Here’s another Tuesday edition of Nature Notes Wednesday; this was actually all from a walk I took last week, but never got a chance to post until today.
On my daily walk through our property and up the quiet road our Center resides on, spring was on early display with some seasonal shows that finally felt more timely (as opposed to watching trees bloom during a stretch of 80° weather in mid-March).
Skunk cabbage is well above ground in our wet areas, and mostly open:
And as I walked up the back drive I heard Pine Warblers calling – not realizing how much I missed their familiar trill until I heard it again. I swear I heard a Black-and-white Warbler a few days ago, but can’t be certain. It seems a little early for them.
Shortly after snapping this picture of our emerging skunk cabbage, I heard a noise in the undergrowth not far from me which made me jump. I first thought it was noisy neighborhood kids goofing around, but quickly realized I had just heard my first turkey gobble. Man, they’re loud. There was a flock of turkeys moving through the property, and several males seemed to be having a go at each other. More specifically it looked like one was being targeted by the other two. The male that I had heard call had his tail feathers fanned out in display. By the time I caught up with the flock as they crossed the road, I wasn’t able to get much of a picture:
Those were the last two stragglers of the group as they went from our Y property to the Mass Audubon sanctuary across the street. What (more timely) signs of spring are you seeing where you work and play?
Love your first pic! I remember from my neighborhood long time past, that turkeys roaming around can make a lot of noise!
Thanks, glad you like the skunk cabbage! I love seeing that first burst of green when everything else is still brown and drab.
What lovely settings and beautiful captures of them.
Thank you, and thanks for visiting!
For me, the sign of spring is seeing all my bulbs and other plants starting to pop up in my garden. I’m so eager to start a veggie garden this year. Can’t wait!
I know what you mean. Is this your first year doing a veggie garden?
that road looks like a wonderful place to take a walk
It really is. My favorite places to walk are quiet side streets or country roads with lots of woods and fields on either side, and this one has mostly woods; I love it!
I just covered up some signs of spring with frost blankets for the 4th time in the last 2 weeks..LOL…but that summer heat was far too soon here in NY…
Thank you for all your kind comments, I really appreciate them. I hope that the info can have some impact or at least get people thinking about something that they might not have. It’s like a big light bulb went off over my head and I see that my interest isn’t really fragmented as has been suggested by someone but to look at the whole, you have to line up the pieces first. Feeding the birds is nice, but the bigger picture is making the yard more native to help all wildlife even the insects. Getting over my fears and there were many and being willing to get dirty has helped.
I keep hearing my late friend’s voice in my head. When you have a chance you educate and pass it forward and that is really what I am trying to do.
I wanted to let you know I finished your book that you sent and the one that people can download. I really like your style, It isn’t too bookish or threatening and you talked about things that I had never thought about. I hope you continue to write as you do it well…Michelle
Thanks Michelle! I’m glad you enjoyed the book as much as I enjoyed writing it! I’m working on a longer project covering the history and future of wolves in New England. There’s been some really interesting genetic research done over the last decade and I would be excited to be able to share that info with a larger audience than just the scientific community. I’ll be sure to post when the first stage of the project is done – hopefully in the next few weeks!
One of the things I think you do so well is to bring environmental issues down to concrete steps that everyone can take to help make a difference. That’s hugely important – it’s definitely critical to inform people of the concerns facing our natural world but it can feel so heavy and overwhelming sometimes, and I think people eventually tune out. One of my take-aways from your posts is remembering to share ways people can get involved and feel empowered in the face of so much sad news. Great work!!
Lovely walk, nice photo of the skunk cabbage
Thank you! I just visited your blog – it’s beautiful!! You have some amazing work; I’ll stop by again and say hello later today. 🙂