Backyard and Beyond

It’s warm enough for turtles to be basking on the Lake, Lullwater, and Pools. Not many, but a smattering were to be seen soaking in the sun along the water course.On a birch, this cocoon is more seasonally appropriate, weathering the not very weathery winter. While I’ve been seeing flies all month already, this was the first day I noticed clouds of hovering insects (some other kind of Diptera, I suspect).Mallard, Northern Shoveler, American Coot, and at least one turtle enjoy this downed tree. Recently, some of the freelance defenders of the park alerted the media to the plethora of snags in the water after a major cutting and pruning operation. But snags are important components of the habitat of, at minimum, bird, reptile, and fish life. A classic duck/shorebird pose: bill tucked away back under a wing and balancing on one leg. This is a female Mallard. At least one tree is getting that fuzzy look. This American Elm is just starting to bud. Its branches were too high for me to reach. The tree right next to it, a fellow elm, drooped to eye-level, but was not nearly as far advanced, perhaps because it doesn’t get as much sun:.