I like taking this chance to look back at some of the coolest things that happened here over the past year -- I did this one year ago, so let's keep the tradition going! What follows are some my favorite highlights from the second year of this blog's life. I hope you enjoy this whirlwind tour!
- Last March (2012), I witnessed a somewhat risque Black Vulture rendezvous on top of the house across the street, and met a mink in the woods.
- In April, I watched fantastically alien-like Red Cedar galls grow tentacles on the trees in our yard, and started my first season as a volunteer monitoring Piping Plovers and other shore birds for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (I saw one Piping Plover at the beginning of May, but there were no nests at that beach last season.... I'll be monitoring the same beach again this year, so fingers crossed for plover babies!)
- In May, I went on an awesome trip with Paul's family to Florida, where we experienced Disney World wildlife, and saw lots of other awesome animals, including manatees! Back at home, I met a gorgeous Spotted Turtle who happened to pass through our neighborhood on its travels.
- In June, I learned to play around with my macro lens in the garden to get a whole new appreciation for how weird and awesome bugs are.
- In July, I saw astoundingly adorable baby Clapper Rails, and traveled with my family to Utah, a strange and magical place with verdant mountain meadows as well as dry grasslands with huge mammals.
- In August, I enjoyed local high-summer sights, including some amazingly huge spiders in a misty meadow.
- In September, I watched a katydid feeding off of our window screen, and fell in love with the Red-breasted Nuthatches who moved into our area this year. (I'm going to miss these birds a whole lot when they leave again in the spring.)
- In October, I took the first steps into the world of bird feeding when we put up a window feeder, and we got our (now annual) extreme fall weather event in Superstorm Sandy.
- In November, I got to see a Beaver in action. So cool!
- In December, I saw crossbills and seals and more at Hammonasset Beach State Park.
- In January, I saw an Eastern Red Bat (!) flying around on a warm day and met Common Redpolls at the shore. Between the nuthatches, crossbills, and redpolls, it's been really great getting to see all these northern birds this winter!
- And now in February, I got a dream-like weekend of snow and snowshoes (after our historic blizzard).
Yep, this past year has been a pretty amazing one. I'm extremely glad that I started keeping this blog two years ago, and who knows what new and exciting things are waiting in the future! Thank you, once again, to everyone who has read and commented in this space -- I love being able to share these sights, and your encouragement and knowledgable input is always awesome. Yay, the internet. :)
Hi Elizabeth & Happy 2nd Anniversary :-)
ReplyDeleteI always read your blogs. I enjoy your infectious enthusiasm and share the obvious pleasure you have in the natural world. It gives me some small hope that maybe, just maybe, the future for wildlife is not as dark as I think it is, cos there are people who care and want to raise awareness of the beauty around us. You also encourage me as I've been less than regular with my own blog this past year. Best wishes and thanks for sharing. Mel
Congratulations on your second year of blogging! Sounds like you had some great experiences and new wildlife sightings. I envy that you got to see wild buffalo in their native habitat. We have Red-breasted Nuthatches here in the mountains of Virginia year-round and I really enjoy them too.
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