Weekend Walks

Saturday was warmish, so Ann and I visited Spring Valley, as we did about a year ago, before the plants start to green or many insects buzz around. The burned land we saw last year isn't blackened any more, and I expect it'll be verdant indeed in a couple of months.

This path wasn't in the controlled burn area.

Had a nice time near the pond, too. From the dock I spotted a large tadpole swimming near the bottom, about a foot down. He must be ahead of his tadpole comrades, since he was the only one around, and we spent a while looking for another, but no luck.

Sunday was even warmer, about 70° F. We all went to Mallard Lake Forest Preserve, which is now open again after some kind of wetland restoration work. It's also still mostly brown, but we did meet a few clouds of gnats and, off in the distance, saw a large flock of geese. They weren't going anywhere, but flocking in a sizable number high up in the sky. At times like that I think of The Birds.