I'm Alive

So yeah, I've been missing for about 2 months now, okay I waited a few days so I could get it to exactly two months.

About 6 weeks ago I picked up a full-time temp job that has been keeping me quite busy on weekdays. It starts early enough I wasn't able to hike, and I really dislike hiking on weekends (everyone else is). So I've been working, and since it is all computer based I've been coming home with very little interest in playing on a computer.

I took a tiny hike on Monday, and saw just about nothing barring the irritating insects that didn't seem to be biting, but really liked circling my head. It is making me really miss having a job that I didn't have to be at until 10:30 AM that was located less then ten minutes from a very nice Audubon sanctuary. You never realize how good something is until it's gone. Let's not forget the dress code, clothes, just about any kind.

I spent all last Sunday gardening, as since I've got a chunk of rent to pay off to my mother, I have a yard to seed with grass. Since I'll be seeding in and around the garden (this is the prelim part of the yard, eventually I get to do the whole thing and hopefully get it thick enough it can survive the dogs), everything has to be in the ground. A few of these plants have been hanging around in pots for more than two years. Last year I was a very lazy gardener.

Some stuff is finally blooming and I'm going to get back into posting garden pics.

Skunk Cabbage

Is it sad that I eagerly welcome the first skunk cabbage flowers of the year as the true beginning of spring? Most people are not enamored with skunk cabbage. The plants themselves look a bit like swamp hostas. The actual flowers are just tiny yellowish white globes inside the strange leaves shown above. It is supposed to smell like a skunk if you damage the leaves, but as I've never tried that I'm not sure that it does. I do know it is exceedingly inedible, and apparently tastes quite bad. I haven't tried that either. I just think it comes up so nicely early in the year and covers the muddy nastiness that is a swamp before the ferns really get going.

Moose Hill from Tuesday

The snow is very slowly releasing it's grip on the ground. I got there a little late around 8 AM and the ice layer across all the trails was still mostly frozen. next time I will remember to bring my ice grippers. I didn't sink much even though the snow was still 12" deep in a few spots. The crust is now quite thick. The walk out wasn't too bad, but 2 hours later the ice layer had started to melt and made the main trail back quite slick.

The boardwalk is still closed, but you get to walk all the way to it before you find out. I wonder if it's covered with snow, or if the refreezing actually damaged it this winter. It's my favorite section, so it being continually closed is a let down. I'll have to remember next time and wander down to the pond and stream across the street.

It's maple sap harvesting season again. This year there was a trash can being used at one point. I kind of prefer the metal buckets, though there isn't really much of a difference.

This is the same place I captured graceful shadows on the snow a few weeks ago. The snow has since melted in strange places and seems more like the surface of the moon.

I wonder if all the short pine trees will bounce back from spending months stuck to the ground. I did see a number of larger trees snapped in half across teh paths, so maybe being bendy isn't so bad.

The trails all had leaves and branches embedded in them. My guess is the sun warms them up just enough for them to slowly melt down in the snow. The ice cocooning them however was quite nice.

Closeup of nice ice.

More ice.

Near the end of my trek I spotted this curious fellow. I have never seen a spider out in snow before. It was alive and walked away while I was watching. I imagine it isn't very happy about being out right now, but it didn't seem to bothered.

There were plenty of vague footprints to sort through. Most of the prints were obviously people, but I spotted a few deer tracks, possibly coyote, and raccoon as well.

Daily Photo - Coon Tracks

From the barn at Moose Hill last Saturday.

Daily Photo - Snow Shadows

See I went outside. This is from Saturday's snowshoeing at Moose Hill.

Daily Photo - Snow Fleas

It was nice and warm out today at Moose Hill. Around 9 AM these guys started appearing.

Daily Photo - Frost

Another from Moose Hill last week.

Moose Hill Jaunt

I got up this morning, and though I didn't make it out as early as I wanted, I did get out early. there had been no frost at my house, but the parking lot at Moose hill had a number of nice arrangements. i snuck up on three deer with my new obsessive walking method, also known as paying attention to what you're stepping on and stopping every few steps to glance around and listen. The weirdly warm temperatures we've been having appear to be tricking a few of the plants. The forsythia was blooming in patches and the skunk cabbage was visible in the marsh. I flipped the camera upside down to use my flash fro below on the next pic. I took a bunch in the standard configuration, but was getting very harsh shadows. Turning the camera upside down eliminated the problem. it made clicking the shutter a bit awkward however. The boardwalk was very thinly coated in ice. Not quite enough to slip, but every few steps one food might slide where you didn't expect. Winter view of the swamp boardwalk. After a few snows those nice pale grasses will be flat.

All in all an enjoyable walk.

Daily Photo - Ladybug

I find it sad I went to Moose Hill and only saw ladybugs and bees. Those are aphids under the leaf.

Daily Photo - Fall is Coming

No color alteration.

Daily Photo - Clouds

Around sunrise last week some time.

Daily Photo - Pickerel Frog

Moose Hill, by way of Moose Hill Farm due to a closed parking lot... I startled a bunch of these guys, but only this one stuck around.

Daily Photo - What Lurks in the Grass

These guys mostly. I wandered Moose Hill Farm a few days ago. It was not as tick infested as my first trip, but I did notice this one lying in wait. I saw barely any dragonflies, and only a few grasshoppers. Since I was there for bugs it was a bit of a bust. I did see a fellow hiker walking with his parrot. While odd, it wasn't that odd. However no one will be seeing me hiking with the cockatiel on a leash.

The had a bunch of new trails, but signage other than maps was lacking. They loop into Moose Hill's trails now, but not in an easy way. At least one of the new trails appears to not exit at all.

Daily Photo - Damselflies Laying Eggs

Two pairs of breeding damselflies. The male on the left is in focus and the female on the right. Also from Moose Hill.

Daily Photo - Damselfly

Another one from Moose Hill on Sunday. There were half a dozen of these guys breeding at the edge of the boardwalk of the Billings Loop. They were quite accommodating. Thankfully, no one happened along while I was lying on the boardwalk taking pics of them.

Daily Photo - Deer

From Moose Hill on Sunday. If I had been watching the trail I could have gotten an even closer photo. As it is I did get the deer are big impression as it trotted past me.

Daily Photo - Wood Frog

I got up around 4 am yesterday and made it to Moose Hill around dawn. I wandered about until 8 am. I didn't see much actually, but two wood frogs. They made the trip totally worth it. The one above was about the size of my fist. I'd never seen one that large before. Random annoyance: there is a male cricket loose in my bedroom who keeps chirping at odd times.

Moose Hill - Ferns

I meant to post this on the third... Highlights from my recent hike in Moose Hill Azure Butterfly Solomon's Seal on Bluff Trail Early twinflower And ferns galore...

Daily Photo - Ferns Emerging

Moose Hill - Ferns

Daily Photo - Unidentified

I thought these were wood hyacinth but a quick web search proved me wrong. I'm not quite sure what they are. They're blooming right now in Moose Hill near where the Turkey Trail and Billings loop meet.