Angry Birds...in Middle Earth...

…there is one spot along the Little Miami River that is different from the “regular” woodlands along the trail—the lowland flats. The “flats” are thick and lush and mysterious. They sit about 20 or 30 feet below the biking trail about a mile up the path from the Powder Factory. Here the river meanders away from the bike path, forming a green, spongy stretch of land. When you walk the flats, you usually go unobserved by the people up on the trail, but you can see them, and you can hear them too as their voices sink down the slopes and echo around the huge Sycamore trees. The forest is deep and dark here, and the mind can wax fanciful easily, and that's not just me letting my imagination run wild. The last time Rick and I roamed the flats Rick mentioned the forest felt ancient, almost like we could be in a different world. He didn’t come right out and use the term “Middle Earth,” but I don’t think he would have been surprised to have seen a Lord of the Rings-style elf on a horse winding through the trees...

…so what does this have to do with anything? Friday, when the sun came out, I left work early and headed to the Little Miami. When I got to a turn-off path, I hopped off the trail and climbed down to the river where I followed a deer trail to the small creek that led to the flats. After crossing over, I walked only a few minutes before three little chickadees started sounding the alarm…screaming at me and scolding me like I’ve never been screamed at or scolded before! I took a few photos of them in their agitated state hoping they would calm down, but they didn’t. They were working in a triangle, shifting between three trees one after another, seemingly protecting the tree at the apex. That's when I saw a hole in the tree, which probably was a nesting cavity. I fired off a few more photos, but quickly left the scene. "Quiet down," I said, "You'll bring out the elves!" (I was kidding of course, but two deer on the other side of a giant felled tree did look up, which made me laugh...who knows...maybe...). I only walked 15-20 feet away before they calmed down and went about their business, but I didn’t linger and kept walking on, eventually climbing up the hillside and back to reality...

...now that's an Angry Bird!

...looking back at the tree with the nesting cavity in it.

...these Chiggies were relentless. He looks like he's singing, but he's not!! He's calling in the forces...

...look at the top-left corner of the photo. That's the nesting cavity he was protecting.

...intruder, intruder!

...danger...danger!

...get out...get out!

"Don't make me call in an elf. They have arrows..."

p.s. For you lovers of the "Angry Birds" games, there were no egg-snatching pigs around...the birds were just angry at me.

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