The sun was bright, the sky was blue, and the air was crisp and cool. This morning it seemed that the critters and I had the park just about to ourselves, which was pretty darn nice.
The mammals were out in force, for a change, with three deer and rabbits seemingly everywhere I went. Way more than I’ve ever seen in a single outing before. Maybe they were as excited about the weather and the otherwise empty park as I was.
I’ve also seen baby rabbits recently, and they were still too shy for my shutter, but I have a hope, so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, the birds were not to be outdone. Our new best friend, Lil’ Red-Eye, the Vireo, was struttin’ his stuff, the wrens were in the house, and even the waxwings were out and about, despite the dearth of cedar trees.
The show-stopper, however, belongs to the plant kingdom today because the yellow flag iris, which was just a bud yesterday morning, was on full display this morning at the northeast corner of the pond.
The pond itself was pretty quiet. I saw no signs of muskrats, turtles, frogs, toads, herons (blue, white, or green), geese, mergansers, grebes, or teals. Just a few wood ducks, one mallard that popped in for a visit, and the usual complement of red-winged blackbirds and grackles.
Finally, the biggest surprise of the morning was the grocery bag with a box of brownie mix and two boxes of yellow cake mix. I kid you not. That’s on top of the bag of oranges I found yesterday, and the 3 cans of green and 4 cans of organic refried beans with green chilis from weeks ago, which Anne and I have already enjoyed. When I add in the quarters, dimes, and a single 2-euro coin I’ve found so far, this job is really starting to pay off.
If you’d like to contribute to this veritable gravy train I’m riding now, I’ve already set up the direct deposit, so all you need to do is go ahead and click on that “like” button at the bottom of the page. But don’t go crazy, or anything, only click if you actually like it.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 
