What’s in your backyard?
Sitting out on the deck with a cup of coffee, watching the predawn give way to sunrise, I couldn't help but recognize the beauty that is all around me. I'm a morning person and I usually get up early and enjoy a cup of coffee while the sun rises. Today wasn't much different. Except for the fact that it has finally been warming up around here. So instead of drinking my coffee while looking out the window, I enjoyed it while sitting in a lawn chair out on the deck. The windows don't totally block out the sound. The whippoorwills will call at any time during the night but dusk and dawn are usually when you will hear them most. Often they get into some serious whippoorwilling around 4:30 AM. They can be annoying if you haven't trained yourself to sleep through the noise. Otherwise most of the bird noise stays outside. And so this morning I was able to take it all in. First the whippoorwill with an occasional call from a barred owl. Then I heard a Great Horned Owl. Instead of the who-cooks-for you-who-cooks-for-y'all, the Great Horned Owl does more of a who-who-whowhowho. I'm not exactly sure what they are saying but it's always fun to recognize their calls. After that, all kinds of tweety birds started doing their thing. A couple of crows started giving their raucous calls. I heard a squirrel purring or whining or whatever that noise is that they make when they aren't barking. I started looking at where the noise was coming from and noticed a nest that I hadn't seen before. Soon several squirrels were chasing each other up and down the trees. It was a cloudy morning and I wouldn't exactly call the sunrise as being spectacular, but it was beautiful in its own right. Other than the comfy lawn chair, I felt like I was out somewhere on a wilderness campout in the middle of nowhere. It was a happy place to be!
This past Saturday we were at New Germany State Park for the Native Plant Festival. The New Germany community was settled in the late 1700s by German immigrants that felt that the area resembled their homeland. The 13 acre lake was built to run the first sawmill and gristmill in the area. During the Great Depression the federal government recognized that the land in Garrett County was better suited for forestry than farming, and bought out many of the farmers with the Sub-marginal Land Utilization Program. They bought a lot of the small mountain farms in the area including what is now the park.
In the 1930's, Company 326 of Civilian Conservation Corps was stationed at New Germany and built it pretty much into the park it is today. At least one of the original log buildings and some pavilions are still in place. There's a small lake for fishing and lots of places to camp, hike, and enjoy nature. Surrounding the park are acres and miles of the Savage River State Forest. This is where much of my favorite time gets spent. Hunting, hiking, exploring, or canoeing and fishing in Savage River Reservoir.
It was nice to be at a festival in our own neck of the woods and to be with people that share with us a love for the outdoors.
When we were first invited to have a booth at the festival, I was hesitant. It takes a lot of time and effort to set up for a show. This is a fairly small festival, with the main focus being on native plants and I wasn't so sure that we would sell anything at all.
Jenelle was excited about the plants and the fact that we were invited to be a part of the festival. For her I don't think that there was even a question of whether or not we should go. And since this was a part of our community, I agreed that we should get involved and be supportive of the festival.
We knew that this would be a smaller event and so we went with the intent of just having fun and talking to people.
Well, it turned out to be a fun day. We got to meet new people and talk to old friends. The kids were able to go along and fish in the lake out back. We sold a lot more glass than I expected. And to top it off, Jenelle won the Cold Frame door prize. This is a box with a sun window on top. You can use it kind of like a mini greenhouse for starting plants in the spring. This is almost a must around here as our spring is usually a month or two behind the rest of the world. So to say it mildly, Jenelle was excited.
Sometimes we think and dream about places to go and things to see in this great big world around us. We hear and read about it in magazines, social media, and from friends that have had the opportunity to go to those special places in the far and wide. It's good to dream about these places and hope that one day you'll get your chance. But while you are doing so, don't overlook your backyard. It's so easy to keep your head down and your ears shut up to everything that's around you. Often what you think that you are missing out on, is really right at hand. And if we take a look, often it can be about as good as it gets!
We'll look forward to next year's Native Plant Festival. We'll hope to see you there!
