Valentine’s day may be just a memory of roses and chocolate for some; however, love is still in the air for the raccoon. Raccoon romance reconnaissance is underway as males look for love. Mating for this species is at its peak in February, spurred on with the increase in daylight that has been noticeable over the past few weeks.

“We are happier in many ways when we are old than when we were young. The young sow wild oats. The old grow sage.” – Winston Churchill

Whether you cultivate wisdom or herbs, make sure you grow sage. Sage has been elemental in my kitchen of late: two snowstorms and many big pots of soups later, I am happy to have this culinary collaborator and mighty medicinal plant in my pantry and in my life.

Last weekend danger lurked around every corner. Sharpshooters waited ominously for just the right time to strike but luckily the weather warmed and the threat melted away.

The blizzard of 2013 left us more than just a winter wonderland. As temperatures slowly increased, glimmering, glamorous icicles formed on the edges of buildings and vehicles, causing me to consider wearing a hard hat to accompany my scarf and gloves.

Somehow I missed it. How did it happen that this naturalist was unaware of the rabbit-repeating tradition?

This convention is completely new to me. A friend recently shared that her husband says “rabbit, rabbit” on the first day of each month as soon as he wakes up. When uttered on the first it is believed to bring a month of good luck. Even better is using this phrase on your birth month, as even more good fortune will be yours, they say!

I am seeing red. And shades of hot pink along the shoreline and in shallow pockets along the marsh that edges Felix Neck. Sound the alarm, because this sighting is a true red scare for those in the know.

Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, "Every wall is a door." His friend Henry David Thoreau noted that “Deep are the foundations of sincerity. Even stone walls have their foundation below the frost.” In either case, neither of them could be more right — about stone walls or sincerity.