burn pile

This pile was created many years ago, and that is why the briers and weeds have entangled it.

“Going to Walden is not so easy a thing
As a green visit. It is the slow and difficult
Trick of living, and finding it where you are.”
—-Mary Oliver, Going to Walden

a rabbit
a chipmunk (I thought that the neighborhood cats had gotten them all).

    The barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) returned to our neighbor’s barn a few days ago.

    There is an albino squirrel that lives in the woods. I saw him once last year, just after we moved here. This year I was able to get several snapshots but could not get close enough to obtain a clearer picture. My camera does not have a long-range telephoto. I assume that it is [...]

    I spent several hours yesterday working against the expansion of the Japanese bindweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) in our yard. Japanese bindweed, aka Japanese knotweed, is an invasive species that was introduced to the U.S. in the 19th century. It has since spread over most of the U.S., and has reached Alaska.
It grows by means of [...]

“In spring the blue azures bow down
at the edge of shallow puddles
to drink the black rain water.
Then they rise and float away into the fields.”
—-Mary Oliver  (Spring Azures)

Sighted:
red-winged blackbird
bluebird
nuthatch
downy woodpecker
towhee
cardinal
and something yellow that was possibly a yellow warbler

ditch

    Today’s New York Times has a front-page article (online) about the mysterious disappearance of innumerable bees. This is just one of many articles that has been written lately upon this subject. However, this is the first one that I’ve read that states the problem is not limited to the United States.
For those who [...]