Eagle Sighting.

5-4-26 SHORT HILLS: The last few days have been cold, not freezing, but cold. A warm up is predicted for later in the week. The plants don’t seem to care. 

We went out to the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge and walked a few of the board walks through the swampy woods. We do this every spring and have seen some unusual birds in the past, but this year we saw birds that we see in out yard every day. We did see some painted turtles, just like the ones in the Vermont ponds. Nevertheless a couple miles of flat walking is always good.

We also did the Loantaka Brook reservation with Bill, Lynn, Blanca, Bella and Blue. The brook and lake are pretty full. The water is clear and there’s lots of little fish. After the walk, I saw an eagle fly by!

All the late bloomers have opened. Every year some things look like they’re dead, but then have a surprise resurrection. 

We got 0.8 inches of rain. The sprinklers are running.

Our Itoh peony has good vegetation, but no flower buds, I think it’s in a spot that’s too dark. The tree peony and regular peony have lots of buds. We are hard pressed for sunny areas.

New blooms: wild strawberry, Siebold viburnum, double-file viburnum, wood hyacinth, leuclothoue, chestnut, sweet woodruff. 

Azalea blooms emphaticly.

Sweet Woodruff. German wine makers add this to Rhine wines in the spring.

Chestnut. Actually Horse chestnut.

Two painted turtles.

Wood hyacinth also comes in white and pink.

Double-file viburnum. The outer white parts of the flower are just for show, to make a bigger display. The little yellowsh flowers in the center are where the action happens.