Blog: Hideaway Pond–A Sylvan Secret–9/14/21 hideawaypond.com
Sad times around Hideaway Pond last weekend. Twenty years ago the world changed. Forever. Brilliant sapphire skies ruled on Saturday. Grim reminder of the day the towers fell. Small white clouds drifted slowly south. Tears.
One might wonder. Do the Hideaway critters sense that something has changed? Animals can do that, you know. Sense an approaching storm. Fire. Mourn a lost mate or member of the herd. Dogs will lie on their dead master’s grave. Grief is a cruel companion.
But the critters move on. Riding the irresistible pull of instinct and the seasons.
The humming birds still sample the sweets of our hanging begonias. Turkeys peck their way across the yard. Turtles sun pond side. And herons still purloin our poor star crossed fish. A sharp shinned hawk has made a home in the hemlocks near the porch.
Autumn, in her brilliant garb, will soon assume the stage. Hummingbirds, herons, robins and other summer birds will set their compasses south. While cardinals, blue jays, finches and sparrows stay north and brave Jack Frost’s icy bite.
The fish will sink into the coldest, darkest areas of the pond and descend to their seasonal torpor. Metabolism and nourishment requirements will drop to near zero. What a great life.
Sows (female bears) will soon begin to look for a winter lair. There they will have their cubs. Nourishment requirements will sink to a minimum and heartbeats to as low as 8 bpm. A mother bear will occasionally waken to tend to the cubs. She will nurse them through the winter.
Male bears will find a lair for hibernation. They will follow much the same sleep pattern as the female. Though they will occasionally emerge to forage. Bad idea to wake a sleeping bear. It pisses them off.
Bears will occasionally leave the cave to tend to their hygienic needs. And to keep the cave tidy. Bears have fastidious potty habits. However, given their low metabolism and minimum nourishment requirements, this involves little effort.
Critter activity has increased significantly in the Hideaway. A large doe has been making evening runs to graze on our front yard.
A young spike buck surprised us on Sunday. Totally oblivious of us. It fed in the back yard and obligingly posed for pictures. Spike bucks will enthusiastically engage in rutting. However, there is no indication that the length of a buck’s spike is an indication of his buckhood.
We were surprised and pleased when a beautiful six point buck visited two days ago. He drank from the pond and snacked on last spring’s peony greens. Rutting season is on the way. His magnificent rack will be his weapon of choice during impending contests. Contests with other bucks for the wily charms of some comely young doe. Bucks travel a wide range and usually move on. So we were surprised when he arrived behind the porch while we were having dinner that evening. He grazed for a half hour. Then turned and faded away. It was too dark to take pictures. So we relaxed and enjoyed the show. No cover charge.
With approach of rutting season, Summer will step aside. Autumn, with its blaze of color will arrive. And stay until her beautiful gown shreds and falls to the ground. Winter, with its beautiful icy palette of grays and whites will then blow in on the winter solstice. And much of the sylvan world will sleep. Small critters will arrive in the darkness.
With arrival of the equinox, the world will begin to waken. Critters will leave their dens and blink their way into the bright sunlight. Small buds will appear and explode into a verdant celebration. And Spring will arrive trailing her beautiful vernal array.
The Hideaway will again become a hidden green cocoon.
A Sylvan Secret.
