Apparently, I am no good at this.  I had never seen this before, and I've lived here 8 years.

Hartley is where Ian Aldrich and Jenni Stafford led volunteers from Wildwoods on a nature hike today. Ian developed a well-planned route (including a taste of deep-fried fiddlehead ferns);  Jenni provided intense local knowledge. It was a great joy for all involved.

Ian told us that the root cellar was part of a farm that was largely possible only because of poor refrigeration technology; cheap refrigeration makes cheaper, less local veggies possible. For more on the history of the farm and the park, see hartleynature.org/explore/timeline.html.

Mixed updates today. 

The young wild rat who came in suffering from head trauma yesterday died during the night. The flicker who was mobbed by other birds and suffered grievous injuries also died. RIP 

All of the birds are doing well. Click on the bluebird and dove pics to read about what these guys are up to...

The 3 young Franklin ground squirrels are off formula now, and eating rodent chow, clover, mealworms, veggies and fruit. They are so industrious--shredding newspaper and moving it into their nest box! They'll be moving outside to a pre-release enclosure tomorrow.

The skinny little brown bat is being fed by a team of enthusiastic volunteers (wearing gloves, and armed with their rabies pre-exposure vaccines). He's not so scared anymore, and is getting the hang of eating the mealworms we offer him.

The pigeon with burned feet, feathers, and beak, now know as Singe, is in the care of our pigeon and dove expert, and has moved to a spacious, padded cage with a garden view and the company (from a distance) of other recovering pigeons. He's still not able to eat on his own, so gets gentle tube feeds every 2-3 hours. In the meantime, he basks in the glow of the full-spectrum light and enjoys the view. He's never looked happier since his admission.