18-Mar-2019
Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
At this time of year, red squirrels are gnawing bark on maples to get the sap to run, which they then lap up with gusto.
18-Mar-2019
Red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa)
Signs of life in the elderberries, yet another sign spring is approaching.
18-Mar-2019
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Walnuts too are showing signs of spring!
18-Mar-2019
The ravine
The small stream running through the ravine and into the Arboretum is open and the water is trickling under the bridge from the amphibian pond.
18-Mar-2019
Amphibian pond
It seems hard to believe, looking at the heavy snow cover, that in the not too distant future this pond will have breeding wood frogs, toads and treefrogs.
18-Mar-2019
Willow
These catkins are on a tree in the Arboretum. Each year in early February the fluffy buds appear. I didn't check it this February, but today it was full of these soft buds. It is a tree from northern Asia somewhere, so used to cold temperatures.
18-Mar-2019
Willow
Meantime, the willow at the end of the pond is also opening its buds and in another few weeks perhaps, if the temperatures are warmer, the pollen will be attracting early emerging insects.