Walks in the Woods

Sunday night

Preston W. and I were walking in a wooded area near a creek, and the ground was littered with brown leaves; it was fall. I was telling him that I'd seen a lot of snakes lately, when I stopped and said, "There's one now." I stepped down into a slight ravine and pointed out a fairly thick snake that was gray, with some reddish markings. I said, "That's a corn snake." Preston was still on higher ground, but bent down for a better view. I touched the snake and he wriggled away, into a hole. Having a quick look around, I said, there's two more." These were smaller and thinner snakes, both black, though one had white stripes. I reached out and touched them, too, before they quickly hid themselves. None of the snakes were poisonous.

A short time later, I was walking through the same area when I came upon an older gentleman with white hair who owned a home nearby. I told him about the snakes we'd seen, particularly the large gray one. The man said, "Oh, my dog knows that one. The two of them are friends."

Later, my wife and I were walking along the same path in springtime, and we were looking at bird's nests. She found one in an unusual location -- in the base of a rose bush that was growing in a red clay pot, left along the path. She said, "Look; I think I've found something here." I had a look for myself, and could see three tiny, fluffy gray birds, almost unrecognizable, because they were only about an inch or two long, and were huddled together. I said "Why do you think they made their nest here, in this exposed place? Maybe they thought the thorns would protect them." I stood up and looked into a nearby tree and said, "I've got one, too." A robin was perched on a branch close to her nest. She was eyeing me warily. I said, "You're OK. [I'm not here to hurt you]." Just then, one of her neighbors, a black and white woodpecker with red markings on its head, came along her branch and bumped into her by mistake.

*****

I think that this particular wooded path is based on a bend in the trail that I used to take from my neighborhood down to the creek. It's in the area down below Old Dominion Drive, between my parents' home in Arlington and the Chesterbrook Shopping Center in McLean.

It's springtime, and the backyard has come to life; the cherry tree is in full bloom, the dogwoods are about to pop, and the birds are out and about. I was fortunate enough to see a rare visitor a few days ago; a yellow bellied sapsucker flew into our elm tree.