Some bright days. Sudden heat. Brilliant greens.
Wildlife Sightings this week:

 

• the back end of a huge snapping turtle as I disturbed him when I waddled through the shallows of Beatitude Pond
• an enormous green frog. Let me pat his back, but objected to me picking him up and leapt out of reach
• a crayfish, who slipped out of my hand
• a yellow bird, a finch, chirping happily in a maple by the front of Beatitude Pond
• nearly a dozen yellow swallow tail butterflies feeding off the damp driveway, swirling up into a mad haze of wing, black stripes and flashes of yellow when I encouraged them to move away so I could drive across the driveway
• half a dozen or so turkey chicks (what's the proper name?) waddling across the road after mom, as traffic stopped - all two cars of it!

Connect the Dots: Climate Change Awareness Day

I couldn't interest anyone in our town in a conversation or activity about climate change today so after participating in the quarterly trash pick-up with the local conservation commission, I took some photos around the property. I still wonder if the extremely mild and dry winter led our resident beavers to do more building than usual, and chopping down of trees. One of the beavers is quite big, maybe eating too much of that bark!

Today people around the globe are sending in photos of where they have seen climate impacts. We had a very dry early spring, but now the water in the pond is over the top and a waterfall is cascading down the old stone dam again into the brook below. The forest is looking a bit more lush again.

Rain at last! the parched earth is finally getting a drink on Earth Day 2012. Already everything looks a lot greener. This morning I saw several ducks, black against the sky sweep upwards from Beatitude pond, make a wide circle and then descend to the beaver pond.

I have planted some peas, beans, onions and fava beans.

Parched

So little rain. The forest is parched. Leaves dusty. Sticks snap dry. Moss brown. But the beaver pond is providing sustenance and birds are coming to browse and feed in its waters. Fuzzy ferns are popping out of the ground and the usual vibrant green river foliage is now bordering the brook. On close inspection the leaves of these plants don't look quite as green as usual.
Wood ducks, Canada geese, mallard ducks are also frequent visitors.

Urgent Call to Be More Mindful of our Resources

The U.N. has come out with this report on population and the environment - follow the link and take heed!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/world/europe/25iht-environ.4.8056185.html

Summer is Spring

Wood frogs - town hall, March 21
Wood frogs - beatitude Pond, March 23
Poly wogs - beatitude Pond, March 23
Newts breeding - beatitude Pond, March 23
All week, temperatures up in the 80's during the day.
Now, Sat., back down to 50's
Fluctuations
Normal? I don't think so!

Spring has arrived early!

One major storm March 1, after a lull between storms of about two months! winter went by in a blink, literally. I feel as if I have awakened from a long sleep to discover spring (today actually felt more summer like) suddenly arrived.
Two mallard duck couples are feeding in the beaver pond. The beaver is back making his rounds, checking his dam, making sure he is the only beaver in the pond etc...

Living things are swimming amongst the last melting bits of ice. I think the frogs will be singing a couple of weeks early this year. The daffodils are starting to come up, too.