Home Sweet Home One Part Of My LifeI think it befitting that a Fairy live in the forest, and that's exactly what I do! Minerals ~ It is common to find Jade, Serpentine, and Garnets. I really like them all, but Garnets are a favorite. I have gorgeous chunks of jade, baseball sized and larger, which sit about the house, and even hold up my Christmas tree each year! Beautiful, and useful! We also live where Native American's once camped in the summer, and find grinding bowls and tools, heating stones, "duck rocks", and arrow/spear heads. We all have what we call, "arrowhead stoop", as we walk looking down so as not to miss one! :) I once was sitting by the big, year-round creek in the treeline, and happened to look down. There, I saw a small mound that had been recently made by a mole. And, next to the mound, in the fresh dirt, was a special fishing arrowhead that he had kicked out from goodness-only-knows what depth, sparkling in the dewy morning sun! Who needs expensive entertainment when you can have a moment like that!!!! Bugs ~ I know that bugs are not a good subject for a lot people, but I love most of ours! We have Dragonflies that play by the pond, and come in electric blue, green, and orange-red. We have spectacular butterflies, including one that is a beautiful, true lavender, and fascinating moths. One, for example, is green with hearts on each wing, another is black and deep pink. Many things seem to grow larger here, and 2 similar moths (The Polyphemus moth, and the California Silk moths, both often called: Redwood Moths here.) are quite large. One Polyphemus moth measured was over 6" across! Of course, that does also mean that we live in banana slug country....but I have been asked, rather unanimously, not to describe them! (*whisper* They're really, really, big! lol!) Amphibians ~ I live in an amphibian lover's dream! We have salamanders galore! One is bright orange with black. Interestingly enough, there is a very small, rather rare snake, called a Ringneck here. He is 5" long, or less, black with an orange belly, and an orange ring about his "neck." I have often wondered if he is colored that way in order to sneak into the salamander's "camps!" The impressive Pacific Giant's, which we have found up to 12" long, have spots, and are always fun to run across. They are awfully cute when only about 1/2" long babies, also! Our tree frogs are some of my favorites, thus the theme of this page! Reptiles ~ We have quite a few reptiles here. Our snakes include Rattlesnakes, most of which have evolved here to be totally unable to rattle; Gopher Snakes who are patterned just like a rattlesnake; Garter Snakes of many varieties; King Snakes which can be black and white ~ quite attractive; the Ring Necks mentioned earlier; Rosy and Rubber Boas; and others. The lizards come as common as Alligator Lizards, and as beautiful as the Western Fence lizard, which is a deep, deep turquoise on it's belly. We also have some electric blue skinks that have to be seen to be believed! Birds ~ Our birds need to be divided into groups, I think. Birds of Prey ~ I am especially fond of our owls. We have pairs of Spotted Owls that live in the trees near our house, and also farther afield. They watch our dogs, and us, with great interest, and fly at head level through the trees unerringly! We get one new baby, per pair, every other year. The little Screech Owls have needed saving from having been stunned by cars at night more than once, and are only about 6"-8" tall. Wemby is our Golden Eagle. He nests in a tree upon a tall hill, and flies over our meadows and creek to hunt. Eagles fly much farther up than some other birds, and can sometimes only be seen as specks in the sky next to the Turkey Vultures, which are large birds which are nearly as beautiful in flight as an Eagle. Also, we have Osprey's, Kite's, Cooper's Hawks, Lesser and Greater Red Tailed Hawks, and others. Smaller to Medium Sized Animals ~ Star nosed moles that make the sound of a zipper, Voles, Pack and Wood rats, Field mice, Gray Fox that come near the house on summer evenings to "cry", Opossum's, Martens, Raccoons, Skunks, Coyotes, a beaver, and large Otters that play in the year round creek. Larger Animals ~ Bobcats are not uncommon, and Mountain Lions are even more common. We see the young lions, see the animal victims of their meals, hear their murderous scream during their mating season, and we periodically see the adults, as well. They are able to jump 6' up into a tree from a plain sit, without any noticible effort. We also have bears. Trees ~ We have a mixed conifer/broadleaf forest. A few of our trees include our Douglas Firs which are very, very old, some being 150' tall, and about 12'-15' in diameter. We also have very many varieties of oaks, again, some very old, though we do have a "baby oak grove", which is probably only about 60 years old, as compared to the parent oaks, which are 300-400 years old. I am also very fond of our California Bay Trees (laurels) which are beautiful, and have a "nut" which is not only a favorite of gray tree squirrels, but were used as a condiment by the local Native Americans. The Madrone trees are 60' feet tall, or more, and are, unfortunately, highly sought after for fire wood. The nuts of the Chinqapin are very good; related to the chestnut. And, of course, Redwoods. Well, I could go on and on; after all, I haven't covered the bushes and wild flowers, spawning Salmon, or other fish in our creek yet, but I do believe that that's enough for now. Anyone who has read this far is either quite the nature lover, or is an extremely curious individual! Thank you for visiting! :) |