Leaving Jemima (She's fine!)

I wrote "The Thing About Jemima" in a long morning session, and by the time I finished it I was in sore need of a long hike. I think of the woods trails as my quickest route to deliverance. There's little that can be wrong with me that six miles won't fix. It's good to have a place to go that makes you feel better. Truth be told, it's probably the walking that saves me as

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I'm Having Blue Jay for Thanksgiving

Thank you for the overwhelmingly positive and beautiful response to "The Thing About Jemima." I spend way too much time worrying about reader reaction to this or that revelation that's been bothering me for months or years until I finally up and say something. It was just wonderful to be able to say, "Here's the deal, and here's the kind of reaction I can handle, feeling as I do about it, so

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The Morning Stalk

You never know when you're going to have an extraordinary day. I've learned to watch out for the weepy gray days, the ones trying so hard to be ordinary, to pass without notice. November 17, 2017, was just such a day.



While doing my morning wildlife feeding, I noticed a big dark doe walking, all the way out the meadow. Most people say, "Oh, it's only a doe," as if a doe were somehow less a

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The Thing About Jemima

Jemima came to me as an 11-day old nestling, dehydrated, starving and very sick. It was three days before she kept her eyes open, and I had to force-feed her a lot. I think she had been jostled out of the nest, and her parents judged her not worth trying to save. Jays are smart. People like me are dumb. We lead with our hearts.



From that period of deprivation, when she went unattended for

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Jemima Update: Enter Maybelline

Do you notice blue jays more than you used to? When you see them, do you take the time to really watch them? Is there perhaps more affection and understanding in your gaze than usual?



Good. Jemima and I are doing our job.



While I don't expect Jemima's fans to undergo a full-blown BJO (Blue Jay Obsession) the way I have, a little obsession never hurt anybody. Everywhere I go, and I mean

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Remember Pinky?

You'll remember Ellen's twins, Flag and Pinky. Flag, the doe, is a regular in the yard now. I'm delighted to say that Pinky lives on, though he's much more rarely seen.

Here he is on January 7, 2017. Just wee buttons on his fawn forehead. Born in the spring of 2016.






This elegant little fellow tiptoed into the yard on October 5, 2017.







When he raised his head, I knew him.

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Liam is 18!

At eight months, he was spherical, and not always as jolly as he appears here; fussy he was much of the time, thanks to his tiny Eustachian tubes. We eventually got those fixed.



Fussiness aside, there was a sweetness about that baby boy that I could not walk by. I just had to kiss him, every time.







All those kisses added up and soaked in, I think, and the older he got, the sweeter

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Remember Flag?

I spend a lot of time looking for and at deer. I am actually happy that Daylight Savings Time has started, because I love raising the blind on something more like this, instead of total darkness.

It's depressing to wake up at 5:30 and have to wait until 7:30 for the first light to creep under the blinds.







So I get up and get busy. People who ask me how I do so much each day probably

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The Wren's Pajamas

Every once in awhile, I get sent a photo like these.

What's that little speckled thing in my planter? I only see it at night.




Thanks to Melissa from DC for this adorable conundrum. Zick loves a conundrum.






There are these things that appear on my porch every night. What in the world are they?





Thanks to Sharon from Brunswick for this lovely shot from Maine. A puzzled friend sent

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