Greetings from the Wacousta Barnetts.

This year began like most others, with snow and cold. The photo above show a very cold day when the river had not yet frozen over, but the temperature difference was so great that a thick layer of fog carpeted the air above the water. An unusual sight, but quite pretty on that clear day.

The photo on the left shows a tree beside our house on another frosty morning. Usually, Cardinals are territorial, and the resident male does not tolerate competitors. However, in the Winter, they seem happy with each others company. Can you find the 9 Cardinals?
This year was a wet one. The river was in flood from February through April -- sometimes more than others, but always over its banks during that period. Then in June, it flooded again!

The top photo was taken in April, and the bottom one in June. Notice the little fisher-girl statue to the left of the bridge. When the river is within its banks, she sits on a bench several feet above the water. The bridge is even higher up the bank, with several yards of grass between it and the river bank.

The bottom right photo shows the view of our pond and the flooded river beyond. Although the water got high, it never reached the pond this year.

We wondered if, with all that water standing on it, the grass would be dead when the land finally dried out. Happily, most of the grass survived, as did most of the perennials planted from the river bank's edge up to the pond. It did take them quite a while to recuperate, however.

Neither this tiny baby Alligator Snapping Turtle nor the adult Green Frog seemed to be concerned about all the water.