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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_034B_01C9E558.2981E070 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I've been biking to work from Wolfville to Kentville most mornings on a = 'summer route' I've cobbled together along the old railway line, dyke = roads, and sand pits that lay between the two towns. It's rough, but = only 2 km longer than taking the main road (about 15 km). It usually = takes me an hour longer, however, as the binoculars and notebook seem to = slow me down. Each week I seem to learn a new bird species or two, = usually by remembering and identifying the song. When you return to the = same place at roughly the same time each day you can sort these things = out by trial and error. Tuesday was an interesting day. That morning I discovered that the = raven's nest that I've been watching since early spring had been blown = to bits in Monday's winds. All the young ravens were milling about in = nearby trees, very upset and vocal. The red-winged blackbirds seemed to = be gloating. Further along, the raccoon kits I've also been checking in = with daily were playing in their tree, undisturbed. Most of the avian = residents were present in the neighbourhoods where I usually encounter = them; flickers, blue jays, killdeer, ruby-throated hummingbirds, = red-eyed vireos, song sparrows, mourning doves, chickadees, goldfinches, = northern parulas, common yellowthroats, grackles, yellow warblers, = yellow-rumped warblers, mallards, black ducks, crows, bald eagles, etc. = It was shaping up into a great morning. Part way to work, I turned my bike into a gully where the trail I was = following crosses a stream. As I splashed through and came up the other = side, I found myself face to face with a young buck. This deer and I = started at each other for about a minute, both of us frozen in place = with no more than a canoe-length between us. He flinched first, = sauntering off, deciding I was nothing to worry about I suppose. Nice = healthy looking animal, it's horns just starting to push up. Later that evening, I finally got round to taking my youngest son in to = see the raccoons in their tree den. All the way in he nattered Star Wars = and stunt bike trivia at me, which I listened to with as much interest = as I could manage and punctuated by telling him the names of the birds = that I was hearing and the flowers and trees we were passing. But when = we got in to the white pine in question, and he looked up to the cavity = some 40 feet off the ground and saw the masked faces staring down at = him, he was fully there in that place and understood that he was seeing = something special. For the next 15 minutes there was nothing else in the = world but he and I and the plants and creatures in that magic little = corner of wilderness. Best regards, Andrew Steeves Wolfville, NS ------=_NextPart_000_034B_01C9E558.2981E070 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.6001.18226" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>I've been biking to work from Wolfville to Kentville = most=20 mornings on a 'summer route' I've cobbled together along the old railway = line,=20 dyke roads, and sand pits that lay between the two towns. It's rough, = but only 2=20 km longer than taking the main road (about 15 km). It usually takes me = an hour=20 longer, however, as the binoculars and notebook seem to slow me = down. Each=20 week I seem to learn a new bird species or two, usually by = remembering and=20 identifying the song. When you return to the same place at roughly the = same=20 time each day you can sort these things out by trial and=20 error.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Tuesday was an interesting day. That = morning I=20 discovered that the raven's nest that I've been watching since early=20 spring had been blown to bits in Monday's winds. All the young = ravens were milling about in nearby trees, very upset and vocal. = The=20 red-winged blackbirds seemed to be gloating. Further along, the raccoon = kits=20 I've also been checking in with daily were playing in their tree, = undisturbed.=20 Most of the avian residents were present in the neighbourhoods where I = usually=20 encounter them; flickers, blue jays, killdeer, ruby-throated=20 hummingbirds, red-eyed vireos, song sparrows, mourning doves, = chickadees,=20 goldfinches, northern parulas, common yellowthroats, grackles, yellow = warblers,=20 yellow-rumped warblers, mallards, black ducks, crows, bald eagles, etc. = It was=20 shaping up into a great morning.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Part way to work, I turned my bike into a gully = where the=20 trail I was following crosses a stream. As I splashed through and = came up=20 the other side, I found myself face to face with a young=20 buck. This deer and I started at each other for about a minute, = both of us=20 frozen in place with no more than a canoe-length between us. He flinched = first,=20 sauntering off, deciding I was nothing to worry about I suppose. Nice = healthy=20 looking animal, it's horns just starting to push up.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Later that evening, I finally got round to taking my = youngest=20 son in to see the raccoons in their tree den. All the way in he nattered = Star=20 Wars and stunt bike trivia at me, which I listened to with as much = interest as I=20 could manage and punctuated by telling him the names of the birds that I = was=20 hearing and the flowers and trees we were passing. But when we got in to = the=20 white pine in question, and he looked up to the cavity some 40 feet off = the=20 ground and saw the masked faces staring down at him, he was fully there = in that=20 place and understood that he was seeing something special. For the = next 15=20 minutes there was nothing else in the world but he and I and the = plants and=20 creatures in that magic little corner of wilderness.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Best regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Andrew</FONT> <FONT = size=3D2>Steeves</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Wolfville, NS</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_034B_01C9E558.2981E070--
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