Monthly Archives: January 2021

I was all caught up on my schoolwork, so I ventured into the park while the snow was still coming down today, and I figured that the worst that could happen would be for me to get a little extra workout. Instead, what an absolutely marvelous audiovisual treat it was. The thick blanked of fluffyContinue reading “A winter wonderland”

The thermometer said 36°F, but my skin said 23°F, and the sky was covered by a thick blanket of clouds. It sure wasn’t like the previous two beautiful days, but I was glad to be back in the park after taking a quick break to help kick off the spring semester at UWM. Luckily, allContinue reading “Grey skies are back…”

If you asked me what could have made it a better morning in the park, I don’t know what I could say. It was just perfect, and right off the bat, I was surprised to see this flotilla of common mergansers on the lower river. And, as seems to be the case with mergansers, theyContinue reading “A lot going on after the snow day…”

Wow! I wasn’t sure I’d even make it to the park today. Luckily, the snow finally petered out around 2pm, and the winds even let up, so I finally ventured in. No sense trying to take a picture of blowing snow, eh? The big raft of mallards was in their usual spot on the upperContinue reading “A nice snowy day…”

After the oddly slow day yesterday, I was relieved to see a lot more activity in the park today. It’s the start of the spring semester at UWM, so maybe that’s what was going on. First up was this lonely little female common merganser trying to get cozy with a few mallards on the lowerContinue reading “All kinds of new stuff…”

It was a super slow day in the park today. The new snow sure was pretty, but there were hardly any new critters about, let alone new ones, and there were only a few mallards on the river. I got there later than usual, and maybe they had canceled the matinee. I did see thisContinue reading “Sleepy Sunday…”

The sky was blue, the snow was white, the air was calm, the trail was firm, and yada, yada, yada. Just another …. oh, you know the drill. Usually, the lower half of the river, south of the mudflats, is pretty empty, with just a few mallards and maybe a gull or two, but todayContinue reading “Just another day in paradise…”

What can I say? After a long run of gloom, we’re having a string of amazing days, and it looks like the red-bellied woodpeckers are fixin’ to make some hay. I saw pairs like this more than once throughout the park. Even the nuthatch, who gave me such a hard time yesterday, seemed to beContinue reading “A pleasant change of pace…”

It is hard even to describe how beautiful it was in the park this morning. There was still plenty of shiny white snow on the ground, it was 20°F warmer than yesterday, and there was a breeze, but not so much that there weren’t areas of calm along the river and in the woods. MostContinue reading “Surprise, surprise, surprise…”

The sun was out, the air was still, the snow was fresh, the surface of the trail was like concrete, and I got the lay the first footprints on much of it. What a stupendous morning in Estabrook! Most critters were sleeping in, it seems, but I did see a lot of fresh rabbit tracks.Continue reading “Brisk, bracing, or just breathtaking?”