A mild winter slowly turned into spring and then decided to go out in spectacular style, covering all of our pink, purple, and yellow blooms with snow! In addition to being a home to our rescued companion animals, the The Lily Pond is where the wild things are.
An abundance of wildlife announced its presence this spring. A family of beavers are keeping their babies safe in a den built in the middle of the lower pond. Chipmunks scamper around the stone walls while a chorus of peepers sing their hearts out in the ponds to the accompaniment of a baritone bullfrog with his tuba-toned calls. Bees and butterflies with wings of orange and iridescent blue whisper sweetly to the new blossoms. The little snakes came out of hibernation and we watched a native wood turtle make it’s way across our yard to lay eggs near the pond. When the geese returned to the pond in March, we knew we would soon see some baby goslings. What a surprise to observe not one but two families with a dozen fluffy goslings parading the grounds. A mother deer grazes the fields with her twin spotted fawns, ever keeping watch as a large wolf appeared one day out of the forest. Of magnificent stature and pure white fur, the wolf loped around the pond and trotted along the edges of the woodland.
Our land has been the traditional hunting ground of wolves for thousands of years until they were driven out and exterminated from the area by humans. As a sanctuary, The Lily Pond’s philosophy is respect for life with a focus on the connection between all sentient beings. We were thrilled to realize that the land had called back her old friends the wolves, who have found safety in our woodland and bring great benefit and balance to the local ecology.
A majestic blue heron returned to the pond to fish and we were fortunate to have a mated pair of Baltimore Orioles fluttering around the barn. Barn Manager Brenda Izzo put out fresh oranges and the fiery-breasted orioles happy feasted on the treat. We watched a mated pair of crimson cardinals build a nest in the rose bush outside the kitchen window. The female swooped back and forth with salvaged twigs while the male hunted for food and fed it to her as she worked. Humanity may have spent most of this spring quarantined in their homes, but the natural world is flourishing with beauty and splendor.
