Weekly Walk 24

I was quite sick this week, and we had to work hard to eke out a hike before the vernal equinox in a few days (it’s the twelfth week since the winter solstice). Luckily, I was well enough to hike on an exceptional day. It was 60°F when we left the house, and the clouds were amazing.

We were surprised to have a birds-of-prey encounter again this week, this time with two Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) who swooped around one another in the sky over our heads.

We heard (but did not see) Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer), which I (and everyone else I talked to) first heard making noise the day after our last hike, and what we think had to have been either Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans) or someone plucking a banjo, although it seems a little early in the season for either.

We saw lots of new plants and leaf buds.

The only one we thought we could confidently identify was the Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).

We didn’t make it all the way to the creek because I’m still a little under-the-weather, but we found that sticking our boots in non-creek water was nearly as satisfying as sticking our boots in the creek.