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A few more sights from this week
I live in a beautiful area, though until the sun comes out we can easily forget. This week has helped us remember.
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Even sparrows
In trying out the new camera my husband blessed me with, my most cooperative subject was a song sparrow. There were other birds around — a yellow throat, a yellow warbler, a redstart. The sparrow is the least exotic and colorful. Yet a close look shows even sparrows to be remarkably varied.
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Wildflowers
We took an afternoon walk yesterday to see how a familiar preserve looked in the sun. Here’s a new flower — with the not-so-catchy name “narrow-leaved blue-eyed grass”:
It’s only about a half an inch across, but it was neat to see a new adornment on the ground. Here’s a closer look:
A veery was singing in the distance, which my daughter tried without success to see. Oven birds, a house wren, robins and cardinals provided musical accompaniment. A few other flowers we saw:
Buttercups (I guess) 
Bluets 
Daisies There were mosses a-plenty…
As well as some favorite spots to think.
A couple of oven birds tried hard to lead us away from what must have been their nest site. It would have been amazing to see an oven bird nest, but we settled for watching the birds for a few minutes, then moving on to give them some peace.
Not only did we observe; we were observed:
On the whole it was a lovely stroll.
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Cloudy and green
Around here this spring, we have to accept the overcast as an almost constant state. But the temperature was pleasant and even a little sultry, so we ventured out.
A may apple in bloom Plants continue to develop even in wet conditions. This interrupted fern shows its fertile leaves.
A closer look My daughter noticed this clump with a bracken fern growing in the midst of another kind of fern. (Maybe a common polybody fern? I’m trying to learn them, but many look alike to me.)
A few more specimens. . .
“Moss” on a dead tree. Seen closely, it always looks like a whole community of pants. 
A wide variety grow along the bank of the stream, too. 
Dogwood It was very dim light, and the photos show the drabness. But somehow the greens look greener when it’s overcast. My pics don’t show it as much (partly because I’m still stuck with my cell phone camera), but one has a sense of the light emanating from the leaves instead of the sky.
See the frog? 
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Caught in the act
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Finding flora
Blue sky was unexpected, so we seized the day. Though my camera is still in the shop, the cell phone worked to capture some memories.
We were hoping to see some early ferns and wildflowers, and we weren’t disappointed.
Sensitive fern 
Pasture rose 
Trillium 
Wild cherry The May apples had formed buds since last week:
(May apple bud, photo-bombed by Lucy) The high point of the walk was the waterfall and old stone bridge.
That tree on the bank is always striking to me. It looks like it’s tip-toeing down to go wading.
The walk back yielded some artistic moss etchings on rocks…
As well as more ferns, more moss, and a tiny toad.
Christmas fern (?) 
On the whole it was a thoroughly enjoyable expedition with sights from small…
Bird’s eye speedwell …to tall.
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Spring songs
A prothonotary warbler that hit a window, recovered, and flew away. My camera is off to a Canon service center to get its autofocus repaired. Some internal problem keeps it from getting sharply focused images. That leaves me with eyes, binoculars, and ears for processing the season.
It’s a blessing in a way, because I’ve been reminded of how much I’ve learned about my place since I started paying attention. Just listening out the windows and around the yard, I’ve heard:
- Rose-breasted grosbeaks
- Orioles
- Catbirds
- A veery
- A hermit thrush
- A chestnut-sided warbler
- Chickadees
- House wrens
- Carolina wrens
- Robins
- Titmice
- Nuthatches
- Blue jays
- Cardinals
- A blue wing
- Song sparrows
- Chipping sparrows
- White-throated sparrows
At a friend’s house, I added:
- An oven bird
- A common yellow throat
- A field sparrow
It’s quite the symphony. Other birds — cedar waxwings, ruby-throated hummingbirds, juncoes, white crowned sparrows, and yellow-rumped and blackburnian warblers — also have songs, but they are often so high pitched that I don’t notice them. They tend to blend in with other kinds of sounds in the neighborhood. I’ve seen these birds here too in recent days, either passing through on their way northward or settling in and staking their territorial claims.
How many other creatures are there out there that I’m not aware of yet? Before learning these birds, the spring brought an indistinguishable barrage of sound, but without knowing who was contributing what songs it was not “readable” or “hearable.” Now I recognize it as intricate orchestral score that showcases the individual themes of any number of birds singing simultaneously, calling and responding to establish property lines, attract mates, or stay together in migration.
The more you look, the more you see — and hear.
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Spring Marsh
It was in the 40s this morning, but the sun was inviting. We headed for a nearby marsh in search of spring warblers.
The May apples were just opening their “umbrellas,” and a riot of green shoots of all kinds reached for the sun. These ferns were fist-bumping!
Others stretched their fronds more tentatively. This one looks like it’s admiring its shadow.
We saw more than I was able to capture in photos. My camera doesn’t focus well when fully zoomed out, so I have only one semi-decent warbler picture. But we saw pileated woodpeckers and downies, red-winged blackbirds, mallards and geese, at least one flicker, and numerous yellow-rumped warblers like this one.
A bench in a strategic place allowed some time to reflect and listen.
It’s heartening to see the surge of life bursting out all over. Along with spring leaves and blooms, all the beautiful summer-dwellers are back: orioles, grosbeaks, hummingbirds. May is my favorite month, and by the end of it we’ll have seen an intricate tapestry of tiny wildflowers and ferns and mosses grow to carpet this landscape. The leaf canopy will thicken, softening some of the brightness and contrasts in the scene. I plan to savor and enjoy every phase.
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Spring Walk
It’s been a cold, overcast spring. Daffodils and forsythia are finally open, and today the sun came out and warmed us to the heart.
So we went for a walk — and discovered others were enjoying the warmth, too.
We decided to name this guy Thanos, even though we haven’t seen the new Avengers movie yet. He has a sinister look about him, even sluggish and mud-covered.
Under the water near where we stood, another snapper looked more awake, and more malevolent.
He rose to periscope depth to examine us.
We saw more agreeable spring pond-dwellers, too: a kingfisher, a number of box turtles, a deer, a green heron, and a snake. Younger Daughter saw muskrats twice, but her sister and I didn’t get there soon enough to see. We also saw bluets growing, and a goose family.
Oh for more days like this!
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Summer Falls
Wild geranium at the entrance to the trail 
The first of many stairs 
One example of the harmony between human stairs and natural stairs 
There’s always a mixture of darkness and light 
Greenery is everywhere 
There were brook trout in most of the pools, waiting for the next rain to raise the water level and carry them further down the falls 
Sun peeks through 
Peace 
Forget-me-nots along the bank 
A female mallard that plopped in for a rest while we watched 
Turning to look back down the stream This is a 3/4 mile walk along a gorge, but that short span includes something like a 600 foot rise in elevation. We climbed a lot of stairs, then walked down the other side on a more gradual trail. It was an absolutely lovely day.
