Walkies – last one of 2018

Farewell
All this beautiful snow melted in our above zero temperatures and rain in.
The male cardinal is ubiquitous.

On our lot #3 I had two bucks.

Frozen wetland! It's not entirely frozen.


On the frogpond, I noticed the coyote was slipping. Hooper came by, and did some sliding, too.



We went to the island in the wetland. You can see the water is so high. There was a hole, with water seeping out. The turkeys had walked by, perhaps taking a drink.


Hooper sort of followed me. Here he is on the mainland. I called and looked. Suddenly he had skootched around the island, to the far side.


The bridge I'd constructed for the crossing. Just about flooded.


Hooper took the easy way back to the mainland.


Then he came back to climb the tree beside the bridge.



The wetland has an important role is recycling water. It drains, eventually, from the frogpond and the surrounding areas, and into the lake, again.


Frozen, the wetland renews the water, recycles it, and it's a major transportation route for critters, like mice!


Nearer the house, you can see where three deer bedded down during the snowfall.


Farewell, 2018. Welcome 2019! I hope the new year brings all you can wish for. I don't do resolutions. These are things we all know we could do.

The top New Year's Resolutions heading into 2019, according to English Tweets: Exercise Reading Learn something new Healthy eating / diet Volunteering & charity

I had to recharge the iPad, but here is my sketch!

Pileated Woodpeckers, woodland walkies

Last week I spotted the pileated woodpecker, there is much evidence of activity. They are at the base of the trees. Some naturalists rant about the damage they do, but it's all part of the cycle of life. The trees are still growing!

 My recent videos featured her on her nest! I can hear them lots.
You can see how the snow is gone under the warmth of the forest canopy, which harvests the sun's rays.


Daisy and I ventured down to the wetland. The point was pretty wet. This was last week. We went back into a deep freeze, and the 3rd photo shows the ice frozen again. It's good news, as we had a drought last summer.


Where the deer fur remains, Daisy was pretty interested in sniffing.


The bridge to the wetland was not navigable, being so much underwater. Daisy sat on the fallen bush and watched the water go by. There are bubbles, and the water was moving. She was fascinated!


The frog pond has a fair amount of water. This bodes well for spring frogging. I sat on the chair, and watched for a moment, then Daisy got bored. It was well above zero last week. This morning double-digit below zero. The ice is, again, frozen solid.


This was our revisit just a few days later! Frozen solid. The dock, my bridge, and the island.


Daisy sat down for a peek She heard something across the wetland. Turned out to be a deer. She has excellent hearing.


She was reluctant to leave. She sat on that log for a long time.