A change of seasons

Not sure what to make out of this weather lately. Looks like I am not the only one being confused.

The first swan on Puntilla Lake in 2014

The first swan of the season showed up today, although the lake is not open yet. There is some overflow at the perimeter, and there are some holes in the ice, where horse poop, bark, or other dark matter have melted the ice away. Just before the sun disappears behind Squaw Mountain in the evening the temperatures reach around 46 degrees dropping below freezing overnight. It is a crazy roller coaster. Summer is knocking.

Milbert’s Tortoiseshells (Nymphalis milberti), brown butterflies, have been fluttering around for a while now, although I have not seen a single wildflower. The guide book says the adult butterflies hibernate living of tree sap, amazing. They are pretty to look at, and their larvae feed on nettles.

Then there is a new bunch of foxes around, red and cross foxes, smaller than the previous group. And I have seen one large mosquito in search of blood donors.

Those are the news in my neck of the woods, remarkably unaffected by the apparent madness in the rest of the world. Unfortunately I have tuned into the “news” lately. It seems we are not coming together as one human society, bickering about race, borders, and money.

Dazed and confused.