Another Spring Walk

It isn't exactly cherry blossoms, but I'm still happy to see the trees flowering.

And the geese looking for places to nest.

And hopefully the last of the ice photos for this winter.

This Mourning Cloak butterfly was more cooperative than the previous one. It might have been a little sluggish from the cold of the snow. It seemed like a strange place to choose to land.

This one was cruising up and down the back alley. I'm not sure if it was looking for food or mates.

This Ring-billed gull caught a crayfish. The crayfish put up a brave fight. When the gull put it down on the sand it reared up and waved its claws in the air. But a few stabs by the gull's beak and that was the end of the crayfish.

It was funny because earlier on my walk I had been thinking about how years ago I used to see a lot of crayfish claws and remains on the river shore. I was wondering if they were still around in the increasingly polluted river. I always assumed it was probably the gulls getting them, but I hadn't seen a gull actually catch one before. Clam/mussel shells also used to be common on the shore. I would guess  it was raccoons getting them. Nowadays it's mostly garbage on the shore - plastic bags, disposable cups, straws, and masks.