Category: The land

Promontories


Ken Ilgunas on Pilot Mountain. Click on image for larger version.

Ken has been here for much of the summer. His next adventure will be to the British Isles and Ireland, starting in September.

Those of us who live in Stokes County like to remind people that Stokes County has its own little mountain range — the Saura Mountains. These mountains have some excellent promontories. There is Hanging Rock State Park near Danbury, and Pilot Mountain, which is in Surry County just over the Stokes County line. The photo above was taken at Pilot Mountain.

All the varmints are eating well

All up and down the food chain, everybody has eaten well this summer. This is because of the generous rain and the lushness it has produced. I have never seen so many rabbits. The vole population has recovered from its winter minimum. One sees deer twins all over the place. There are lots of wild turkeys with lots of little ones. The finches are in the meadows, feasting on seed. There are oodles of bugs and butterflies, terrapins, and baby snakes (which I see only out on the paved road while walking).

I will never forget the summer of 2013.

Grrr…


Click on image for high-resolution version

I thought my day lilies weren’t looking as lush this year as they ought to look. This afternoon, I caught this doe eating the blooms right off the stalk like they were popcorn.

Whose hobbit hole is this?

Today while mowing the grass, I found the home of a new neighbor. The burrow is only about 20 feet from the side door of the abbey, in a steep bank above a newly planted deciduous magnolia tree. It looks just like a rabbit hole. But my understanding is that the eastern cottontail rabbit, which is the common rabbit here, does not burrow. Rather, they commonly live in brush piles or other homes that they find rather than build themselves.

I’ve seen many groundhog holes, but this hole is too small for groundhogs. So now I am puzzled. I don’t know if there are burrowing rabbits in these parts. There are rabbits here, that’s for sure, because I see them in the yard every day. But I’ve always assumed that they’re cottontail rabbits that live in the brush pile down in the thicket.

Whoever made the hole is very tidy. The landing is very neat, and they’ve spread dry glass on the floor into the burrow.