February Rain

Just stopped for a quick walk in the rain and shot a short video of the muddy Second Creek, swollen with a February rain. You can check out my first-ever You Tube posting at Ballard's Second Creek Video: Muddy waters run fast . Sorry, all I had with me was my old cellphone camera, so the sound is more relaxing than the image.

The most exciting discoveries found on my walks this weekend were the sightings of the first tufts of green popping through the snow, and the melodies of the first songbirds as they returned to the woods.

Eye Spy

The trails are too icy to traverse today and there is a forecast of more rain/sleet/snow on the way, so this "trailwalker" is going to stay put. 

But.....last week I snapped this photo near the fishing pond.  The water had crept up the banks of the pond, frozen, and then retreated. This left a lacy, paper-thin layer of ice at the pond's edge.

Since then I kept returning to this picture in my file, not knowing what to do with it, but intrigued with its curvy lines and subtle tones of brown. I finally figured out my attraction to the photo just a few moments ago when I saw it - an ice-painting of an animal with its mouth open. What's your guess? A flying squirrel? A chipmunk? A turtle? Or do you see something totally different?

S'no School Today

No class in session here, these benches have several inches of snow topping them. I have seen these benches filled with students listening eagerly as the resident naturalist teaches them to listen for the sounds of nature. Songbirds, squirrels, and buzzing insects, even the rustling of leaves, are all quiet today. All except...

In the distance, I can hear the creaks and moans of a young tree as it strains to hold up a fallen comrade.

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

Thomas Paine

Six Inches of Snow!

The wind chill was zero as I set out to hike around the main pond and through the woods to capture a bit of the mood after a Valentine's Day snowfall. Only a few deer tracks were winding around the pond as I trudged through the sparklilng snow. I thought I could get some good pictures, but the sun only held out for a short time. And of course, it was still snowing. Most of my pictures were unusable, but I managed to save a few taken while the sun was shining. I especially like the snowfall on the "Pay the Troll" sign.

Snowy Second Creek Bridge

The walk across Second Creek Bridge was not quiet - the snow crunched underneath my boots like saltine crackers. The water  in the creek was trickling across the rocks and added a sense of peace to my existance as I crossed over the bridge. Not many people were on the trails today, but since the temperatures held at the freezing mark and the sun shone brightly, those who were there were able to take full advantage of the beauty around them.

I took this picture of animal tracks in the snow, but neglected to put something next to them for size comparison. Each print was every bit of three to three-and-a-half inches wide and as long. These were found around the duck pond. As I walked on, I saw these tracks in a perfect circle, six foot in diameter.







This is the same view of the cemetary that was taken in October. Gone are the beautiful fall foliage colors, but the etherial calm is much pronounced.

"We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand...and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late."  Marie Beyon Ray

Frozen Limbs

Frozen limbs found at the bottom of Heart Attack Hill on a snowy day in February.

Blazing Colors around the Fishing Pond

One of my favorite pictures, this one speaks for itself. The bridge, the sky, the autumn leaves, all shout with their blazing colors. (Compare this to the July, 2009, shot of the same scene.)

The air was crisp, the squirrels and squirrel-cousins were busy with the nut harvest, and the spiders' webs seemed to be across every path!

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. ~Carol Bishop Hipps

Top of the Hill in Fall

Taken at the entrance to the "cemetary," the three trees in the background stand guarding the peaceful surroundings of the few who are buired here. "Peace" is the operative word here.
This picture was from one of many I had taken in October, but never had time to post. I'm surprised I even made it to Ballard's to walk, my time from August to January is always so busy that sometimes I have to tell myself to breath. This year more than ever.

September is here!

While I was able to take to the trails in August, and even snapped a few pictures, the blog took a back seat to “back-to-school” activities. When possible, I will try to add small posts to share those photos.

I also had to deal with major computer issues over the last three months, a real time-waster.

The blue beauty on this page was caught in the bright sunlight fluttering about on the far southern edge of the Wetland/Prairie trail.

Volunteers, Periscope, and Bull Thistle

There are forty to sixty volunteers that help out at the Ballard Nature Center throughout the year. Here Mike and Debbie are washing a tank. I've often seen these two hard workers as they give of their time at the center. Thank you!



Mike also built some of the items inside the center, like this periscope that this lucky young man is using to identify wildlife.


Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood. Fred Rogers

Woodland Trail in the summer.

This bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is growing over five feet tall along the trail head of the Wetland/Prairie Trail.
What child has not stepped barefoot on one of these as they emerge in the springtime? I know I did. Birds may like the seeds, and the flowers have their own beauty, but I'll still keep my distance from these invaders, thank you!

bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare)


All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind. Abraham Lincoln

See the beauty in nature every day. C M