One of Nature’s Mysteries to Solve

Hey there!

We aren’t doing so great getting to our posts, so looks like we squirrels need to settle into our winter hiatus. Before we go, here’s a wet spot we happened upon.

Can you tell what’s happening here?

We’ll be back later to check your guesses!

~~~

Does this help any?

Or this?

That chewed stump helped us figure out why the mud was piled at the edges of this pond…beaver are working here! When we climbed down from our tree, we could see the water should have been spilling out across the meadow–except that line of mud is holding it back.

A mud damn, instead of a stick one. And there seem to be plenty of trees around, but we saw only the one cut one. It really was a good detective effort, if we do say so ourselves!

P is for Painted Turtle

What could be better than an Eastern Painted Turtle sunning a log?

Many painted turtles sunning on a log!

These guys have some sort of antifreeze in their bodies, beyond the ability of cold-blooded reptiles survive while hibernating all winter. The first sunny days of spring and they dig up out of the mud to bask. Not even our night temperatures dipping down into the 30s harm them. Thank goodness, because we squirrels can’t be the only ones stretching out on sunny afternoons!

Thankful Thirsty Thursday

Ol’ Wally here today. Seems there are some human celebrations going on inside your warm burrows, while outside…

Look who is back on the pond!

Hooded Mergansers enjoying a warmer location than their Canadian summer lakes now offer.

Ol’ Wally hopes you humans will get outside and enjoy a bit of nature with your holiday celebrations!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ol’ Wally, Nutmeg, Hickory and Miz Flora

Fall Beauty at the Pond

Yes, the leaves are now off the trees, but we still wanted to share this beautiful fall day romp we had around the pond. Now we need to get down to the business of staying warm!

Thirsty Thursday

Folks,

It’s beginning to look like fall.

Enjoy it, cold weather is coming this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday

Folks,

The ponds in our neck of the woods are bursting with plant life this time of the year.

Lily pads  and algae have grown across the open water, so much so that the water critters have forged paths through them.

Cattails and lizard tails line the edges.

And these yellow sunflowers that we didn’t have Miz Fora along to identify are prettying up the edges.

It’s nice to see a pond with good healthy plant cover across and around it! Lots of space and food for wildlife to live and access the water.

 

Thirsty Thursday

Folks,

I headed over to the big pond today, accompanied by Miz Flora. Because of that dear, plant-loving squirrel’s presence, her–I mean, our–attention was drawn to the purple flowers of the Pickerel Weed, Pontederia cordata. Now this common pond plant has been blooming all summer, with its stalks of tiny purple flowers, and I…*ahem*…must admit, Ol’ Wally here was not inclined to include it in our weekly posts about water in nature.

Miz Flora had other ideas.

And so we leaped over to see the pickerel weed up close.

Several little skippers were fluttering over the flowers, dipping in to gather the nectar of the many flowers. Well, that is nice, I thought, something Nutmeg would certainly like for the blog. I followed along behind Miz Flora, admiring the flowers as she chattered. Then, before our eyes–WHAM!

A praying mantis darted from the stalk and grabbed a skipper. The poor thing had no chance to escape the wicked barbs of its front feet and was devoured within a minute. The body, at least, not the wings, which the mantis let flutter into the water…

I had no idea viewing flowers could be so dramatic, and said so.

“That’s nothing,” Mis Flora said with a dismissive flick of her tail. “Not for nature.”

This old squirrel will be retiring to his drey for a rest and reflection on how lucky he has been to survive all these years.

Thirsty Thursday

Folks,

This here Lesser Yellowlegs is doing something we squirrels practice every day…

Get it? He’s taking a walk outside.

National Trails Day is coming up this Saturday, June 2. Maybe you’ll plan a walk to see us–or at least something in nature?

Thirsty Thursday

Folks, it’s been dry this fall. But this old squirrel, with his comfortable suburban life knowing which houses have a birdbath or backyard pond the humans keep filled, had no idea the local natural waterways were faring this poorly.

Yikes, that is low for our local pond.

We haven’t had a freeze–ha, far from it!–so the place was still abuzz with insects, like this male Autumn Meadowhawk.

Despite finding the pond in less than its best state, I’m happy I took the outing while our weather is balmy.

Thirsty Thursday

Now that’s one proud mama mallard!