3-27-08 Observations

- Clear to partly cloudy, windy and seasonably warm on the mountain properties this afternoon.

- While on a brief photo session this morning, I saw a number of Whitetail Deer and Wild Turkeys. Like our staff, they seem to sense that spring has finally sprung....but we are quite cautious...as all of us remember what happened last year at about this time....record warmth in late March followed by record breaking cold in early April...as depicted in this journal...a tough time for the fauna and flora.

- There is a chance of rain tomorrow and tomorrow night...about 50% locally.

- Today is warm and pleasant, but recently we had a bit of snow...as shown by a photo taken from my living room. The month of March in Tennessee is seldom boring!

- Also shown is a rare photo of a Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) taken on my feeder in a nearby area. No, the bird is not rare, but rarely do I see them on the feeders. They seem to be content to seek their fortune elsewhere, most notably the bark of trees. They would get a lot of votes for the most striking of Mother Nature's winged creatures.

- Also shown is the striking contrast of the male Northern Cardinal against the forest green of a Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and a dusting of snow.