View allAll Photos Tagged earlyspring
Every year I watch the passing of the sandhill cranes. It used to be that they'd arrive in Central Kentucky during the last few days of February and early March. But over the past years, sandhill cranes have migrated through Kentucky earlier in their annual flight back to their nesting grounds in the north. This year the cranes were already in Central Kentucky in numbers by the middle of February!! I used to consider that mid-winter.
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This are far long gone now, but I did happen to this over at the park, back in early Spring .....
HaPpY TREE- Mendously Tuesday Fine Flick Friends ...
Blackthorn is one of the earliest shrubs to flower. Country folk refer to this time of year as “Blackthorn Winter”, perhaps because the flowering often coincides with a period of colder weather, or because the profusion of white flowers looks like snow on the bushes.
White Sweet Violets in abundance in a woodland in Ham Hill Country Park. The park is managed in a way that facilitates the wild flowers to re-establish colonies in the woodlands and fields. This is the first time for many years that I have seen such a large patch of White Violets.
Wow! I go diving in my Flickr queue and discover this from April 2015. A little island in a little lake in cottage country near Bancroft, Ontario.
© Anvilcloud Photography
NATURALIZED OPEN WOODLAND EDGE
Brought and cultivated by early settlers for its medicinal properties.
Third in my series of wildlife shots made from the rolling red Toyota blind. The gravel road approaching Grasslands National Park's main entry gate runs past fields of wheat, canola, field peas, and cattle pasture. I often see wildlife along this road: pronghorn, fox, jackrabbit, chestnut-collared longspur, grouse, raptors, mule deer. Sometimes the surrounding area is better for wildlife than the park itself, as the action tends to shift locations naturally, and does not respect artificial boundaries.
Deer are everywhere, and in this case they were near the park, a large group that will soon disperse for the summer. That buck will drop his antlers if he hasn't already done so; he may find other bucks for company, or spend most of his time alone.
To the left of the buck, we see a doe nuzzling her yearling fawn. This month the does will drive away last year's fawns. I've seen this. Chasing the confused fawn, whacking it on the run with front hooves. The forlorn fawn, following at a distance, and eventually going its own way. Deer society is not kind. Luckily, the emotional life of a deer is not all that deep; they get over it.
Many of the does in this shot are pregnant and will be dropping this year's fawns eight or ten weeks from now. By then the prairie will be lush and green, and life will be as easy as it gets.
Photographed near Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2022 James R. Page - all rights reserved.