Nature Notes

  Wednesday April 1 Two advance copies of the book arrived today!! I'm very pleased with how it all looks. The only glitch is that due to a delay at the binder, the publication date has been pushed back to May 5.      MIT Press sent me a QR code that you can use to get a 20% discount on the book (only for US residents).   Saturday April 4 Allandale Farm had a little celebration of life, complete with a Scottish bagpiper by the pond, for their big, black, 17 year old Highland steer, Curtis, who died in January. About 60 people showed up for him. Several employees spoke about how sweet he was and how much customers loved to see him. At the end, one little girl gave the farm manager a drawing she'd made of Curtis and another gave spring flowers she'd brought. The Boston Globe even featured an  article  about him and the ceremony. Curtis, from the Allandale Farm website.  And on my afternoon walk, I spotted a tree in blossom! Spring is reall...

Wednesday March 4 After a long, cold, snowy winter, spring is starting to show: red witch hazel blossom in Mary and David's front yard, up the street from my house.   Sunday March 8   Saw a bald eagle fly from the Jamaicaway across the pond on my morning walk. And in the evening, this beautiful sunset, seen from my upstairs window.   Tuesday March 10  Boats appeared at the dock at the pond this morning. A bit premature, seeing as they're perched on top of the ice. The paddle boards lying on the dock seem particularly optimistic.  After a morning Audubon meeting in Concord, I went to Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, the next town over, to check on the goat kids. Two sets of triplets were born in the last couple of weeks. High cuteness quotient.  And they had their maple sugaring operation in full swing, too.   Sudden warmup! Nearly 70 yesterday and 75 today, a record for this day in Boston! You can practically watch the two foot high mounds of snow melting. Se...

  Tuesday February 10 This very red, very large heart appeared on the little island at the pond this morning, a few days before Valentine's Day. I wondered if a marriage proposal was coming.  It's been bitterly cold for the last couple of weeks, so cold that I didn't walk some mornings (temperature -3F (-19C), wind chills -17F (-27C). Brrrr! The pond has frozen solid, and people have been walking and cross-country skiing on it (but I'm thinking that's not a great idea). Later on this morning, I went to Mass Audubon's Broadmoor sanctuary in Natick, just west of Boston. On the way, stopped at the little weir on the Charles River to admire the light on the snow and the smooth curve of the water dropping over the weir.  At Broadmoor, heard woodpeckers pecking. In the video, first a small woodpecker and then, in the last couple of seconds, a pileated woodpecker hammering (I think). Love the curves of the water and snow mounds in the marsh.   Saturday, February 14 N...