about the deer, it was dinner day. locals call when they accidently hit a deer, so the center has a huge freezer full of road kill deer. there is also a beaver trapper who gives the carcasses to the center, only being interested in the fur himself. anyway, the wolves are coaxed with treats into a holding area( treats already being placed in there, things they don't get often so they are off!). then wolf care staff will take the deer in to the enclosure with a wheelbarrow. once out, the wolves holding area in reopened and it becomes a free for all- whoever gets there first. what i didn't realized is dominance really doesn't have much to do with who eats first. it is who has that piece of meat at the time. possession rules. the reason the other wolf was not eating, and being dominant male at that, is because he is disturbed by people and crowds he is unfamiliar with. he would eat later. the ambush- that is maya. she has a very strong predatory instinct!

Looks like spring is starting in the South-Central part of the country, hopefully spreading eastward and northward! It's hard to asseess overall damage yet here. Nothing is really waking up, except Acer saccharinum and rubrum, and witchhazel. Even the forsythias and daffodils are still mostly not yet blooming. I even have some Dutch crocuses (in mostly shade until the sun angle is a bit higher) not blooming yet. The Cedrus deodaras around here are a bit yellowish at the tips but appear alive. Some other conifers also have some slight yellowing or browning. Especially Pinus and Cryptomeria. A little Acer palmatum I have does appear to have a bit of tip dieback, but it had a very late flush last summer (Aug/Sept) that didn't even defoliate until they were frozen off, so that was to be expected. Pyrus calleryana does show bud swell, and appears to have not been damaged from our several deep freezes this month. My wife's rosemary, however, is toast.

Thanks for posting the photo of the White Admiral butterfly. I have never seen this species where I live, in Madison, Wisconsin. The path we walked along followed the shoreline of Lake Superior, and there were some spectacular views of the lake, so I highly recommend it to anyone who ventures to the Bayfield peninsula. Diane & I weren't looking for butterflies, we were just hoping to find a good place to go for a walk in the woods.

I am a huge Australia fan. I think you are 100% doing the right thing sticking with Australia with only a few weeks. I just love Sydney and would move there in a heartbeat. I second the recommendation to read Down Under - it had me howling with laughter. Just fabulous. The Blue Mountains are a must do. You can take the train I think or drive. If you drive there is a campsite that seems to attract a lot of wild wallabies. Tripadvisor forum might be a good spot to work out exactly where it is. Seeing them in the wild is a whole different ball game to seeing them in the zoo. Melbourne is a nice city too (I prefer Sydney), but the suburb of St Kilda beach has a pier where wild penguins come in at dusk. That was the coolest thing to me. It's hit or miss, but we went twice because I am just a sucker for that kind of thing! There is also a huge touristy penguin viewing place in Melbourne where you sit on bleachers and watch the penguins come in. I'm sure you would see many more penguins that way, but I just feel like the pier in St Kilda is more authentic, but different benefits to each. Melbourne also has the much mentioned Great Ocean Road which is stunning. PLUS there are various areas to stop off which are known for wildlife. I can't remember how I found out about them (tripadvisor forum? lonely planet?) but there is a golf course where kangaroos hang out. I got the funniest photos of kangaroos just chilling on the green. Another area with lots of wild koalas, and it also happened to have a bunch of parrots which took a liking to our car. There is also a crater called Tower Hill which is a national park at the end of the GOR which has a ton of wildlife. We did not get especially lucky there and 'only' saw emus, but it was a very cool place and I would definitely go again. The other nice thing about Melbourne is that it has short flights over to Tasmania which is much more like New Zealand in feel and is stunning. We loved the Bay of Fires and Wine Glass Bay (a hike!) which is meant to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Also has a lot of vineyards, and farms with happy, free range cows where you can go to try the cheese, etc. lovely. There is also a place on the east coast (I forget the name sorry) which is meant to have the most wonderful small tour of a penguin area. We got rained out so couldn't do it, but it is meant to be amazing. Cape Tribulation has one of the most gorgeous beaches I have seen and access to the Great Barrier Reef (MUST DO)!!! I have heard amazing things about the Whitsundays. I am DYING to go there one day. Sorry some of this is vague, but if you like any of the ideas it should give you a starting point at least to find out more. I am so jealous - have a blast!!