Grandfather Says: The Continuing Chronicles of Elaine, Part 39

The following was written by my late wife Elaine. She wrote a long book, a diary really, from which this is one passage:

Wildlife on Our Mountain

One night, during our sojourn in the valley, we heard the chilling sound of a wildcat passing nearby. That same call woke us all up one night in Warrenton; it’s unbelievably frightening. We appreciate the everyday wildlife here in West Virginia: deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and wild turkeys are all plentiful.

An interesting display of wildlife which we’ve seen only once was the landing of seven buzzards on seven fenceposts between our house and a meadow. They each sat on a post, facing the field, with their wings spread out fully, apparently drying them out, and they stayed there for about 20 minutes before they all left. It was very strange.

This little scene of seven buzzards on seven fenceposts reminded me of one of the Bible stories I grew up knowing, about Pharaoh’s dreams. One was that seven lean cows came and devoured seven fat cows. Joseph interpreted that dream, and another similar one, to mean that there would be seven years of plenty in Egypt, then seven years of famine. Joseph was chosen by Pharaoh to oversee grain storage for this possibility, which he did, and sure enough, the famine came. If I were superstitious, I’d have to believe that seven buzzards on seven of our fenceposts were more “evil” than “good.”

Once in a while we see a fox cross the road, and sometimes we notice bear scat along the road where Dave and I walk every day (two miles, round-trip). In a good season, there is food for bears – and people – along that road: wild blackberries are everywhere. Last year, 2000, the blackberries were bitter and inedible; we don’t know why, and we had hoped hope for another sweet crop in 2001, but we only got a few bitter, dry berries that year, also. I’ll look it up and see if wild blackberry canes are expected to have sweet cycles followed by bitter ones.

I am always amazed at the squirrels and chipmunks as they cross in front of our cars every day in the fall when they’re gathering their winter food. They often start across just before our front wheels pass over them, and they time it exactly so they’re under the car and safely to the other side before the back wheels get them.

To be continued…

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About the Author: RD Blakeslee is a nonagenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.

Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family