What’s going on out on the land?
Another Question Book Post
I was talking with a colleague about howling at their farm and I got to wondering if Coyotes howl while hunting? It seems a little counter intuitive for me as I am always trying to get quiet when I am out tracking with folks. We are trying our best to sneak up on animals and avoid giving away our positions. Perhaps because our eyes are our dominant sense we don’t need to rely too heavily on sound to navigate with others, but what about Coyotes?
More from Star Carr
Star Carr is a Mesolithic/middle stone age archeological site found in what is now North Yorkshire in England. The site was likely inhabited a few centuries after the end of the last major ice age of the Pleistocene, at the beginning of the warmer, post-glacial Holocene 11,500 yrs ago, around 9300-8500 BCE (about 800 years of occupation at the site), when Britain still attached to rest Europe by a landbridge (folks would have been able to walk from Star Carr to Denmark, or Northern Germany until about 6,200 BCE).
I wrote previously a short piece about the skull and antler pieces found at Star Carr and since have been so intrigued I wanted to learn more. So I am writing this post just to help organize what I know so far.
Tracking through the Poplars
I was out at the University of Guelph Arboretum tracking, looking high and low along the edges of small area bordered by White Pines, Eastern White Cedars, and within a small Poplar grove. Around the periphery of the grove, there were human and domestic dog trails boxing in the Poplars with only a little traffic weaving between them.
I skirted along the edges, ducking under the Pines looking for signs of whomever might be living in the space, or at least passing through looking for food.
Rock Dove Kill site?
I was on my morning walk along the riverside when up the path I came across a large pile of feathers.
I love how a simple walk in the morning, just to get out of the house can turn into a chance to really look at the details of a killsite and study the gaits of the possible predators, and look at the structure of a feather. What amazing teachers these wild neighbours are.
Tracking along the Eramosa River, Jan 17, 2021
Today I went out to find Beaver sign which a friend had told me about yesterday evening. He had seen what looked like a trail emerging from the river, heading up the bank and into the scrubby wooded edge on the far side of the river from a trail by his house and was thinking it was a Beaver. I had previously seen Beaver signs further up the river when I was out trailing an Opossum a few weeks ago and it would be likely that the Beavers up there would come down to his neck of the woods. I thought I would go and check it out.
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit killsite on the way to work
The blood was still bright and vibrant when I took the photo. That's what first caught my eye while walking by, the living red against the white. Tufts of brindly hair strewn about the edge of the Staghorn Sumac grove, with lots of Rabbit pellets punctuating the bounding tracks through the snow.
I couldn't make it all out with the short time I had but I have a feeling the Coyotes were coming from the Southeast, making their way Northwest. More wild spaces Eastwise, and the city was behind me to the West. The Coyote tracks are often headed Westwise, flowing with the river.
Who are you? Trentepohlia Algae
A couple of days ago, I found sign of orange growth spreading across some tree bark. I didn’t know what it was but had seen it many times before and had never figured it out. Finally I did. I wanted a place to deposit everything I am learning about Trentepohlia so I figured I would make a blog post and update as I learn more. Here’s what I have so far.
Question book 4 : What do the mating habits of a Grey Squirrel look like?
When I was out I came across some Grey Squirrel tracks with blood beside them. I first thought this might be the same sort of preestrous cycle for the Squirrel…
It got me wondering about the reproductive cycles of one of the most common conspicuous mammal species in my area. When do Grey Squirrels mate? How many partners do they have? Do they mate in the trees, on the ground? How many little Squirrelings do they have? Are they pups, kits, kittens?
So I figured I would look some of this up and try and write it out.
Tracking Journal Jan 01, 2021
There were familiarities and mysteries while out tracking with Carolyn. She asked if I wanted to go check out a some Hemlocks she knew and I, as per usual, was down. She picked me up and on route she asked if we should go look at the Beavers she’d been visiting with her family. Again, I was down.
Tracking Journal, Dec 30, 2020
I went back to the spot along the river trail where I encountered the Opossum trail a few weeks ago hoping that I may find the sign of something or someone out in the newly fallen snow. I did find something…
Tracking Journal : December 25, 2020
I heard Coyotes howling as I walked up to the forest. Maybe two or three, but the way their songs work, it sounds more like 5 or 6. I only was able to record the last little bit as I didn’t have my phone out and really wasn’t expecting it.
When I got to the mouth of the forest I saw some Canine tracks coming in from the field to the East, onto the road, and then tuck quickly back into the woods. I noted them, and then continued in and onto the main trail, only stopping to introduce myself to the woods and announce my intentions.
Imagining the Possibilities Headdresses of a European Shaman**
I am curious about, inspired by, these headdresses not only because they are beautiful mythic artifacts of prehistoric connection with the landbase, but also in light of the white appropriations of indigenous headdresses here in North America; Why not offer white-encultured, euro-descended folks something that may have more meaning and connection to their own lineages and ancestries? How can we come to know our own ancestral regalia?
Tracking journal December 13, 2020
I got out of the car and began making my way to the woods. There are some areas on the way where I am sure it would be preferred I not go, but this was the fastest, safest way so I was quick and discrete. As I climbed a bit of a gravel hill I got to the slope of the hill, where one side of the property is bounded by a Cedar tree line. As I came down I was looking lightly but most just making my way back towards the woods, when I came across a set canid of tracks.
Tracking journal for December 5, 2020. Along Eramosa River.
I took the normal trail I usually take, but when I came to the Northward split I decided I would take it, just to see if anything new stuck out for me along the way. And, of course something did.
I stepped on the first few tracks before I even saw them, but I luckily did look down with enough time that I didn’t crush the whole trail. The snow was just crusty enough from thawing a little bit the day before and then freezing overnight that these tracks were stable enough to guess that I may be able to follow this trail for a while.
In search of the Wild Heart of the Forest
Now is the time of year when things get dark and wet and quiet in the forest. When the tall dead stalks of the Joe Pye sway in the wind hoping to loose some seed in the blustery wind. When the mud is thick along the trails and the fallen leaves, once green, then yellow, turn to brown and black. This is when I search for the Wild Heart of the Forest.
I go out to sit, and listen. To the wind, the river and my own breathing, harmonizing with the chilling world. I go out to wander, and look. To the tracks, the trees, and the stars peering down from a distance unfathomable. I go out to be with the world, a wilder place than my home, a place I long to know more.
Exploring the Eramosa River Valley, Nov. 21, 2020
Today some pals and I went out for a couple of hours along the Eramosa River Valley. It’s always nice to explore the wilder edges of the common places we know, and even better with others. Others will see things I’d miss, and I may be able to contribute to the conversation with things I have been learning about. Together we get to know the land a little deeper, a little more thoroughly, every time we step out there.
Striving For Kithship
What is implied by Kithship? What do I mean by kith when I sing out the word with the kids in my classes? How does it relate to building intimacy and knowledge of the land?
It's hard as a settler to describe relationships with land, especially when striving for relationships that are better than the conventional ones of my ancestors. How do we create better relationships and how do we name those relationships in honest ways that acknowledge them while not claiming something that isn’t? More questions, but some small moves towards understand.
Red Tail Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis)
I love Red-Tailed Hawks (RTHA). They are commonly seen, in the midst of peak migration (mid November) and are pretty accessible birds to learn about. They hang out near people and fun to watch perched by the road, or soaring high above.
Here is a first species entry of, hopefully, many more to come. The Legendarium continues!
Snail trails on Birch
A lot of questions arise while looking at Snail feeding sign on a Birch tree at the Guelph Arboretum. Why Birch? Are they eating? How are they eating? What is the direction of travel?
Sometimes the answers are out there, and it’s just about looking a little deeper to figure it out.
Who are you? Fungal Edition
There are many beautiful things in the forest. But sometimes the small things catch your eye. This post is all about two beautiful Blue Fungi I’ve seen recently. I am trying to write up what I learn so I can share it and keep it handy for the future. The more of us know, the better off we are.