No Eagles, But No Matter

Maybe I'll see those eagles today, I thought as I headed back to Mud Pond to spy on the carcass hauled out on the ice. Well, I didn't, nor any other birds, either (although I did hear a Pileated Woodpecker banging away somewhere in the woods). But it didn't matter. How could I be disappointed in anything, on such a beautiful day in such a beautiful place? The sky was blue, the air almost balmy, the snow soft and clean and deep, I had the whole park (it seemed) to myself, and the whole day belonged to me. Just to walk and look and listen and breathe was cause enough for great joy.

Even Phragmites, that nasty invasive, seemed a thing of great beauty as it caught and held the warm golden light of the sun.

I always laugh when I pass this fallen tree. It seems to be doing a backbend.

Is this Bulrush or Woolgrass? I confess I have yet to learn the names of most grasses, sedges, rushes, and reeds. But that doesn't stop me from delighting in their graceful shapes. Especially when silhouetted against the snow.

Here's Round-headed Bush Clover. Doesn't it look like a cluster of small furry critters?

And this, I believe, is Frostweed, with its wiry stems strung with the pearls of its tiny seed capsules.

After a day spent tromping the snowy woods and breathing cold air, sleep overtook me as soon as I sat down to read after supper. That was the signal for these two furry critters to snuggle up next to me.

What's great about having pet cats is that you always have beautiful creatures to look at, even if the ones out there in the wild elude you.