I didn't bring my phone on today's walk, so unfortunately I don't have many photos to share, but I'll include some from past walks to cleanse the palette after all this writing.
I saw some more of those blackbirds today. They sound a little like frogs, and they look like they really could be anything. I tried to use their sound to help me identify what species they could be, but I haven't had much luck so far. The next step will be to record the sound and try to get a better picture to make the identification process easier.
I went for my walk later in the evening today, and it was much better than yesterday, a lot cooler, too; there were, however, a significant amount of bugs, both by themselves and in intimidating swarms. I almost inhaled one - I had to quite literally spit it out, which was not a pleasant experience. I never know whether it's better to breathe through my mouth or my nose to prevent that from happening. Lately I've taken to simply holding my breath or covering my mouth when passing through swarms.
I also heard my fair share of squirrel fights today. I'm starting to think I'm more skittish than the squirrels at this point - I keep getting startled by rustling in the surrounding trees, scared that a squirrel is going to jump on me, which I've realized is actually quite unreasonable. There was another squirrel in around the same spot as the one from yesterday. It wasn't as engrossed in devouring its meal, but I wonder if it was the same one, and if I'll see another there tomorrow.
Now I know how to identify them, I've taken to checking the flowering bushes I pass by to see if they're also multiflora rose bushes. Sometime soon I think I'll dedicate my walk to investigating all of these bushes to guarantee that they are all, in fact, multiflora rose, and not any other similar species. In the meantime, assuming they are all multiflora rose, I've been astounded my past few walks just how invasive they seem to be. They're really everywhere - leaning out over the edge of the trail, climbing up the trees, intermingled with tall grasses and other plants - and the bushes are all different sizes. They are pretty, however. I find invasive species and weeds are deceptively beautiful for all the damage they can cause to the local ecosystems. I'm interested to do more research as I progress on how plants such as the multiflora rose affect the ecological balance of an area.
- W
