Author Archives: Griff Wigley

An elusive doe appears to be making Valley Pond her home

Robbie spotted a doe wandering among the cattails around the pond last Saturday. I tried to get close for a photo but the doe spotted me and took cover. Crappy photo, I know. A few hours later, when I was … Continue reading

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The honeylocust tree in spring

Our neighbor’s honeylocust tree is at it’s spectacular best right now because it’s as much yellow as it is green.

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Sunset over Hidden Valley Park

Tonight’s thundershower cleared out just in time for the sunset.

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Daisies among the wildflowers popping up

   The wildflowers are starting to pop up all over Hidden Valley Park after the spring burning a few weeks ago. And this year, several strands of oxeye daisies can be seen, including a bunch right at the storm water … Continue reading

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Our pond is alive with the sound of music

The rains have been plentiful this spring and thus making the frogs around the pond in the middle of Hidden Valley Park very happy.   I captured their music while sitting in front of our backyard fireplace last week and again … Continue reading

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Mallard families (not geese) again making Valley Pond their home

Again this year, Valley Pond is home to a couple of new mallard duck families. And again, thankfully, no Canada geese have done likewise. The cattails that surround the pond are evidently doing their job to keep the geese away.

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Carmen Sevcik joins the neighborhood

I met Carmen Sevcik a few weeks ago during the controlled burn of Hidden Valley Park. She had just moved into one of the townhomes along Hidden Valley Drive. Carmen’s known to many in the area because she and her … Continue reading

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Photo album: spring burn

I woke up from my nap to the smell of smoke this afternoon. A crew hired by the City of Northfield was doing a controlled burn of Hidden Valley Park. See the album of 16 photos (8 fire, 8 post-fire), … Continue reading

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Egrets pay a visit to Hidden Valley Pond

Gene Bauer snapped this photo of two egrets in the pond yesterday morning. One was in motion and he took the photo through his window and thus, it’s a little bit blurry… but cool nonetheless! An egret is any of … Continue reading

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Photo slideshow: Hidden Valley Park in Winter

I took half of these photos in early January after a big snowfall and the rest in mid-February during one of our many hoar frost mornings. See the album of 49 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:

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Cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding around Hidden Valley Pond

    People cross country ski around the perimeter of Hidden Valley Pond each winter. And kids go sledding on the hill on the north side. But this year, with all the snow we’ve had, there have been people snowshoeing, … Continue reading

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Snowplowing for our driveways

I’ve been really pleased with the snowplowing service for our townhouse association thus far this year.  Not only is the plowing done promptly in the early morning (usually before 6 am). But they return to plow again after the city … Continue reading

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The snow is piling up

Robbie is barely visible in this photo in our driveway, taken last week when we got about 8 inches overnight. It’s sooooooo nice to not have to shovel a driveway.

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Fall colors

  Alas, I missed the peak of the fall colors this year. Here are three from our backyard overlooking Hidden Valley Pond.

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New paint

Robbie picked out the colors and after a thumbs-up from the Valley Pond Association board, our unit of four townhomes got a paint job this fall.

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