A shot of one of the several humminbird moths hanging out, sipping nectar, and pairing off in the native garden out back. They seem particularly drawn to the islands of swamp milkweed blooming in the sea of bergamot, boneset, and joe pye weed.

Damselfly eating Insect

Damselfly eating Insect, a photo by BBureau on Flickr.

Clearly remember the day I took this shot. It was with a digital camera about six mega pixels which seemed massive at the time. Macro didn't work on zoom, so had to creep up to the damselfly, always staying just below it (as they seem to interpret predators as coming from above.)

Got the photo from about six inches away, and could hear whatever insect the damselfly had nabbed making a loud squawking noise.

The mosquitos in Linwood Forest moved like cumulus. Must be all the standing water.

Canada Anemone
False Indigo

False Solomon's Seal, a woodland plant known for its spiky 'crown' of star-shaped white flowers. Bears speckled berries in mid/late summer. 'True' Solomon's Seal is closely related, but has hanging, bell-shaped flowers. Not sure how it got its Biblical-sounding name.

Prairie Smoke, a rather unusual native named for its pink, filamentous bloom

Cool. Columbine going absolutely crazy this year. Wild Bergamot clusters starting to pop up. Glade mallow foliage coming up in clumps.

Currently in bloom:

• Columbine


• Jacob's Ladder


• Marsh Marigold


• Mohican Viburnum


• Wild Geranium
  

First Gray Tree Frog seen on the windowsil this evening. Spring Peepers and Chorus frogs calling outside.

First Oriole of the year spotted today. Toads trilling throughout the day.

Prairie Smoke

Trees just starting to bud. Red-winged blackbirds draining feeders on a weekly basis.

Maples are flowering.

Went down to check out Martin Lake. It's larger than Typo, and about the same distance from us (a few miles.)

Noticed piping call Spring Peepers interspersed with the Chorus Frogs. The decibles these tiny guys pump out are amazing. For something the size of a paperclip, their call can be heard for a quarter mile or more. If they were the size of humans, the shockwave produced by their calls could break glass.

Seeing lots of red-winged blackbirds at the feeder.

In twenty minutes counted (by either sight or sound) a bald eagle, a white-tailed deer, several robins, a flock of red-winged blackbirds, and a pair of wood ducks, and a growing number of chorus frogs. Wonder how long it is before I'll be hearing the Grey Frogs in my backyard pond.

A slow trill like a finger being dragged across the teeth of a barber's comb echos across the wetlands; the chorus frogs have come out of their frozen slumber before the snow is even off the ground. The call is slow at first, speeding up at the temperature rises.