“I’ve never seen this before!” exclaimed my sister Beverly, the geologist. It didn’t look like much to me but she was clearly excited by this apparently remarkable formation (above) she noticed here on her first walk in North Carolina with me. She explained to us that it is a pallid zone with a saprolite layer underneath it.
It was the day after Christmas, which had been “hot” with record temperatures in the 70s. But on this day it was back down in the 50s and very gray, raw and chilly. I took Beverly and her husband John down to walk at length up Bolin Creek.
I rarely find a bird to photograph on this walk because they are singing way far up in the tall trees. So I was very surprised to come across a feral muscovy duck sitting on a log in the creek, watching the world go by. He kept an eye on me, but didn’t move, as I photographed him from three different spots along the creek bank.
I haven’t seen too many squirrels this fall and winter and have been wondering why that is. This one was the only one I saw sitting still, although just a couple of others were later seen racing up the trees.
We went on to discover fungi, lichens, and unusual burls. (There are no loblolly pines in New England.)
(a cup-shaped or saucer-like fungal fruiting body)
It was good getting out for some fresh air and a good long walk, and having the chance to show my nature-loving sister and brother-in-law a little bit of the different world down south here.
exquisite shots,Barbara -lovely squirrel :)I love your posts,so alive and present
Thank you, Leelah. 🙂 I hope you are doing well over there in our beloved Norway. ♡
What a great place to walk and take beautiful photos.
Thank you, Julie. You’ll have to come visit me some day!
You found some treasures to photograph, Barbara, esp. love the beard lichen!
50s sounds pretty good to me. 😉 It has been cold in the singles to twenties… brrr! Now wintery mix coming tonight… ick!
The beard lichen seemed to be attached to a lot of fallen branches from the latest storm, but we also found some floating free on top of the leaf litter. 50s is the average afternoon high here in January. I do remember how icky those wintery mixes are!
Lovely photos! I wonder if the duck is somebody’s backyard pet or layer that got out.
Thank you, Susan! That’s very possible – my mother kept one with her chickens, one of them hatched and raised it as her own. His name was Lonesome George.
What a great name! I also meant to mention that perhaps that circular burl was from barbed wire. If it was though, you’d see similar marks on other trees.
The barbed wire theory makes sense. But it was pretty high up on the tree and AI says when a burl forms it stays at the same vertical height while the tree grows taller.
That is one chunky duck, Barbara! I’ve never heard of a muscovy duck — perhaps it’s native to your area? And even though my late dad was a geologist, I don’t ever recall him mentioning “a pallid zone with a saprolite layer underneath it.” Did you get your sister’s translation??
According to AI the Muscovy duck is native to the tropical climates of Mexico, Central America, and South America … but feral populations are now widespread globally as they are popular domesticated birds.
Maybe your dad had never come across ‘a pallid zone with a saprolite layer underneath it’ either! Nope, I didn’t understand one word of Beverly’s explanation, and when I look up those words online the definitions also don’t make much sense to me – lol.
Years ago, there was a fellow blogger in Northern Michigan who raised Muscovy Ducks. I had never seen one, not even a photo of one and I was amazed at how different they looked. She had them for pets and they followed her around while she created the repurposed wood items she sold on her site. I can imagine Beverly and John were eager to see the North Carolina woods and all it had to offer at a time when they’d usually be seeing snow. I like the expression on the squirrel’s face as you took its picture.
My mother was quite fond of her Muscovy duck, who she named Lonesome George. He also followed my mother around while she was gardening and doing yard work. It did snow up in CT while Beverly & John were here and they went home to a snow-covered driveway. I’m hoping I can get them to come down during spring break because the botanical garden was closed for winter break while they were here and that’s the place I had most wanted to show to John. Love those squirrels and their expressive faces!
The blogger’s duck was very affectionate and a good companion, like Lonesome George. I seem to recall she lived out “in the sticks” with no neighbors around. I hope Beverly and John visit again. Isn’t this where you always went during Spring break time as you had better parking? The squirrels and their expressive faces is what endears us to them the most.
Actually I walk here along Bolin Creek quite often year-round. You might be thinking of Coker Arboretum, which is on the UNC campus and has no parking while the students are in town. It is beautiful during spring break and we went there in March 2024 and 2025. With some luck, I might persuade Beverly & John to come down in March during her spring break, and maybe it will be the same week as UNC’s. 🙂
Yes, the Coker Arboretum is what I was thinking of and near the campus, so you took that opportunity to visit during spring break with students on break. I hope you can persuade Beverly and John to visit and see your beautiful state on her spring break. Perhaps if you break out in song: “Nothing could be finer, than to be in Carolina in the morning.” (My parents were Mitch Miller fans for many years.) 🙂
I would agree that nothing could be finer, than to be in Carolina, but on a spring morning. 🙂 Those pictures I got at Coker Arboretum are some of my all time favorites that I’ve gotten down here. I should really try going there at other times of the year, maybe on one of those rare summer days with bearable low humidity.
Yes, low humidity and spring – seize the day and enjoy it. I remember a few years ago, I was still working and it was Summer and we had a glorious week of weather, coolish, with no humidity. I did a series of posts I called “Seize the Day” where I got out as soon as it was light, drove to a big park, walked around with the camera and made it home on time to start work at 11:00 a.m. Toward the end of my working days, I was stretching that closer to 11:30 and staying later at night to make up for it.
The insight into your sister’s excitement in the geological aspects of the creek had me wandering in my mind. It led me to wondering if you might have perused formal higher education in botany.
My silly mind also had me thinking if Tim’s spirit snatched this duck’s body to live within along the creek beside you just to keep a loving eye on you. The two of you certainly had a fun little dance that day. It will be interesting if you see it next time you walk the creek. Quite handsome it is!
I’m loving our warm winter weather. It’s not uncommon, though. It’s wonderful to wear a sundress and flippers in January. Yes, the dew point changes from humid to dry to humid continuously as front swirl through. So far, I haven’t been too cold. But our weather lady says “it’s-a-com-in’.”
My sister is the one with the brains who earned a PhD in Earth & Environmental Science, after getting a Master of Science in Geology. Her husband has a Master of Science in Plant Science. I was a free spirit and a rebel who never wanted to go to college and never did, choosing instead to be a stay-at-home mom, and still have no regrets.
Since my mother had a beloved pet Muscovy duck (Lonesome George) I think it more likely that this one might have been my mother’s spirit. Her usual mourning doves have been visiting me at home lately, too.
I had to laugh, picturing you in a sundress and flippers! I’m guessing you meant flip-flops! Our weather keeps going back and forth between above average and below average temperatures. Makes me wonder what an average winter here feels like.
I, too, was a free spirit and never liked school work other than art classes. You, too, are gifted with the creative side of our brains. It is a lovely way to view our world, Barbara.
Awe yes, that Muscovy duck must have been your mother’s spirit! And much sweetness that her mourning doves continue to visit your home. Yesterday out my kitchen window, there were seven juvenile mourning doves huddled on top my fence with their feathers all fluffed as the wind from a cold front was blowing in for a few days. My mother’s spirit visits me disguised as Ruby-throated hummingbirds.
Yes flippers for this sea turtle means flip-flops! I have flippers and Yorkie has slippers. While Corpus Christi, TX tied a 1952 high of 89 degrees earlier in the week, this morning the low is a chilly-buger 47 degrees. I’m grateful that we have not had temperatures below 45 degrees so far. It can get below freezing here.
For me there’s no such thing as “an average (or normal) winter (or season” as I believe Mother Nature holds all the power to change her mind anytime. In my old wisdom age, I have learned to live through each day around Mother Nature’s mystical powers.
I hope that you will be able to visit with Beverly & John often. You are lucky to have such wonderful emotional support! 💙
What a treat to see seven juvenile mourning doves together! I remember when sometimes I’d see dozens of them lined up on a telephone wire back in CT, seemingly just observing the things going on below them in the condo complex parking lot. 🙂 I can’t help thinking of flippers as what one wears on her feet when she goes snorkeling in the ocean. But I do hope you get many more flippers and sundress days this winter!
😂🤣😂snorkeling flippers had me laughing 🤣 😂🤣
Life is so much better when we’re laughing! 😂
Your duck is definitely a new one to me. I was curious about the feral part of the name, but I’ve gleaned from other comments that they are sometimes raised by people, so that made sense. I’d be happy for the 50’s for temperature. It’s supposed to get to the mid-40’s today, I’ll take it, but rain is expected to go with it.
This was the explanation of ‘feral’ that made sense to me that I found online:
Wild Muscovy ducks (cairina moschata) are native to South & Central America and usually only migrate up into southern Texas. Muscovy ducks in any other state are not wild, but feral; that is, captively bred Muscovy ducks (cairina moschata domestica) who have been introduced into the wild by humans.