, although in Aquarius it now shares that honor with Uranus. The bottom line, though, is that Saturn likes the no-nonsense, pragmatic attitude of Capricorn and the generally more emotionally detached attitude of Aquarius. And Saturn is all about structure, time, foundations, and discipline.

So we’ve actually had five years of a ‘happy’ Saturn. Hmm.

On Tuesday, however, just after the moon reached its peak fullness, Saturn entered the sign of Pisces. It’ll be interesting to see how this energetic shift will play out in the world. That’s not to say it won’t impact us on a day-to-day personal level (because it probably will), but the large, slower moving planets tend to have larger, more global impacts on us.

I encourage us all to observe the actions of those on the national and world stage. Is there a change in emotional or psychological tenor? How do we feel about what’s going on in our country (and the world at large)?

Clouds or Mountains? Photo: L. Weikel (this photo was taken only 7 minutes before the main photo, above)

More Big Stuff Coming

Astrologers are expecting this March to herald some profound shifts in the way the world experiences itself. Besides Saturn moving into Pisces, we just had a lovely conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in Aries last week. (I didn’t get a photo of the conjunction due to cloud cover – but I did get a decent shot of the two bright ones flirting with each other the night before they met up.) But probably the biggest shift in the celestial orbs will be Pluto moving from Capricorn into Aquarius on March 23rd.

Given that I started writing this post merely to comment on how chilly I imagine our armies of peepers must be as the March winds whip up some serious wind chill, I’ll leave commentary about Pluto for another day.

In the meantime, I just wanted to touch base with all of you. If you’ve been feeling like things “are at sixes and sevens” (as my mother used to say), you’re not alone. Knowing that you’re not the only one noticing and feeling that things seem edgy can be at least a little bit comforting, as can learning that there are some things going on above our heads that might explain some of what we’re experiencing.

No matter how isolated or independent we fancy ourselves to be, in truth, we’re all far more connected – with each other, with the peepers, with the moon, and with the planets – than we realize.

ND #139

Blanket of Warm – ND #89

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Rabbit and Schnauzer Cloud Beings – Photo: L. Weikel

Blanket of Warm

Wow, was it warm out today. Holy cow. I thought I’d looked at the weather forecast a day or so ago and I could’ve sworn it wasn’t supposed to warm up significantly until a day or two from now. Apparently I was mistaken. The shock of walking out the door and expecting it to be a bit chilly, only to be whapped in the face by a blanket of warm, bordering-on-hot, air, was unsettling.

Perhaps I would’ve embraced the warmth today a little bit more had I been expecting it. Geesh, that makes me sound rigid. And perhaps even petulant.

Nevertheless, the warmth of the day inspired me to get outside and get things moving. I cleared the yard of a bunch of sticks and broken tree limbs. I tell myself they’re fodder for the next fire we have, hoping having kindling at the ready will encourage more of them.

Even the Clouds

Even the clouds got in on the act today. I was delighted to see a very obvious gigantic and ferocious rabbit bantering playfully with a puppy right before my eyes. Indeed – to my eye – the puppy might even be a Schnauzer.

By the time I got ‘round to Princess, Middle, and Liddle this evening, they’d apparently bedded down for the night. It was dark out and not a snuffle nor a snort was heard emanating from their enclosure. Guess I’ll have to catch them tomorrow.

The Best Part

But by far the best part of tonight’s walk was the magnificent chorus of tree frogs and peepers. They’re definitely erupting from the mud early this year – in fact, I’m pretty sure they first started singing on the last day of February! That just seems way too early.

I sometimes think the ones that are my favorite are not the ones that sound brave or never, ever tire. The peepers I like the best are the ones that have extremely deep and gravelly voices. I’ve conjured images of them in my mind that undoubtedly have nothing in common with what they actually look like.

They do seem to be getting louder and louder each night, though. They were nearly deafening tonight and could be heard at least a half mile away.

I wonder if they have peepers in Ukraine?  If they do, do they know enough to be quiet at critical moments? Or are they simply blasted out by the overwhelming noise of war?

I saw a terribly sad story of a young woman who was killed last night. She was helping deliver supplies to a dog shelter.

All these heartrending stories of lives disrupted as a result of a deranged man who wants what he wants and is willing to tell lies and sacrifice the lives of millions to get it. I can’t go there tonight.

I’d rather listen to peepers and see Cloud Beings masquerading as rabbits and puppies.

(T+89)

Hawklets – Day 850

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Keeping an eye on the feeders – Photo: L. Weikel

Hawklets

Yesterday’s post celebrated my identification of the very vocal and aerobatic presence of Red-shouldered Hawks in our hamlet. (Yes, the cluster of homes on our road was at one time designated a hamlet on old maps.) This evening I’m happy to report that the sky-dancing, shrieking, gift-giving (or so it appeared), and outright over-the-top public displays of affection (read: avian lust) continued today. If vigorous persistence is any barometer of success, we’re going to have some hawklets in the neighborhood this year. Not a real word, but it’ll be my word for the larger chicks hanging out this year.

And if the breeding information provided by Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is accurate, it sounds like this behavior could last until the end of the month (although I can’t fathom why it should take so long – they sure looked like they were getting lucky yesterday and today), with a nest of 3 to 4 eggs being the result. I believe we should have hatchlings sometime in May – but won’t actually see them fledge (if we’re privy to that, of course) until the end of June to mid July.

Even though I knew they were hanging around our house because we provide a post-coital snack bar, they were almost annoyingly obvious about that today. Choosing to mess around on the branch of a tree right by our driveway gave them the added bonus of being able to keep a hawkeye on our feeders. And boy, did those Red-shoulders create anxiety in everybody else.

Cardinal in Flight – Photo: L.Weikel

Other Avian Love

Both yesterday and today the number of cardinals – and their obvious affection for each other – was almost as noticeable as the hawks’ enthusiasm for each other. It appears we may be supporting at least four mating pairs of Cardinals this year, too!

But the lengths all the other birds had to go to in order to avoid being snatched up by lust-fueled starving Hawk beaks were extensive. Hours at a time would go by with only the calls of the Red-shoulders piercing the quiet. But then, gradually, the lookouts would probably advise that the predators were napping or something because all of a sudden the feeders and the branches surrounding the feeders would become a cacophony of chatter.

One Last Spring Exclamation

PEEPERS! Last night we heard a few early birds. The first to hatch in the primordial ooze that is known as swampy field land near High Rocks State Park entered life singing. Tonight, those brave newbies were joined by significantly more buddies. Not yet deafening, they were still making lovely music together this evening.

As I said yesterday, this initial taste of true springtime weather did not disappoint!

(T-261)

Finding the Light – Day 484

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Sunset tree – Photo: L. Weikel

Finding the Light

Wow. What a way to start the week. If you pay attention to the news during the day, finding the light in any of what we were hearing was a tough task.

But the weather helped. The blue skies and bright sunshine were not insignificant, as I guarantee things would’ve felt exponentially worse had it been raining.

It looks like we’re in for a blanket of cloud cover tucking us in tomorrow, but at least without precipitation until a shower toward the end of the day. That’s a lot better than what I saw being forecast yesterday.

While I’m sure the skies being overcast will dampen our spirits somewhat, at least we’ll still be able to get outside for a little bit of one-to-one connection with Mother Nature without getting soaked.

Now More Than Ever

It seems to me that, now more than ever, we need to make a point to get outside and be in nature as much as possible. I’m not suggesting that vast swaths of anyone’s day be spent walking or hiking or riding a bike; it’s not even physical exercise that I’m advocating most. (Although I guarantee no matter what you’re thinking or doing or facing in your life, taking a 15 minute walk will improve your outlook).

No, I’m simply suggesting that at some point in your day, if you can even just walk outside and stand with your face pointed toward the sun (even if it’s behind a bank of clouds), close your eyes, plant your feet, listen for any type of a sign from nature, and take three long, slow, very deep breaths, you will feel better.

Sign From Nature?

What I mean by that is try to see or hear some indication that you’re sharing this planet with something other than just other humans. Identify one natural noise: a bird chirping, a squirrel chittering, the wind rustling leaves or tinkling wind chimes; a dog barking, a bee buzzing, peepers peeping, or crows cawing.

Depending upon where you are when you make your nature connection, you may not be able to hear anything ‘natural’ right off the bat. So you may have to look around, use your eyes or other senses, and find your connection that way.

It feels important that we remember to do this right now. We must remember, we’re part of something much bigger than just being human. We remember that by finding the light of Mother Nature.

Rising full moon – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-627)

Yikes Squared – Day 450

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Photo: www.brittanica.com

Yikes “Squared”

Fun Fact? Today was Donald Trump’s 1111thday in office.

My post yesterday featured a photo of daffodil greens poking their heads up out of the ground a good three inches or so. The fact that those flowers are being coaxed to emerge from their cozy winter beds when it is only early February was troubling to me. It’s not their time yet.

Of course, I ended up writing about the Iowa Caucus, which was also in the process of earning its own well-deserved “Yikes.” In fact, as of just past midnight tonight, well over 24 hours after the end of the Iowa Caucus, we’re still operating with only about 62% of the precincts reporting. None of the candidates can safely claim victory or pretty much make any announcements upon which they might want to capitalize.

How incredibly frustrating must that be for those candidates?! They’ve been spending millions of dollars, focusing intense attention to this state, and practically living there, in some cases, for nearly a year – only to have the results of the single most important night, the culmination of all that hard work directed at this first opportunity for the people to speak bungled?!

Good grief.

Even Worse

But I have to tell you: I took a walk late this afternoon and had to stop. I cocked my head to get a better sense of where the sound was coming from and what I was actually hearing.

A chill ran through me. Yes. Those voices. I recognized them. It was peepers. It’s February 4th, and I could hear peepers calling out and singing their springtime song as they emerged from the mud in the wooded wetlands near my home.

“But it’s February!” I yelled out loud. “Early February, at that!” Spartacus glanced back at me, startled by the sudden eruption of my voice and worried I’d caught him nibbling on something he shouldn’t.

Yikes squared

And then there was the SOTU, the President’s State of the Union address, to listen to this evening. Many entreated me not to listen. And I’ll admit, I was tempted to just let it go. I probably should have, in fact. But I didn’t.

I can tell you that I’m not happy I did it (other than feeling a smidgen of satisfaction in having shown some archaic sense of respect for the office). There were so many lies, so many distortions of truth, and so many blatant moments of pandering and use of rhetoric specifically geared toward manipulating emotion (over issues he’s actually taken stances diametrically in opposition to) that it made me feel lost and all alone.

Back to Premature Peepers

Nope; while I want to express my dismay over their very early emergence, they’re just not giving me enough of a distraction, in spite of my worry over their welfare.

Tomorrow is the actual vote on removing DT from office. From everything that’s gone before, including his behavior following his other two SOTU addresses, he’s going to start tweeting – and tweeting hard. As soon as the Republicans (who literally chanted “Four more years!” at the SOTU, as if they were at a campaign rally) vote to acquit instead of convict and remove him from office, he is going to be off to the races.

Just as Rep. Adam Schiff argued, his power is going to proceed unchecked. He will think and feel and know (based on the Republican Senators’ error and party fealty) he has the powers of a despot. And given his penchant for revenge? Well, we’re already hearing some reports of what he intends to do to his enemies. And we should all be afraid.

Including the peepers who are making their premature entrance into the world.

Photo: mortonarb.com

(T-661)

A Quiet Night – Day 159

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Photo: L. Weikel

A Quiet Night

I’m sitting here in my living room, the heavy wooden front door of our home swung wide, allowing the sounds of the night to drift in through the screen door. Rain was pouring some minutes ago, but has subsided for the moment. Now I only hear the rushing of the small creek across the road in front of our home that runs the length of our country road and ultimately feeds the Tohickon Creek.

The peepers continue to chirrup and groat, regardless of whether the rain pelts, pounds, or caresses. I wonder at that sometimes. Surely some of those heavy drops that sting us when they hit our skin must take a far worse toll on these little beasties. I would think they’d take cover.

But maybe they revel in the experience of storms.

Thunderstorms are the Best

I’m always up for a good thunderstorm. I love them. I remember sitting with my mother out on the front porch of our stone farmhouse, about half an hour north of here. We would watch most storms approach from the west, marching down the valley toward the Delaware River, from our right to our left. Mommy always said that storms would go down one side of the valley, run into the river, and come back up the other side. I never understood this meteorologically (and perhaps storms didn’t actually behave that way), but it always did seem as though we’d experience two rounds of thunder and lightning when a system would move through.

Listening to the rain pick up in intensity again, I’m reminded this be could urging the grass – especially the wild onion, which runs rampant throughout our lawn, to reach heights that will require us to ‘take measures’ to reduce it to a manageable length. We’re into dandelions, too, and whatever else actually wants to live in our lawn – except poison ivy! – such as a recent abundance of mosses making their way across our front yard.

I’ll probably write soon about the mosses that have begun proliferating in our lawn, taking over where the grass was growing thin. Moss is quite beautiful, especially if you let yourself get down on the ground and really look at it closely. It’s amazingly intricate! And so soft to walk on with your bare feet.

Have the Peepers Gone to Sleep?

It sounds like the wind is picking up now. I notice the peepers have stopped singing entirely – at least for the moment.

Wishing all of you a lovely evening (if anyone is awake and reading this) filled with peaceful dreams and deeply restful sleep. And if you’re reading this in the morning? Breathe deep and celebrate this holiday weekend. Passover, Easter, or simply the joy of springtime making its presence known to us again. Giving us hope for all life.

Photo: L. Weikel

(T-952)

Peepers – Day 129

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 3 Comments
Super Worm Moon – bisected by an errant cloud; Photo: L.Weikel

Peepers         

They started hatching last week, when the temperature soared to over 70 degrees two days in a row and the evenings barely dipped into the 40s.

A sure sign of spring, peepers are symbols of hope. They are evidence of life surviving the dark bleak wasteland of winter.

Their cacophonic voices can reach a frightful volume, especially when they all seem to be crawling out of their primordial ooze at the same time. The moistness of the boggy land just beyond and partially within the forests around our home lends itself to images of armies of these newly hatched amphibians poking their heads out of the mud in unison – or maybe in waves –  singing and croaking their way to dinner and sex. Or is it sex then dinner? Not sure. Maybe they’re just babies, Lisa. Get your mind out of the mud.

Onomatopoeia At Its Finest

Every year, as we walk our usual route, we’re enchanted by the emanations and eruptions coming from these swampy enclaves. Some peepers sound exactly as their names imply. Onomatopoeia at its finest. But then there are The Others.

The Others sound precisely like one might imagine beings from outer space sounding. You know, when they gurgle burgle up from their hiding places in the Earth’s mud only to sprout arms and legs and turn into massive praying mantis like beasts who make it clear they’ve been biding their time, patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity to become our tyrannical overlords – or eat us for dinner.

Those deeper, scratchier-voiced frogs that seem to arrive alongside the peepers lend themselves to active imaginations, especially since their volume grows exponentially as the sun sets and shadows make seemingly normal trees and branches appear deeply unfamiliar and a little bit spooky. I wish I could figure out how to upload my iPhone recording of these creatures and their preternatural voices. For now, this little recording by someone else will have to do.

Balanced Stillness

We took a walk this evening just after the moon had technically reached its full ripeness and just as the equinox was reaching its perfect point of balanced stillness.

Regrettably, as my rather pathetic photos show, a cloud cover marred her grand entrance and denied us the opportunity to behold the ‘full super worm moon’ in all her unfettered glory.

As we walked, though, we listened to the voices of the peepers and their compatriots growing louder and louder. A soft wind gently rustled the still leafless branches of the trees at the edge of the meadows making them clack and groan ever so softly. We sensed something.

We stopped and looked at each other. We both noticed it; the hairs on our arms and at the back of our necks rose up.

It was the Spirit of Spring Equinox arriving, tiptoeing into our lives, dangling her shoes from her fingertips, a slender finger held to her lips.

Bringing us hope.

(T-982)