Nesting herons

So -- a sure sign of spring is the sight of herons nesting in trees down in the pond area. There are lots of nests in two different groups of trees, but today I only saw two pair of them actually working on nests.

These trees are on an island in the middle of the ponds, not accessible by any of the paths or trails and a long shot (literally!) for my camera. Even with a 24x zoom lens, the images were still pretty small.

Then! I discovered something new, which was the ability to zoom in on Windows photo viewer then open in Paint, and crop. That's how I got these closer views.

Actually, I have to say that this little camera surprised me with the detail it captured from so far away with full zoom, hand-held, and the extreme amount of enlargement from there that enabled me to get these views. Always love it when I discover something new like this.

Other than that, I seem to be feeling better today, finally. Don't want to jinx anything, but so far, so good. Not tons of energy, but enough to walk around to the other side of the ponds to get these photos. And more.

A few sun breaks today, but mostly cloudy. BUT  -- it's not raining, so no complaints.

Yesterday I drove downtown and picked up some swiss chard seedlings, and today I planted them in the garden. No signs of radish or carrot seeds coming up, but it's only been a week and I think they both take longer than that.  The little peas I planted a week ago are doing great. I got some 35" bamboo stakes to use to make a little cage for them to grow on, but don't think it'll happen today. No rush. Maybe next rain-free day.