Just fifteen miles, but seemingly a world away from Devil's Lake, is the shack where Aldo Leopold was inspired to write part 1 of A Sand County Almanac... a book which is a phenologist's bible. Just down the road from that is the International Crane Foundation, where every species of crane in the world is viewable. Some notes from those places:
Now the grass has blue eyes.
Prairie Smoke seeds.
A small mustard that grew everywhere at the shack, from the woods to the shores of the river.
Pearl crescents on the river's edge.
This is my special treat every year. The hoary puccoon blooms when we go to the shack each May. I love its color so much -- an orangey yellow, a pure and deep and bright color.Lupine Study.
Also, I saw/heard some great birds on this trip. No photos, but... among tons of either common or unidentifiable-to-me birds, I noted:
Baltimore oriole.
Scarlet tanager.
Pileated woodpecker (heard).
Sandhill crane.
Turkey vultures from above them.
Herons with babies. (A lot of noisy herons with a lot of noisy babies, not too far from my tent.)
Oh. I have that book. Not a first edition, a Special Commemorative Edition with introduction by Robert Finch.
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