21 August 2021 A Longer Outing

I survived the outing to Orchard Hills and was happy to test my knee again at Bath Nature Preserve.  This was a much longer walk.  I made the journey, but it took a long while.  At least the sights were a pleasant reward.

20 August 2021 Testing My Knee

 It had been almost two weeks since my injury.  I needed to see if I could cover any distance walking.  Orchard Hills seemed like a reasonable test location with flat trails.  We loaded the dogs and made our way for the walk.  Butterflies and birds were the sights for the evening.  Spotting cedar waxwings and indigo buntings on the same trail is a treat.

It seemed to take forever, but I made it out and back.our return walk included more bird sightings including an indigo bunting calling out.  I was at least back on the trail.

17 August 2021 A Pleasing Sight

 As COVID drags on in a second year, the sighting of the pond heron on my infrequent office visits still makes me happy.

16 August 2021 Flowers in the Yard

I'm not particularily good at blending the elements of our yard together, but there are some wonderful parts.  I am really happy that turtlehead seems to be establishing itself.  I thought the area would be too dry, but I was mistaken.  Our blue lobelia continues to flourish and is a major attractant for bees. Hopefully, I have some years left to work the pieces together.

14 August 2021 In the Woods

 We were on our way to a weekend in Pennsylvania when we spotted this Pontiac Silver Streak on the road in Edinboro.  Imagine what changes this Pontiac has seen since leaving the factory in the late 1940's.

In late August there aren't so many wildflowers in the deep wood, but there is a variety of life to see.

11 August 2021 You Just Know...

 You're not going to beat the rain home.

8 August 2021 After the Flood

 The stream was down which meant I could start the heavy work of building some features to hopefully lessen a repeat.  It was heavy work, but eventually done.

We were able to mix in the work with hunting for a little wildlife.  I had no idea how many crayfish the stream supported.

Salamanders were also a fun distraction.

It wasn't until we stopped later for a walk at a favorite spot that I realized how bad my knee hurt.  This was not a good thing.

7 August 2021 Flood

 We were travelling to Pennsylvania for the weekend.  We stopped for a few caches in the woods with the dogs.  There were a few small showers on the way, but nothing that seemed significant.  When we reached our home the situation was much different.  The storms had been significant and dropped enough rain to wash down debris to plug a culvert and take the stream out of the bank.  It was a mess.

1 August 2021 Chores Before a Walk

Ali was east visiting her mom so I planned a Saturday of chores.  I made certain to mix in time in the yard checking the flowers. 

I spotted anoother hummingbird moth (or maybe the same one again in the monarda).

After the chores were done I had time to visit Rogers Field for a walk.

Indogo bunting sightings are a rare treat.  This one was singing so loudly that I couldn't miss a sighting.

27 July 2021 The Office Heron Returns

With infrequent visits to my office, I had missed seeing the resident heron.  I had a rare back-to-back visit and enjoy two days of spotting the great blue.  Today, it was busy hunting the shoreline.