There was a brief period when the snow melted from the pond and I could see that the salamander eggs were doing well beneath the ice. The ice wasn’t thick enough to support my weight, so I had to lean out from the bank to get this shot. It looks as though there are still plenty of viable eggs and they appear to have developed some since they were last seen.
The birds like to hang out in the shrubs around the pond. They’ve done a good job of tracking up the snow. The snow around some of the tracks thawed in the sun and refroze to form durable casts. These are now left elevated above the diminishing snow base.
The brief spell of warmer weather has allowed the ice free zone to expand. Recent rain and snow melt have increased the flow of the spring entering here and the increase of warm water entering the pond will make it unlikely to freeze over again this year. The opposite bank faces south and has already lost all of its snow cover.
The bushes near the open water are always full of birds. Having this reliable water source is one of the reasons I have so many birds visiting the feeders.
The prairie garden catches a lot of the snow blowing across the front yard. I either mow or burn this garden every spring. This is primarily to make it easier to see the developing plants. Normally this work would have already been done by now.
The water garden is still under ice and snow and seems to be getting a fresh half inch every morning. The site gets a lot of morning and evening shade, so it takes quite a while for things to melt. It’s interesting that, even though the water garden is frozen solid, the rabbits insist on crossing the foot bridge.
There was a brief period when the snow melted from the pond and I could see that the salamander eggs were doing well beneath the ice. The ice wasn’t thick enough to support my weight, so I had to lean out from the bank to get this shot. It looks as though there are still plenty of viable eggs and they appear to have developed some since they were last seen.
The birds like to hang out in the shrubs around the pond. They’ve done a good job of tracking up the snow. The snow around some of the tracks thawed in the sun and refroze to form durable casts. These are now left elevated above the diminishing snow base.
The brief spell of warmer weather has allowed the ice free zone to expand. Recent rain and snow melt have increased the flow of the spring entering here and the increase of warm water entering the pond will make it unlikely to freeze over again this year. The opposite bank faces south and has already lost all of its snow cover.
The bushes near the open water are always full of birds. Having this reliable water source is one of the reasons I have so many birds visiting the feeders.
The prairie garden catches a lot of the snow blowing across the front yard. I either mow or burn this garden every spring. This is primarily to make it easier to see the developing plants. Normally this work would have already been done by now.
The water garden is still under ice and snow and seems to be getting a fresh half inch every morning. The site gets a lot of morning and evening shade, so it takes quite a while for things to melt. It’s interesting that, even though the water garden is frozen solid, the rabbits insist on crossing the foot bridge.
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