A Frigid Walk at Birchcliff Quarrylands: February 2021

It was -11 degrees with strong winds when I arrived here this morning. Even with hand warmers in my gloves, my hands eventually became too cold to operate camera settings.

I last visited here in August and had these two beauties:

Some botany from today:

Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
Brome Grass (Bromus inermis)
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)
Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
Beaked Hazel (Corylus cornuta)
Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo)
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii)
Sweetbrier (Rosa rubiginosa)
Phragmites (Phragmites australis)
Tansy (Tanecetum vulgare)
Common Burdock (Arctium minus)
Siberian Elm buds (Ulmus pumila)
Red Ash (Fraxinus pensylvanica)
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia)
Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia)

The birds seemed to have more sense than I and all remained out of sight in warm places no doubt except for this little one:

Downy Woodpecker (female)

Back in January, I drove to Tilsonburg to pick up a “Ragdoll” kitten for one of my daughters.

Here is how “Mochi” looks now:

NATURE POETRY


When February sun shines cold,
There comes a day when in the air
The wings of winter
Slow unfold,
And show the golden summer there.        – Philip Savage (1868–99)

Miles Hearn

3 thoughts on “A Frigid Walk at Birchcliff Quarrylands: February 2021

  1. Patricia Lund

    Lovely to see the Ragdoll Mochi. It was a surprise to have Mochi pop up after getting used to birds, ducks and botany. Nice to have a glimpse of your personal life, Miles.
    I really appreciated your Sparrow teaching course the other day. It does make Sparrows more interesting and I do get a lot here in my valley so I’ll work at trying to i.d. them.
    Thank you.

    Reply
  2. Lisa Volkov

    How good of you to brave the cold! Sorry about your hands, but you still managed to send some very nice pictures. Mochi is adorable, of course. Thanks, Miles!

    Reply
  3. Gloria James

    Mochi is a real heart breaker! I saw a pair of downy woodpeckers in the trees beside our house. First I heard the tapping sound and then I recognized the woodpeckers.

    Reply

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