OK, so there is/was no Part 48. What happened? Oh, the usual... Thanksgiving holiday festivities, home repairs, backed up sewer line at work....you know the usual.
Meanwhile back at the preserve....
It's December 5, 2015 and a very hazy morning.
A dense fog hangs in the woods limiting visibility.
As the fog began to lift, the stillness of the pond revealed itself. Long gone are the Wood Ducks that nested in the box (left of center) and the water lilies that have decayed and settled to the bottom of the pond.
Gone too are the crowds of human visitors to the preserve. 2015 was a banner year as we had over 4600 visitors- a new record.
We have started feeding the birds, but they have been slow to come to the feeders in large numbers. No doubt due to the mild weather.
One critter taking advantage of the "free" food right now is this Gray Squirrel...and he has lots of friends!
The "free food" is again thanks to our amazing support group - The Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and the OAGC Foundation.
Another animal staying active is...of course...the beaver. The Elm tree above is the latest casualty.
The once delicate Maidenhair fern (above) is now a brown matted mass on the forest floor. But the Marginal Wood fern below is evergreen and still in reasonably good condition.
And there is still some autumn color to be found, like in the azalea below, which is on the terrace just behind the nature center.
The coming week promises to be a fun filled time of pulling invasive euonymus and who knows what else.........................
Posted by TS
