Last gasp of winter

It snowed again Tuesday night. Then the rain returned, washing the roads clean. But today it was sunny and warm (ish). I grabbed the camera and went to Oyster Bay to look at the snow before it disappeared. I was almost too late.

Melting fast.

A frozen puddle atop an old log. With bleached kelp holdfast.

Mud, ice, snow.

On the beach, I found a frozen starfish.

The brown patch is a bit of frozen leaf.

I'm always on the lookout for starfish wasting disease, so even dead starfish get examined carefully. It looks like this one was healthy, but got stranded on shore, frozen, thawed, frozen again. Poor little guy!

On the way home, I counted 12 adult bald eagles, all but two of them in pairs high on the treetops. I may have missed some; I do have to watch the road, too. They like to perch on snags or trees with broken, twisted branches, or out in the bay, pilings; not so often on whole trees.

And I brought home a frozen kelp float for my tank. The crabs and hermits have been busy ever since, tearing it apart and wolfing down big mouthfuls.