Caesar Pond

I love the pond in all seasons, and even though there is a starkness to the leafless trees, there are now bits of color showing.

The deciduous trees are flowering, but no leaves as of yet;-) 

I found a huge painted turtle catching some rays! I am assuming it is a female based on the size of the shell. She was the only turtle I saw on my outing.

The state of the beaver lodge on the western shore gave me a shock. It looks to be abandoned, and I think this is due to all the traps that were around it over the winter. All the beavers must have been killed. But, that doesn't mean it won't be inhabited again. This lodge has a long history of use, neglect, and use again.

The beaver lodge in the north, boggy area is thriving. It is such a contrast to the one on the western shore. Check out all the fresh mud and branches that have built it up!

I was able to get back in to the outflow of the pond and saw a new breach in the dam that holds the water in.

Here is a close-up view. Me thinks that the beavers have a bit of patch-up work to do to hold the water of the pond in place;-)

You can tell if the air quality of an area is good if there is a lot of lichen on trees. Check out this maple with its lichen covered trunk!

Much of the lichen on these two trees is called Greenshield Lichen.