dec. 21

It was 25 F at 6:53 am, winds variable at 4 mph, so a very nice morning. The paths were pretty clear and I was thinking I should have ridden my other bike without the studded tires because it is much faster.

After my exercise class I went to campus for a meeting. Then I always like to take the scenic ride home using the downtown bike path down to John Nolan Drive and Lake Monona. I saw these ducks I hadn't seen before, must be migrating. I think they are Common loons, adult non-breeding. They were definitely shy. They flew away whenever I stopped so I couldn't get a close-up of them.

Then there was one that looked different and was not shy. This one looks like a juvenile common loon.

Not sure if I got that right, but that's kind of fun if correct. We don't see many loons here in Madison, except when they are migrating.

apr 9

Another beautiful day and lovely ride.  Here's the start of the bike path:

This blog is going to get boring now that spring has hit.  Well, maybe we'll get a rainy day to spice it up.  It was 29 degrees F at 6:53 this morning when I left with calm winds.  It's spring break for the school kids so the roads and paths are much quieter, except for the birds.  Temp was up to 42 F on my way home with a nice 10 mph NW tailwind, yeah!  I rode by the lake again.  I like how the sunlight reflects off the water.    

I read in today's Isthmus that there are a bunch of loons on Lake Monona, maybe as many as 100.  This is unusual.  I will try to remember to bring my binoculars tomorrow.  It would be cool to see one.  As the article stated, it's rare for loons to hang out in cities, but the lakes north of us are still locked in ice.  Cool!