Larry A. Smail's Blog

   The official first day of spring has come and gone yet six inches of a wet and heavy snow blanketed everything this morning.Earlier this day the winter wonderland beauty was to be enjoyed as the tree limbs bent under the snow’s extra weight.

I remembered in the movie, “Jeremiah Johnson” as the two mountain men enjoyed a char-broiled rabbit when the older fellow who always was hunting “griz” told the questioning Jeremiah something to the effect of, “March is a green and muddy month, some folks like it.”I chuckled.

Some woods time was required of me this day. I hesitated since I have had some knee pain for almost a week. I elected to go and see some beauty and critters.

I gathered up one of the remaining deer rib cages from my property.(I know most think of this as weird! Don’t care!) Over winter red-tailed hawks; crows and many numerous small birds enjoyed the calories during the colder weather. Last week four turkey vultures had a feast too. This deer part would be taken to the woods to return to nature.

Water droplets from melting snow

The snow made for some quiet walking as I trekked up and over the hills. I saw two different woodcocks. The little birds are questioning their early arrival to western Pennsylvania. I enjoy hearing their whistling wing feathers as they take flight.

Wetland Woodcock. One of my recent paintings in the game bird series.

I hiked through an older growth spruce site to see a great-horned owl leave a limb and circle directly over me. I hurried to try to get the camera ready. I failed to get any shots. A few minutes later the crows could be heard harassing the bird of prey.

I saw four deer laying along a bottom area. One was busy chewing its cud before the other three became nervous and took off in a flash. Later, i bumped two other deer from a thicket.  Shortly, I discovered four sets of tracks heading towards a crabapple thicket. Soon, I was blessed to see them sneaking through. I saw ten different deer!

A few hundred yards from my vehicle my knee area began to hurt terribly. I wonder what the knee will be like when I get old….oh wait…I am already old! I forgot!