Though I am sure they have been around for a while, this is the first year I have seen groundhogs in my neighborhood. Add these to the raccoons, opossums, skunks, red squirrels, grey squirrels, ground squirrels and chipmunks. It’s like living out in the country.

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.

By the end of March the thaw had begun. Temperatures were up and the vast piles of snow were diminishing rapidly. But we had SO much snow that the thaw was (and is) a long, ongoing process. Seidman Park, one of my favorite haunts, was more white than brown or green; but it was still a beautiful day, and a beautiful walk.

I get the sense that the animals in Michigan are a little stunned from the winter.

Some photos here, the rest in their own set over at Flickr.

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Seidman Park, out in the woods.

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Snow melt creates a temporary stream across the trail.

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Deer trail. I imagine the extreme winter and deep snow caused deer to concentrate along more established trails; thus the large amount of deer pellet trails in the forest. I expect that, come summer, there will be long intersecting lines of particularly healthy plants.

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One of several turkey feathers I found during my walk. Someone got lucky. Someone else didn’t.