ANIMALS!

In the swamps:

Painted turtles
Ribbon snakes
Red-spotted newts
Salamander eggs

In the ponds:

Northern water snakes
Red-spotted newts
Pickeral frogs

In the fields:

Turkeys
White-tail deer
Red-tailed hawks
Meadow voles

In the forest:

Red-shouldered hawks
Black bears

4/9 - Spring Plant Recap

The first to appear:

Dandelions
Chives
Garlic Mustard

First flowers:

Forsythia - bright yellow shrubs all over campus!
Maple trees - turned the hillsides red with their early flowers

Quince bushes - dark peach/red color
Shadbush - added white puffs throughout our forest with their recent flowering

Emerging leaves:

Honeysuckle shrubs - began in mid-March; leaves are now 1/2 inch long

Cherry trees - itty bitty with finely serrated edges
Maple trees - recently emerged in a flush of red and green

Tamarack needles - this unique conifer had emerging needles on 3/31, and they're now 1/4 inch long, in starburst clusters along the stem

4/3
Zimmerman Farm's wildflowers, growing along the creek bottom:

Hepatica! There were clumps of blue, purple and white flowers. The old leaves from last year are a dark burgundy color and deeply lobed.

Dutchman's Breeches! They were growing in patches all over, with their wispy, light green leaves and beautiful flowers that look like little pants hanging out to dry on the line.

Bloodroot! There were only a few of these, but the bright white flowers always stand out. If you break off the stem or dig up the root and break it, you'll see where the name comes from. It's amazing to watch the root pores leak the red liquid.