After a few days of cool gentle rain, the Woods are full of blooming violets along the low eastern trails. Island Crossing has dozens of violets blooming.
We've had about two thirds of an inch of rain - much needed- and it came as intermittent soft showers.. generating relatively little runoff. Great for the plants. Though the Wash is nearly full, there is no flow past Island Crossing (dry bed). The water is backed up from Beaver Dam a couple hundred yards into the Woods but not deep.
Walking east along the NW Trail at 6 PM there was a light sweet smell at the catalpa cluster.. an Eleaegnus autumn olive was just beginning to open flowers 40 feet away. Light down slope winds of the early evening were carrying the faint lemony sweet scent.
Passing the NW pond, it is full and brimming over into the swamp west and south towards Chautauqua. The sedges have all put out fresh green growth and looked very springish under a light blue sky. I watched a large titmouse gleaning and cleaning its beak on trees near the hanging feeder. Three does jogged to stay a little east of me. Two seemed large like they might be carrying fawns. I don't know when fawns here are born..probably about now. The other henbit Lamium purpureum was flowering and leaves of pink ladies thumb with its distinctive pink mark were appearing. The ponds were full @ 2.48 feet (NW Pond) and 2.2 feet (E Pond). As I was almost leaving the Woods, I heard a light rustle up top of the slope above NW Pond foot stones. Large Armadillo moving slowly upslope foraging... funny small ears and large armored body. I watched for a while with binoculars and enjoyed its busy foraging.
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