4 degrees and rain at the start
Bird Highlight: American Robin
American Robin
Botany Highlight: Japanese Knotweed
Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica)
Species list: red-necked grebe, mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, gadwall, redhead, ring-necked duck, greater scaup, lesser scaup, common goldeneye, bufflehead, long-tailed duck, red-breasted merganser, American coot, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, northern mockingbird, American robin, European starling, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, northern cardinal. (22 species)
Mallard (female)
Mute Swan
Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Common Goldeneye (male)
Lesser Scaup (male)
Common Goldeneye (female)
Ring-necked Duck (male)
Redhead (male)
Miles Hearn
WINTER POETRY
It has been a mean winter.
But …
Ogre Winter will soon clean
Out the last of her pocket change.
She’ll toss wads of gritty snow
Like frozen Kleenex
All over my back yard.
And yours.
And year after year one wad lingers –
Decides not to melt until spring.
A watched wad never melts.
Winter sure is messy.
Winter is not a Lady.
I’ll be glad to see her gone.
– Adele Koehnke