We finally got some rain this week – 1.3 inches in 3 days. So I didn’t do much outside work but I did take a few walks in between rainstorms.

I started girdling aspens this week – it seems very early but maybe they’re ready early because of the warm weather we’ve had. I started on this relatively compact clone along the edge of 3 Finger Valley Prairie. (This photo was taken last fall.)

The only long walk I took was up through the woods to Sumac Prairie, down the front of the prairie and through the wetland. The woods are full of Rue Anemones – everything was very wet and covered with water droplets.

Rue Anemones (Thalictrum thalictroides)

There’s a big circular area in the middle of Sumac Prairie that’s covered with Birds Foot Violets.

Birds Foot Violets (Viola pedata)

And Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) are blooming in the wetland.

One afternoon a coyote walked calmly across the septic field and through the gulley to the prairie beyond. And we’ve been seeing lots of Wild Turkeys.

When I was in The Narrows Prairie I watched a cloud blow across the narrow part of the ridge – everything got very dim and misty, and then it blew through and it was clear again.