Friday, April 22, 2022

Trains And Trees And Truths


I took a fairly short walk around the neighborhood today and I don't know if it's an usually gorgeous spring or if I've forgotten how beautiful spring is here or if for whatever reason I'm just more aware of it this year. Whatever the reason, my mind is being constantly blown every time I'm outside or look outside. I could lie in a hammock under the magnolia all day long just looking up at that blue sky through the shiny green leaves, listening to the birds, watching the chickens scratch around me. 

The first thing I did on my walk was to take more pictures of the FDG site. My across-the-street neighbor has called the guy at the environmental permitting place too and he's definitely sending someone out to look at it. It hasn't rained here in what? A week? And look at this.


That's the south end of the property where the water is flowing in from where there's standing water almost all the time and definitely now. 


All right. I know. I KNOW! I'm obsessed! Yes, I sort of am. 
Ooh-boy.

When I was walking down Old Lloyd Road, a train went by and I got this picture right by the trash depot. 


You'd be surprised how much still gets transported by train these days. We generally have at least 2-3 go by a day. It runs right behind my house and as I have said before, the first night we spent here when the train woke me up from my sleep and I realized that the windows were rattling a little in their panes, I thought, "Oh dear god. What have I done?" 
I don't think it's woken me up since. 

Mr. Moon is home! He stopped on the way here and bought some shrimp and some crab and some crab claws. Stone crab. The best and their price reflects it. He only got a few and we're going to have those for supper and I made up some crab cake mixture with about half of the shelled claw meat he bought and I will cook them in the air fryer. The crab cake I got yesterday was sadly disappointing. Too little crab, too much bread product and it was sort of soggy. 
Harumph. 
It is very nice to have him home, my sweet man. I've caught him up on all the news that I hadn't already told him which was indicative of the fact that none of it was worth mentioning. He's laid eyes on Annie who is looking just fine. I really wonder if she has any memory at all of being pampered in baths and internally examined. I honestly doubt she does. It's not that I do not think that chickens aren't intelligent- I think they very much are. But it's their own native intelligence which is a very fine sort of intelligence to have. Whenever I hear someone say, "Chickens are so stupid," I am not only pissed off, I'm flabbergasted that someone would think that. Obviously, the humans who make that observation have never had chickens or if they have and still believe that, then they are not very observant, curious, or aware of the different types of intelligence displayed by all creatures. And plants, if you want to get right down to it. 

The other day when I was talking to Abraham, there was a log truck being loaded with the giant trunks of the pines that had been growing on that property, probably since Abraham was a boy. It sickened me, even though I am so very used to seeing trucks hauling the trunks of pines around here. Most of those, however, were planted pines, and these pines were native, growing where they'd sprung up. When I went around the corner and was walking past the cleared lot from the other side, there were two pines across the highway, rubbing together in the breeze, way, way up high. They made such a creaking noise with their rubbing that I could not help but stop and see where it was coming from. It struck me that they were sending out a warning to all of their kin. I had never heard that particular sound coming from pine trees before. I told myself that I was being a bit sentimental, a bit woo-woo, a bit, well, ridiculous. 
Myself told me that maybe I was and maybe I wasn't. 

Happy Friday.

Happy Earth Day. 

Love...Ms. Moon


22 comments:

  1. It bothers me too to see nature trashed and ignored. Too much of it around. Someone has to be aware enough to try and stop it.

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    1. I think we all feel so helpless in the face of even the county codes and land planning. What can _I_ do?
      But as with almost everything, enough of us can make a difference. That sounds so cliche.

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  2. I'm glad more people are getting on to the situation at FDG. Good.

    I'm glad you're having such a good spring this year. Or noticing it more, whichever it is. Good crab cakes, like those from Gunnings in Baltimore, are indescribably good. No resemblance to cheap ones with filler where there should be crab! your homemade will be great. Waves of envy from here.

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    1. The crab cakes were pretty darn fine and the air fryer made them nice and crispy on the outside.
      It is indeed a nice spring.

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  3. Crab cakes! I share Boud's envy. Enjoy them.

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  4. Trees talk, from the tipppy tops down to the roots. When a bad bug is about, some trees make a nasty dust on their leaves to repel them, and make sure enough is wafted on the wind to far away trees to know what's going on and start their repelling dust early.

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    1. I've read about these things. Remarkable but not truly surprising.

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  5. Trees do communicate with each other. I'm glad your hubby is home and glad Annie is feeling better. And you sound good too:)

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  6. Oh, to live where crab abounds. And, yes, as you have stated over and over so well, today was Earth Day.

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    1. Well, crab abounds but it ain't cheap! At least it's fresh.

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  7. No you wasn't. Those trees are mourning the loss of their kin and letting other trees know about it.
    I LOVE crab, but simply can't afford to buy any, once in a while I make a crab quiche with canned crabmeat, but not as often as I used to. Years ago when the kids were little we'd make crab curry, from blue swimmer crabs and serve it in the cleaned out shells.

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    1. I think you're right about the trees.
      Crab curry? Now that sounds good. Yes, crab is definitely a once-in-a-long-while treat. Stone crabs actually regenerate their claws after they've been removed which is pretty cool but I doubt they enjoy having to do that.

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  8. I was listening to a program on the World Service talking about research done on ancient woodlands and they said that forests communicate by bacteria in the soil. They also discovered that they talked in family groups, mother to daughter and so on. This only confirmed to me something that I have always suspected. I am lucky to live near some of the remnants of the Caledonian forest that they are protecting and trying to expand. Jessica in Scotland.

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    1. Hello Jessica! Thank you for coming by and for telling me about the Caledonian Forest which I don't think I've ever heard of. I just looked it up- how amazing! It sounds like a most holy place.

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  9. It will be interesting to see what happens with the FDG site. Glad you are keeping tabs on it and your neighbor is getting involved too.
    We might get to 80F today but dropping back to the 40s and 50s by Monday. It is hard to what to wear!
    Hope you have a nice weekend.

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    1. Supposed to get up to 88 here several days this week. Ugh. How I shall miss these cooler temperatures!
      I really don't have much hope on the FDG. I bet you anything that money has changed hands at some level.

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  10. There was a book that came out a few years ago that said trees do "communicate" through their roots and the mycelial network, so who knows? I wouldn't put anything past them. They've been here a lot longer than we have, evolutionarily speaking.

    I'm glad you're enjoying your spring! Ours has been pretty spectacular, too, though it's cloudy at the moment. :/

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    1. Yes. I've read how trees can actually communicate that way and isn't it amazing? But yeah- they have been here a very, very long time and a system to share important information seems logical.

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  11. I think reforested planted trees are kinda sad. I mean, they plant them in such perfect lines and I'm pretty sure nature never intended that!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.