Kroger Wetlands

My friend, Janice, and I decided to make a trip to the Kroger Wetlands since neither of us had been there. This 14.5 acre wetland is located on Acme Street in Marietta Ohio.

While situated right behind the Krogers grocery store  the one-mile walking trail around the wetlands is very secluded. To me it seems like a place a woman shouldn't walk alone.

There are advantages to this seclusion.  While Janice was walking in front  we heard a commotion right at her feet just as she crossed a small bridge. Do you see what caused it in the photo below?

Let me crop it to zoom in.

That young raccoon was one of three that we almost crashed into.  I loudly whispered, "Look! Raccoons!" Well if you want to watch raccoons, it is better that you don't panic and loudly exclaim. The youngsters clambered over each other as they retreated, one up the back of a tree, one quickly up the creek and the last one hunkered down in the weeds before they all disappeared from sight. 

   It is funny what adrenaline does to our human brain. While I almost forgot that my camera was in my hand, Janice kept thinking, "Raccoon! What's  a raccoon? What's a raccoon?" Her mind grappled with whether or not to tell her feet to run.  We thought it funny.  The raccoons might not have seen the humor.

    We eventually regained our composure and continued our walk, having no idea how long the trail was. Most of it skirts the wetland pond.  Every so often  there are short paths where you can walk out to view the pond. At one point we crossed a wooden footbridge where a small creek empties into the pond.  Here we saw several muscles resting on the mud.

We then continued walking the day became hotter.  Poison ivy densely lines the trail, in some places waist high.  I would suggest wearing long pants and a long-sleeve shirt then taking a good, soapy shower afterwards. I had on shorts and anklet socks.  When we came to the observation deck we stayed land bound for several of the boards were broken or rotting through.  From reading a newspaper article written in July of 2010 I see that at that time boards were replaced at this same observation deck.  Obviously a wetland is a hard place to keep wood from decaying. It takes many hours of building and upkeep to provide public access to such wetlands.  I am thankful for the folks who have the time, inclination and willingness to do this work.

At the end/beginning of the trail is  a small meadow area.

This woman-made meadow area includes native plants and is a nice addition to the Kroger Wetland project, inviting insects to visit. The day we were there many species of butterflies joined us though they didn't seem to notice a prominent Butterfly weed.

We circled the meadow once more and happily returned to our car where the air conditioning was quickly turned on.

Cheers to all the people who have donated and worked to make the Kroger Wetlands accessible to the rest of us. 

Masked Intruder

I have become used to the skunk visiting our bird feeder each evening. I usually leave out just enough seed for her to get a few bites.  Last night, though, we had a new visitor. It was about  a half hour before dark, seemingly too early for most nocturnal animals.  I think that this raccoon must have been trying to beat the skunk to the bird seed, deciding that Jeff and I weren't too much of a risk compared to the yummy sunflower seeds.  The coon will have to rethink the whole risk theory if it repeats this night's shenanigans. After we watched it awhile, Jeff pecked on the window hoping to get me a better camera pose. 

The coon, who was already a bit spooked from dogs barking in the distanced, ran away.  That is where our troubles began. Evidently, since its last visit, Jeff had blocked up holes the lattice that covered the space under our porch. 

Our porch wraps around the house, front to back and through the years has accumulated numerous small holes where rabbits or whatever have chewed through to enjoy the dry shelter under the porch.  Lately, we have noticed the skunk using the porch as refuge whenever we have surprised it. We figured we were only one step away from the skunk taking up residence under our porch. We just couldn't let that happen so Jeff blocked the holes with bricks.  Well, the raccoon evidently didn't know or remember about the bricks.  What we didn't realize was that while we were peering out the bedroom window wondering  to where the raccoon had gone, it was busy breaking through a new spot in the light wooden lattice. I eventually decided to go out and see if I could see any sign of the raccoon in the back yard or garden. I must have surprised it as it was coming back out from under the porch to give the bird feeder another try. It then ran around the side of the porch away from me.  When I caught up with it, the coon had a hold of the lattice and was hurriedly trying to break off a piece near one of the blocked holes. I scared it so that the animal dropped the lattice making a loud "Slap!" as it snapped back against the porch support without breaking. The raccoon then ran off for the woods where it belongs.

The Persimmon Tree

When night falls, the fields and woods team with a dark world barely concerned with the day. The nocturnal mammels quietly go about their business of living.  In scant light they gather their nuts, seeds and bugs.  From the small holes dug by the busy skunk to the cropped spruce trees and azelias of the whitetail deer, the night life continues while we hunker inside, watch our televisions or sleep, cozy under our covers.

The persimmons are well ripened on the tree next to the gravel lane, down the hill. Several evenings when returning home after dark, I have seen deer at the bottom of the tree.  With tender lips they retrieve the soft, mishapen persimmons from the grass where the fruit has fallen.  The deer compete on the ground with a small possom while up in the tree a raccoon rests in a fork of branches nearly at treetop, just above a dark possom who travels from limb to limb gathering the sweet morsels.

My father and mother once made persimmon bread which is much like banana bread as I remember it.  Persimmons were an important part of our ancestors' diet.  Full of calories and vitamins, persimons could be made into breads, puddings, or jellies which would be welcome during the winter. One advantage of the persimmon is that it doesn't ripen until late in the season.  It's ripening depends on the shorter length of day as fall heads toward winter.  Many people wrongly believe that the fruit depend upon a strong frost to become sweet.  This is an understandable misconception since frost usually comes the same time that the days become shorter. If you have ever eaten a persimmon before it is ripe, you will not soon forget the experience.  Take a moment right now to slide your tongue around your mouth and teeth.  Notice that slick smooth feeling? Well shortly after eating a persimmon, that same mouth will be left with a rough dry surface many explain as losing a layer of skin.  "Pucker" was invented to describe the feeling after eating persimmon before it's time.  They are best eaten sugared and cooked..  Each small fruit has a seed which must be removed.  All this makes it more likely that we will eat an appled rather than a persimmon.  Before the days of grocery stores stocked with fruit and vegetables in all

seasons, people counted on what they could gather and stock up to get them through the winter with good health. Now, persimmon jams and breads seem like too much trouble but everyone should try it once just so you know that you could if you needed to.

Before I headed out last night, I was very careful to check the yard so as not to be surprised with my friend,  Skunk. Remember last week how I wrote that she was out each morning and early evening?  I should have remembered that Saturday night.  Jeff and I exploded through the front door to go to our car at the end of the sidewalk.  Jeff had already locked the door when he urgently, yet quietly, began telling me to quickly come back and get into the house.  I was impressed with his dexterity as he unlocked the door without dropping the keys. I had walked to within a couple feet of Skunk who was stealthily cleaning up sunflower seeds from under the bird feeder.  We then turned on the outside light (should have thought of this sooner). As we stood blockaded in our doorway, we thought of how we were going to explain why we didn't make it to the church game night.  Skunk seem unconcerned with our intrusion.  So far the air smelled fine.  We then began calmly telling her to, "Shoo" gradually speaking louder with no alarm in our voices.  She slowly left the area, far enough away that we could "bravely" escape to our car and drive away. 

Now, back to last night and the trip to the persimmon tree. I wanted a photo of the raccoon and possom in the tree.  I decided that the animals would be less frightened by the car than by me walking to the tree.  Also, that would give them less time to decide to run away rather than freezing in place.  With Jeff driving, I stood up in the back seat, through the moon roof, camera ready.  With the flashlight directed to the tree, I started shooting photos as small round eyes watched me, perhaps wondering why I would waste my time shining lights when there were so many persimmons to gather. The raccon was not keen on having his picture taken.  He knew the mask would not be enough to keep him from being recognized.  As you can see from the photo, this raccoon was not too practiced in the art of hiding.  While I circled the tree trying to get a good shot, he hid behind a small branch.  I could almost hear that little raccoon voice saying, "She can't see me.  She can't see me."

The day, as well as the night provided some interesting sights yesterday. The sunflower seeds scattered on the stoop attracted a variety of birds and squirrels.  While lying on my stomach to photograph a chubby red squirell, I was surprised by a gray squirrel who decided that it was time to try to get inside the house.  He jumped at the window, ran along the door ledge, slipping and sliding as he repeatedly tried to go through glass.

Out of the Fog

The dry autumn weather has been broken by a light rain lasting all night and even now continues as a drizzle surrounded by fog. The fog and oncoming cold do not entice me to stay out long. The mourning doves are still hunkered down in the spruce tree waiting for hunger to draw them out.  I stepped outside just long enough to catch one before it ventured out.  I also couldn't resist a photo of the trees behind the barn, almost hidden within the fog.  The rest of the day will be spent inside catching up on work that needs to be done and checking out the bird feeders.

It has been a good fall for watching the feeders.  Evidently the forest mast is low this year, meaning that there are not enough nuts, seeds and fruits for the wildlife.  In Wood County we have noticed how much the squirrels are traveling.  Many have ended up as road kill while searching farther afield for storage food.  At our home the squirrels are somewhat segretated.  The red or fox squirrels live in the woods in front of the house and the gray ones live behind the house.  This year I have seen both running across the large grassy expanse in search of food.  Our two feeders contain sunflower seeds. One feeder is somewhat squirrel proof while the other is more like a squirrel fast-food restaurant.  The red and gray squirrels eat together, side by side, returning to their own territory each time I venture out to "shoo" them away. While they are enjoyable to watch, it is too expensive to feed them.  At one point I have had five at once accompanied by four chipmunks.  The squirrels empty the feeder in about an hour - the same feeder that will feed the birds for several days. 

At night there are even more visitors to the feeder.  The neighborhood skunk arives about dark blatently ignoring our lights and noise. By bedtime the possom has come and gone, followed later by a local raccoon. Late in the night the deer stand on hind feet and add the seeds to their diet. The raccoon and skunk are a bit of a rabies concern.  I once read that you should assume that all skunks have rabies.  I don't know how true that is, but it probably isn't a good idea to encourage them to hang out so close to the house.  I do like that skunk though.  Early last summer we saw her heading across the field in the early evenings accompanied by several babies. I admire her brazen confidence. And she is beautiful.  Really she is and without a bit of stink so far.  I have to remind myself to be cautious and not mistake confidence for tameness.

In the daylight chipmonks are, by far, the cutest visitors.  They are wound so tightly that that bursting seems to be a means of transportation.  One pair comes from near our compost pile behind the house.  I've watched it run under the back spruce trees across the back yard, under the porch then out the front of the porch to the feeder. Their vacuume cleaning action serves to fill their cheek pockets until I am sure they will explode.  Just before exploding, the chipmonk bursts back under the porch then out the back and to wherever the sunflower seed storage facility is.

The most exciting visitor this year has been a dangerous one. One Sunday morning Jeff and I observed a perigrine falcon in the maple tree watching while a house finch huddled very still under the eave of the feeder. After about 15 minutes, the finch tried to escape, drawing the falcon and becoming its breakfast. The falcon has returned a few times causing the yard to become very quiet and still.