Guard in the Spring garden? - NOT!

It is glorious. They are waking up. Every critter that estivated or hibernated. The 'coons and bears are busily caring for cubs. With the incredibly warm spring, and lack of snow cover, the bears will be groggy and out and about soon. The lack of snow means that bears have had to expend more energy keeping warm over winter.

Hopefully, an early spring will mean that berries will be plentiful and the won't be going after garbage and the neighbour's BBQ'd beef, like last year. Hopefully, the tourists learned something about keeping garbage secure, bird feeders put away for spring, and BBQ grills clean. This one I photographed ambling across the road near Gravenhurst last year.

I spotted a tadpole in the frog pond. REALLY! There is ice nearby (lower left!), but these tough little critters...ready to go! This is likely a bullfrog tadpole (Jeremiah's kin). They take two years to come to maturity unlike the peepers.

The Spring Peepers will be next. Soon! As long as the wee ponds stay wet. Again, the lack of snow is worrisome for farmers and fauna. The moths are out and about. The snow fleas and snow mosquitoes plentiful. Next, will be the mosquitoes (May), and black flies (June).

Meantime, in my new garden, I spotted the crocus raising their wee leaves.

My faithful companion, the 4-footed furry one, not my Personal Assistant & better half, was guarding the garden. Not that I trust him to pay attention. A leaf blows by; he's gone. A bird flies overhead; he's gazing heavenward. His cat-sister nips across the clover (we don't have grass!) and he's there jumping on her head.

For that reason, his ADHD, I have chicken wire over top my new garden and its bulbs. He is useless to protect them! The squirrels are 'starving' and love digging up my bulbs, as do the raccoons, who have risen from slumber. Mommies with babies, seem to be still in their warm dens. There was a little one at our feeder, though. Seemed a bit lost.  The red squirrel figured out the bird feeder that the larger gray or black squirrels seem to be too big for.

Cap't George Travis has been launched.

The shoreline is open, melt water gathers on top of ice. He is happy to sail on our shore, seeking pirate booty.

So far he's only had to navigate around the water beetle, but the muskrat and weasel will be about soon! Lousy photo, I know, but the beetle was beetling around...they grow to be 2"!

Out Milford Bay way, the creeks and streams feed the lake.

The ducks (three mallards and a couple of mergansers) happily paddle in open water cause by the creek flow.

The merganser flew off, mallards slowly took their leave watching me carefully.