The Nature Issue

In March, our thoughts turn to Spring and we look for signs of it everywhere.  This month’s post is about the flora and fauna of Thornbush in March.
 

Such as Turtles

First, though, I need to document a great trip to Olympia for my niece’s baby shower.  We stopped at Nisqually Nature Reserve and saw baby great horned owls plus a lot of other wildlife.
 

And Mergansers

 

On the way home, I stopped in to wish Corbin a happy first birthday. 
 

Ethel helps Corbin unwrap--what could it be?



Spring time walk up Mt Young where Madronnas flourish.   





Madronnas on Mt Young

 

This crossbill is recovering from slamming into the window

Ahh, red flowering currant.  Can the hummingbirds be far behind?

Soopolallie - Shepherdia canadensis

Now that you've stayed until the end, I will tell you the bad news.  Fourteen chickens killed by a mink on St Patrick's Day. Mink massacres in the past have also occurred in March.  Is it because the stream is so high now that they come up from False Bay?  We still have eleven barred rock in the compost yard, but all the beautiful garden chickens are gone.  We won't be getting more chicks for awhile.

Eagle on the snag

Another vociferous sign of Spring, the eagle sitting on the snag just above her nest.  And it wouldn't be March without the Skunk Cabbage on the stream.  I think we can safely say that Spring has arrived. Next month--avalanche lillies!

Skunk Cabbage



we interrupt this retrospective for a news update

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/weasel/Minkprintout.shtml

Mink are small members of the weasel family. Dark
brown in color, mink have long been sought after
for their pelts. Though they only reach 2-3 lbs
in size, mink are aggressive and predatory. They
will prey upon most anything including rats, mice,
fish, rabbit, birds, eggs, insects or muskrat.
Because of their long and sleek design, mink will
commonly find their way into chicken coops or
other animal holding cages where they can kill
several of the captive prey animals in a short
period of time. This characteristic - random
slaughtering of prey animals - sometimes confuses
the animal owner into thinking local vandals
are responsible. They also like to line their kill
up in a row which leads to further confusion. It's
hard to imagine such a small animal could be so
destructive, aggressive and organized. But if you
raise quail, pheasant, chickens or some other small
bird, hope the local mink don't find out!

Mink like to live close to water. Dens are commonly
made on the banks of streams and creeks but they
may choose a location under a rock or log. Mink are active in most every
state except one or two in the southwestern region
of the United States. Since mink are usually nocturnal
and secretive, they are not easily seen. Generally
they are not the first animal thought to be responsible
for local damage unless the land owner is familiar
with how mink behave. But once they learn of a good
food supply, they will be persistent and resilient.

A mink broke into our chicken coop Wednesday night and killed all of our chickens. Roger will reinforce the coop before we acquire more hens.

In other news, I just have to include this picture of little Suzie building a snowman in Thursday's snowfall. She started with a tennis ball and kept at it for over an hour.