March 22, 2018

How can it be that a whole month has passed since my last post?  The flow of energy changes. Different things come to occupy your time. 

The late March sun is more than a match for the snow that fell yesterday. In the most sun exposed spots the ground is bare. Melt water tinkles in the gutters and downspouts, and flows down the street. 

In the park I noticed twinned tulip poplars. Here are a couple of them. 

February 22, 2018

After yesterday's sunny, record setting high of 80 degrees F, today is cloudy and much cooler.  It was 52 degrees when I went out, and feels damp. 

Not far from where I saw the pileated woodpecker yesterday, I saw an animal moving, which turned out to be a raccoon.  I was surprised to see it out in the middle of the day.  It was quite shy, and kept moving away from me and occasionally turning it's head to look at me - classic masked raccoon face.   I had seen one in the yard this morning when I went out to check the rain gauge.  It was too dark to see well, but from its size and the way it moved, I'm sure it was a raccoon.  Perhaps the warm weather had brought them out of their winter hideouts.

I picked up more bottles, and enjoyed watching a couple of downy woodpeckers working on a woody shrub by the creek.  These are much more common than the pileated woodpeckers, and we often have them on the trees by our house. 

Sunrise  6:50 am, sunset 5:52 pm

February 21, 2018

Yesterday, February 21, the temperature reached 80 degrees.  I went out for a walk with binoculars, and did some bird watching.  I spotted movement on the ground in a wooded spot behind the playground, and when I got the view through the binoculars, I was surprised to see it was a pileated woodpecker.  They're quite large, with triangular shaped heads.  I don't recall having seen one here before - at least not this good a view.  I watched it for a while until it flew off.

I wandered upstream along the path, and stopped for awhile to search the trees for a bird that was calling.  I never did spot it, and eventually went on.  I stood on the bridge near the soccer field for a while, enjoying the warmth and watching the water.  A belted kingfisher, with its distinctive oversized head, flew from upstream and landed on a branch that overhangs the stream.  I watched it for quite a while.  When it flew back out of sight, I went on up the creek. 

I saw deer and raccoon tracks frequently along the bank, and picked up a bag full of bottles. 

I had a stash of bottles and litter that I'd collected over the past couple of weeks, and I took advantage of the warm weather to sort it out.  In one bag I found a plastic deli container - see photo.   I don't recall when I picked it up, but it was quite dirty and had cracked open, allowing mud to get inside.  When I picked it up, it felt like there might be something loose inside, so I decided to check and dump it out.  When I opened the side, I was startled to see a small frog inside.  I immediately headed down to the park where I took the pictures.  I was just about to take another photo of the frog on the sand bar where I let it out, when it took a couple of quick leaps, landed in the water, and swam away. 


Sunrise 6:49 am, sunset 5:53 pm

February 20, 2018

Warm day today. May warm. 75 degrees F. It's February. The previous high temperature was 70, in 1971. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow, then return more to normal. I picked up bottles and litter in the creek, and sat on my usual rock in the sun by the creek until I got too hot!

Sunrise 6:51 am, sunset 5:51 pm

February 10, 2018

Rain.  We haven't had much for quite a while, and we're officially in a severe drought.  So the rain today is welcome, and also seems odd. 

I walked to a climate meeting at a house on the other side of the creek.  A strong flow of water came out of the storm drain culvert into the tributary.  I'm usually at the creek when the water is low, so it was interesting to see how it flows when there's a lot of water.  I didn't see any bottles floating down - I think those would mostly wash down in the first part of the storm.

The temperature was in the 40s, but the rain was cold.  My shoes, socks, and pant legs were wet by the time I got to the meeting.

When I left a couple of hours later it was raining harder and the creek was running higher.  I had no choice but to go through a few puddles, and my feet were cold and wet by the time I got home. 

The forecast is for rain all night and into tomorrow.

Sunrise 7:04 am, sunset 5:40 pm

February 9, 2018

Cold in the morning, then warmed up into the 40s, overcast.  Off the paths in the park the surface has thawed and it's squishy walking.  A flock of a couple dozen crows flew over, gliding more than actively flying, and angled several degrees counterclockwise from the direction they were moving.  There must be a good wind flowing up above the trees.

There are some bamboo patches that I want to go cut down.  I'll try to work on that next week if there are some nice days.

Sunrise 7:05 am, sunset 5:38 pm

February 8, 2018

A sunny morning after a gray, rainy day. I went to check the creek, 29 degrees F. I found just a couple of bottles on the gravel bar - ones that had been flattened by cars, so I expect the water was high enough to float the others downstream. I did find a big sheet of oil absorbent pad, wadded up against some rocks. 

Raccoon tracks in the mud. 

Sunrise 7:06 am, sunset 5:32 pm

February 7, 2018

I have plantar fascitis, I think, in my left foot.  It started after my run last week up to University Boulevard, as sensitivity in my heel.  Yesterday evening, it was more extensive, and it bothered me enough that I was hobbling up and down the stairs. 

I had PF a few years ago, and it took several months for it to go away.  I'm going to do some research and see how to treat it.  I hope I can manage it so I can still be active and relatively pain free.


Sunrise 7:07 am, sunset 5:36 pm

February 6, 2018

I walked up the creek and ended up with a bag stuffed full of bottles.  I hadn't intended to do a big collection, based on previous walks and that I had cleaned out the tributary the day before, I didn't expect to find much.  In fact the first bottle I saw was on the other side of the creek and I left it to pick up on the way home.  I was planning to walk up to the beltway, or perhaps to Forest Glen Road, then turn around and cross the creek on the bridge near the soccer field. 

Then my walk took an unpleasant turn.  Walking up the paved trail toward the beltway, I saw a small plastic bag a few feet to the side.  Could it be?  Indeed, it was a plastic bag with dog droppings - the third I had found in as many days.  I picked it up and went on, planning to drop it off at the first waste bin I found.  A little farther up I saw another plastic bag snagged a few feet off the ground in brush.  Another bag of dog droppings.  This one had been hanging there for a while, the bag was breaking up and the droppings were desiccated.  What is going through the head of a person who goes to the trouble of picking up their dog's feces in a plastic bag, tying a know in it, and then chucking it wherever they feel like it? 

Turns out, there aren't any waste containers until you reach the school past Forest Glen Road.  As I walked there, I saw six does on the other side of the creek near the stormwater ponds.  They watched me, but didn't spook.  After I dropped off the droppings, I walked back toward the creek and saw, in an eddy where a tributary joins, a bunch of bottles and foam.  They weren't easy to get due to the steep muddy bank, but I was able to retrieve them with a little work.  I then headed back along Sligo Creek Parkway, and found enough bottles to overflow my bag.  At one point I stopped, dumped my load out on the ground, and flattened all the bottles I could so I could fit most of them in the plastic bag. 

On the downstream side of the beltway, I saw a group of four bucks, still with antlers.  They were a bit more wary than the does.  Interesting that they're segregated into groups like that. 

By the time I got back to Dallas Avenue, near where the first bottle I'd seen was waiting, I was carrying so much that I decided to leave it for another day.


Sunrise 7:08 am, sunset 5:36 pm

February 5, 2018

Rain yesterday - over an inch - though mostly a slow and steady rain rather than a downpour.  Today was sunny but cold - right around freezing.  A little before 4 pm I went down to the creek and walked the length of the tributary that starts at the end of our street where a storm drain empties.

I've been picking trash up from this tributary every few days since the first of the year, so I know that almost all of what I found was new.  A dozen water bottles, a small basketball, snack wrappers, plastic bags, a newspaper still in its plastic bag, lots of small foam bits.

After throwing all the garbage away, I was left with these to recycle:

The main creek is running with a good current, but there's an eddy by the far bank and a plastic water bottle is floating there.  I crossed the bridge just downstream and was able to climb down far enough on the roots to reach it - thanks to yoga flexibility. 

Sunrise 7:09 am, sunset 5:33 pm

February 3, 2018

The days continue to grow longer and the sunlight a little more intense as the earth moves steadily around its orbit and the northern hemisphere tilts back toward the sun.  It was in the low 30s today with a little breeze, but pleasant in the sun.  I scrambled along this stretch of bank, picking up litter.  

Farther up, I stayed for a while on a gravel bar in the sunlight.  Some birds were singing - a cardinal I think.  The water riffled over a shallow spot into a pool.  Geese where honking and chattering over on the golf course. 

it’s nice to be out in the sunlight.

Sunrise 7:11 am, sunset 5:32 pm

February 2, 2018

A cold front came through overnight.  It rained a little - 0.14 inches in the gauge.  When I went to the park in late afternoon I saw that new litter had washed in.  There were dozens of pieces of foam, of all types, from foam blocks to cups to packing peanuts.  The first picture here has a peanut near bottom center, a rectangular foam block (14" or so long), and a foam cup at the top.  When I went to pick them up I found a couple more pieces among the rocks and leaves.

There was more foam than usual.  I think that's because foam is so light, that it easily washes downstream.  If we had a half inch instead of the little bit we got, the foam wouldn't have lodged here near the outflow culvert. 


Here's another cup.



Here are a couple of small foam pieces spoiling what otherwise is a pretty mix of natural colors and textures.  The bottom piece is the light foam that is like little round pellets stuck together.  These rapidly degrade, break apart and scatter the BB sized foam balls, which are, practically, irretrievable. 


Sunrise 7:13 am, sunset 5:30 pm

February 1, 2018

At 7 am, a quarter hour before sunrise, the sky over the hill in the east was a beautiful dusty rose.  A sparrow sang, and a cool, moist breeze washed across my face. In the west, the sky was dark, and the just past full moon was bright through the bare tree branches.

Later in the day, I went down to the park to shoot some video for ClimateYogi.  The temperature was in the 40s, but there wasn't much if any wind, and it was even refreshing to be out in bare feet and a T-shirt - for a while.

Sunrise 7:14, sunset 5:29

January 31, 2018

Partly sunny and 34 degrees F this afternoon. I took a walk in the park. I wasn't setting out to pick up a lot of trash, but took a bag along. In little bits here and there, starting with bottle caps, straws and other little things that had spilled into the street from this morning's recycling pickup, I filled the bag up - a few plastic bottles, bits of plastic bags and snack wrappers, a couple of Heineken bottles, and a large whiffle ball. 

My treat was a close up with a make downy woodpecker.  

This tree caught my attention - how does a tree end up growing like this?

Sunrise 7:14 am, sunset 5:28 pm

January 30, 2018

I've lost a couple of posts from the blog - January 28 and 29 are missing.  I don't know how that happened - I know the posts were done each day.  Oh well, on to today.

It's sunny and windy.  32 degrees F, but "feels like" 21 degrees.  I dressed in more layers to go to the park.  As I did yesterday, I took a plastic bag to the park.  Yesterday I filled it mostly with plastic bags and snack wrappers, finding just a couple of bottles.  Today, because of the wind, things had blown around.  I found a couple of plastic plant pots,  one quite large and the other smaller, several plastic bags and one paper bag, and a can.  One side trail had a small dead tree blown over.  It's bigger than it appears in this photo, but I was able to move it off the trail.



Sunrise 7:16 am, sunset 5:27 pm

January 27, 2018

I left the house at 7am to walk to the metro. Since I retired I haven't been out that time of day. The sunrise here was a half hour away, but the layer of clouds in the east had already seen the dawn, and glowed with a light rose color. 

The night had stayed warm (for winter), it was 40 degrees F and eventually warmed up to 60, I was inside most of the day at a climate conference, and night had come again before I walked from the metro to home. 

I learned a lot at the conference and met many people who I will enjoy working with, but I also missed being outside to enjoy the passing of the day. 

Sunrise 7:17 am , sunset 5:23 pm

January 26, 2018

I didn't get much time outside today.  In the morning I had an online yoga session with Tanya and Evan, then drove to Fulton to teach yoga classes at 10 am and noon.  After yoga I drove home, ate a quick lunch, changed clothes, and had Pam drive me over to the Metro station.  I rode the Red line around through downtown and out the other side to the University of District of Columbia, where the Mid-Atlantic conference of the Citizens' Climate Lobby was underway.  When the reception wound down about 6:30, I rode the Metro back to Silver Spring.  It was in the low 30s and I was lightly dressed, so I jogged home.  That worked well, as I wasn't out in the cold as long and I generated more heat. 

Sunrise 7:19 am, sunset 5:22 pm

January 25, 2018

Late afternoon walk to the creek on a sunny but cold day (38 degrees F but feels colder), and saw a heron fishing. Actually, the heron saw me first, and flew a little way down the creek where I got this picture. 

Sunrise 7:19, sunset 5:21

January 24, 2018

The temperature was around 40 degrees F today, but it felt much colder to me.  Perhaps the humidity is low.  Perhaps it was the wind, or the lack of sunshine.  I could have imagined it to be in the 20s. 

The night before was clear, and as I walked to yoga I spied Orion coming up in the east.  It was usually on early morning walks in the fall that I had the best view of the stars, though this light-polluted urban area with lots of trees will never be a great place for sky watching. 

Sunrise 7:20 am, sunset 5:21 pm

January 23, 2018

After a tiny bit of rain overnight, and a cloudy morning, it cleared off this afternoon.  Though the temperature was up around 60 degrees F again, the humidity was much lower than yesterday and a stiff breeze was blowing, so it seemed much cooler.  It will be down near freezing tonight.

I walked down to the park and enjoyed the sunlight sparkling on the water of the tributary.   The winter sky was a deep blue backdrop to the trees.

A deer had been by this morning, leaving tracks in the damp sand. 

I saw a winter wren by the tributary.  Quite a bit smaller than the Carolina wren I'd seen down by the main creek during the cold spell, I've seen winter wrens several times here. They appear to roost in the cut banks of the tributary, and are quick to fly into the banks behind a tangle of tree roots. 











Sunrise 7:20 am, sunset 5:18 pm

January 22, 2018

I walked to the grocery store this morning for bananas, and picked up bottles and cans along the way.  It will rain tonight, and anything left will wash into the creek, so I felt good about being able to recycle these instead.

Walking up Ellsworth Street, I saw a bright red Coke can in the gutter and went over to pick it up.  Just then a young girl came out of the adjacent house with her father, apparently on the way to school.  "I did that too, yesterday!" she declared as she looked at my armload of bottles and cans.  "I did something good for the environment at Sligo Creek."  "Good for you!" I replied.  "Thank you for doing that."  "You're welcome," she said. 

In the afternoon, the temperature reached 65 degrees F and I went for a run.  It's nice weather for a run - like early May - but 20 degrees above the average temperature for the date.  I went farther, about 4.5 miles, saw a couple of deer just feet off the path, browsing, and picked up four plastic bottles, two for each hand. 

Sunrise 7:21 am, sunset 5:17 pm.

January 21, 2018

There was an early spring feel this morning as I walked to yoga.  Those days come and go during the winter, and when spring comes, I'm often surprised at how cold it can be when the cherry blossoms are coming out.  But you have to take each day as it comes, and this was a nice one. 

My walks to and from yoga were the only time I spent outside today, as I had an afternoon workshop to teach as well as my morning classes, and that filled up the day.  I did pick up several cans and bottles for recycling, and it felt good to know that they wouldn't be washing into the creek with the next rain. 

This week I'll be turning my attention to my Climate Yogi project, reading and writing more for the website I plan to launch this coming weekend at the regional Citizens' Climate Lobby conference.

Sunrise 7:22 am, sunset 5:17 pm

January 20, 2018

It's a beautiful day in Silver Spring.  The forecast of 55 degrees turned out to bring a day of 60 F.  The water coming into the creek was clear, and I enjoyed watching the patterns of light on the water, the sound of the flowing water, and the warm sunlight.  I just basked in the experience for a while before walking downstream, where I found some bottles and litter to pick up. 





I wish there wasn't any litter in the park, but on the other hand, it led me over to the other side of the creek to drop off some snack wraps and plastic bags in the trash container.  On the hillside across the road, three deer were grazing.  They paid no mind to the cars and bicyclists coming by just a few feet away.  They seemed more alert to people walking, like me, even though I was on the other side of the road. 

I watched them for a while, as they wandered slowly, grazed, and groomed each other.  Then I walked a little ways up the road and crossed over, getting closer to them without frightening them.  I watched for perhaps 10 minutes more, and spotted another farther up the hillside lying in the sunlight in front of a fallen tree.  They were all does, and I'm sure some or all of them will be having fawns in a few months. 

I noticed myself gradually relaxing and letting go as I watched them enjoying the warmth and sunlight.  It occurred to me that they are much more aware of their environment than most people are, and that we could benefit from slowing down and paying more attention to things. 

Sunrise 7:22 am, sunset 5:15 pm

January 19, 2018

The warming spell continued today, with the temperature climbing above 50 degrees F in the afternoon.  I went for a run up the creek trail, and it felt like an early spring day.  That's how the weather often is here in the Mid-Atlantic.  One of my friends described it as getting all the seasons within a week. 

I had a nice run, although I nearly tripped myself up on some concrete stepping stones across one of the little creeks.  If I hadn't caught my balance, I might be writing to you from the hospital tonight!

Another nice day in the works for tomorrow, sunny and 55 is the forecast.  Then Sunday afternoon I'll be co-teaching a yoga class in French.  It seemed like a good idea when we dreamed it up months ago.  Souhaite moi bonne chance!

Sunrise 7:23 am, sunset 5:15 pm

January 18, 2018

We're having a little warming. It was 22 deg at 9:30 this morning when I walked to Whole Foods but 40 at 5 pm when I walked to the metro on my way to teach yoga in Takoma Park. I hadn't checked the temperature and was a little over-dressed. But better that than dressing for 40 when it's 22. 

The big wildlife sighting for the day was in Takoma Park after yoga. We'd just started driving down the street when a fox ran across the road. I haven't seen a fox in a while. 

Sunrise 7:23 am, sunset 5:14 pm

January 17, 2018

About an inch of snow fell last night. Light and dry. It was overcast and flat gray most of the day. I went to the park about 3 pm. The temperature was 25 degrees F. A squirrel's tracks led down the concrete bank below the culvert, then across the water flow restricters and up the other side. Perhaps you can make them out in the two pictures below. 

The creek was quiet. I saw a crow and a sparrow, and some minnows. 

Sunrise 7:24 am, sunset 5:13 pm. 

January 16, 2018

Lovely, sunny day today.  The temperature rose into the high 30s.  I had a noon yoga class at the county planning office, picked up some bottles on the walk home, and then went for a 3 mile run up the creek trail.

There's a cold front coming through tonight.  We may get a little snow.  This time of year flocks of robins and starlings move around with the weather fronts.  When I got back from my run there was a flock of robins in front of the house.  They have several chirps and trilly calls, and a distinctive flip of their tail up and down. 

Behind the house was a flock of starlings, most in the yard beyond but a few in our yard, black with yellowish speckles.

Sunrise 7:25 am, sunset 5:11 pm.

January 15, 2018

Twenty-nine degrees today. Feels colder. I walked downstream today, staying in the woods on the south side of the creek. I saw recent deer scat but no deer. I saw a chase of four squirrels, running along one right after another. I don't know what this behavior is about. 

There's a spot with large wild grape vines. The two in the picture are modest in size compared to some of them. 

Nearby, a young beech tree clung stubbornly to its dry leaves. Some oaks do this as well. 

I found as many bottles as I could carry in my frigid hands. 

Sunrise 7:25 am, sunset 5:10 pm. We've picked up 15 minutes of daylight since January 1. 

January 14, 2018

The bright morning sunshine seemed so warm and inviting. It's a good thing I checked the temperature before heading out to walk to my morning yoga class. 

Anytime the first digit in the temperature (F) is a one, it's a problem, whether it's in the teens or over 100. 

So I put on extra layers and enjoyed a brisk walk. 

Sunrise 7:25 am, sunset 5:10 pm

January 13, 2018

The soil is soft and spongy after the dramatic thaw and rain. Down at the tributary there were fresh tracks of deer and raccoon (shown). 

January 12, 2018

Light rain is washing the salt off the roads and into the creek. It warmed up this afternoon to 66 degrees F, dark beneath thick gray clouds.
The mallards may have moved on. They were still in the creek yesterday, swimming in the brown water, but I saw no sign of them today - just a crow, some squirrels, and a medium sized songbird.

• Sunrise 7:26 am, sunset 5:06 pm. 

January 11, 2018

I went for a run today - the first run in a month.  It had warmed up to 50 degrees F, and was more like a spring day than a winter one.  When I got to the end of the street and entered the park, I saw the dirty water pouring into the Edgevale tributary of Sligo Creek.  In the picture below, that's the branch to the right.  A similar event had happened on January 3 due to a water main break, and another event on the 8th a quarter mile downstream from here.  I was surprised to find the main creek (on the left in the picture) was also full of yellow dirt. 

I ran on upstream from here.  About a half mile up there's another tributary we call the Flora Lane tributary.  It usually runs clear and cold, and has good water quality compared to the rest of the system, because it receives deep groundwater pumped out of the underground Forest Glen metro station.  But today, it was a dirty mess as well.  Upstream of that, the creek was clear. 


After my run, I got my phone and walked back to the creek where I took this picture and sent in a report to a group that monitors stream water quality. 

Later in the morning I walked to downtown Silver Spring, and found this sight.  Dirt laden water was flowing out of the pavement on Cameron Street and into the storm drains.  County workers were probing with some kind of monitoring device - I expect trying to find the location of the break before digging up the street. 

I don't know how much the silt from these water main breaks affects the ability of things to survive in the creek, but it concerns me that we've had four events like this in just a couple of weeks in the area that I frequent in my daily walks.



Sunrise 7:26 am, sunset 5:06 pm

January 10, 2018

Today was full of activity and time came to drive to Happy Yogi for me evening classes and I hadn't gone to the park.  I arrived in Fulton, about 12 miles north of home, around sunset.  Textured gray clouds hung low in the sky, with the brightness and a little of the color from the setting sun glowing through in spots. 

I walked across the parking lot to a grassy area.  With slightly spongy damp grass underfoot, I watched the clouds and enjoyed the cool breeze, the temperature was about 40 degrees F.  The air felt clean and fresh coming into my lungs. 

I walked back toward the studio and paused one more time to watch the clouds as they moved to the east, a subtle movement that was revealed by my own stillness and attention.  I like to see the changes as I feel my breath move in and out - so much can happen in the space of a breath. 

Just as I was turning to walk to the studio door, motion in the sky caught my attention again - a flight of geese, in the common V formation with one side longer than the other.  About thirty birds, flying together as a unit, powerful and graceful.  Behind them came a single line of eight more birds.  Heading in to teach yoga with the image of graceful flight in my mind, I was glad I stopped to watch the sky.

Sunrise 7:26 am, sunset 5:04 pm.  Sunset continues to move about a minute a day, and sunrise a minute in 8 days. 

January 9, 2018

Mom was born on this day in 1930.  She died at the end of January in 2010.  Today marks her 88th birthday.  It doesn't feel like 8 years since she passed.  Mom liked cardinals.  This afternoon I saw two - a male and a female - though not together.  I watched each of them for a while - the male bright red, in the sunshine; the female in the shadows of brush along the creek. 

There were a couple of pairs of mallards in the creek, another bird that Mom was very familiar with.  One of the females had different coloration than the standard, a little lighter brown with an almost white section on the back.  It looked somewhat like this example of leucism - variation or loss of the normal pigmentation that is not albinism.

The temperature this afternoon was said to be 46 degrees F, but it felt much colder to me, even though there wasn't a wind.

I didn't see a lot of other wildlife today.  In addition to the cardinals and mallards I saw a crow fly high overhead, got a brief glimpse of a hawk, and saw several squirrels. 

Sunrise 7:26 am, sunset 5:03 pm.

January 8, 2018

Today was warmer, 27 degrees F, about 11 am when I walked to the park.  The sky was mostly cloudy but sun came through at times.  Freezing rain was forecast for later in the afternoon.  I had binoculars, and was looking for birds.

Yesterday, I'd seen a small bird fly out from a tangle of roots on the stream bank and over to another tangle on the other side.  I thought it might be a wren, but didn't have a good look at it. 

I heard several birds.  I could identify the crow, and the call of a hawk, but not the other bird calls.  I saw a couple of birds high up in the trees, but the lighting was not good for me to make out anything beyond their general size. 

I walked down to the gravel bar on Sligo Creek below the bridge, near my sitting spot, as I thought it might be a good place to see birds.  First I saw some small birds in the bare shrubs and small trees up on the bank, finch or siskin sized.  They were quite active, and the lighting wasn't conducive to revealing the details of color and pattern needed to identify them.

Then I saw a small woodpecker on the trunk of the nearest large tree.  I'm sure it was a female downy woodpecker, since it was the right size and didn't have the red patch of the male downy.

I walked just a little farther downstream, testing out the ice to see how solid it was, and a wren flew out of some brush and landed on a branch that gave me a good view.  It was a Carolina wren, one of the larger wrens, and it has a light colored stripe above its eye.  Feathers puffed up in the cold, it was practically a sphere, as if someone took a tennis ball and added feet, a beak, and a short tail.  Very cute.

Sunrise 7:27 am, sunset 5:03 pm.

January 7, 2018

Today was bright and sunny, and 20 degrees F in the afternoon, which seemed warm compared to the single digit temperature this morning.  You know it's been cold when 20 degrees seems like a warm spell. 

I walked down to the creek.  There were bands of different ice forms along the edge.  The clear part of the creek is frozen as well - thick enough to stand on in places. 


I picked up some cans, bottles and trash - and found a small basketball that appears to be in good condition.  I dropped the litter off and went across the road to the hillside, where I spotted several deer hanging out in the sun.  They're up at the ridgetop in the picture - zoom in if you want a look.  There were at least 4 bucks in the group.   I skirted around the edge trying to stay far enough away to not spook them - though they were very alertly watching. 

I walked along the hill until I came to the Parkside Headquarters building, the site of an old elementary school.  I stopped at the basketball court and threw the basketball at the hoop a few times.  It's challenging with several layers of coat and heavy gloves - and I'm also way out of practice.  I eventually got the ball through the hoop a few times, and then went on down the hill, back across the road, and home to warm up.

Sunrise 7:27 am, sunset 5:01 pm

January 6, 2018

Today we drove west out into the country. It was a pretty, sunny day with a few scattered clouds - and very cold. We stopped at Berkeley Springs, West Virginia for lunch. After we walked out to the little state park at the hot springs. Windchill of 0 degrees F.  Pam posed for a photo op by a basin commemorating George Washington's first visit there, at the age of 16.  It's not a hot spring, but a warm one - the water comes out of the ground at 74 degrees F. 

Then we drove on to Paw Paw, West Virginia - named for the native edible fruit tree called the Paw Paw.  Here the road crosses the Potomac River, back to the Maryland side.  Pam's posing with the chilly Potomac in the background.


It was a long day.  The sun set as we were about 20 miles from home.  Total drive was 261 miles.  We saw some pretty country.

Sunrise 7:27 am, sunset 5:01 pm

January 5, 2018

The sun is back at times, though it's only 17 degrees F this afternoon.  The wind isn't as strong as yesterday, but is very raw when it blows.  I liked the patterns made by the snow and leaves on the ground and rocks by the creek

The creek is flowing, cold and icy.  In places, the ice is strong enough to walk on.  I stayed away from the flowing water. 


I found some small animal tracks leading down to the water.  They were filled in with snow, so weren't distinct enough for me to try to identify, but were much smaller than squirrel tracks, so perhaps a vole or some other small rodent. 

Sunrise 7:27 am; sunset 5:00 pm.  I've discovered that, for reasons I don't yet understand well enough to explain myself, after the winter solstice the sunset time changes faster than the sunrise time.  Since January 1, the sunset has moved from 4:56 to 5:00 while the sunrise time - at least rounded to the minute - has not changed.

January 4, 2018

It snowed just a little last night.  It was gray and cloudy all morning, but forecast to be partly sunny by 2 pm.  It wasn't.  I went out at 3, and it was still very gray.  The sun did peek through a couple of times in the next hour, but barely enough to be noticed. 

I started off at the tributary to check on the sediment issue.  The water was flowing clear today, though the bright yellowish sediment is quite visible on the bottom.  I wanted to walk down the tributary to look for animal tracks, but as I approached, focused on the bushes ahead and my footing, I heard a quack and looked up to see several pairs of mallards swimming in the pool.  I didn't want to flush them out on this cold, windy day - they had sought out this little body of water for shelter and rest - so I quickly turned and walked back, and they didn't fly. 

A little farther down I went back to the stream and found my first tracks - a medium sized passerine bird - three toes forward and one back.  The tracks led to the water's edge.

 A little farther down, another passerine bird track - but this one giant - each of the toes was 3-4" long.

 You can get a sense of the size and the bird's stride in this picture of the tracks along with a rabbit track.

It must be a heron. 

Squirrels like to use fallen trees as highways - here's a well-used one.

I was looking for deer tracks.  It took a while to find them - up by the beltway where they'd crossed the creek. 

The final sets of tracks I found - other than the tracks of people and dogs - were some little birds - perhaps sparrows or juncos - and the tracks of a small animal - which may have been a little dog - but the tracks were just a little bigger than a quarter.

It was 23 degrees F and a 20 mph north wind howled through the tree tops.  My hands got very cold.  I jogged a little on the way back up the hill to the house, and that warmed me up a bit.

Sunrise 7:27 am, sunset 4:59 pm.  Sunrise time hasn't changed since January 1, sunset time has changed three minutes.  I wonder why that is. 

January 3, 2018

It's warmer today - 30 degrees F.  Clouds moved in during the morning, but when I went out after lunch they began to clear away, and the sun came out during my walk.

The tributary stream near our house had a strong load of light brown sediment coming out of the culvert.  We haven't had any precipitation to wash surface water off, so I suspect this is coming from a construction project in downtown Silver Spring.  I used an App I recently got, called WaterReporter, to take a photo and submit a report.  I didn't realize the photo wouldn't be saved to my phone, but I have received a response from the Potomac Waterkeepers that they've forwarded the report to the County and are following up.  This is a very worthwhile application of technology.

After picking up some bottles and cans, I dropped them off at the top of the bank to pick up on my way home, and headed up the creek toward the wildflower meadow.  The sun was out, shining off the ice and flowing water in the creek. 

I took some pictures of the ice patterns.

As I approached the wildflower meadow, I stopped to watch a flock of several dozen Canadian geese circling above the golf course.  I expect they'd been disturbed by some hardy golfers - there were more than 40 cars in the parking lot.  They flew overhead, honking - powerful and streamlined flyers.  I spotted three deer on the hillside between the golf course and the beltway.  They seemed focused on a dog that was being walked over by the creek, and that was making quite a bit of noise rustling in the leaves.  They were alert, and pranced off, tails up.

I took a photo of some milkweed pods in the meadow.  I collected a couple of pods from this area last fall.  I scattered seeds from one out in the back and side yard, hoping that some would come up in the spring.  I kept the other one to start inside.  Just this morning, I had prepared the seeds to put in the refrigerator to cold stratify for about a month, before I plant them in some little pots.



Sunrise today is at 7:27 am, sunset at 4:58 pm.  Interesting that since the first, the sunrise time hasn't changed, while the sunset time has moved from 4:56 to 4:58.