March 23, 2024
The Devil’s Walking Stick
When my wife went to the store yesterday, she picked up two canisters of ready bake cinnamon rolls with orange icing. This morning we devoured the rolls, washing them down with hot coffee. After, we stood outside on the back porch looking into the forest. A large red-shouldered hawk flew above the towering pines while a lonely pair of geese passed over, their honks echoing across the yard. The skies were cloudy, but the scenery was serene; peaceful. We loved living in paradise.
Once back inside, the dogs started barking. When we looked out the front windows, a herd of six small deer were feeding in the pasture. I grabbed my rangefinder, and we used it to study the deer. Four of the six deer appeared to be pregnant. All the deer had shed their thick winter coats, except for one, that had patches of missing fur and tufts of loose hair sticking out. This made the young deer look sloppy, but cute.
I took the morning to write at my desk, and during a break, I got up to change my laundry from the washer to the dryer. From the kitchen, my wife asked if I wanted to take a walk in the woods. I grabbed a jacket, slipped on my BOGS boots, and headed out the front door. We headed into the grove, taking a detour to the place we had been working to clear. On the forest floor, my wife spotted small pink flowers, the first we had seen this spring. We inspected the surrounding trees, but could not tell from which tree the flowers fell.
When we arrived at a natural clearing in the forest, my wife took after the devil by breaking all of his walking sticks. The devil’s walking stick was a stiff plant that grew straight up from the ground with mean, albeit not quite evil, barbs protruding in every direction. Once they grew, they were hard to get rid of, so my wife kicked them down while I snapped pictures of her, laughing at her parody of the karate kid. I encouraged the entire debacle by daring her to sweep the leg.
The forest was wet with the recent rainfall. While walking under a low-hanging tree, my wife grabbed and shook it, because mischievousness. We both got soaked and laughed as we continued toward the creek. The water level was high and there were falls and bends in the stream that made various sounds. We both commented on how relaxing it sounded. I always expected my wife to be timid in this wildest part of the forest, where the snakes sunbathed and coyotes traversed. True to her nature, however, my wife made an impromptu detour into the creek bed, where we walked through the deep mud and crossed the water by balancing on fallen logs. She’s fun like that.
I removed a blue bouncy ball with a handle that the creek’s current had washed away. My wife found a large Paw Patrol ball that was filled with water. We carried our loot to the top of Beaver Tooth Rock, where she stepped on the ball, which shot out a long stream of water. My loud laughter must have encouraged her because she suddenly jumped on the ball, shooting water everywhere like a cannon. We laughed, and I wondered if either of us would actually grow up one day. Probably not.
The dog food we placed on the rock was all gone, and my wife gathered the beaver teeth, for which the rock was named, into a pile. She even found the cat’s claw that a coyote, fox, or bobcat had eaten and excreted. We headed back home, where my wife disposed of her makeshift water cannon, while I threw the bouncy ball into the backyard. Koda promptly stalked and killed it. He carried the deflated ball around all afternoon. I went back to my office to write while my wife went to hers to study; the break served us both well.
It was supposed to rain all day, but by midday, the precipitation had cleared. Although it was still cloudy, the sky was bright. After eating a quick lunch at the house, my wife and I left to check out a nursery I spotted on my way to Wiggins Mill Reservoir. Our first visit to Great Gardens Nursery and Landscape did not disappoint. The sales area was two whole acres filled with a variety of trees and plants. We wanted to add some color and trees to the property, including some weeping willows and magnolias. The nursery also had chickens, peacocks, and a variety of garden decorations. Most exciting, they delivered and planted the trees, which were too large to transport home in our car. I envisioned a healthy purchase of trees and plants coming soon to a garden near me.
Since we were close to Wilson, I thought about stopping at Culvers for ice cream. When we got into the car, my wife turned to me and said, “Let’s go get some ice cream!” Yup. We still got it. After a tasty treat, we drove back home and my wife started preparing a large pork butt. She needed some cilantro, so I drove to the Piggly Wiggly to pick their last two bunches. She put the pork to cook and then we sat down at the dining room table to work. After an hour, we closed our laptops and headed outside to the deck. I cut firewood and started a fire. The wood was wet from yesterday’s rain, but with my wife’s help, we finally got the first coals to form. After, the fire raged with little effort.
It was a beautiful spring evening, and we enjoyed it to the fullest. While we sat in front of the fire, the sun came out, lighting the pine grove. The temperature dropped, but the fire did a fine job of keeping us toasty while we sipped on some cold suds. We sat outside enjoying nature, listening to music while the dogs stole and chewed up my firewood. The pork tacos were heavenly, and we ate outside just as dusk was setting in. As I was breaking up the remaining coals, I noticed a bat was out hunting insects, fluttering high above the backyard. I cleaned the kitchen while my wife bathed, and then I showered before heading to bed. Tomorrow morning, we were waking up early to fish. Together.