Songbirds Barely Singing (Blog 401)

One of the most fascinating things about songbirds is how their singing changes over the course of the spring and summer. For both the yearlong residents and the migrants who come to breed, April and May are intense periods of sometimes practically non-stop singing.

But in June with mating over and the young beginning to leave the nest, the songs of the males begin to be heard less and less. Birds, of course, don't sing because they are happy but to attract and keep mates and to announce their presence and defend their territory.

By July, most birds have stopped singing. For example, this week Elaine and I spent one night at the home of Bill and Bonnie Amshey in Fairfax County. I went walking right after dawn broke, and only heard two birds singing: a chipping sparrow and a great-crested flycatcher. Even the red-eyed vireos weren't singing.

Getting Ready for Virginia and West Virginia 2018 Bow Season (Blog 400)

Today, I amped up the preparation for the upcoming bow season in Virginia and West Virginia. Elaine and I drove to our Monroe County land early this morning. We drove down the gravel roadway to the creek bottom, then I used a mower and scythe to prepare a pathway through the field to the woods.

I then used the scythe to cut our shooting lanes around my ladder stand. Later, I checked the stand itself to make sure all straps were still functional and safe. Meanwhile, Elaine had found a blackberry patch along the logging road that leads through our 94 acres. She busied herself with picking a quart of blackberries which turned into a cobbler for dinner. All in all, a really good start.

In a couple of weeks, I will put up  a tree stand in Roanoke County where the Urban Archery Season opens on September 1.

Locavore Walk, Talk, and Meal for the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy

Today, Elaine and I presented a Locavore Workshop for the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy at our Botetourt County home and woodlot, and we had a wonderful time. Six people attended, and Elaine did a presentation on our house being partially powered by solar energy, and I talked about raising chickens, fruit trees, and a garden and how we gathered wild foods and performed habitat improvement projects.

Elaine prepared a fantastic lunch with venison meatballs, an egg dish with chives, onions, and tomatoes from our garden, zuke bread with of course zukes from our garden, and for dessert we had wild blackberry smoothies from blackberries gathered by the participants. Just a wonderful time for Elaine and me.

Locavore Meal on a Summer Day (Blog 398)

One of the best things about summer is writing in the morning and then going gathering later in the day. Today, I wrote for two hours, then gathered two quarts of wineberries and a quart of wild blackberries.

Then I went to our two Rhode Island Red runs to gather eggs, made a stop at the garden to gather cherry tomatoes, chives, and zukes and dined on deer burgers for lunch. Fresh tomatoes from the garden make any sandwich better.

I did business-type writing related things after lunch, took a nap, and prepared for dinner and a game of Scrabble with Elaine. Not a bad day at all.