Yesterday (Saturday) we had what I think was the nicest day since mid-September. The wind was no more than a whisper and it was mild and sunny. Wildlife was scarce, though, including the normally common little guys like squirrels, juncos and chickadees. The woods were dead silent, which was fine by me because the quietness made for a nice walk which I carried out at a snail pace. I also stopped to check the river and the scoters (all three species) and huge flock of scaup that I saw there up to yesterday (Friday) were gone by this morning (Saturday). But a nice little group of very active Long-tailed Ducks showed up and the same two Common Loons and three American Coots I’ve seen almost every day for the last two weeks were still around. And in the woods a flock of 14 Evening Grosbeaks broke the silence for a couple of minutes. They appeared to be eating the buds off maple trees.
 
Today (Sunday) I went off into a different wooded area hoping for another chance encounter with Evening Grosbeaks or another winter bird species. Along the way I followed a game trail through the bush far from the main trail. The game trail took me through an area I had never been in before and eventually took me to a familiar spot, still far from the main trail, and there I was surprised to find the rock sculpture shown in this photo. This wasn’t around when I wandered through this area in the spring. I didn't think that anybody else ever wandered through the bush here because it is not the easiest spot to get to.
 
Like yesterday, wildlife was scarce today, but I did scare up (not on purpose!) a half-molted Snowshoe Hare and I did encounter a flock of 35 Bohemian Waxwings perched together at the top of one of the taller trees in the area.