Thursday, April 26, 2018

Photos of the Week

I'm so happy that spring is finally arriving and the cold sterile days of winter are past.

I've been watching eagerly for the arrival of the crocuses. I checked on Friday April 20 and couldn't find any signs. But by Sunday April 22 they had started to push up out of the ground.

crocuses emerging

crocuses emerging

The next day they were a bit higher. However, I was checking for them on my way to work, early morning, so the flowers weren't open. I imagine they were opening later in the warmth of the day.

crocuses emerging

The gophers are out and about. This one let me get a little closer than most.

gopher

Those claws look fit for digging.

gopher

The first of the perennials are emerging at Innovation Place. The gophers usually feed on these since they're some of the first greenery, but they don't seem to have found them yet.

first green plants

And the first of the trees are starting to flower. This was in the morning:

first trees to flower

And by the end of the day they had already progressed quite a bit: (same branch)

first trees to flower

And here is two days later. It would be interesting to see a time-lapse of the process.

first trees to flower

A group of Bohemian Waxwings has been hanging around Innovation Place, eating last years fruit:

Bohemian Waxwings

and juniper berries:

Bohemian Waxwing eating juniper berries

and drinking from the puddles:

Bohemian Waxwing drinking from puddle

And my friends the jackrabbits (with dirty feet!)

jackrabbit

This one was digging in the dirt and finding something to eat. It looks like some new dandelion leaves, perhaps it's the dandelion roots as well. Occasionally it would roll in the dirt as well, but I didn't catch any photos of this.

jackrabbit digging for roots

jackrabbit

The other morning it was a pair of Canada Geese. This morning it was a pair of Mallards checking out the pond.

pair of Mallard ducks

Last spring there was a big "outburst" of water boatmen in the pond. So this year I've been watching for them. Up to now I'd only seen the odd one, although still impressive that they can swim around amongst the ice. On my way home this day there were a few groups of them trying to get out of the water onto some floating bark. I'm not sure why since they usually stay in the water. Maybe to warm up in the sun?

water boatmen

They're quite attractive if you look at them close up. I've also been watching for the fishing spiders but haven't seen any yet.

And of course, the pelicans are a true sign of spring in Saskatoon.

pelicans

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