Pussy willow.
I give myself Friday afternoons off. Oddly, Fridays often seem the busiest day of the week. Why is that? I wonder.
Today dawned brilliantly sunny and, thinking I must be in the middle of a trend, hope for temperatures in the 60s (F) was high. Which seems crazy, considering it’s still winter. Well, temperatures did reach the 50s, at least, and dog and I took our quick midday hike up the open Beech Hill trail. Spotted some pussy willow () stalks sporting mature catkins. Heard the love song of the titmouse. Saw a crow fly over. And a goldfinch.
Woolly bear caterpillar.
Nearly at the top, I was rather startled to see a woolly bear caterpillar cross the trail. Probably I shouldn’t’ve been—I’m certainly no expert on caterpillars and butterflies and moths—and something about the hill sure enough attracts them: at certain times of year, you’ll pass maybe a dozen crossing in front of you. Still was a nice little surprise.
Not many birds up there, though. On my late-afternoon bike ride, though, I did hear or see several—including a small flock of sparrows in the tended yard of a motel headed up the hill above Clam Cove. The look of the sparrows got my attention, despite my uphill momentum and heavy breathing, and I paused and thought of turning down the motel driveway to check. But I didn’t. From a distance they kind of looked like fox sparrows. Probably they were simply song sparrows. Or white-throats. (I’m still thinking fox, though I can’t count the species without such a shaky, wishful ID.)
My fingers were a bit numb when I got back from cycling, but endorphins will make you forget such things. After sundown, low in the western sky, caught in the bare limbs of the oaks and maples, hung the horns of a crisp new moon.
Today’s List
American crow
Tufted titmouse
Northern cardinal
Black-capped chickadee
House finch
American robin
Herring gull
American goldfinch
Ring-billed gull
Rock pigeon
House finch
European starling
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, European starling, herring gull, house finch, northern cardinal, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, tufted titmouse
