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Along the Natchez Trace

Monday, May 25, 2015

Merry Christmas!

Okay....  I know today is Memorial Day, but this is what we woke up to Saturday morning....

Yeah...  those are snow flakes....  lots of them....

That's looking up at the top of a bunker...
We've never been here when it's snowed so it was kind of exciting to see.  There was no accumulation, and it melted off almost as soon as it hit the ground, but it was actually quite beautiful.  
The snow didn't bother this young bull moose.  It's hard to see how big he is, and he isn't any where near as big as he will eventually grow, but still, he's much taller than my height of 5'4".

More snowflakes....   
This is good birding area...  I've seen some warblers, heard the "witchedy-witchedy" of the Yellowthroat, and the "Sweet Canada" of the sparrow.  I'll spend a fair amount of time here... right outside of one of the photo blinds.


Do you remember me taking a photo of the female Rose-breasted Grosbeak when we were still in Ohio.  Well, here's the male.  Isn't he gorgeous?


Here's the bird that this refuge is all about..
The Upland Sandpiper
All refuges have a focus...  an endangered species...  animal, plant, fish... whatever...  that needs some help in order to survive.  The Upland Sandpiper nests here and already they are back for the summer looking for nesting areas.  They build their nest on the ground, so the fields are off limits to all traffic, walking or vehicular, until late summer.

I've seen lots of bears and moose so far... 
Bears have bad eyesight but very good hearing.  This guy heard me driving down the road and stood up to see what he heard.  He hurried off into the woods as soon as he saw my car.

The snow was kind of a freak occurrence....  guess it even made the National news.  But it's gone now and yesterday we even had sunshine.

Maybe that sun will melt away the huge snow bank created by the snow plow this past winter...
Last summer it was finally gone on June 5.  We'll see how long it takes it all to melt this year.

That's All For Today!




8 comments:

  1. I am so glad you guys went to Maine this year--am loving your photos!

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  2. I knew summer ends on August 1st in Main, but on idea winter lasted this long. I wonder when they grow their tomatoes?

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  3. Hard to believe there is snow the end of May...love the picture of the young moose!

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  4. I think snow is best looked at in someone else's pictures. ;)

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  5. Best you have the snow and not us, but it will get much nicer for you.

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  6. Nice photos, love the bird ones especially. Hope you packed your mittens! But does the snow keep the mosquito population down?

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  7. So there is an old nuclear site near there? (was google map touring your area). I found the Friends of....your wildlife refuge on Facebook and "liked" the page.

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  8. Amazing. Idaho is warm and dry this spring, so we'll rely on your pictures for the snow!

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