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.

January 2, 2018

Today is very much like yesterday - clear and cold - 20 degrees F again.  I went out earlier in the afternoon, the sun was higher in the sky.  I thought I'd cross the tributary creek and go up the edge of the park for a ways, in the opposite direction that I went yesterday.   I found some bottles in the creek, and not long after getting into the woods, I found a plastic bag of dog droppings someone had left.  My hands were full and I'd just begun my walk, so I headed over to the trash bins across the creek. 

Then I decided to head across the road and into the woods on the hill beyond.  It's a dense thicket in the summer, but in winter it's relatively open.  The snow on a fallen tree trunk held the tracks of a small animal - likely a squirrel. 

I crossed Dallas Ave into the woods between it and the golf course, scaring a rabbit that ran off, white tail bouncing across the brown leaves on the ground.  The small hills here are steep, and a little stream flows out of the golf course through a deep rift and down toward Sligo Creek.  I picked up a plastic milk bottle out of the creek bottom and took a picture of the icy stream in the sun. 

Climbing the hill on the other side of the creek, I found a stone cairn stacked on top.  It's about three feet high.  

A little farther along the top of the hill, I spotted a structure built of branches against the trunk of a holly tree.  This is a view from the Sligo Creek side.



This is a view in the entrance.  It's big enough for a couple of people to sleep inside.  I don't know if it was built by a homeless person or by some kids having fun, but it's a bit too drafty for winter use.



From here I walked up toward the golf course.  I hadn't see any deer, either yesterday or today, and I wondered where they were.  Then, about 20 feet to the right, in the bright sun, I saw the neck, head and antlers of a buck, starting intently at me.  He was obviously alert, ears up and facing me, and equally obviously didn't want to move from his sunny bed.  I paused for a few seconds, then made a definite move away from him, looking back occasionally.  I saw a doe bedded down a few feet away.

January 1, 2018

Today is the first day of the calendar year, and my first day back from a trip to Utah and Seattle that began on the winter solstice.  So the days have been getting a bit longer day by day for the past 10 days.

In the late afternoon, while there was still sun coming over the hill, I went for a walk down to the park, feeling the intensity of the cold on my face.  It's cold - 20 degrees F - but  calm.  There's a skift of snow on the ground, and the leaves are crunchy underfoot.

I walked downstream in the woods, finding a few pieces of trash to pick up.  In a sunny spot on the hillside, I stopped to bask in the yellow light streaming in from near the horizon to the southwest.  Then I walked back up along the creek trail, crossed the bridge to dump off the trash, and walked home.  The creek is running clear and cold, with a little ice along the edges.

My fingers were cold.  I had only light gloves on, but cold fingers is something I inherited from my Mother as well.  I remember times out in the Kansas fall with Dad, my fingers freezing, and Dad not understanding that my hands' response to cold was much different from his.

Sunrise this morning was at 7:27 am.  Sunset is at 4:56 pm, although direct light is largely gone here with the rolling hills 45 minutes before that.