Along the pond and creek.....

For a few hours yesterday it almost felt like spring. I didn't have a chance to go anywhere and hated to waste the day, so I went out to see what was in the backyard. The first thing I found were these "scribbles" on the ice on the pond.....hmmmmm. Maybe the animals are learning to write.....or maybe they are cracks.
At the edge of the woods the sky was reflected in the water.

The ice was definitely melting, but that just made it more interesting.

A Cardinal began alerting all the other birds that I was around. The chatter in the forsythia bushes was so loud, I thought there must be a 100 birds in there! I saw at least 20-30 sparrows and cardinals flitting in and out as I came closer....they kept moving further away.

The ivy that grows up the oak trees was the brightest spot out there.

Some interesting scat....don't know who's or what they were eating. I told Mike that it must be a slow day in "Blog Land" if I'm posting photos of scat!

We have a really weird tree that is just one burl after another. I always wonder what on earth happened to it while it was growing. If it ever falls down we will have to slice the burls and see what the wood looks like

The bark in between the burls is all stretched and scrunched giving a really weird appearance to the entire tree.

Lichen on the fallen Redbud gave me an opportunity to try the macro.

A tangle up high in one of the trees....don't think it is a nest.

An old nest in one of the maples. I was curious about all the things waving in the breeze. I put out some old thread snippings (I have tons of those), and small bits of fabric and batting last spring to see if anyone would use it in a nest. I think I see some in this one!

I relocated this shepherd hook and its feeders this morning and already a Titmouse is checking out the suet bag that was being ignored in the previous location. Need to fill that feeder he's sitting on!