Late Day at Kerncliff Park

Emma sits on the trail, watching and waiting below the 'God's Rays'

On the edge of the wildflower meadow at Kerncliff Park

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) in the meadow

Such a hazy afternoon it was at our favorite walking place in Burlington today, Kerncliff Park. This is a wooded area and is part of the Bruce Trail, which runs along the Niagara Escarpment. The mist made the late day sun throw beautiful rays through the woods, shown here. Emma sat on the trail looking down the hill sitting perfectly still in the perfect spot to get in the photo. I didn't realize why she was sitting so still until a couple of dogs and their owner appeared out of nowhere!

At the top of the hill just outside the wooded trail, a meadow is in full bloom, and was just beautiful swaying in the soft breeze. The town has been working on this meadow for a few years, and it's finally coming into its own this year - its just beautiful!

Beaver at Great Pond

We've been walking at Great Pond again this spring, a local state forest. The pond is a marshy area that was flooded decades ago and now is a protected area for birds and wildlife. Last summer, we had noticed that the resident beaver started adding to his lodges, and built two more at one end of the shallow pond. One was just beside the spot where we let the dogs jump in to fetch a stick and get cool. It was the deepest area and clearest of sticks and weeds, so it seemed like a good spot. One day, Emma jumped in to fetch the stick, swam out to get it, and on the swim back to shore, it surprised us when this huge beaver emerged from beneath the water and started chasing her down! Jim and I both started yelling at Emma to hurry up, calling her name and encouraging her as best as we could to swim faster, and she dropped the stick and did the best she could to beat it to the shore. We couldn't believe it when the beaver appeared, and poor Emma didn't know what was going on, just that she had to get out of there fast! To this day, she won't go back in there, and stays well away from the edge. Will, on the other hand, still wants to chase the stick, and wonders why we won't throw it for him anymore.

Beaver watching us

Emma and Will stay far back! No beavers for them!

Let's get out of here!

Storm Charlotte

Like the rest of the northeast, we are just getting out from under the big snowstorm, Charlotte. The snow has stopped falling, the sun has come out, but the winds are still blowing it all around. Two feet of snow lies on the ground all around us. It is just beautiful!

Will and Emma wanted to play in it, but could hardly move. They kept mainly to the sidewalk and driveway where Jim had cleared with the snowblower. Here's just a few shots to show how much we got.

Jim snowblows the driveway

Will and his stick

Emma wants to play

The back deck

Snow in CT and my first iphone photos

Just a few images that I took with my new phone. Finally figured out how to use the Photostream on my computer! The snow is melting here in CT, but these were taken a week or so ago, when it was still pretty as a picture!

We've been out snowshoeing at Simsbury Farms a few times now. Even today, when the snow is mostly melting slush, we found it easier to use the snowshoes than to walk on it. Not sure how much longer the snow will last with the warm temperatures we're having. And there's no snow in the forecast for this week!

Jim with Emma on the snowball

Emma and Will

Emma watches Will

Will watches me