Wachusett Meadow’s Wildlife Pond is home to beavers year-round, as well as an array of seasonal guests such as Wood Ducks that roost in boxes above the water. Great Blue Herons nest in the tops of dead trees, and Canada Geese cruise both the waterway and the land. Let the Summer rentals begin!
Each April, the Wachusett Meadow Audubon holds a Sheep and Wool Festival Day.
Sheep wool at this time of year is luxurious, with a variety of colors, textures and patterns. Included here are my color and black and white photos, taken before the shearing, which seek to emphasize the beautiful natural material of these engaging creatures.
The grackles have returned just in time for the Spring Equinox sunlight to make their feathers glow with multi-colors. In contrast, when in the shade, they can look as dark as a crow.
What could be more enchanting than waking up to eight inches of fluffy chiffon covering an otherwise Spring-like day?
This red squirrel took great care to find, examine, select and enjoy only the choicest of black sunflower seeds from the treasure trove beneath the bird feeder.
On a chilly New England afternoon, the Northern Cardinal and the American Tree Sparrow shared a feast at the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Massachusetts. Neither bird paid attention to me.
One of New England’s greatest novelists, Herman Melville, wrote “Moby Dick”, a dramatic story about Captain Ahab’s obsession to destroy the Great White Whale. At my local Audubon, there is a huge glacial boulder which reminds me of this mythical whale.
Happy New Year!
This lively and dramatically colored pair of evening grosbeaks swooped in to the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Princeton, MA recently. They enjoyed black sunflower seeds from the feeder and on the ground. The female’s tall feathers blended in beautifully with the seeds. The red squirrel seemed to be happy to share the bounty!
In this modular origami design, constructed from eight pieces of paper, the Sun transforms into the Moon and back to the Sun once more by pushing or pulling gently on the edges.
Happy Solstice!
After spotting this elegant pair of foxes on a recent walk at the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Princeton, MA, I was inspired to create an origami display that featured them. In Scandinavian folklore, foxes were believed to cause the northern lights, so “Foxfire” is the Finnish name for this unique atmospheric display. While Massachusetts is too far south for northern lights viewing, my mini-foxfire origami creation brightens up my holiday table.
This cardinal at the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Princeton, MA delights in the action “on the ground” as well as in the treetops.
The squirrels continue to adapt to their environment.
Winter has transformed the Wildlife Pond at the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Princeton, MA. The beaver lodge has a chunky white coating, while other areas of the pond sparkle with ice ranging from rough and jagged to windblown and smooth. The red and gold vegetation at the pond edges lends a delicate frame to this “ice world”.
Pumpkins, Fall vegetation, colonial houses, and snowy landscapes dotted with the creatures that inhabit them all evoke a traditional New England Thanksgiving. Wishing you a wonderful holiday from Central Massachusetts.
Winter friends spotted on a recent visit to the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Princeton MA. Wide-ranging colors and bursts of energy lift one’s spirits on a gray New England day.
