(photo from last Sunday)
For some reason I have been having trouble staying motivated to keep up with this blog this summer. I have several things from the last week or so that I intend to put up here, and will hopefully get it done in the next couple of days (though I will probably back date them, so they won’t necessarily show up at the top). In the mean time, I have done some more on the 1000 Species Project. I’m up to 60 species now, and have the photos to put me over 100, but it will take a little while to get all of them up. I also started a weblog for my kids. It will consist mostly of things they find interesting. I am also getting close to getting my new Sitka Trails site set up to the point where I am willing to put up a link for it.
Weather: It’s been pretty rainy this month, though Saturday was nice and Sunday was partly to mostly cloudy and warm with rain coming on in the afternoon. Despite the rain, it’s been fairly warm, with temperatures in the 60s. Sunday at Whale Park there was not even a hint of swell coming in and just the slightest ripple from a light breeze. Today it was partly cloudy and fairly warm.
Birds: I got an e-mail from someone today who had seen a family of Ptarmigan on Verstovia. Sunday I found a Spotted Sandpiper nest at Medvejie Lake.
The Swainson’s Thrush still sings in the backyard, but not so frequently. I have not heard a Townsend’s Warbler in quite a while. Winter Wrens occasionally sing behind the house as well. It seems like a fairly quiet time for birds right now.
The Sapsucker is still visiting the neighbor’s willow.
Flora: Lots of different flowers are blooming now. The Cottonwood Tree in the neighborhood took advantage of the warm dry day and let loose its cotton.
Salmonberries and blueberries are ripe. The huckleberries are starting to get ripe.
Other Notes: There was a dragonfly out in the backyard today. I suspect it was a paddle darner.