We got out to the back forty this week as the weather has started to warm up, at least in afternoons, and the sun shines later. We were out on the old rail line and found a woodpecker (need to grab my Peterson’s field guide to give you an ID – this one will be harder to confirm without a piece of red …) at a tree at eye height about 30 feet away. As we approached to get a closer shot, he started to methodically ascend the tree, getting further and further away. In the diminishing late afternoon light, I was not optimistic about getting a well exposed, sharp- image frozen- shot. One of them came out fine as you can see.

The former beaver colony, now just a bog created by beavers, looks rather dull and lifeless. One should note how low the water level is; despite our recent deluges, the ground has absorbed water fast; we could be in for a very dry spring and summer if this continues (you really should be seeing more water at this time of year in this shot).