...Total cuteness!

Well, after bemoaning the fact that I hadn't seen a single duckling, gosling or cygnet this spring ... today I saw not one, not two, but THREE Canada Goose broods! The first group I came across unexpectedly when I went for an afternoon hike. I noticed two geese walking along the trail in front of me, which seemed odd, and then I saw that they had their brood, toddling along in close formation. Eventually, they left the trail and walked into the woods - the little goslings were having quite a time of it climbing logs, rustling through leaves, and dodging undergrowth.

Then, I thought I'd stop at one of my favorite lakes on the way home and there were two families alongside the stream! So, I spent an hour just watching them...So adorable. Two other shots here, having a napand here, having a rest.

I also saw a small butterfly (I think it's a butterfly, but could be a diurnal moth of some sort) that I got a decent shot of here. And I got a reasonably good shot of a male tree swallow, perched against the blue sky

All of these were taken with my little Coolpix because when I got to the hiking trail and strapped on Big Daddy and went to take a test shot ... the battery was dead. *&#)$&%** What a freaking amateur move not to check it before I left the house! Grrrrrr. Oh well.

Tomorrow will be much like today - work in the morning and then go for a hike in the afternoon (this time with a fully charged battery!)

Thanks for the comments on my American Toad yesterday! Several of you rightly identified it as a toad rather than a frog - and then I got a final confirmation from local amphibian expert. The size was what really threw me as I always think of American Toads in their adult size which is MUCH bigger than the little guy I saw.

Hope your week is off ot a good start!

xxoo
Debbi