It was a beautiful, sunny morning, with a cool breeze. Kara and I went for our daily walk in the meadow.

My poor meadow!

First, we hacked down most of it for hay.

Now, a few weeks later, I have covered it in (horse) poop! It definitely has a bit of "aroma" to it, but I don't find it particularly objectionable. I am in the process of moving the "muck heap" (the big pile where bedding and horse droppings from the stalls is collected through the year). It is all well  composted, but it still has a distinctive rich musky smell. Yesterday, I spread about half of the pile. Today, I'll try to finish it off.

I managed a few closeups of butterflies this morning (to be posted later), but otherwise the pickings were rather slim. On the way back to the house, along the path through the sugar bush, I scared up four grouse. They were awkward fliers, and not very big. I suspect that they are this year's babies.

We have a pair of house wrens living in the immediate vicinity of the house. I find them particularly delightful, especially when they break into their cheery warbling song. There was the pair of them yesterday afternoon on the clothes dryer rack outside, both bowing and shaking their wings. A courtship ritual? Territorial display?

A week or so ago, I had a telescope set up on the deck, and one of them came and perched n the dryer, about 30-40 feet away. I managed to get the scope (a Televue Pronto, awesome optics!) on him, and was treated to a really detailed close up view. Every feather popped out in full  detail. Lovely!

We have some phoebes hanging around the house as well. I'm not sure where they are nesting, but they met be nearby.

The flickers I saw and filmed this spring disappeared soon after. I did not see them again at their nest. Today, there was a pair on the lawn near the nest. Same ones? I wonder if their nest was raided. I did see them harassing a red squirrel in a tree near their nest back in the spring. Hmm.