North Country Wild ~by Jennifer Daniels

Now that all the holidays are over and we are in the start of a new year, I hope this finds you all healthy, safe, and well. 

#North Country Wild is a saying my son came up with for his YouTube and TikTok account. As many of you know I live in Upstate, NY and I am proud of where I come from and I’m immensely proud of my son. I’m going to share with you some of the pictures he has taken this January. 

Two days ago, my husband, son and I were enjoying the afternoon when my son looked out our window and there was a fox in the yard. It happily stood at the edge of the property so my son went out onto the porch to take pictures. When he opened the window, the little fellow decided to chirp at him. It was the cutest thing. It is not unusual for us to have animals roaming around the yard or going up and down the road. Just one of the perks of country life.

He also took several pictures out in the woods after the snow had fallen. And down by the beaver damn. I hope you enjoy our North Country Wild.

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The Little Things in Life ~ by Jennifer Daniels

Spring… just the word makes me smile. It has always been my favorite time of year. Everything is starting to sprout and the leaves are popping open with bold colors of green. Then the smell of the fresh air, there is just something about good old country air.

I am fortunate enough to live in the country in a pretty secluded area with no one around. So last night, my son and I went for a walk. I needed some fresh air and he needed to get his exercise in for his homeschooling gym class (he is not happy about that.)

During this time of finding ourselves at home, take the time to enjoy the things you may not usually enjoy. Read a good book, open your windows and let the air in while you're spring cleaning. Listen to music and dance around your house. But most of all spend some quality time with family, even though you may be getting sick of them being under foot all the time,  find something fun to do together, like a puzzle, a game, or taking a walk outside.

While my son and I were walking he decided we should take some pictures to capture the moment. Please continue being safe, and until next month, enjoy the little things in life, the things we may take for granted.

Summertime Magic ~ by Jennifer Daniels

Every year, spring comes and goes, but as summer is now officially

here, we still see the benefits of spring and all it brings us to enjoy... That is the growth of all life: the trees, flowers, and the new babies that our wildlife.

As I mentioned before, I live in Upstate NY, in the woods. I often

get to see firsthand the new life that joins the world during these two seasons. One of the fun things is seeing the tons of frog eggs we find on the side of our road where the spring run-off flows. It doesn’t take long before the polliwogs will be swimming all over, and soon enough, the frogs will be

singing to us all night long. Along with the frogs are Painted and Snapping turtles that crawl up into the yard and lay their eggs, so far we have seen only one in the yard this year (and I forgot to take a picture).

Every year we have certain animals return, like Mama Robin. This

year she has laid her eggs in the front entrance of the barn. When she collected her nesting materials, she happened to make it out of a blue tarp we had outside on the roof of our small building. In this picture you can only see three of her babies but there are actually four. They are so cute and fun to watch, but we try not to disturb them, which is hard to do being that she is in our barn. Mama is never to far from her nest. 

Other friendly faces we encounter are the turkeys and their poults running after their Mama’s. When they are born they are so cute and puffy, but the cuteness doesn’t last for long.

We have two woodchucks that live on our property and my son has named them Filbert and Mrs. Filbert, but of course as I was trying to get a picture of them, wouldn’t you know, I couldn’t find them. Mrs. Filbert has quite a large waistline, this is the first year we’ve had a Mrs. around, go Filbert!

In the evening we go for drives, enjoy an ice cream treat, and on the drive home look for white-tailed deer and their fawns. The deer are so pretty and deep orange in color and the fawns are so cute with their little wobbly legs and the spots on their backs.

Tonight, my son and I went for a ride and got this picture of the sun

setting after a beautiful summer day. Now, I just need to get out onto the lake.

A huge thank you to my son for taking some of these pictures for me and going on our short walk together the other evening. The mosquitoes and deer flies were so bad, we didn’t stay outside for long.

That is just a taste of the animals that are literally in my back yard. I hope you get out and enjoy this summer and all that nature has to offer in your backyard. Also, since its just around the corner, I want to wish you all a Happy and safe 4th of July.

All photos are property of Jennifer Daniels.