Monday, July 26, 2010
RI hike
Went for a nice hike along Beach Pond in RI. (Then of course, we made a stop at Buttonwood Farm for ice cream.) We heard lots of thrushes as we walked the trail. We are all listening to bird cds to try and learn bird song .. so we were able to identify wood thrushes and hermit thrushes by song. We also heard a lot of red-eyed vireos as we walked but could not find them in the tree canopy. We did get to watch a kingbird fishing. Very beautiful hike .. hope to make it further next time.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
e at rocky neck
E and I took a trip (cut short by a fast approaching thunderstorm) to Rocky Neck to cool off. It felt great! We played and jumped in the waves and then hurried to the car in the rain. By the time we got home, it was hot and sunny again.
baby cardinal
Our yard is currently overrun with baby cardinals. We love to watch them learning to use the birdfeeder and following their parents around. I am so happy them back this year. :)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
huge slug!
Took a walk to Green's Harbor Beach this evening .. hoping to see the horseshoe crabs come in like we did last year. No luck. But we did see this enormous slug, a blue crab, and a cool moth .. and the kids picked up a ton of trash (seriously disgusting that so many people use that beach and most of them seem to leave their cups and trash on the sand) and they were absolutely thrilled to be "helping the earth." Everyone was too tired to stay and wait for the crabs.
evil troll on the bridge
Went for a nice walk in the woods with e while L was at her last terra firma class. There was a run in with an evil troll on the bridge but I managed to sneak around it. E and I played and snacked and I decided to not let the 8 unknown birdsongs all around us get me down. I am studying my bird call cd and eventually I will actually remember them. :) Picked L up and saw the baby bunnies and baby barn swallows getting fed by their mom. We got some fresh colorful swiss chard ... and watched a nice cool thunderstorm come in.
killdeer with "broken wing"
Found a killdeer family at Fort Trumbull on my run .. and took the kids back to see them. Here we are being "distracted" by the killdeer with the broken wing so we will chase her and not go after the babies.
osprey
Kids and I went hiking at barn island after our trip to the Stonington library. Saw this osprey, glossy ibis, towhees, downy woodpeckers, nashville warblers (for the first time), etc... found a cardinal nest too!
huge snapping turtle
We took a nice long hike at Trustom in RI (one of our favorite places lately). Happy summer solstice ...
