Who knows why I should be surprised every year when March tantalizes with some warm sunny melting days with rodents emerging to check out the food supply and then shifts gears and blasts us with another week of subzero temperatures and a good dose of snow.  This morning was a “shoes with carbide tips” day but still I can’t complain as the sun is shining and I was rewarded with some interesting nature happening along the Meewasin.

This blue jay was singing it’s heart out at the top of a spruce tree so I used this new feature on my camera to record the moment it takes off. It was interesting to me to see the use of wings in combination with the release of the feet as it becomes “as free as a bird”.

Apparently the White-tailed Jackrabbits are convinced that spring is coming as their fur is beginning to mottle into brown and white.

Oops… I guess I approached to close to the rabbit.

It was interesting to see the different tooth marks between the tree climbing porcupine and the brush eating bunny.

I didn’t see the porcupine in this tree but you can see the areas where it has chewed the bark off the branches.

Lovely job of texturing by the porcupine.  I must try this on a turning.  Probably never get as good as the real porky.

Here is the results of those rabbits eating bark on some crab apple trees on the University grounds.