This past week was really disappointing for anyone hoping to proceed into spring with a post-winter cleanup and celebration of sprouting life. It was rainy and cold, for the most part. Early in the week we did find the moon poking through the trees. We are looking forward to Saturday night’s “super moon” when the full moon coincides with a closer than usual orbit.

Several evenings later we lucked out again when the local barred owl flew by in front of us and landed in a tree about twenty feet up. After staring at each other, we moved closer and he moved across our path then landed again. There he sat as I got this image of him without my long telephoto lens and during the low twilight of a cloudy evening. The steady gaze of the bird makes for an eerie encounter. As we walked back, we heard his “hoooo-hoo-hoo-hooooo!”

Finally, in the corner of the upper bog, we found a tree that has very recently been pulverized by the pileated woodpecker.