Went outside to see what the dog was barking at and saw this on the other side of the fence.
Today in nature, riding my bike on a path alongside a stream, I was pelted in the face by a swarm of midges. Yep, spring is definitely coming. Better signs of spring include early daffodils by the roadside and even a single primrose on a sheltered, south-facing slope.
@Galactus - I’m not from 'round these parts, so I gotta ask - what is it?
j
Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana
Ah. Cool, thanks!
j
That’s the critter. Strange that it’s out this time of year in Michigan.
Its been a strange winter here. Was very warm until today, and will warm up again tomorrow. I have only worn my winter jacket about two weeks this year. It’s no wonder the animals are confused.
Today, my eagles have a nest full of snow but mom is sitting firm on her eggs. Yesterday, she and her partner brought in food and fur and tore the fur bits apart to help line the nest against the weather. I got to watch via the camera as they worked on it. All animals that can hunker down have done so. It’s blowing a big, white hoolie out there.
Here’s a link to a story on the eagles and a the video feed from early morning. We have a windchill warning out for overnight. Good luck my bird friends!
Right now it’s 20F warmer here in central NC than it is in Los Angeles. Our air conditioning just came on. The fruit trees are starting to bloom. I hope the flowers don’t all get frozen off in a week or two.
It was 70 yesterday, 30 today. Crazy.
Here in Florida, highs have reached the 80s for a couple of weeks now. I think winter’s over.
In September 2020 we had a very cold day with sleet. I was driving and saw an Eastern Box Turtle on the road. Their Conservation Status is currently “Vulnerable” which is a category of “Threatened”. When I was a kid, they were very common. This was the first I’d seen in a while.
I stopped and picked him up, afraid he’d get smashed on the road. He did not look good. He was dehydrated, and felt too light. I took him home, warmed him up, soaked him in warm water. The next day I gavaged some water. A few days later I gave fenbendazole (a dewormer). He passed some nasty stuff, then began to look better and move around more. I began to think he might survive, but it was too cold to release him.
I set him up in a kiddie pool in our basement and began offering food. After a few weeks he began eating
In the spring of 2021we took him for a hike to an area where I thought he would do well; where a wooded area met a meadow, and released him there.
A year later (April 2022) we were walking our dogs and they were investigating something. It was the turtle, about 30 yards from where we originally released him
Cool! He looked healthy. There were some defects in his shell and beak that made it easy to recognize it was the same turtle.
Yesterday it was 70 degrees out, so we took the dogs walking. I’d forgotten all about the turtle, but the dogs spotted/smelled him once more in the same general area, about 50 yards from the release point.
I hope he continues to thrive.
That’s wonderful! He’s so lucky it was you that found him.
Does this count as nature?
A fossil? Of what, do we think?
Today I was riding on a bike path through an industrial estate, and heard a woodpecker drumming real close by. And again, ten or so seconds later, really close. I stopped the bike to look around, and he/she flew out of a tree pretty much directly above me - I had passed within not much more than a meter (horizontally, you understand; and another four or five vertically). No wonder the noise was so loud!
j
I believe it’s a Petoskey stone. Found it in SW Michigan.
Cool!
j
I think you are right. I was just about to search for a link to describe the stone in your picture. They are so cool.
The forces of nature apparently approve of my recent retirement. Shot from my back deck just now.
Cool!