Belated Happy New Year!

Roy has been trying to get close enough for some decent pictures of these black ducks for weeks --
they have been fairly consistent morning and evening visitors on our southwest boundary;
a warm, sunny late afternoon this past weekend finally allowed the stars to align

It seems almost impossible that it has been a full three weeks since I've (a) written and (b) been in the marsh. This has been my longest stretch without a visit since our hands-on work began in February of 2015. I have to say, I'm missing it . . . but there have been just a few things going on . . .

Setting Sun Mallard(s):
this one is worth a "click to enlarge"--
don't miss the second duck

So, in the spirit of better late than never: Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and Happy New Year from Standing Rush!

The holiday break was a bit of a blur, but included quality visits with out-of-town (and in-town) family, good health, lots of great food, plenty of activity and a few chances for some rest, and some memorable gatherings at Mom's (especially in that this was our first Christmas without Dad). The kids were sufficiently satiated without being inundated in gifts, and my wife surprised me with a "hobby drone" that will soon be taking to the air over the marsh -- now that I have a few flights under my belt in calm conditions over dry land! (I can already see a new hobby developing.) I think all of us were happy with what we found "under the tree."

For those who caught my most recent posts and/or for those following us through our newly developed Facebook and Instagram accounts, people are becoming increasingly aware of our new online shop -- which now offers four pretty awesome custom-designed shirts and eight unique decal/stickers. Nothing like launching a new website in the two weeks leading up to Christmas!

I will obviously be elaborating more on this effort in the days and weeks to come, but the general premise is to develop a suite of high-quality merchandise that raises awareness of our conservation and restoration efforts, builds our brand, helps "spread the gospel" of natural resource stewardship, elevates the pride in Lake Erie and in our region, and in so doing, provides additional financial resources to keep doing what we do. Thanks to all those who have already made purchases. We are very excited about what lies ahead with this endeavor.

As a final note before signing off, the West Pump project has been on a bit of a holiday hiatus. We haven't seen any accumulating snow in weeks, and temps have been considerably above average, so things have remained sloppy at the project site. We have a couple more warm/wet days in the forecast (today and tomorrow), and then things are supposedly going to turn more seasonable -- just in time for our contractor and subcontractor to hopefully get back at it to wrap up the job. More on that front as it develops . . .

The subtle beauty of a couple Black Ducks; often mistaken for hen mallards (a species that they will readily co-mingle with),
"blacks" are probably worth a dedicated blog post

While probably an example of "co-mingling" (blacks and mallards), many of these flushed birds appear to be greenheads
(for as much as we despise Phragmites, they make for a pretty interested photo when magnified in the foreground)