Adventuring!

   This afternoon, it was just too hot to be indoors.  Even with the AC going full blast, it seemed stifling.  So...I turned it off, opened the windows and doors and headed outside.  There, I could breathe freely.  With work being out of the question, I meandered the hillside and down near the creek.  The swamp can always be refreshing.  The canopy of trees overhead keep it relatively cool.  Very little sun dapples the ferns and lilies growing there.  It is the perfect hideaway from the heat.  

  At one point, I came across an empty eggshell.  It appeared to be the egg of a brown thrasher by the size and color.  The eggshell was not near any nest but I knew exactly how it got there.  Whenever the eggs hatch, the parent birds "clean house".  They remove the shells (and later any droppings from the baby birds.)  This keeps their nest tidy and babies healthy.  The empty shells will be dropped a good distance from the nest in hopes that they will not attract predators to the nest.  Finding the shell made me smile as it let me know my bird friends are doing well.

  On my wanderings, I also found the fox den.  It has been some time since I have seen the mama fox so I was happy to find her den even though she was not nearby.  She had been careful to cover her tracks at the opening of the den but left several distinct tracks in the soft mud about ten feet away.  At least, I know she is alive and well.  Since I stumbled upon the den unaware it was there, I simply backed off and left the area.  There was no reason to disturb the fox and make her have to move her kits. 

  After about an hour, I meandered back to the yard all-the-while thinking of my critter friends and my love of the swamp.  What a wonderful way to spend a sweltering afternoon.