Over the River and to the Woods

Late this afternoon, I crossed the river in my mucking boots and made my way through the marsh to our dry land beyond, to our rear property line, which I have not visited in a couple of months. The temperature was in the low sixties, so I was hoping for snakes.

After I passed the tree blind and entered the marsh beyond, I saw where someone had eaten a Wood Duck. Owls and hawks are the most likely suspects, but a fox or bobcat might also make a lucky lunge. I was and still am puzzled by the absence of head, feet, and wings. Does the predator dismantle the duck and then fly or walk to a place to pluck and eat? And what of all the bones? I have much to learn.

Two of the photos show part of our hardwood forest on the far side of the marsh. The oldest trees seem to be sixty or seventy years old, so all this was logged over probably in the 40s or 50s.

The plant with the pretty red stems I will identify when I can. For the time-being, I just want to record its presence and to note that it is growing abundantly throughout the forest. The photo of the open park-like area will be chest-high in saw-grass in a few weeks and bucks will rake their racks ahead of them to clear a path. The top photo shows our island. I wanted to order a palm tree to plant on it, but Alison said some unkind things about my mental abilities showing my age.