Neighborhood Pond in the Early Morning – Part 2

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Aside for seeing the green heron with a fish…there were other things to see around the pond as I made the circuit. The frogs I was hearing when I first approached were Green Frogs based on their calls (like a strummed rubber band) and then I started seeing them – jumping from the bank – plopping into the water. There were some already in the water…with just their head above water. One was on some debris under the cattails. Those three were still enough for me to photograph.

The pond has a street on one side, the back fences of yards on two sides, and then a milkweed meadow on the 4th.  It was recycle day for the neighborhood and the truck rumbled around the neighborhood while I was at the pond.

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There are lots of plants to see around the pond: peaches hanging over the fence from someone’s back yard, mushrooms in the grass, horse nettle, vetch, clovers, and dandelions.

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There were all stages of cattail around the pond. They are usually where I see the male red-winged blackbirds perched; I did manage to photograph one but most of the birds were in the trees or on fences.

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The milkweed meadow was in bloom. The bees and milkweed beetle were enjoying the bounty. A few plants were coming up in the mowed area (growing faster than the grass).

There were some silent animals around too: a rabbit

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And a painted turtle that I almost stepped on. I was just looking more closely at the pond since I usually see one in the water or up on some debris. And then I looked down…and saw it about a foot away from me. This one was well up the slope from the pond. The temperature was in the lower 70s…..and the turtle was probably just thinking about moving. It didn’t budge while I took my photographs.

For all the animals – I used the zoom rather than trying to get close. The morning pond was their home and I left them to enjoy the morning.

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

Finches at the feeder. We have House Finches at our feeder frequently…and occasionally get Goldfinches. There was a little drama yesterday that involved both. A female Goldfinch arrived first. Then a male House Finch followed by a male Goldfinch. The males appeared to have a territorial interaction and the male House Finch departed.

Neighborhood Pond

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Earlier this week I made a circuit of our neighborhood’s stormwater pond. I noticed the painted turtle on a rock just breaking the surface. The morning was still cool, and the turtle was warming up. It stayed were it was the whole time I was at the pond.

As I continued around the pond, the light changed enough to make the water look more interesting around the turtle. This was my artsy photo of the morning.

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A few years ago, the county cleaned out our pond and eventually replanted the slopes with vetch and clover (I am guessing…since there is a lot growing there now). The crew that maintains the area has finally decided to not mow the slopes as frequently, so we have flowers.

Another area they aren’t mowing has turned into a milkweed meadow.

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There were mating milkweed beetles on several plants close enough to the edge for me to photograph without being in the taller vegetation.

But – the highlight of the morning was a fledgling red-winged blackbird! I was hearing a lot of red-winged blackbird calls and had seen both males and females around the pond as I walked. A female flew up from some cattails and, when I looked more closely at the area she left, there was the fledgling. It is still mostly bald on its head and the tail feathers are very stumpy.

The female kept an eye on me from the cattails a little further around the pond.

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Unique activities for yesterday:

Wegmans shopping. Grocery shopping has become a bit more adventurous these days. This is my second time in the ‘new normal’ for grocery shopping. I’m not quite comfortable yet.

I printed out my list in the order I traverse the store rather than hand writing it like I did the first time; the scanning app the store provides really does need to incorporate a list function since switching in and out of the scan app and the Our Groceries app (that I use for my list) is too much flipping around on the phone.

Shopping every two weeks rather than each week is still a little challenging but I am sticking to the strategy. This time my cart was very full because the store had both toilet paper and paper towels – which it hadn’t the week before.

I am getting used to wearing a mask; it didn’t feel as strange as it did last time. However, the day was very humid, and my glasses fogged more frequently.

Overall – it was another good experience and right now I can’t think of anything I’ll be doing differently when I shop again in 2 weeks.