A walk in the Woods

Looking up... It's early spring. My favorite time of the year. The beautiful new green is just starting to appear, and the whole summer awaits us. What could be better?

A walk in the Woods

Looking up... It's early spring. My favorite time of the year. The beautiful new green is just starting to appear, and the whole summer awaits us. What could be better?

A walk in the Woods

Looking down... It's early spring. My favorite time of the year. The beautiful new green is just starting to appear, and the whole summer awaits us. What could be better?

A walk in the Woods

Looking down... It's early spring. My favorite time of the year. The beautiful new green is just starting to appear, and the whole summer awaits us. What could be better?

Male Northern Cardinal in Snow

A bright red male northern cardinal sits on a tree branch amid white trails of falling snow.

Female Northern Cardinal

She's all fluffed up to conserve body heat in the winter. The temperature is in the single digits fahrenheit (-12 or so celsius). She's wearing her winter colors, with only a little of that cardinal red visible so she doesn't stand out so much against the snowy background like the show-offy males do.

Hard Worker

This little gray squirrel was hard at work bringing home the bacon. Well, okay they're peanuts. Squirrels don't eat bacon. Squirrels are industrious little blighters. They'll find their way into almost any bird feeder, and even if they can't get into the feeder, they'll hang out below it to glean any seed bits that the birds drop. They don't share very well either. The big ones will chase away the young ones. We took an old feeder and converted it to peanuts for the squirrels and bluejays. Since only one squirrel can get at the feeder at a time, and the small ones are more agile, it's turned out to be helpful for the youngsters, who really need the extra food in order to survive the winter.

House Finch

Bird feeders attract a variety of finches. This male house finch is waiting his turn in a nearby tree.

House Finch

Bird feeders attract a variety of finches. This male house finch is waiting his turn in a nearby tree.

Snowy Branches

Fresh snow on bare tree branches make interesting patterns.

Awkward Squirrel

A gray squirrel clings to a frosty metal apparatus.

Winter's Comin'

A colony of fungi made a pretty tableau on a fallen tree trunk. Storrs Lake, near Milton, Wisconsin (USA) during an unusually warm week in mid November. The temperature was mild, but the sky promised things to come.

Winter's Comin'

A colony of fungi made a pretty tableau on a fallen tree trunk. Storrs Lake, near Milton, Wisconsin (USA) during an unusually warm week in mid November. The temperature was mild, but the sky promised things to come.

Back Yard Birds

Male northern cardinal eating sunflower seeds.

Back Yard Birds

Male northern cardinal eating sunflower seeds.

Back Yard Birds

Two pine siskins

Back Yard Birds

Pine siskin

Back Yard Birds

House finch

Back Yard Birds

Blue jay

Back Yard Birds

A chickadee is flanked by two pine siskins.

Back Yard Birds

The back yard feeder can be a busy place. These are some of the regular visitors.

Early Autumn Wisconsin

Scenes as the seasons change near Milton in Rock County, Wisconsin (USA)

Early Autumn Wisconsin

A ripe milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) pod waits for a breeze. Scenes as the seasons change near Milton in Rock County, Wisconsin (USA)

Introspection

It was a beautiful late summer day at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Introspection

It was a beautiful late summer day at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Introspection

It was a beautiful late summer day at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Introspection

It was a beautiful late summer day at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Introspection

It was a beautiful late summer day at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Introspection

It was a beautiful late summer day at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Storrs Lake Segment

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) is super aggressive, and seems to be taking over the understory of the forest. It's all but impossible to kill, once it gets started, and it's now entrenched in Wisconsin. In spite of everything, it's also strangely beautiful. The leaves are edible if you cook them twice. The berries contain an intense purple stain, and, in my opinion, little discernable flavor. Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Storrs Lake Segment, near Milton, Wisconsin (USA). The trail is flooded midway through the segment. I waled south from the north terminus last week. These images are from the southern parking lot near Milton, walking northbound up to the flooded area.

Grass Seed

Storrs Lake, near Milton in Rock County, Wisconsin (USA)

Grass Seed

Storrs Lake, near Milton in Rock County, Wisconsin (USA)

Fancy Fungus

A Polyporales fungus forms a shelf about 12 inches (30 cm) across. Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Rock County, Wisconsin, near Bowers Lake.

Mushroom Glow

A mushroom basks in the sun filtering down through the trees. Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Rock County, Wisconsin, near Bowers Lake.

Hello World

A curious little dragonfly perches on a stem alongside the trail. Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Rock County, Wisconsin, near Bowers Lake.

Great Blue Heron

(Ardea herodias) Horicon Marsh, near Horicon in Dodge County, Wisconsin (USA)

Arctic Tern

(Sterna paradisaea) Horicon Marsh, near Horicon in Dodge County, Wisconsin (USA)

Arctic Tern

(Sterna paradisaea) Horicon Marsh, near Horicon in Dodge County, Wisconsin (USA)

Canada Geese

Everything shipshape; ducks in a row. Horicon Marsh, near Horicon in Dodge County, Wisconsin (USA)

Redwing Blackbird

(Agelaius phoeniceus) Horicon Marsh, near Horicon in Dodge County, Wisconsin (USA)