Winter Comes
Chickadee of strong mind, and more...
The cold bite of winter came quickly. I saw a few snowflakes on Sunday and Monday mornings. I’ve had my Carharrt winter bibs and jacket on for the past three mornings. Normally I like to take my time walking to take photos, look around, and record birds, but the first half hour of my walk has gone pretty fast until I warmed up over the past few days. I’ve ordered some touch-screen gloves. I hope they get here soon…
Just last week mushrooms were popping up everywhere. Daytime highs were in the 60’s and 70’s. I shot the lower photo at about 4:00 a.m. with my headlamp on.
This was an early morning out and about.
Black-capped chickadees are everywhere! Or maybe just because so many other birds have left for the season their voices are more pronounced.
The black-capped chickadee is widely distributed throughout North America, ranging from the northern United States to southern Canada and all the way up to Alaska and Yukon. It has a distinct appearance characterized by its black cap and "bib" with white sides. The black-capped chickadee is a social bird and forms flocks in the winter that include other bird species. The bird is well known for its vocalizations, including its fee-bee call and its chick-a-dee-dee-dee call, from which it derives its name.
The Winged: An Upper Missouri River Ethno-ornithology reports that chickadees are known for their wisdom in Native American culture. The chickadee was the medicine bird of Plenty-Coups, a noted warrior. Plenty-Coups learned that the chickade is small but wise.
“Listen, Plenty-Coups, said the voice, “In that tree is the lodge of the Chickadee. He is least in strength but strongest of mind among his kind. He is willing to work for wisdom. The Chickadee-person is a good listener. Nothing escapes his ears, which he has sharpened by constant use. Whenever others are talking together of their success or failures, there you will find the Chickadee-person listening to their words. But in all his listening he tends to his own business. He never intrudes, never speaks in strange company, and yet never misses a chance to learn from others. He gains success and avoids failures by learning how others succeeded or failed, and without great trouble to himself. There is scarcely a lodge he does not visit, hardly a person he does not know, and yet everybody likes him, because he minds his own business or pretends to.
The lodges of countless Bird-people were in that forest when the Four Winds charged it. Only one is left unharmed, the lodge of the Chickadee-person. Develop your body, but do not neglect your mind, Plenty-coups. It is in the mind that leads a man to power, not strength of body.”
Here is a hyper-lapse of leaves falling. Notice how far you can see without the leaves on the underbrush.
The only tree with yellow leaves along the fencerow made this beautiful mark on the path.
I heard a chirping sound and looked up, but couldn’t see anything. What do you think it is? A squirrel?
I’ve stood on this overlook maybe a thousand times, but didn’t notice this drawing of a cat until a couple of weeks ago. Just one more reminder we often don’t see what’s right under our noses!
If you enjoy Cedar Creek Nature Notes, I encourage you to subscribe to my friend Larry Stone’s “Listening to the Land.” It’s fantastic. Larry has forgotten more than I will ever know about our outdoor world.
For another glimpse of the wonders of the Iowa outdoors, Diane Porter’s My Gaia is another Substack I enjoy. It’s full of observations on nature and is ripe with wisdom.
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yes, a squirrel. nice piece as usual.
Gotta love chickadees! They can handle winter better than some of us whimps!