Monday in Nature Feb 27, 2017

 

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Good Morning,

The opener today is a small celebration of the winter that hasn't seen much of the white stuff around here. At your place it may be very different, but we live with our own slice of nature, especially when it's Monday in Nature.

Springtime has arrived in Texas. Cedar waxwings were in my front yard yesterday.

A misty morning during last week's February thaw.

Stormy, windy, and a weather-sealed camera...good excuse to go to the beach.<br><br>

<br><br>Cockle shell from this last Friday

Some Lycopodium digitatum (Diphasiastrum digitatum?) from the Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve on Sunday.

Gray day. Bright moss.

Western Coyote

 

Coyote Glances Toward Me by David Stephens, on Flickr

These mushrooms measure 10" diameter. Since they were growing below ground (had to lie on my stomach in wet leaves and poke the camera into a hole to get the picture) this is the best detail I could get without damaging the mushrooms.

Water boatman trapped in pond ice

I live on granite. My house is literally concreted to it. All our plants grow in raised beds, half barrels and rock gardens filled with imported soil. My driveway was created from dozens of truck loads of imported sand and gravel. This granite is referred to as the Canadian Shield and forms a huge part of the terrain of Northern Ontario. This lichen can be found growing almost everywhere the shield is exposed to the sun and is a large part of the tapestry under our feet. I took the shot during the summer, though, as it is hard to find at the moment.

 

 

Green Hills of California - a bit of rain and the hills explode in green. Very soon though, it'll be all brown again.

These beautifully dotted animals are the fastest in the world. I have had the opportunity to see a mother leading three of her cubs "strolling in the woods", young adolescent cheetahs playing in the morning, watched them stalk, chase, and kill a wildebeest (as my heart was thumping), photograph them as they ate the prey (as in this image), and see them relax under the shade of a tree after a full meal. - An awe inspiring cycle of life on the African Savannah,

 

 

 

I heard there might be geese back on Lake Bomoseen, so I went off in search of them. Before I got where the geese might be swimming I came upon another critter so I shot that one instead, Of course while trying to get my lens cap off it flew away and landed further off, and this is a pretty severe crop, but at least I can see what it was. He or she proceeded to peck at the material on the ice, and I'm guessing it was collecting for a nest. I hope so!

Matthew, the eagle is most likely going after fish frozen in the ice. Frozen dinner, shall we say?

Springflower

I thought the eagle was going for frozen fish, but it seemed to be picking at the weeds, and not hanging around the open water spots as I've seen them do elsewhere, so unless there was something in the weeds, it's possible it was after the weeds themselves. But it occurs to me that since the lake is infested with both Eurasian milfoil and zebra mussels, perhaps the bird is hunting mussels. In another picture the eagle is picking up a big hunk of the vegetation, but it's not clear what's being done with it.

Ice at sunrise

Catkins of the American Hazelnut (Corylus americana)

 

6D MPe at ~3x

A Clavulina coral fungus from last month.

 

The wood frogs were out early this year. February is not usually great for reptile and amphibian photo ops. Also saw a garter snake and a butterfly.