Relative Something

I went for a little explore in the woods yesterday and made some interesting discoveries. I mentioned a few posts back that our neighbor had described a tornado passing behind this property a couple of years ago. Upon closer investigation, it is very clear that a big wind toppled a lot of trees. A few of them appear to have been the larger trees in these woods.

I ventured into the section of forest just to the north of our property line and got a different perspective, which really made the blow-down apparent. I think they lost more trees than the property we bought did. A fair number are snapped off up high, but there are also some that ripped apart toward the base. It must have been a very dramatic event.

I don’t look forward to that part of being up high on the land. Good thing we have a basement where we can seek shelter if need be.

I can’t recall if I wrote about the eerie yips of riled up coyotes that we heard a little over a week ago. It was after one of the warm weekend days, and we had left our bedroom window open, which allowed the full volume of the racket in the middle of the night to startle us awake. One of those adrenaline-rush wake ups.

During my bushwhacking explore through our woods, I discovered what the ruckus was all about. The circle of life. I will keep this image small, for those with sensitivity to graphic images. You can click the image to see it full size. A young buck gave his life so that other animals could eat.

This is the first time in my life that I have come upon a scene this fresh. It was quite something to see. And it was just a short distance down the hill from our new house.

It was a moving experience to walk among these vivid displays of death and destruction in nature, to witness, up close, these examples of circle of life.