Walking down a desolate path through the woods, I stumbled upon this incredible beaver dam. God gave beavers the amazing ability to know how to build these structures and the tools (teeth) to do it. Beavers are uniquely designed to do the work God has given them with the tools He has provided them with. What an amazing creator. Have you ever seen a beaver dam like this one? Answer in the comments below.
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This week, my family and I took an eventful walk through Benson’s Park in Hudson, NH. This nature-full park used to be a zoo from 1926-1987, but was transformed into a public park and nature area in 2009. The empty animal cages are still scattered beside the trails and walkways throughout the park. As we walked the trails, I spotted these intricate morel mushrooms. Such fabulous works of God! Although they are edible, I wouldn’t want to risk it if I perhaps identified them incorrectly. Plus, dogs walk these trails very regularly. Continuing down the path, a beautiful song reached our ears. It was coming from a crab apple tree on the side of the path. We searched the many blooming branches, and finally spotted the singer. It was a bright Baltimore Oriole! What a vibrant orange. Unfortunately, I was unable to photograph this beautiful bird. Here is a photo from Wikipedia.org of the Oriole. Resting between the limbs of the crab apple tree was this encouraging message painted on a stone. What a happy thing to come across! As the path ran along the side of a pond, I spotted a Canada Goose which seemed very comfortable with us so close to it. I slowly approached it, and to my surprise, it didn’t move at all. It just looked at me, and even leisurely took a drink of the water. I was only inches away from the bird. I could have stroked its feathers. After looking at me one last time, it slowly stepped into the water and paddled off. I don’t know why this bird was so comfortable around humans, but it was truly amazing. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Benson's Park supports the American Chestnut Foundation. There were at least two new blight-resistant saplings planted on the side of the trails! See my post on the American chestnut. Benson's park is an amazing place to go to see God's wonderful creation. I will definitely be visiting again soon, and I hope you will too. On Thursday, my family and I took a quick break from the busy day and decided to go for a small walk at a nearby wooded park. I had recently been studying how to track animals by scat, habitat, and (can you guess?) their tracks. I, however, didn’t expect to be generously rewarded by wildlife showing up, but I did hope for the best. So, I gathered my camera, pocket guide, and notebook and headed for the woods. Not many people were at the park, for it was a cold, wet week day. A few retired seniors took their dogs to go exploring. The tracks they left were cruel teasers and imposters for some other canines’ I hoped to see. I walked across the park and up a trail that led into the thick woods where I was met by a tangled cluster of human and dog tracks. Here and there I could spot a squirrel’s small footprints among the mess. As I walked deeper into the woods, the unwanted tracks gradually disappeared and the path was clear. Looking down, I spotted a set of tracks. Not human, not dog, not squirrel, it was a rabbit. A cottontail rabbit. I smiled as I had at last found what I was looking for. Encouraged, I walked on, eagerly scanning the frozen ground. Nothing. An occasional squirrel or chipmunk. Nothing. I began to wonder if my luck was up when I spotted a small deposit of scat. I could tell by the way it was shaped that it was some sort of carnivore. I thought it must be a fox, but I couldn’t be sure. I snapped some pictures and started looking for the scat’s owner’s tracks. If it was some sort of canine, I would never be able to make out which set of tracks it belonged too, for there were hundreds of other domestic dog tracks littered around the area. I would have to wait until we got home, where a guide would confirm what I had seen.
After only a few moments of searching in the book, I found it. It was a coyote! I was greatly excited, for this was even better than I had hoped for. With a grin, I recalled asking God to provide me with a piece of nature to take home with me locked inside my memory, and he did. Some of you may be thinking, “He got this excited over a pile of scat?” I don’t blame you for thinking that odd. :-) I felt a little strange staring at it on the snowy cold ground, but I will always remember it with a smile. It was a chilly day in September: a perfect day to explore God’s beautiful creation. The ocean seemed an appealing destination. But where exactly? We didn’t want a plain old “sun and sand” beach which would probably be closed anyway, so we decided to visit the Audubon owned Eastern Point Lighthouse in Gloucester. After about an hour and a half of driving, we knew we must be close, but where was it? Gazing out over the boat speckled harbor, we searched for a lighthouse, but none could be seen. Finally we drove down a slim, lonely, yet beautiful road which took us to our destination. The glorious view was astounding. We walked out on a stony breakwater made of granite which took us about halfway out into the harbor. To our right were hundreds of boats, but to our left was open ocean. Way out in the distance you could make out the shaded skyscrapers of Boston city. What a sight. Looking just beside the breakwater’s edge, I could see a curious Cormorant. Up and down he bobbed in the stir-crazy water. Just a few yards ahead was a flock of seagulls sitting idly in the sun. As we walked past them, some of the more skittish ones fluttered away while some of the braver ones simply watched us with a cautious eye. Arriving at the end of the breakwater we turned around and walked through a field of wild flowers to the opposing side of the lighthouse. The waves crashed on the rocks with a powerful push. Bees, wasp, and hornets hummed around us and the nearby flowers constantly. The world was content, and so was I. It was a warm Sunday afternoon in the early days of September. The leaves were just starting to lose their grip and glide to the ground, many bird species were getting ready for their long trip down south, and all the animals were in the ever-lasting search for food. “A nice day for a walk” I thought. The sun was out, the air wasn’t too hot or too cold, what could be better? My family and I soon decided to take a trip to the Ipswich River Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary after church. I knew it was a wonderful place to catch a glimpse of God’s incredible creation. The car ride wasn’t long, and the scenery was glorious, so we soon found ourselves arrived. From the moment we stepped out of the car, I noticed a beauty that couldn’t be found in many other places. The first thing we saw were fields of grass hosting numerous bluebird boxes. What a welcoming sight. There were high flowers carrying many buzzing bees collecting nectar, and all kinds of birds were flying happily about. After a few moments, we started down a path that led into a thick woods. We could hear the eerie drumming of a woodpecker somewhere through the trees. Finally the path led onto a boardwalk which took us through a lively marsh. Turtles and ducks where swimming in the shallow water, going about their business. Then the marsh took us back into the woods. As we were walking along the path, we saw an older couple holding out some seeds and nuts. We quickly discovered what they were up to. The couple kindly gave us some seed, and we also held out our hands. Then it happened: a curious Black-Capped Chickadee slowly came slowly towards the woman who gave us the seed. Then, in a flash, it flew down to her hand, grabbed a sunflower seed, and flew away. It happened so fast. Then, with inspiration, my family and I held out our hands to where we saw another Chickadee. It curiously crept down a branch towards us. Suddenly, it flew and perched on my hand. I was shocked. Its delicate feet were gripping tightly to my finger as it took a seed from my hand. Then it had gone as quickly as it came. Soon, Chickadees came from all around, and they flew to the hands of every member of my family. Then, to my great surprise, a White-Breasted Nuthatch was perched on my finger! It was noticeably heavier than a chickadee, and just as curious. Then more Nuthatches arrived. Looking around, I noticed a timid Tufted Titmouse watching the outgoing Chickadees and Nuthatches greedily take our seeds. Then it found the courage to try! It darted to my mom’s hand, but merely touched it and flew back to the cover of the trees. It preformed this strange act time and time again. It was as if it was testing our hands to see if they were safe. Finally it swiftly flew to a hand and took a seed. It was simply incredible to see these birds land on a human hand just to get one seed. It was also interesting to see each different species of bird act so differently. The Chickadee was the most daring of the three, but the Nuthatch wasn’t far behind. The Titmouse on the other hand was very timid and careful. God’s creation is so full of wonder, and it is just so amazing to see (and to feel) it interact with us. And if you are patient enough, you just might have the same experience of a Chickadee taking a seed from your hand.
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