Observations by murphyhannah

As I walked down the trail I saw a milkweed seed still on the plant. The soft white fibers of the seed were moving just slightly in the wind. It was overcast but roughly 60 degrees. The white of the fibers caught my eye because the brush around the area looked so dead that the white stood out.

I saw a Woolly Bear Caterpillar on the side of the trail while I was on a bike ride. The caterpillar was not a moth yet, but iNaturalist did not have an option for the caterpillar. I was surprised to see the caterpillar moving on the side of the trail because it was a cooler day only in the high 50's. There was no precipitation and skies were clear but there was still a chill in the air.

On my walk to the marsh I saw a snake slithering through the grass along the sidewalk. There was a student taking a picture of it and my friend almost stepped on it. It was warm out and a bit damp from a light misting. About 74 degrees. Sun was in and out.

At first I thought it was a swan, because I have heard of swans being in the marsh, but then a friend helped me point out some of the distinguishing features that allowed me to identify it correctly. It is a lot harder when you do not have binoculars and all you can initially tell is a white bird in the distance. The egret was standing erect in the water out in the marsh for about 6 minutes and then it flew East to another section of the marsh. The weather was cool in the later afternoon but warm throughout the day with the sun out and clear skies. There was little wind and no rain. Temp: 74 F

I was walking through the marsh trails when I saw a Grey Squirrel over in the wooded area not too far from 'that cottonwood'. The squirrel is a grey squirrel, but its fur was black. After some research I learned that most black squirrels are really grey squirrels with a phenotype for black fur. It was low 60 degrees and very windy

I observed a flock of 5 Canada Geese flying East to land on the water in another section of the marsh. They flew past rather quickly.

Temp: 75F, Dawn/ dusk: sun setting, precipitation: earlier in the day small showers