Deer Tracks They're Back!

www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com Deer tracks

Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse! Or so we thought.

The dogs had been restless all night. I let them out at 2:22 and 4:44 am. It was the coldest night of December. The door would stick and I pulled hard on the frozen door to get out. The dogs charged off the back porch and out to the back fence like a team of horses.  Kollie was barking ferociously towards the llamas.  I dressed into my warm layers of clothing, slipped my feet into my boots, and grabbed a big flash light.

 The door was stuck and I gave a hard quick pull....Whoosh * As it opened the vapors of the cold outside air and warm of the house enveloped me.  I carefully made my way down the stairs, grabbing onto the cedar post to my left, and stepped upon the snowy lawn. How beautiful it was out there, the black sky, bright stars, and golden sliver of crescent moon hung above the mountains.  

The llamas were standing outside the shelter, their eyes gleaming in the dark which reminded me of unicorns. They were woken up by “something” roaming about in the dark. Whatever was there was gone so we all went back inside the warm house and got into bed. 

My husband and I spoke about the possibility of deer returning to our farm. We had not seen many lately and love them so much a desire passed through our hearts. 

In the light of the morning we saw a magical scene of deer tracks everywhere, even on the the coldest of winter’s nights, they surrounded us coming to the call of our hearts. 

See the lovely tracks they make? Do you know what causes that delicate long streak in their tracks? Here is a closer view. 

Deer Tracks in the snow.

 Snow is so wonderful for seeing who has visited our farm in the wee hours of the night and dawn. Every night before I drift off to sleep I lay in my bed at night imaging the vast Utah wilderness around us and all the animals moving about under the moon.

Thank you dear friends for sharing this story with me. I hope you enjoyed it. 
 With Love, Deborah Moon Moen of Nature Loves Apreciation
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There is a precious video of a Christmas feast at Wildwood a wild Park and Zoo on facebook. Here is the link to this video https://www.facebook.com/wildwoodzoo/videos/10154966015312868/ 

Here is a video on Utah showing deer eating with a family outdoors. 
https://youtu.be/6hAekgYmnMo

Deer Parade

First time seeing deer on our property.

 The more you appreciate nature, the more nature there is to appreciate!

The more my husband and I appreciate our contact with the deer the more deer are drawn to our home.

It has been 8 years of yearning for deer to come near but yearning does not draw the deer near. In fact it is appreciation that draws what you love near you. 

The deer are getting closer and closer and closer with each wave of appreciation we feel in our hearts when we see them. Just last week there was a deer parade in our back yard and pasture.  I was admiring the clouds through the kitchen window and grabbed my camera to photograph them. My eye caught movement and I discovered a doe walking across our alfalfa field. My heart went pitter pat and I got it on camera. Another doe walked out from our cottonwood tree and they walked to the back fence. 

I ran in to tell my husband and looked out back. The lamas ears were tall and fixed upon something behind the corral. 

I tippy-toed out and got behind a tree and there were deer everywhere. There were 2 bucks and 3 does. A parade of deer were right here. 

Oh my gosh they are all looking towards me. I am hiding behind a tree. click*

This morning a week later, I entered the garden gate and rounded the arbor and what I saw made me stop in my tracks! My willow was ripped and the bark rubbed off like a tornado had ripped it to shreds. By the way, yesterday I intended to cut those willows by the arbor very short as they grow so big and tall in the spring and summer. Well, the buck did it for me.

The deer rub their antlers against branches during rut season
and also to mark or read who is walking through their territory.

I called for my husband and he came out and found deer tracks going under the arbor we have in the vegetable garden, which is now bare after the harvest. I can just imagine how awesome it was to see the deer go through the arbor! We have decided to get a night cam. 

If you look real close under the arbor you can see deer tracks. 

Deer tracks under the arbor. 

I felt that appreciation well up from my solar plexus and through my heart and into my throat. Super magical. 



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Deborah Moon Moen Chronicles
Nature Lover, Writer, Photographer 


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Autumn's Yellow, Orange, Red !

Mammoth Creek Area, in the Dixie National Forest, Utah
September 8,2016

Colors are appearing and flourishing in the high country elevations. Never mind the calendar, this was taken on September 8, 2016. Nothing can hold it back as the evenings cool crisp air turns the mountain sides of brilliant colored aspen from summer green to the golds and yellows, oranges and reds of autumn. 

Rabbit Bush signals the end of summer in Utah.

Even in my backyard at 6,000 ft, autumn transforms the rabbit bush to a bright golden yellow. And there are other yellow, bee loving, cousins like the wild sunflowers full of yellow petaled blooms and the California Poppies. 

California Poppies , bees love them. See the yellow pockets on the bees legs full of pollen?

Thank you for visiting
 Nature Loves Appreciation (2,234 page views)
Get out and appreciate your beautiful seasons!
Until next time,
ENJOY!
Deborah Moon Moen
Nature Lover, Writer, Photographer,  

Disclosure:Nature Loves Appreciation is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

When I suggest certain products,
it is because my research or personal experience
 has shown that they may be helpful.

Thank you for your support

The Mouse Surprise Garden Row

The Mouse Surprise Garden Row 12 days after planting. Even the beans sprouted! www.NatureLovesAppreciation.Blogspot.com

"Is is too late for a garden?" I thought to myself. Digging the soil and making rows in late September sounded like a fun experiment to see how it would do in the cold weather.  I had a nice big garden box that my husband Paul made me and this year he added a lid to make it what they call a cold frame. It worked really well before the last frost keeping the plants protected and warm. 


I grabbed the hoe and shovel and began to open the soil and turn it over. I made nice rows with the hoe and watered the freshened soil till it was damp through and through. Next came a generous dose of fertilizer to replenish the soil. I searched in the shed for my seeds and found them on a table inside a green bucket. 


I brought my bucket in to the house and sat on the couch and began sifting and sorting through the seed packets with visions of my autumnal garden when a mouse appeared inside a Ziploc bag!!! "HELP" I yelled. I quickly ran out the front door with the bucket in hand and swiftly scooted as far out towards the garden as I could to release the mouse. As I rounded the brick borders of the carport, the mouse sprang upwards into the air, out of the green bucket, and landed like an acrobat on the soft dirt then scampered off. Whew* I was so relieved I made it out of the house before he leaped out of the bucket. I have had quite a few experiences with the acrobatic mice leaping from grain bins and buckets. 


While inspecting the rest of the seed packets outdoors I saw that a good share of the packets had been chewed through and the seeds had fallen out into the bottom of the bucket. I had no idea what seed went to what packet. That is when I got the idea to plant a row of these mixed surprise seeds and call it The Mouse Surprise Garden Row. 


I giggled to myself as I planted that row. I had no idea what would come up. I did recognize the green bush beans, though. I finished planting the other rows with seeds of lettuce, spinach, bok choy, parsley, beets and kale. Those seed packets had not been chewed on.


 All the chewed seed packet edges were repaired with tape and put into a Ziploc bag and into the fridge till next spring.


Six days later I opened the lid of the garden box and my seeds were beginning to sprout. The back row, which I dubbed The Mouse Surprise Garden Row,  had the most sprouts. I laughed and smiled and so much appreciated what fun it is to have a mystery garden row. 

What comes to mind now are spring bulbs. Never have I planted spring bulbs at the right time so before winter comes I shall search for narcissus, daffodils, hyacinth bulbs to plant before the ground hardens. Can you recall the fragrances of those flowers? 


Thank you friends, for visiting Nature Loves Appreciation
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Did you know that when you appreciate nature there is more nature to appreciate. The benefits are accumulative!

Deborah MOON Moen
Nature Lover, Scout, Writer, Photographer, Recorder/Chronicle

Daily Dear, Deer Report !

EXTRA ! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!
DAILY DEER REPORT!

ONE BUCK STANDING IN THE SHADOWS

www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com
Appreciation of things you love can bring more to appreciate!

Super mid day bonus: EXTRA ORDINARILY GOOD
MAGICALLY DELICIOUS!

My mind has not yet recognizing this as real yet. I see these animals appearing and I think "Oh our neighbor Tom has a new statue ! then it kicks in what I am seeing is real. it all so new to me. Where no deer were for the past 8 years, now there are dear, deer to  enjoy. 

THEN...

TWO BUCKS STANDING IN THE SHADOWS!

Wow 2 deer snorfling the dear tree.
Snorfling is sniff and feeling, sensing...


supercalifragilisticexpialidocious !!!

Oh and look at those antlers now shed of their velvet. 

ITS EXPONENTIALLY ACCUMULATIVE !!!

Thank you dear friends for visiting
Nature Loves Appreciation (2,187 page views)
Until next time:
Remember that Life itself, your relationships, your abundance,  everything else loves appreciation!

Within The River of Love,
Deborah Moon Moen
Nature Lover, Writer, Photographer, Healing Arts

The Autumn Owl Visited

The Autumn Owl is a Great Horned Owl.
Chronicled by Deborah Moen
 Greeting Card Sold below post.

The rabbit bush turns a bright yellow, the sun shifts lower in the sky, night falls...

Paul calls me from the bedroom, "Deborah!!! Come here!" I run to the bedroom window where he is standing. He says "Can you hear that?" I held my breath... looking out into the night...then I hear hoo hoot hooo hooot coming from the elm tree in the backyard. Oh it was our friend, the Great Horned Owl ! 

Back at the turn of the millennium, when I met my husband, Paul, the owl showed up everywhere we went. Owl became our totem affirming our relationship. So when owl visits us we both smile and remember those days when we were courting. 

Owls are so wonderfully mysterious, stealth and beautiful. It feels 
personal when they have come to visit. Just let the desire of owl pass through your heart and you may have a visit in your neck of the woods. 


Thank you for visiting, Nature Loves Appreciation (2,172 page views) 
Until next time
The more you appreciate Nature or anything for that matter, the more there will be to appreciate!
Have fun !

DeborahMoonMoen
Nature Lover, Writer, Photographer, Healing Arts

Great Horned Owl Greeting Card by LittleUtahFarm
Find other Owl Cards at zazzle.com

The Oak Tree

*Photo by Jack Kelly of the sun breaking through
 the fog in New York. Oak tree. 

The Oak connects to mother earth through deep roots and holds her lofty crown in the ethereal realm of sky.  She is a doorway to different aspects of life and other dimensions. Oak teaches us about flexibility showing us the way to grace when change comes knocking.  She is generous with her wood, her acorn seeds, and oxygen. The venerable Oak absorbs our sighs, our exhales with appreciation. There is a powerful lesson in how the mighty Oak emerges from that little acorn seed. We are like that Oak.  Long live the Oak Tree! 


Thank you to the generosity of Jack Kelly who shared his photograph of this Oak tree with the sun breaking through the fog in New York.

Thank you for visiting 
Nature Loves Appreciation (2,124 page views)
Until next time
Appreciate Nature. you will be rewarded with more Nature to appreciate!
Deborah Moon Moen
Nature Lover, Writer, Photographer, Teacher

Fennel Plant- Everlasting Life

The Fennel Plant: LIFE EVERLASTING

 

Fennel plants show all stages of life. www.NatureLovesAppreciation.blogspot.com

 

It was April 20, 2002.

While hiking, I stopped here on this path. I sensed this fennel plant was communicating with me by emitting a smoky purple haze which shimmered and connected to my eyes, mind, and heart. I could clearly interpret this energy as connected to all life in a continuous loop. I noticed the fresh green growth rising from the earth and the old boney branches seemingly dead, and the seeds which formed at the top for renewal and life everlasting.

I stood there in awe and received confirmation as I stood on this path. If you look with soft eyes you will sense the life and love and power within this photograph. ~ Deborah Moon Moen

Have you ever seen the energy of plants and trees? It looks like hazy smoky vibrations coming up and out from the tips of trees and plants. Try it sometime. It was there all along yet you had not noticed it or known to look for it.



Thank you, friends, for joining me here
Nature Loves Appreciation (1815 page views)

Deborah Moon Moen

Everlasting Life Greeting Card by LittleUtahFarm
Make a card on zazzle.

This is a greeting card with a very special story. I created this for those who want to be inspired. It has my personal testimony to everlasting life. It could be for anyone who has lost a loved one or a pet and this card would be wonderful as an Easter card. The front of the card reads Everlasting on a background of lovely mauve. The inside flap of the card has the above story with photographs. You may customize the inside with your own special message.

Ikebana " way of flowers"

 “Not only beautiful flowers but also buds and withered flowers have life, and each has its own beauty. By arranging flowers with reverence, one refines oneself.” ~ Senno Ikenobo

 It all began a few weeks ago...



Lilac shrubs ready for spring.
 www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com

These two lilac bushes, pictured on the right, are very exposed to the winds and snow. Year after year the blossoms struggles to survive.

I noticed Renee, our neighbor,  caring for her two lilac bushes out front.  She thoughtfully studied the lilacs with an artful and caring eye as she pruned and cleaned out the dead branches and leaves.  She even arranged the rocks in a full circle around each lilac shrub.

Later that day she came by to share some of the cornbread she had just made.  Renee's cornbread was delicious.  I could definitely taste the sweet Jackpot Hybrid corn we grew and dried last September.

Days later she came over to return an empty egg carton and I refilled it for her with fresh eggs from our hens. She mentioned she wanted me to see something over at her place before it bloomed.

I went over to see what this something was and she invited me in and lead me into the kitchen. There on the table were branches taken from the lilac bush out front. Each branch was artfully arranged in a royal looking vase that was painted with full length swath of  gold along the left side of the vase. She told me the vase was given to her by the Headmaster Sen'ei Ikenobo from Japan.

 The lilac branches reached upwards and outward in different heights like they grow in nature. I was taken how the light shined on the branches. Renee began to explain a few principles of her Ikebana arrangement. The way she described the light, shadows, heaven and earth reminded me of my studies in Feng Shui. Her words expressed an appreciation of nature and its elements. There was a reverence in her voice as she spoke. I left excited to see what would develop in the days to come. I left
 very curious about Ikenobo Ikebana.

The following week...

I began to wonder how the beautiful lilac branches were developing. The next day I got a call from Renee. She invited me over to see the changes in her arrangement. She said, "They are all puffed out. "

As I walked across the driveway to the front door, Coco her long haired Chihuahua announced my arrival. I knocked on the screen door and she invited me in. Her home was fragrant with a heavenly scent and I noticed the candle holder I had made her on her entryway table which she sat on some colorful dry autumn leaves.




She lead me into the kitchen and my eyes opened wide with surprise at the fresh green foliage on her lilac branches. Growing at each leafy branch tip were lilac buds waiting to blossom. The light coming in from the window highlighted the new green leaves and cast shadows on the opposite side. 

My eyes explored the arrangement. "It looks like it was born that way!" I told her. "That is the whole idea of this art is to make it look like it does in nature," she said. Then she showed me places where she left some bare twigs to represent the season we are presently in.

See the bare twigs left on the arrangement to depict what happens in nature.
www.naturlovesappreciation.blogspot.com



This is a Ikenobo ikebana shoka arrangement.
www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com

She brought the leafed out arrangement into her living room in a well lighted area.  

This style is Ikebana Shoka. Shoka style uses only one plant material. Shoka  expresses the feeling of life, growing energy and the natural beauty of the materials. To achieve this it is important that the arranger understands how the plants grow in nature: the natural environment, characteristics and habitat.

 The 3 main parts of Ikebana Shoka symbolize the cosmos of heaven earth and human beings.

The front view of the ikebana shoka vase ( left),  the back view (right)

A vase is much more than a container. The vase for Shoka represents the source of life. The spiritual aspect to this art is very important to its practitioners. To take the time to observe and appreciate the beauty in nature is a great mindfulness practice. It can be considered a wonderful way to be in the present moment. Feeling this close to nature is a connection which provides relaxation for the mind, body, and, soul.

Arranging flowers and finding beauty in flowers - these are linked to a heart that values nature and cares for other people. This is the spirit of Ikenobo Ikebana.

Thank you, Renee, for sharing this beautiful  experience with us.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



To read more about this art:
Ikebana International  http://ikebanahq.org/whatis.php
Ikebana.org http://www.ikebana.org/

Thank you for visiting

Nature Loves Appreciation (1,788 page views)

Until next time,

Find ways to appreciate nature. The more you appreciate Nature the more there will be to appreciate.

Deborah Moon Moen

Nature Lover, Wellness Practitioner, Writer, & Photographer

A Butterfly In December

White Cabbage Butterfly by Deborah Moon Moen©

In the bitter cold of winter,
I sat at my kitchen table sipping my Zhena's Gypsy Tea [a fragrant coconut chai] when I noticed a small flutter of white on my old barn boots. 

 I leaned closer and focused my eyes on a delicate, white-winged, butterfly.

She sat so sweetly there, as I smiled, then folded her wings, and laid down on my boot... it was then she let go...of her beautiful butterfly life, to continue her eternal journey. 

  I laid her delicate butterfly body on the snow, thinking of how she found me, "someone who knows". 

 I do know in my heart; a knowing which words cannot express enough, the sweetness and kindness there is to be enjoyed in this life.

~ Deborah Moon Moen
I Am A Nature Lover, Mentor, Photographer, Artist and Writer

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White Cabbage Butterfly Mug by SimpleSpark
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