It's all Hieroglyphics to Me

Hieroglyphics:  
"Hieroglyphic symbols, unlike letters in our alphabet , are used to describe what we would use a group of letters to- such as an idea or thought in a picture form. Like to describe the sun for example 

they would have a picture similar to the sun, or to describe a crocodile you would see a picture similar to a crocodile. While some of their symbols are easy to understand it took years and help from many artifacts for scientists to decode these symbols."

So saith Reference.com.  Like they're basically saying that uh hieroglyphics are like word pictures to convey an idea. 

Remember the ancient Egyptians?  They  etched their thoughts, mournful, mundane, murderous and otherwise all over the pyramids which are arguably the penultimate burial vaults on earth. In doing so, they unwittingly made Harrison Ford  and a deck of Hollywood movie moguls multi-billionaires many suns and moons later as they were inspired to create moving picture shows about lost arcs, sun gods, grocery lists and golden treasure in order to entertain us. 

IN THE MEANTIME, back to reality. 

Nature also leaves hieroglyphics  all over the earth. Within the  power of every creature is the ability to communicate, at times with intent. At times, not. 

Winter in Canada provides many opportunities to read the stories being told by fox, wolf, squirrel, mouse, ferret, raccoon, deer, mink, fisher, coyote...they are all out and about, roaming the forests, fields and farms. While they forage they write their tales of life and death  and now it is for you to decipher...

Great Grey Owl lands suddenly. Kills quickly. Leaves.

What hops along and lands on its little bum every time? (I don't know)

Squirrel? but what's the long deep cut made by? 

and what's the plunge on the right?

Steps in its own trace, drags tail. Nope. No clue here unless it's a fox?

 Ghost owl. Likely Eastern Screech. Dropping in for take out dinner.

Ah! This one I know. Winter s'quitter. Running around in loud, noisy circles.

Humans. Creating hieroglyphics.

Come Closer

When I lived in the city,   my eye would be drawn to bright lights. Winking me into a bar or restaurant for comfort and warmth they often plopped me in places I didn't actually want to be, and I would quickly leave, vaguely disatisfied for having been sucked in. Like a moth to flame.

Not so now.

Now the light is finer, truer, and real. It draws me in and entices me, making me want to linger longer than I should. I am often late.

Some things just demand to be seen.

I can't codify cute. But I know it when I see it. Beauty. Boldness. Something catches my eye, turns my head, and speaks to me.

Often more loudly than it should, and I get swept up in the moment. Attention deficit I am not...perhaps, no actually, the opposite. Attention overload.

I can lose myself in the moment, the memory, the meaning. I am sometimes not present because I am all there.

My favourite walk is right outside my door, full of mystery, signs and signals. It stops me cold in my tracks. I truly cannot understand how others can simply walk on by! But they do, leaving me behind to ponder..what animal? Where was it going? Or was it coming? was it being chased? or chasing? I am chastened by all this. Humbled. Smaller. But more complete.

My inner child is evidently alive
and well. It does not take much to take off on a flight of fancy. And "why?" is a question often asked.

As the crow flies is sometimes just a short little walk out the front door.

 

I wish you  all a wonder full new year!

Something's Happening Here

But it just ain't exactly clear...

Perhaps if I'd paid more attention in Brownies or Girl Guides I would know what kind of  animal wiggled his cute little butt across the snow, hip hop drag the tail and into the hole I go style. A mouse? A mole? A mink?

During the winter my commute to work generally takes about 15 minutes down a snowy road, bordered by trees. It is not unusual to see wildlife...deer, fox, bear, porcupine, skunk, raccoon, sable (once), beaver, otter, squirrel, coyote.  It's often a fleeting view of the animal as it races off into the woods, unless, of course, it's a porcupine who really doesn't care if you're heading his way or not,  because he knows you're not going to pick him up and try to cuddle him.

But in the dead of winter, such as the case is now, I see all sorts of evidence of animal life in the snow, and frankly, it's driving me a little nuts...look!

I think this is an owl print. The owl spots its prey, praying in the snow, not to be seen by an owl, and BAM! Owl dives down, wings outspread, grabs the poor little mouse, and flies off with lunch. That's what I think...but I could be completely wrong, because when we were learning this stuff in grade five, I was busy trying to make it look like I had breasts and pulling my sweater tight so Tommy Cavanaugh would notice me. Boy, was I concentrating on the wrong stuff! Now, check out these tracks...

Let me explain- this is an area about the size of a piece of plywood ,

so 4' x 8'. Look  at all the tracks! There's at least three different kind, and I don't have a clue who made what, or what made which, and it bothers me! I should know this stuff for some odd reason. Or I should know a track interpreter who can tell me about this party to which I wasn't invited!

This one is a larger version of the very first photo...bum chuckerucka, bum chuckerucka.. I ask myself, what animal moves like this? Bounce on bum, drag the tail. Again and again and again, creating a giant zipper in the snow. And I don't have a clue! And we're not done here yet!

So beastie # 1 went for a short spin, did a wheelie, came back and sat down. And watched while his buddy came over, said hello, and left the way he'd come. Coyotes? Wolves? Aliens?

Now THIS one I know...

It's a deer track. Definitely! And I know this because I actually saw the young deer that made the track ...as I was pulling over to take his picture, he made tracks and left.

And I THINK that this is a fox...

 It's definitely canine, and it's too small to be a big dog, and I just want it to be a fox. So be it.

I'm really not sure where this need to know comes from, but everytime I see a trail leading off into the bush, I want to stop and follow it.

I wonder where they're going, what they're doing, and what they are exactly. But I can't. I have to keep going, get to work, do stuff, and be human.

 It's my nature.