It's Experiment Day!

Thursday evening is when I take my "experiment" photo for the week. Each week for the past 5 weeks now, I’ve been taking a photo of the same spot so I can see how much the forest changes from winter to spring in a week’s time.

This week there’s been another big change in how the forest looks. Last week was the first that I saw much new growth, and this week the greenery has grown at least as much again. And I know that even what you see here is nothing compared to how it will look when the forest is fully developed. I almost had to weed whack my way in to this spot last evening. I’m reposting last week’s photo so you can judge for yourself how much the forest has changed in a week.

Dog is missing from this week's photo, though he was along for the walk. He'd found something awful and wonderful just to the left of the frame. The hilltop in the background will soon disappear. I expect by next week that skyline will be invisible. I have already lost my view of the mountain to the west, Nell's Hill, for the next 6 months or so. Soon I will come very close to losing a view of the sky overhead, too, though I expect that is still about two weeks away.

Birds continue to arrive and move through in migration. Last evening Baby Dog and I startled an osprey that was likely hoping it had found a roosting spot for the night. More wood thrush are calling, though the number of ovenbirds calling seems less than average. Perhaps they are just a few days later than is typical. New fungus is appearing on the floor of the forest, and the violets are now in full bloom. I think this is a particularly good year for them. I don’t ever remember seeing quite this many before. Spring is moving in and taking over for yet another year!