Comments on: Field Notes #10

By: Patricia

Patricia — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 22:23:17 +0000

Now that you mention it, the shadows do appear to move faster than the birds. I recall watching a procession of turkey vultures fly overhead in a narrow side canyon. In the air, their movements were sedate–I don’t remember a single wing beat among the mob of them–but the shadows crisscrossing and running over rocks and the rise opposite where I stood seemed much more intense and energetic.

I’ve said this before: I believe turkey vultures put their shadows to use, deliberately striking still creatures on the ground to see if they move. Many times, especially out on this particular cliff when I’m lying down basking, a turkey vulture shadow has crossed my body. It happens so often it feels deliberate.

By: greenfrog

greenfrog — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:02:46 +0000

Your spring seems like Earth passing through water from earth toward air.

I once watched for an hour the shadows of two ravens playing on a rust-shaded cliff face, as they flew and climbed and fell and chased and fled in the sunlight before the cliff.

The dance of shadow over the uneven surface of the cliff moved faster than the birds, themselves.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:30:07 +0000

Thanks, Jon, for reading this long, long post. I very much appreciate your dropping by WIZ.

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:09:56 +0000

I really enjoyed reading this. You make very good use of imagery, and I can definitely relate since I LOVE the outdoors as well. Thanks!

By: Patricia

Patricia — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:53:32 +0000

Addendum. Yesterday, no ants. Today temperatures climbed into the low 60s and the bug bloom began. Seeing winged termite queens tumbling through the air, I sent my daughter out to find their sipapu–their place of emergence. She reported high drama in the yard: subterranean termite reproductive queens were erupting from the ground not far from the back porch and red ants had launched a raid on them, catching them on the ground before they launched as well as dragging them out of the entrance to their chambers. Also, the ants were emerging with worker termites clamped in their mandibles.

My daughter discovered another emergence site closer to the porch. The ants found this one in short order, too, and I made it down in time to watch them dragging off a few late comers to the surface. The ants don’t like the termites’ wings and pull them off before dragging the insects to their own caverns.

Savage stuff, even if it is only bugs.