We went for a short drive on Hwy 522 since the Jamot Lumber Road was closed.  Apparently some 4 wheelers had made a mud hole out of the road for sport.  Lots of fun for them but inconvenient for other users.  So we’ll find alternatives until some aggregate is dumped and graded.

We visited the old Portage Lake site and saw this sight:

A storehouse of grubs for Pileated woodpeckers!  Trees that have been dead for about 5 years seem to be optimum.

The seed heads of the Cattails are disintegrating now, letting the wind spread fluffy seeds on the ponds.

We seem to have a big crop of Ruffed Grouse this year.

The Marsh Marigolds will be starting to bloom next week as these buds are growing quickly:

We are  patiently waiting for the next stage in the development of these moss spore capsules.

This Brown-headed Cowbird will be starting to lay her eggs in a variety of others’ nest over the next month or so.

We’ve noticed a variety of pussy willows emerging over the last three weeks.

This variety is maturing two weeks ahead of the one above.

Finally, here are some remnant fruiting heads of the wild hazelnut.  You can see a bit of the nut shell in the right capsule.  Each nut is formed at the base of one of the pink tendrils (in the last post’s photo).

A week of above freezing temperatures are forecast.   That will encourage us to look for the Spring Beauties.