Goldfinches feast in the sweetgum tree

The American goldfinch likes the sweetgum tree in our yard that I curse every time I step on one those dadgum seed balls.

Four or five birds chirped in for a feast.

Then they eyeballed the feeder.

Joined a a bird party.

And stopped for a drink.

Disturbing a little snake under the leaves

It's about 60 degrees on this late December day, but still rather cold for this Rough Earth Snake that I uncovered while scooping leaves into a pile.

I probably would not have noticed it if a flash of white hadn't caught my eye. I tucked the little snake under the shed away from the threat of rakes.

Spending the last day of fall at Sheldon Lake

Before the bus arrived, I walked out on a boardwalk for a look about.

The Friday before Christmas was the last day of the year for planting with students and Wetlands Restoration Team volunteers at Sheldon Lake State Park.


Teens in rubber boots planted two species of Cordgrass on the outer banks of Pond Anhinga, which is off a road that is closed to the public. 

On Wednesday I had helped the wetlands team get 1,400 sprigs ready for the student volunteers, but this was the first time I had been part of a planting detail. I am a newbie volunteer who joined in mid November.

I managed to stay on my feet while wading in the muck in my three-sizes-too-big rubber boots that I bought at a garage sale. Buddy Diane H. showed me how to use the dibble, and we made our way around the pond.

Most of the kids were veterans planters who had been on a planting mission a month earlier. When one of the coordinators asked who were inexperienced, I raised my hand along with the girl in skirt. And she turned out to be an enthusiastic worker who said she would like to work at Sheldon Lake. When a ranger joked that she could come back early Saturday morning to clean the rubber boots, she just laughed and waved.

In 90 minutes the sprigs had new homes along the pond thanks to the teens.

But there are no photos because I was afraid I would make a splash down so I left my phone in a safe, dry place.

A possum playing possum

 

Good dog, Freddie. Now leave your new friend alone.

They are Virginia opossums, but I grew up calling them possums.

They come into our yard occasionally to raid the bird feeders and give the dog something to worry about.

Freddie the dog goes crazy when she sees one. Freddie usually spots a possum in a tree at night. The animal freezes and refuses to move. And the dog goes into crazy barking mode until we drag her indoors.

This time Freddie found an opossum at her level on the ground. 

Dog joy!

She was so pleased when I finally went out in the dark to find out what was distracting her dog brain. 

She was circling a small opossum rolled into a ball. It was baring its teeth, and with a flashlight I could see its little tongue. 

With a towel I lifted it over the fence. Dog party over.

It didn't seem to be injured and it hissed when I picked up with a towel to put it outside the fence.

It's not poop, it is scat

Getting middle-schoolers to use the word "scat" can be a challenge on a hike.

During a quick walk along trails at Sheldon Lake in 40-degree weather we encountered several piles of scat. There are always ewwws or giggles.

The scat comprised mostly of seeds probably were left by raccoons or possums.

Then there was scat with fur and seeds. An omnivore was here, it was concluded. There was discussion about a coyote as a possible culprit.

"It scatted it out," a kid announced.

Red-bellied woodpecker bullies

Coming in for a snack.

My bird feeders seem extra popular during these 40-degree days, and the Red-Bellied Woodpeckers have been exerting their dominance.

There are at least two of them that like to swoop in and make the little brown birds scatter.

Not even the squirrels want to challenge them for the free food.

Look at my belly.