By the third week in May, the little snapper was a healthy but small specimen. It
would grow about 2.5 cm a year until it reached sexual maturity at 5 to 7 years.
After this the growth would slow to about 1.5 cm per year.
At the end of the first week of May an otter stepped onto the ice thinking to cross the expanse of the pond as he had done many times throughout the winter. He didn’t need a snow-covered hillside to slide upon; indeed, snow or ice on a flat surface—or mud for that matter—would serve just as well.
The best way to know what we can expect from any given time period is to know what
we experienced during this time period in another year. This week we are looking at the
last week in April and our reference is the year 1998.
This week we explore events that happened during the third week in April 1999.
Where human or animal life packed the forest pathways, there was still ice. Remnants of a recent snowfall clung to the shade but for the most part winter was withdrawing nicely.
This was the week that I made my first visit to the heron colony, or rookery as it is sometimes called.
