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Have you met up with a wild mushroom this month?

We hope you enjoy all sorts of wild moments this month…

This weekend, I hope you’re pleasantly interrupted by something or someone wild.

At Home…

4:55 AM — The cheeeeeeeeer cheeeeeeeeer chip chip chip chip chip songs of a Northern Cardinal sail into the bedroom through an open window.

6:10 AM — The rapid pulse of a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird is almost palpable to me, as she perches on a branch that is attached to our deck.

6:50 AM — A male Red-bellied Woodpecker brings a bite of breakfast to his fledgling.

Walking in K’port…

8:40 AM — I rub a Mugwort leaf between my fingertips.

9:00 AM — I breathe in the scent of Valerian flowers…

9:20 AM — I touch the tops of thyme plants growing by stone steps. Across the gravel road, wildflowers bloom: daisies, roses, and buttercups…

9:40 AM — A Black Locust (our nature group’s tree of the week) holds clusters of white flowers.

Driving home…

10:15 AM — A male Bobolink bubbles up from a field of grasses and wildflowers, just a few hundred feet from a farm-stand, where I purchase fresh eggs and a Lemon Balm plant.

At home…

11:40 AM — As I transplant the Lemon Balm to a new container, clusters of tiny bubbles reveal the presence of a Spittle Bug on one of my garden plants.

Running errands…

12:25 PM — A Song Sparrow sings enthusiastically, as I check a patch of roadside Chicory for flowers: none yet.

A minute later — I look at the edge of the supermarket roof for Rock Pigeons: none today.

At home…

4:15 PM — Sunlight and shadows dance outside the window, as I relax in a rocking chair for a few minutes.

5:00 PM — The father woodpecker feeds his fledgling a bite of supper.

Out for the evening…

7:00 PM — While attending an indoor presentation, Josh and I notice a House Wren’s songs through the screen door.

8:30 PM — The clouds and colors of the evening sky concentrate above the northwest horizon.

8:45 PM — In the fading twilight, a White-tailed Deer stands very still on the edge of a road.

At home…

10:15 PM — I wonder where the cardinal is spending the night.

10:20 PM — I linger by the open window to listen to the comforting sounds of the creek.

I hope you enjoy a wild moment or two (or twenty!) today.

Last week, between dropping off ballots at the town office and picking up a copy of the annual town report at the library, I visited this lovely garden, which is a tribute to Barbara Bush from her family and friends.

Mrs. Bush was America’s First Lady from 1989-1993, and Ganny is what her grandchildren called her.

As I ambled along the paths, I recalled, to the best of my ability, my earliest memory of Barbara Bush — receiving a letter from her, in second grade, that impressed upon me the importance of learning to read well, and of reading lots of books.

While Mrs. Bush and her staff had likely sent this letter to thousands and thousands of school children across the country, I felt very special — the First Lady had written to me.

And, I must have taken her literacy message to heart, because my best friend and I, with our teacher’s permission, started a reading club for our peers!

Back to the garden…

As I further strolled along the stone paths, I found myself reflecting on another type of literacy — nature literacy — which, to me, means having some knowledge of nature, as well as the skills and resources to broaden and deepen that knowledge.

Just as Mrs. Bush wrote to tell me about the importance of being able to read books, Josh and I write our Wild Moments posts to express to you the importance, and delight, of being able to ‘read’ the natural world.

I’m glad I made the decision to walk through Ganny’s Garden between errands. The experience brought so much together in my mind: gardens, wild nature, letters, reading, writing, and nature literacy.

And, I was able to observe many insects who were visiting or residing in the garden!

If you’d like to begin, or add to, your nature-learning journey, you might consider the following practice, which I call the OWLS way:

Observe nature, for even a few wild moments.

Write down, or otherwise record, your observations.

Learn more, through books, videos, websites, walks, or talks.

Share what you’ve observed, recorded, and/or learned with someone else.

May we ‘read’ and treasure the stories found within gardens and wild places.

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We enjoyed seeing a cottontail rabbit (likely a New England Cottontail), an American Lady butterfly, a Marsh Wren, and a porcupine, but our favorite animal observation of the day was a pair of Hairy-tailed Moles (Parascalops breweri) along the Pilger Trail.

Below is Jenny’s photo of the trail scene:

The moles, especially the one in my photos below, were very busy.

We spent ten wild minutes with this mole before continuing on with our walk.

Here’s a video (the second half is in slow-motion) to give you sense of the mammal’s behavior:

What do you notice in this photo?

Do you see a bird’s tail?

What do you notice in this next photo?

Who might this be?

And, what’s that bit of green by the bird’s shoulder?

Finally, what do you notice in this third photo?

What’s happening here?

How does it relate to the first two photos?

What wild story is unfolding?

We hope you enjoy observing a wild story this weekend!

We hope you enjoy some wild moments today!

What a joy it is: to know a tree for decades; to remember the intoxicating fragrance of insect-buzzed blossoms; to recall birds, and nests, held in branches; to bring to mind the texture of bark, the color of autumn leaves, and the shapes of imperfect little apples.

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Happy spring migration to our fellow bird-enthusiasts.

Have you enjoyed a wild moment yet today? (Observing through a window on a rainy day counts!)

Have you seen a fir, a fern, or a flower today?

Below are photos of some of the not-so-wild, but very delightful, moments I experienced with the trees and flowers of this place…

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Below are photos of some of the springtime wild moments I enjoyed along the way…

I hope you enjoy some wild moments today!

This spring, may a wild moment make your heart sing!

There are at least 11 species of birds in the soundscape. Do you recognize any of the voices?

Recording: April 21, 2026, 6:22 a.m., Kennebunkport, ME

I find the fragrance of this plant’s blossoms to be exquisite, and it was with this in mind that I posted the following photo last week.

It shows the leaves of Trailing-arbutus among those of Eastern Spicy-Wintergreen and other plants…

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