i like to take my morning coffee out on the deck. if i find myself out there before 7:30 i usually see deer foraging for breakfast or resting. this morning i had the good fortune to see the young buck and his mother lying down in the shady thicket. one yard over, a skinny red fox darted along the fence down to the stream and then out of sight.
the chipmunk family was cavorting in back of my neighbors above-ground pool. two chickadees were chasing each other in circles around the almost empty bird feeder and a couple crows flew in just to make a racket.

i ran for my camera, but my attempts at getting a good clear picture of the deer didn’t work out so well. although i love my little digital, it just isn’t up to the job of taking nature shots over long distance or in shady conditions. i need to resurrect my old bottom of the line pentax and see if i can get some decent photos of the animals who live in the gully.

yesterday, i was sitting at my desk, doing what i do, when one of the librarians came rushing up to me. she told me i had to go see something. we walked out of the building, up to the sidewalk, judy checking the ground. then we saw it. a very large bright green caterpillar with an orange face and butt, adorned all over her head and back with large black and orange horns. she was about 5 or 6 inches long and a good 1/2 round and fiercely beautiful.

i got very excited and told judy to go get a box. i didn’t want the poor thing to get smooshed by a student or a car. we decided to take it to the biology department. now, i figured that the wonderful experts over there would take a look and nonchalantly declare it something unpronounceably common. instead, we got, “what the hell is that?” “where’s the entomologist?” “eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww,” “does it bite?” “that’s not real! is it real?” and the like. they decided to take it to the insectorium to keep it safe, since by this time, the poor thing was totally stressed and beginning to shrivel.

when i got back to my desk, i googled, “entomology caterpillar monster” and found that my precious worm was a hickory horned devil, totally harmless despite its fierce appearance.

then today….
going back to work after lunch at home, not three blocks from my house, i almost ran over a great blue heron! she was standing in the middle of the road. i stopped. she looked at me and then she flew off. i had to sit there for a good long time to collect myself.

a great blue heron! in the fuckin middle of suburbia! berwyn! just 20 miles from philly for goddess sake!

what does it mean when a great blue heron crosses your path?

i waited with great expectation for the cicadas to arrive, but they failed to grace berwyn with their presence. moogie did his best to irradicate them in baltimore as my first son told me. i heard they held a concert down the road in phoenixville.

and so, when i went outside to smoke my last cigarette for the night, i was gladdened and amazed to hear them singing down in the gulley.

i guess they were busy elsewhere
til tonight

ohappyday
ohappynight
myheartwarms

so, it appears that the deck railing out back is the millipede mating grounds of berwyn. looking forward to a population explosion in the basement.

at least they’re quiet about it.

my banana plants out on the deck have become a haven for orb spiders…spider condo. just witnessed a bit of a tiff between two spiders. apparently, spiders don’t enjoy visiters on their webs.

there are crows nesting in our gully out back. the other day, the old man was conducting lessons for the younguns. he sounded just like this very old, boring history professor i had in college. he went on and on, not tolerating any interruption. a young crow was complaining bitterly, but it got him nowhere. discussion was not encouraged.