Mid January 2003

A cold breeze riffles the canal sending wavelets up and over the forming ice shelves. Most of what there is to see appears naked and stark. Honeysuckle leaves, though, remain attached and green in sheltered depressions. So, too, there is green grass visible (look at your lawns).  I've seen Teasel rosettes, green, but waiting. All this is to say, there's no sense of death here, just quiet. 

Mallard ducks are now seen  in pairs in the river,  as well as in the quieter canal. Egg laying will begin in March.

Geese are more evident as greater flocks honk over the river, looking for the right landing place. And that's one of the intriguing things to witness - the communication of geese among themselves.  

Sensitive Fern