Start of the 2016 Season. Haidary, February 28, and Eskhar, March 6

February of this year was warm, and the feeling of spring arrived very early. Our first trip this season was the day before winter ended: February 28th. We went as a small group to Haydary. In fact, we had one specific task: to do something on the roof of our house. Here's the thing: you can't climb onto the roof without a crocodile costume. But the house spirits scattered in horror from the crocodile... What teeth! ...and a corresponding tail. There were heavy snowfalls in winter, and many trees fell. The path down to the stairs is blocked in several places. There is very little water. In general, it can be said that the river did not overflow, but simply reached the edge of its channel. We tried to look for overwintering common frogs opposite the confluence of the stream flowing from Koryakovy Yar into the Donets, but without success. I think the frogs lie there when the river is covered with ice, and the stream brings fresh water into it. Now, when there is no ice and the stream has dried up, we had no special chances... ...the tail must be protected and carefully placed on the ground... There is spring transparency in the air... A dry fruit husk of Echinocystis lobata. Why there are so many of them in Haydary is a separate story... We didn't manage to catch anything. For some reason, this clutch reminded me of Ukrainian statehood. We found snow! The writing of bark beetles. Bad example is contagious: I photographed this! Apparently, this is a trace of the tunnels of some mouse-like rodents that were made under the snow. A can of homemade stew was buried in the ground in the forest. We looked. We put it back. The water, of course, is flowing faster than usual. Pieces of wood and piles of grass are floating down the river. Soon, common frogs will start "croaking" in these puddles. Lenses of ice still remain on the standing water. The forest is transparent.

It is the time of flowering of wind-pollinated plants.

With what crystals the snow is melting...

An idyll of the Seversky Donets.

And the traditional view from the hill where Zmiyiv is located, onto the floodplain.

And this is a trip to Eschar, March 6th.

The bank of the Donets is a bit upstream.

Carrying firewood for a bonfire - it looks like dancing.

I don't really know who gnawed this.

Hares, perhaps?

In the area bounded by the Seversky Donets, Udy, and the discharge of warm water from the thermal power station, there is a forest that would cause mental anguish to any forester: with a mass of deadwood, breaks, and fallen trees.

From a biologist's point of view, this is the special charm of this area.

There are puddles, streams, and backwaters in the forest...

But it's easy to collect firewood. Fallen logs are just decaying, leaving trails of moss. The warm water channel is steaming slightly. A frame for photographs. Mistletoe.