Our most recent snow accumulated six to eight inches topped with a taxing and tiresome icy crust. This is followed by a stretch of intense cold that (as is forecast at this writing) will not top the freezing mark for nearly two weeks. Difficult footing and daunting wind-chills made my
It's January and the cold winter sun traces a meager arc on the southern horizon for less than half a day. I found myself longing for July's overgenerous sun that stands overhead for hours. Even so the long, cold, shadows of winter have their charms, and
Deep in the winter after last season's mast year of Black walnuts the gray squirrels and red squirrels are spending the currency they banked before the cold set in. Gray squirrels bury individual nuts or acorns but red squirrels are "larder hoarders": they make piles. You
Have you seen gray squirrels playing "chase me" the past week or so all over the park or in the yard? Three or four (or more) squirrels follow the leader spiralling up and down trees, leaping through the forest floor, stopping, turning, and taking off again. These rapid,
Most animals are lighter underneath and darker on top. This is one of those things that goes unnoticed until someone points it out and you begin seeing it all the time. Sunlight creates shadows, shadows make animals more visible, the more visible you are the more likely you’ll be
With the winter solstice in the rear-view mirror daylight hours slowly increase as the earth tilts towards the spring equinox in March. It's quieter, in some ways, at the park, but the winter choruses are in full voice; Canada Geese honk impatiently as they rise from the pond
Throughout the winter two distinct “tribes” of foraging birds roam through the park. One travels through the thickets more likely heard than seen, the second (louder and more visible) threads its way through the forest's midstory. More birds means more eyes keeping a lookout and more chances to
fungi
As of this writing 28 different species of fungi have been identified at Nixon park on INaturalist. Given that Pennsylvania hosts over 6,000 species of fungi we've identified a very small percentage of species likely to be there. This post describes three members of the fungi family
Winter deepens towards the winter equinox just a little less than a month away on December 21st. The steely grey days of winter hold their own charms, if not the best light for photography.
trees
Keep your eyes open and you may catch a flash of yellow that is among the latest woodland blooms in Nixon Park this year. While maples and hickories are letting go of their last leaves, witch hazel reveals its strange yellow threads of unexpected color.
Have you noticed this year’s bumper crop of black walnuts? Comparing notes with a few friends, I’ve learned I’m not the only one who thinks this is a mast year—a season when certain trees seem to synchronize and pour their energy into producing an unusually heavy
Squirrels
This is the week that autumn began looking a little more like winter. The thermometer fell below freezing here for the first time since last April, the wind strengthened and stripped many tress of their fall colors, the shadows are steadily lengthening as the sun tracks lower in the sky.