I squeezed in one last crosscountry ski trip to Retzer on one of my "spring" break days off yesterday. Still snow everywhere but of varying quality. Still beautiful though. One thing some people have realized, with Retzer's rolling landscape and open fields, it can be a good place to play in the snow.
Seeing a pair of sandhill cranes fly over Grandview Blvd. Saturday reminded me that the Midwest Annual Crane Count is just a month away. The crane count always coincides with Earth Week. Being at Retzer Nature Center reminded me to look into the free Earth Week activities - this year between April 20th and 26th. I also signed up for the April 20th Waukesha Parks canoe outing, where we sometimes see or hear cranes, on the Fox River this year but changing location next. Register for the canoe trip before 4/14 by calling 896-8007.
This year's crane count is Saturday morning, April 19th, between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m. (the snow might be melted by then). Cranes are a most interesting bird and the world's oldest known bird species. Last year 81 cranes were counted in Waukesha County, one or two by me. I'm looking forward to this year's count and will let you know how it goes.
