next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
<
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------3883208076061548254929AD
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Hi Patricia & All,
Interesting. Long before I heard of Thoreau I subscribed to his
"That man is the richest whose pleasures are cheapest." Not in words of
course but in actions. My free hours were Sunday afternoons and in the
early 40's brook creatures and vascular plants, guided by a slim nature
book, kept me occupied. Our dug well water also provided much
interesting material; alive and dead.
YT, DW Kentville
Consequently I much later enjoyed reading Walton.
On 5/20/2020 11:43 PM, plchalmers@ns.sympatico.ca wrote:
> Thank you, David. What you wrote reminds me of this:
> "Fishermen, hunters, woodchoppers, and others, spending their lives in
> the fields and woods, in a peculiar sense a part of Nature themselves,
> are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals
> of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her
> with expectation."
> Henry David Thoreau, Walden, or Life in the Woods (Boston, 1854)
> Patricia L. Chalmers
> Halifax
>
> > On May 20, 2020 at 5:13 PM David Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Dear All,
> >
> > I saw a comment recently on naturens traffic to the effect that
> > even sitting quietly in the woods may adversely affect birds. And it got
> > buried in subsequent traffic.
> >
> > This puzzles me because if you are really quiet then you become in
> > effect an unusually shaped rock or burl. I have had e.g. a Chicadee land
> > within a few inches of my nose (at most 3" away) and peer this way and
> > that way; no hint of concern just curious. When very slowly crossing a
> > knee-high windfall I once had a Squirrel walk between my legs without
> > indicating awareness. When sitting a foot away from a tiny Spruce (~1"
> > diam. at soil) at dusk I once had a small Mouse slowly climb up the tree
> > saying ek ek ek as nonchalant as could be. And one day while passing
> > time, while I fished nearby, my wife waded out to a small rocky "island"
> > in a brook took both rubber boots off and a few minutes later a Muskrat
> > joined her, smelled the inside of both boots, smelled and crossed her
> > bare legs and then leisurely left the island and proceeded up stream.
> > Twice when sitting in Spruce I had a Kinglet land and hop about within
> > inches apparently unaware I was there. Grey Jays are the exception-
> > they find you; especially when they smell a fire because that may mean a
> > welcome change from a dull diet.
> >
> > Sometimes it seems birds welcome company. One summer I spent many
> > hours thinning an area of woods which was clearly overstocked; cutting
> > and let lie or cutting and trimming for firewood. Regardless where I was
> > working in this ~10 acre area a Robin would eventually show up,
> > apparently unconcerned, and follow me around as I moved. Shortly after
> > I bought the woodlot I would trigger a flyby of one or several Pileated
> > Woodpeckers shortly after I started the chainsaw. One or more would fly
> > in, circle me several times calling (Yak, Yak, Yak....) and then fly
> > away. The woods then had been clear cut only about 30 years
> > previously so Pileated food may have been in short supply and perhaps
> > they wanted a fix on possible exposed food. They are less common now
> > but still often come near where I am cutting and stick around until I
> > pause and look up to e.g. try to take a picture.
> >
> > Sometimes simply by being friendly you see things unexpectedly. One
> > day while eating at a large Cortland apple and splitting wood in a light
> > rain a Squirrel seemed interested so I put a small slice out of my
> > reach. After he ate that I continued feeding him slim slices. When it
> > started to rain quite hard he perched in full view on a Spruce branch
> > with tail up over his back and with the tail end flared out, fan like
> > and serving as an unbrella, protecting his head and front feet from rain.
> >
> > Yellow Jackets naturally get annoyed if you damage their nest but
> > once, while slicing and eating an apple in the yard, a Yellow Jacket
> > flew within a few feet and paused in mid air which I took to mean "May I
> > land on your hand" so I slowly extended my hand to say "welcome" and it
> > landed and proceeded to make good use of the apple juice on my hand. In
> > like fashion, some beetles have come near when having tea in the yard
> > and had a good drink. I don't recall details but I somehow improvised a
> > feeding tube consisting of two flat and pointed slivers of wood. They
> > would fly to the table for 2 or 3 slips, retreat and then come for more.
> > In such interactions one must move but a key factor is to avoid rapid or
> > unexpected motion.
> >
> > Also sitting quietly near sunny warm areas where one might see a
> > snake out hunting will often lead to a snake seen.
> >
> >
> > Enough DW, Kentville
> >
> >
--------------3883208076061548254929AD
Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
<p>Hi Patricia & All,</p>
<p> Interesting. Long before I heard of Thoreau I subscribed to
his "That man is the richest whose pleasures are cheapest." Not in
words of course but in actions. My free hours were Sunday
afternoons and in the early 40's brook creatures and vascular
plants, guided by a slim nature book, kept me occupied. Our dug
well water also provided much interesting material; alive and
dead.<br>
</p>
<p>YT, DW Kentville<br>
</p>
<p> Consequently I much later enjoyed reading Walton. <br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 5/20/2020 11:43 PM,
plchalmers@ns.sympatico.ca wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid