Roses, Lunch and Ducks...February 22

It's been fifty-eight years that a dozen red roses have arrived for me on April 22.  This November, Tom and I will have been married fifty-eight years.  Tom and I had broken up in 1960 and we hadn't seen each other since that fateful day.  Tom said when he sent the roses he really didn't think I would reply but he wanted me to know that he would always remember me. I had been remembering him, too.

The flowers arrived in late morning.  At noon, we went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday's.  Our daughter had given Tom a gift card for Christmas which he used.  After choosing salads from the well stocked salad bar, Tom had meaty ribs, so tender and well cooked that the meat fell off the bones.  I had grilled chicken with a honey barbecue sauce.  Dessert was apple cake with ice cream.  We were pleased.

The day was chilly but sunny.  This time of year "sunny" means the day is a good one.  Tom drove us to Englewood dam, one of the five dams built in the Dayton area after the devastating 1913 flood flooded downtown Dayton up to the second floors of many buildings

The ducks were too far off for Tom to get good photos but we got good looks at Canvasbacks, Redheads and Ringbills

The usual Canada Geese and Mallards were there also.

Tom decided to check out Eastwood Lake.  That was where we saw our first Bufflehead of the year.  The next stop was Eastwood Metro Park.  There we spotted two Hooded Merganser males and one female. 

Tom finally found a bird close enough to get a good photo...a Great Blue Heron.  He already had a nice bib of mating feathers.

Seeing the ducks means Spring is on its way and that brings smiles to our faces.

The Trip to the Swamp to Find Spring...February 4, 2019

The fox, one of Brukner Nature Center's Wildlife Ambassadors, has become accustomed to  people passing by and no longer dashes into its shelter.  Trail Guides talk about the habits of the various wild animals as part of their nature walks.  The animals are caged here because they can not be returned to the wild for one or several reasons.

Portions of the path down Shortstep Hill were icy.  The hill is called Shortstep because it is rather steep.  I was glad I was using a walking stick.

This sycamore log was even greener than it appears in the photo.

I looked down on the Stillwater River floodplain.  It was easy to see that it was a floodplain.  The snow and ice on it were covered by a shiny layer of water.

I hurried along as fast as I could using my walking stick to help me keep my footing.  Spats of rain pattered on my raincoat, then stopped for a few minutes, then pattered down again.  I knew a storm was coming and resolutely said to myself, "I can get to the swamp, see the Skunk Cabbage and get back before the storm hits."

I made it down the bank to the swamp and there at the foot of the three steps built into the bank, I found it.

Once I was down in the swamp , I had to go a little farther, see if there were more clusters of Skunk Cabbage.

The boardwalk was iffy.  I was glad I had my walking stick.

I found a few crawdad chimneys.

I followed the snowy boardwalk until I came to a large tree lying across the walk. 

I considered crawling across the log but decided I had already tempted fate enough times for the day.  I turned back.

I had found a few more skunk cabbage in bud but most were barely showing the points of their Spathes, the leaf like enclosure protecting the buds on the Spadix.

At the foot of the three steps, I found the lone plant in a perfect position for a close up photo.

Another short sprinkle of rain reminded me I should start back now.

If you click and enlarge this photo, you can see the boardwalk through the floodplain.  Closer to the swamp it is covered with several inches of snow, ice and water.

I was pleased to find a few other plants emerging.

Here and there I found a leaf of two of  Hepatica.  Its leaves are green during the winter and turn reddish when the flowers bloom in spring.

These fungi were as bright as flowers.

Near the top of Hickory Ridge trail I found the young beech that reminded me spring is still a few weeks away.

Spring Has Arrived in My Heart, 41 Days Before the Official Calendar Spring...February 4, 2019

The Skunk Cabbage is blooming.

For me, the first day of spring is the day I see the buds on the Spadix inside the Spathe.

And every year I check inside the front cover of  Newcomb's Wildflower Guide to be sure I know a spadix from a Spathe.

Got it.

Next post...more about my walk to the swamp at Brukner Nature Center.