Yes, it's mid-January and there's open water on the pond. It's been an unusually mild winter for here. Despite that, a friend was telling me the other day that some people were already out ice fishing. I'm from Virginia. I don't trust any ice thinner than a glacier for walking on, let alone driving on, … Continue reading Open water
I find these patterns on the ice interesting, and my mind wants to make something of them - a pattern, artwork, or perhaps a message from another planet or another dimension. Sadly, none of these have materialized.
I'm curious about those circles on the ice. In the photo, they look like open water but they didn't when I was looking at them directly. And why those spots and not others?
The snow in the distance, across the pond, doesn't look much different but up close you can see it's been warm enough to clear away the snow on the grass near the house. The closer to the pond, the more snow, and the surface of the pond itself is covered with snow.
You can see the difference in the pond surface since Friday, even though the surface was completely frozen both days. I didn't capture an earlier picture on the first, which showed the surface frozen in some spots and open water in others. It made an interesting pattern, so I'm hoping to see that effect again. … Continue reading Changing on the surface
This is the view out my back window. I love watching the pond as it changes through the seasons as well as the variety of wildlife it attracts. I've decided to chronicle it through one year, recording the changes as I experience them. The photos will be in chronological order, but they won't necessarily be … Continue reading A day in the life of a pond
A week ago, I was all "bah, humbug!" about spring. And why not? With all that white stuff on the ground, temps below freezing, and Michigan's renowned gray skies, a change of season seemed much more than two weeks away. I saw the light. The sunlight. While there's still a skim of ice on Lake … Continue reading I’m a believer
I was surprised to realize that it's been four years since I last blogged. I didn't intend to stop, but I did intend to prioritize other activities more than blogging. It seems I was successful at that. So it goes. If you read this blog in its earlier iterations, you know I'm fond of the … Continue reading She’s back
It's been a few days more than one year (525,600 minutes according to the lyrics from Rent) since I last blogged, and three times that since I blogged consistently. In that time, Google Reader disappeared and blogs were declared dead.Wrenaissance Reflections may have been quiet, but it's not dead. I've missed blogging and missed being part … Continue reading 1,576,800 minutes
When Blogging Becomes a Slog - NYTimes.com A few case studies on blogger burnout. Blogging is demanding if you do it right. If you don't, why bother? The article comments only in passing on community, however. For me, it's one of the most important parts of doing this. I've met many good friends and colleagues … Continue reading I can relate
Original Story: No bugs about it: New website helps users identify Michigan insects. For Dr. Leslie Mertz, the crawlers and flyers of the insect world are a source of fascination... To share her passion for nature's smaller creatures, Mertz, a lecturer in the biology department at Eastern Michigan University, helped launch an interactive website, http://www.knowyourinsects.org, to … Continue reading No bugs about it
"Ibises’ charms are never wasted on children, though, who are generally more familiar with dinosaur books than field guides, and frequently make comments like: “Look, Mommy, a pterodactyl!” Glossy Ibises Are Like 21st-Century Pterodactyls
