On the Trails Again

 I got out into the bush this afternoon. JG loaded me and my portable oxygen into the Kubota (yes, I will explain that) and we growled off up to what I think of as the back hundred. Our property is sort of in the form of a fat L, with our house right at the point of it. A lot of the most interesting stuff is in the upright part of the L – the beaver ponds, the sugar bush, some of the best bush. And so we mostly go that way. The ‘back’ part has rougher trails and fewer of them. We have cut a good lot of firewood off this part and had it logged once, but we visit it less often. When we skied, we had a loop that took us down the middle of the bush, out onto the beaver pond and back through this part, but in summer unless we are cutting firewood, it gets visited less.

Anyway, that is where we went this afternoon in glorious sunshine with not a bug to be seen. It is still very early spring here but there were tiny hepatica in many places

and I spotted one or two dog-toothed yellow violets and some Dutchman’s breeches in bud. The trillium leaves are just unfolding; when the trillium flowers are fully in bloom, the black flies are also here in numbers I shudder to think of. But, today, we zoomed along unbothered by anything biting.

What is less wonderful is that these less travelled trails have a lot of brush down on them from winter breakdown and the high winds we have had lately. Our ED clears trails as she walks, and she loves her walks, but she is almost always on the upright section, so there was quite a bit of brush down. JG has a dear little battery-powered chainsaw and he got out of the Kubota from time to time and chopped branches out of our way. 

Here is a ‘before’ shot of the trail and a second photo of the man and his instrument clearing it away.

The hepatica are tiny. They hide, almost, from a casual eye. But if you look carefully, they are there in number, pale-pinkly petalled and perfect, a harbinger of glories to come. 

And there are buds on almost everything, the red maples are flowering and the birds are singing their hearts out morning and evening. I heard a really unusual song late this afternoon after we got home, and am a bit frustrated trying to locate a bird with a call that sounds that way. I suspect a northern mockingbird is trying out its repertoire, sometimes, when I hear something brand new.

As for the getting off the leash, not anytime soon, as far as I can tell. And my GP is now back to worrying away at a sleep apnea diagnosis that, if accurate, will add yet another layer of misery. It is hard, a lot of the time, to be motivated to do the work that I know is what is needed. However, once bug season is upon us, what better occupation indoors can I have than an exercise program? Um. Don’t answer that.

Here is a picture of a little Kubota utility a lot like ours.

Diesel engine, noisy, but it will go almost anywhere and not get stuck. (Much – I have stories!) And JG can store all his trail clearing tools in the back, along with my oxygen pump.