Middle of April. Warm enough in the morning to walk around in a sweater and Tilley hat. Hadn’t done that since, oh, sometime in October. What a relief to wander the woods relatively unencumbered! The animals felt it too; frogs, toads, snakes, turtles in abundance. And, of course, birds. Not much in the way of insects, though; not enough mass to store heat for more than a few moments. Anyway, here are a few photos. The rest are in an album here on Flickr.

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Robin

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Goldfinch

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The most boring chipmunk in West Michigan. Seriously. This little dude sat on that stump, mouth full of food, and didn’t move for at least a minute. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

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Shy garter snake.

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Painted turtle.