Four Foulkeways birders took off this morning for Peace Valley Park, and headed straight for the bird blind. Here we saw one of the regulars, a nuthatch on the peanut feeder.
And you thought a grackle was black.
The only birds we saw on the lake were geese, including this noisy pair.
Here is the bird blind from the other side of Polly Pond.
The highlight of my morning was this fox sparrow.
Can you see how much bigger the fox sparrow is compared to the white-throated sparrow?
Not everyone goes to see the birds, there were many dog walkers and joggers.
And a different mode of transportation - a three wheeler.
This stump in the preschool playground is finally going to be ground up.
Here comes the stump grinder which was carefully threaded through the fences surrounding the playground.
Despite the best efforts, the stump grinder gets bogged down in the deep mulch of the playground. This wonderful mulch that keeps the children safe if they tumble, has retained too much water, and they are unable to grind the stump today.
Here is another ground up stump, and this is what the preschool stump will look like some day.
The willow is turning yellow, and it looks lovely, but its roots and twigs clog the water channel.
There were two of these large weed and feed trucks full of spray for the Foulkeways lawns.
The spray is applied from the back of the truck.
The spray is applied from the two arms.
And the spray is applied with a hose.
I hope the mallards and the meadow garden were spared the spray.
Here is a lovely witch hazel blooming near the V apartments.
This is the witch hazel up close.
And remember the cornus mas from a few days ago. Here it is up close.
Here is the Post Office Garden without a fence. Soon there will be a new one.
Don't be fooled. It isn't Spring yet.
Make way for the new. The Grounds crew was removing the fencing from around the "Post Office" Gardens today. A new 8 foot fence will be coming soon. It is needed to keep out the deer, and down to the ground to keep out other critters who would like to eat your veggies and flowers.
A bench and a tree.
Abington courtyard.
H quad.
Poor daffodils.
I went for a walk yesterday and here are some of the things that I saw.
A cornus mas blooming on Perimeter Road.
A camellia blooming in an Abington courtyard.
A new birdhouse in the meadow.
A crocus blooming in the meadow.
A mallard on the pond.
I know it is still Winter, but I'm ready for Spring.
Here is a male cardinal with snow on his tail.
I had many of the usual birds on my patio, and on my feeders, such as this white-throated sparrow.
I also saw this lovely song sparrow.
And this cowbird, which tried every feeder, as well as the patio.
I often have photos of the flower arrangements in the Niche, but the smaller bouquets add so much to our public spaces.
Each of these "little things" has been carefully arranged.
Always with fresh flowers.
Even in the Ladies Room! Thanks to the committee that takes care of this for us.
The Maris Trail is very muddy in many places, but walkable with good boots or shoes.
It was worth it to see and hear all the blackbirds in the trees. I think they were mostly red-wing blackbirds and grackles.
There is still a tree across the path. Actually it is two trees, as the one that fell took down a dead tree with many critter holes in it.
I continued onto the Loop Trail and admired the crocus that we planted yesterday.
And this lovely male robin tells you Spring is right around the corner!
Here are the crocus in my garden, and if you look closely you can see four bees. The bees were all over the crocus in my yard. It can be an important source of pollen at this time of year, and they need pollen to start raising their young.
There are many crocus in bloom on the bank near the Beaumont House. That is where the bulbs in my garden came from. So a group of us met today for the arduous task of digging up some of these bulbs.
We managed to dig up a basket full and more.
These bulbs we then planted on the Loop Trail, near the bee hives. Now the bees won't have to travel as far to get spring pollen for their babies. And some of the crocus bulbs from the Beaumont House are saved from the bulldozer when they start to work up there. If you want some free bulbs and have the energy to dig, there are plenty left.
Here is a bee with pollen heading back into the hive!
A cornus mas blooming on Perimeter Road.
A camellia blooming in an Abington courtyard.
A new birdhouse in the meadow.
A crocus blooming in the meadow.
A mallard on the pond.
