Thu 1 Feb We were awakened at dawn again this morning by loud, hormonal geese. The season is upon us and barring the use of earplugs there will be no late snoozing into the daylight hours... kinda like having small children in the family. There are now two couples that have become territorial and are attempting to bully any others who pass by into leaving.

Sat 3 Feb This morning there was a red tailed hawk cruising the window feeder attached to the high windows facing the towpath. We were lucky in our timing and literally had a front row seat. Up close one realizes what massive birds they are. Surprisingly, the chickadees and the titmice did not seem to be too cowed or impressed, and barely paused in their early morning feeding frenzy, perhaps feeling they were too nimble near so many sharp corners around to feel threatened.

Tue 7 Feb The Caretaker is responding to treatment, and it now seems likely he will not have to be admitted to the hospital, as was feared, although it is now also clear that this is only because the Caretaker's Wife insisted that emergency medical treatment be obtained Sunday night, rather than waiting for Monday morning. The diagnosis is severe cellulites... specifically, rampant infection of the connective tissues of the lower left leg, presumably induced by multiple spider bites as he lay asleep in bed. As the Caretaker is required to stay in bed for the next several days, Members visiting the Island before the weekend should be prepared to find the ferry locked up. The Substitute Caretaker Supervisor has been notified to find coverage for Saturday.

The Caretaker's Wife deserves additional mention in the dispatches for cool management of the aftermath of a canoeing accident Sunday. Turning abreast a strong wind, a Member tipped his canoe. Although not wearing a life preserver, he swam to shore in 35-degree water. Substitute caretaker Vicki Judson brought the Member to the quarters where the Caretaker's Wife took charge and saw that he got immediately into a hot shower to forestall hypothermia, and provided hot liquids and dry clothing... all this while also ministering to the Caretaker who lay feverish and generally out of it. Vicki organized Members to help retrieve the errant canoe before it could go over the falls.

Mon 12 Jan For over a week we have heard an owl just about every night. In years before there was an occasional call, but now this new neighbor has become a regular component of our nighttime soundscape. Last night, in the early evening, the owl was so surprisingly loud that we were convinced he was just outside, as we could hear him over the TV and all other indoor sounds and with the windows tightly shut. So all indoor lights and sounds were turned off as we opened a window to try to see him in the moonlight... of course to no avail. What we did determine was that at his loudest he seemed to be across the towpath and up the hill, and that he seems to cruise the canal.

Tue 13 Feb A suet feeder hangs from a limb that is about three feet from the living room windows. The other night the Caretaker, unable to sleep, was up in the living room and chanced to look out to see on the limb... something large looking in!!! Well... it was a shocker... a frozen moment! When the adrenalin spike started to subside and eyeball focus returned, it was unclear just exactly what the creature was. The moon was down and it was dark, and in fact all that could be made out at first was a shadowy outline on the near branch, that might have gone unnoticed by anyone not aware of where every shadow should be, as can only conditioned by long familiarization. That... and the prickly certainty of being watched. Somehow the outline was too sharp to be a racoon, and the next thought was that it might be the elusive owl. So close... and yet so mysterious. Finally, unable to stand it, a slow move was made for a flashlight and in an instant the shadow was gone. Much later in the wee hours, hanging out the open window, flashlight at the ready, the mystery was finally revealed when the twelve-foot man walked out from beneath the quarters. Ah... but the story of the twelve foot man is untold because of acute embarrassment to the Caretaker... so you do not know that it was Petey... the possum.

Thu 15 Feb Today we are busy with two projects on the Island. Captain John Matthews arranged to have Arturo Fuentes come to the island to dig out a deep hole adjacent to the septic tank and septic field into which the solids, which composed a 2-foot thick crust in the septic tank, could be shovelled out and put into in order to be buried and composted. Arturo shovelled the holes and the Caretaker shovelled the you-know-what... on the theory that a man should shovel what was mostly his own. The Captain has obtained two new lids for the septic tank to replace the two that were damaged when Roto-Rooter was here. It was then so cold that they were very brittle when it was attempted to remove them.

Tue 20 Feb Yesterday, Club Captain John Matthews came down and installed a new locking cable for Club canoes, with the concurrence of Canoeing Supervisor David Lyles. Winter rules are thus now in effect, although just what they are is still being worked out. Until they are, the on-duty caretaker will have the key while the Club Fathers determine guidelines on when winter canoeing is unsafe... as will be determined by river level, water temperature, and wind velocity. Anyone with their own canoe on the Island is free from any restrictions excepting that inner voice of common sense.

Mon 26 Feb Your Caretaker has returned from visiting his Mother in West Texas to find the Island bursting at the seams, with new growth everywhere... who says all of February is a terrible month. Going to supper with friends in Texas the Caretaker noticed a tree full of chattering and singing birds and commented, virtually in sotto to himself, "Those birds are singing up a storm." Well... the group conversation stopped abruptly... and several sets of wizened eyes scanned the horizon reflexively. It was then the realization came that one person's colloquial expression might be derived from another's living experience. Clearly, some older folks with a Texas ranching background took this comment as an oft-repeated, literal observation, and quite seriously believed and expected that bird behaviour could be an indication of weather just over the horizon. One wonders if such learned skills are a generational experience that is not being passed on, as the younger ranchers are accustomed to starting their day with the weather channel and have no need or incentive to pay such close attention to the birds. Just another example of how our evolving modern culture leads to an increasing disconnect with Mother Nature.

Tue 27 Feb Today we can report our first blooming crocus. The Island is approaching that season where the lawn is covered with the new growth of spring flowering bulbs. It is becoming impossible to step anywhere without crushing some emergent Virginia bluebells. This occasions great sadness and frustration for the Caretaker, who must now curtail any nighttime strolling upon the lawn. Members are surely aware that in a matter of weeks the Island will be transformed into a wildflower garden that the hand of man cannot improve upon. Just the display of bluebells is a singular enchantment to behold, and why so many Members do not avail themselves of this experience is a mystery to the Caretaker. Accordingly, Members are warned that any attempt to bring groups of any age here for the purpose of playing ball or soccer on the lawn during this fragile time will be ruthlessly prohibited.

Excerpted from the Caretaker's Log at sycamoreisland.org

-- Doc Taliaferro, Sycamore Island Caretaker