All Outdoors
The world can be divided into two categories: The haves and have-nots.
The same is the case in nature and, more specifically, in mammals. In the group of haves, you will find many species of primates (but not spider monkeys), rodents (minus the lagomorphs or rabbit family), moles, shrews, hedgehogs, bears, cats and dogs, walruses, seals, sea lions, raccoons, otter, bats, weasel and skunk, among others. These species can hold their heads high.
We all have a cross to bear, though some of us hide ours better than others.
Pinkletinks wear theirs on their backs. The spring peepers, one of the Island’s favorite harbingers of spring, can be identified by the dark cross on their backs. Their scientific name, Hyla crucifer, translates into “one that bears a cross.” X really does marks the spot to identify this favorite frog.
Todd McGrain, artist, advocate and film maker, never wants us to forget the species that we have lost. His film, The Lost Bird Project, which screens this weekend at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, memorializes five birds that are gone forever.
Rick Bausman, the well-known Island musician, will not be the only one diligently drumming this spring. His penchant for percussion is shared by other creatures that have their own rhyme and reasons for rhythm.
While Rick drums for fun, wildlife drums for food. Woodpeckers may be the first bird to spring to mind as tapping tricksters, yet there are other animals that drum the dirt rather than the trees for their treat. Pounding the ground causes vibrations that bring earthworms to the surface.
It is a strange-looking plant growing in a wetland beside the road — a three to four-foot stump that is maybe three-quarter inches in diameter all the way from its base to its tip, and completely covered with a dense layer of many small thorns. These stumps appear to be broken off, but on closer look the upper tip of each stump is one large terminal bud that may be damaged.
For plant lovers, the witching hour is nigh.
The wild women of yore will not be flying in on their broomsticks, though it will soon be a time to appreciate a little bit of nature’s magic.