Tales from the "Corona" Woods

Hiking in the Woods
April 21, 2020

Hubby and I hiked in the woods 2 miles yesterday evening. It was cold, the Hawk was blowing 21 MPH and the occasional gusts were quite strong. The trees were creaking loudly and swaying quite far at the top. White Oaks (Quercus Alba) are tall, tending to grow 100 ft. There were many broken limbs along the way. The wind was howling when the gusts crested. But when it died down, there was so much beauty and calm in the verdant undergrowth.

We filled our eyes and ears with the happy chirping of birds, and our lungs with fresh air. Squatso, the girth-challenged squirrel, was darting from branch to branch, as if following us along the trail. We found few humans around, thank God, and an inner peace that only another hiker can understand.


April 22, 2020 – Earth Day
Tales from the Corona Woods

Today’s 3.5 mile hike was more eventful than yesterday.

Wide portion of the trail

Photo: Ileana Johnson

We met a woman who was being dragged in the opposite direction by a large and very friendly Labrador who wanted to say hello to us. One very hostile sleaze stack caught up with us – she was walking really fast and her face was covered by a mask. She almost fell into the thorny bushes trying to avoid any human contact with us. Maybe we should have walked closer to her to force her off the trail? Nah, we are nice people. We know what those bushes are!

By the time we got to our trail, hubby told me that some woman in Montclair posted on the neighborhood watch a black bear sighting. Montclair is not that far away but the bear would have to cross a major highway to get to our woods. The bear probably denned in the Prince William National Forest which had been closed by order of Virginia’s governor trying to protect us from the Corona virus pandemic. Since there were no more campers in the 16,000 acre forest, the bear must have gotten hungry for human scraps so he went looking for better foraging.

Old Oaks

Photo: Ileana Johnson

We joked about it but we jumped when we heard the cry of a fox really close by. We stopped on thetrail and, in the silence, we heard the cry again. We turned around, and, about ten feet from us on thetrail, jumped a beautiful racoon from the foliage. It gave us a curious look and disappeared in the dense brush on the other side. Hubby handed me the camera but it was too late, so I handed it back. Wrong move! In the next 20 seconds, a beautiful red fox jumped onto the trail after the racoon but saw us and changed her mind, and jumped back into the green thorny bushes. We started laughing really hard because we thought a bear was going to jump out. Fun hike!

Thorny bushes

Photos: Ileana Johnson

Dandelions and a Chilly June Morning

The sun is filtering morning rays through the kitchen window, bathing my plants in a gentle hue. It’s 48 F, a bit chilly for June and global warming. The Christmas cactus on my counter soaks in the light – it has three pink blooms that keep turning their heads with the sun.

A heron flies from the river and lands at the lake’s edge with a flurry of wings and pollen. Thousands of little parasols float in the air, dancing up and down, carrying a small dandelion seed. There is no breeze but the air pushes them up and down in the dance of life.  The sun’s diagonal rays are outlined and punctuated by thousands of fluffy umbrellas.

A scrawny fox I’ve never seen before is walking slowly at the edge of the woods, bushy tail moving rhythmically. I can’t tell if she is stalking a prey or just wandering back to her den not far from the narrow boardwalk, the slats squishing softly underfoot.  

We got so much rain in the last few days that the low terrain is murky and soggy. The deer must be taking a different route, I have not seen them in days. Their hooves would get stuck and unstuck in the mud, making popping sounds with each step.

A very fat racoon was waddling last night down the hill and disappeared into the thick forest behind our house. Not sure if she was pregnant or just obese – there is plenty around to eat.

The fox has finished off the snapping turtle eggs in the nest she kept digging up for at least three days. She finally realized all the eggs were gone so she stopped digging up my flower bed. I had covered the remaining eggs with a protective net but the shrewd fox dug under it.  We kept playing a cat and mouse game – I would rebury the empty shells and the fox would dig them up each time.

I don’t need to go very far to visit a zoo – I have my own in the back yard. All I have to do is pull up a chair and wait for the critters to emerge.