The Laurel Marsh Trail, Manchester

Black-capped chickadee

I have been insanely busy in April trying to meet a too-short deadline.  There's nothing quite like chewing up half the month going in one direction, only to realize it's not the right direction.  Then came the frantic scramble to come up with something unique, something creative and something really exciting.  Done!  When someone asked, "what institution?"  Why is it that "mental" was the first word out of my mouth?   I thought it was funny, but there was no laughter on the other end.  LOL.

We watched a large crow polish off a mouse while it was atop a transmission tower.

We've started something new in our critique sessions.  We now deconstruct PB narratives by writing them up and analyzing them.  It's a bit time consuming, but it has been a really helpful exercise in many ways.

Downy woodpecker

LLBean held a free birding event at the Laurel Marsh Trail.  I would definitely do one of their walks again.  We spotted a number of birds and seeing them will help me identify them in the future.  I also downloaded, but have not yet used, Merlin, Cornell Lab's excellent bird ID iphone app.  The guy pointed out these spongy seed pods, but he didn't know what plant produced them.  I still have one in my coat pocket.  I did an image search and found this fascinating Pinterest board called textures and structures.  I have more birding photos, so I'll save them for next post.

Seed pods of a mystery plant? (a chestnut perhaps)