I was on vacation in Krkonoše and the resort at which we resided had baby goats and a few lambs. Baby goats are like kittens – inquisitive, lively and totaly adorkable.
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
It’s another beautiful day so my boy and I went wandering around the woods up by the lake. I don’t walk those trails very often because there’s usually a lot of bugs, but it’s early in the season so I thought we’d give it a try. Jack loves new places so he had a great time and I found a few interesting trees to photograph. The first two trees are alive, but the last tree has been dead for a while. It left behind an interesting carcass, though, and was full of little sparrows as we approached it.
©voyager, all rights reserved
It’s a perfect day here. The sun is shining in a cloudless blue sky and it’s 21° with a light little breeze. Jack and I decided to go see if there were any flowers up yet at the park and we found daffodils. Lots of daffodils, all just newly opened and at their best. The tulips are up too, but they’re still a few days away from blooming. It was also nice to see the willows already fuzzy with new leaves. Now, I’m going to go find every excuse I can to be outside.
©voyager, all rights reserved
It’s finally spring around here. The day is warm and sunny and little birds are twittering everywhere. My widows are open and that fresh smell of the season is positively intoxicating. Jack and I decided to go to the forest this morning and found the trout lilies up and getting ready to bloom. We also found a solitary patch of little yellow flowers. I have no idea what they are, but they were a welcome bit of colour. A few more trilliums are also around, but they are coming very slowly this year. We are expecting warm weather all week, though, and I hope that means the flower show will begin soon.
Trout lilies
The first forest flowers
©voyager, all rights reserved
We found a few new faces in the neighbourhood today.
©voyager, all rights reserved
First trillium of the year
It’s only 4° today and and almost feels as if it could snow. Despite this shock to the system, the forest is starting to wake up. Our favorite park is actually a protected wildflower sanctuary and normally there are hundreds of trilliums by now. Today we found only one, but the ground cover is greening up and I’m sure more trilliums will show up soon. The forecast is for two more days of cold and then temperatures in the twenties. Now that will get the flowers growing.
©voyager, all rights reserved
More ratlets. Rubin got knocked up around the same time as Esme, her crew was born 2 weeks after Esme’s. In these photos, they were 21 days old.
Jazzlet’s beautiful companions, click for full size.
Thorn.
Jake.
© Jazzlet, all rights reserved.
©voyager, all rights reserved
We found a surprise in the woods this morning. The University of Guelph is doing a study of insect DNA across the country and they have installed a trap in our little forest. It’s pretty early in the season for bugs around here, but there was a lot of activity at the trap and more than a few already caught. I wonder how often they will come to collect? Our little forest is the smallest provincial park in Ontario and we often get overlooked. It’s a nice feeling to think that we’re a part of something important. It’s also nice because the path has been cleared so that Jack and I don’t need to scramble up and over anymore fallen trees.
©voyager, all rights reserved
It might not be immediately obvious, but Jack is fishing in this photo. Sometimes he just wades in and then stands very still staring at the water for a very long time. The first few times it happened we wondered what the heck he was doing, but then one day several years ago Jack suddenly plunged his head underwater and came up with a fish in his mouth. We took one step toward him and Jack, not wanting to give up his catch, threw his head back and swallowed the fish whole. It was about 8 cm long and thankfully he swallowed it head first, but that fish was still alive and moving when it hit his stomach. His facial expressions told the story. Ever since then, Jack wants to repeat the trick. Like all good fishermen, he’s after the bigger one that got away.
It’s raining today and I don’t even mind because we found flowers. Just a few, but they’re ready to bust out all over. You know what they say…April showers bring May flowers.
©voyager, all rights reserved
The sky is dull today, but it’s about 12° and calm. Jack went for a swim today at the dam. Once the water warms up a bit I won’t let him swim here anymore because this water gets a lot of algae. Good thing Jack likes it cold.
©voyager, all rights reserved
©voyager, all rights reserved
It’s another beautiful day here and I’m enjoying the freedom of being outside without being all bundled up. For the past few days Jack and I have been walking in a new area because our usual forest path hasn’t been cleared yet of several large fallen trees. Jack thinks this new route is pretty swell. It runs close to the river and he’s been able to frolic in the water every day. I don’t think the route is swell and it’s not because of the wet dog. It’s because of all the dead trees. Several years ago my area was hard hit by the emerald ash borer beetle. (Agrilus planipennis) It destroyed every tree in the park that connects with this path and many more were cut down in neighbouring areas to help to help prevent the spread. What was once a lush green park with mature trees is now riddled with decaying stumps and fallen branches. Our winters have become so warm that these critters can now survive this far north. One more victim of climate change.