I feel quite boring, but there's nothing exciting happening around Beechwood lately. I arrive, I grub up a bucket or two of garlic mustard, I take a few pictures, I go home. This morning I saw a rabbit, some goldfinches, and a pair of mallard ducks on the pond, but no great photos of any of that. I did snap a purple grackle. Talk about angry birds! (Feel free to click on any photos for a better look.)

I'm back! There were no wood ducks on the river as I walked to Beechwood, so I was expecting them at the pond. Sure enough, there they were:

What really captured my attention, though, was this:

Uh, what? Someone removed a bunch of logs from the fence and threw them into the pond??? Sigh. I tried to think of an explanation -- beaver Olympics? Rob Ford's latest environmental policy? -- but I'm baffled.

After pulling a few buckets of garlic mustard I wandered around and took some pictures. Even these guys looked pretty:

I found a little cache of bones at the base of a tree. Squirrel, I think.

Is this the new thing? Instead of shoes thrown over the wires?

I kinda like it.

I haven't forgotten about Beechwood but a nasty cold has benched me for a while. Stay tuned for updates!

On my way to Beechwood this morning I encountered this perfectly charming garter snake:

Not only has it got ants and snails crawling over it, it's got an ant ON ITS EYE. Talk about nerves of steel.

Less charming is the fact that some of the garlic mustard is starting to flower already. Oh dear.

Still there on my way home:

Another day, another bucket of garlic mustard to go ...

... and another chat with someone who wondered what I was doing. Hello to Yves, if you've found your way here!

Turkey vultures were circling overhead as I left:

The wood ducks seem to be a permanent fixture on the river, but maybe if I ask nicely they'll come back to the Beechwood pond:

 

The fungus among us:

I should decorate this tree next Christmas:

A noble robin:

Hello from Beechwood! It's been a long time, but I've wandered back to the wetland. There was a very long period of extreme construction (demolition?) in the surrounding area that made being here unpleasant and impractical. Now that's finished and spring has arrived, not that we really had a winter this year. I spent some time this weekend pulling garlic mustard:

That unimpressive pile of greenery represents about three hours of work. Hey, the plants are small at this time of year. There doesn't seem to be a great deal of garlic mustard at Beechwood any more, which is great news.

Afterwards I went over to the pond, hoping for a shot of the pair of wood ducks that like to hang out there. No luck, but I saw this muskrat instead:

The season is off to a good start and I hope to continue posting as before, so stay tuned!