I think I'm on to something here: no matter how busy and, from a trekking perspective, unproductive the week has been, I've managed to carve out time on Sunday morning for an extended natural history hike. Today's destination was a return trip to the Avalonia Land Conservancy's newest gem: the Benedict Benson Preserve. This wasn't solely for the pleasure of this place, where I led a public walk at its dedication a couple of weeks ago. Rather, on the agenda was a tune-up for an upcoming public walk, along with an impromptu biological survey, a side-trip to check off-trail on the health of the Hepaticas I'd discovered, and, of course, an attempt to see and hear if the avian stars of the Preserve, the increasingly rare Cerulean Warblers, had returned and were beginning to make their presences, visual and aural, felt. The water was deliciously high in the seasonal stream, the Hepaticas were starting to make seed, and while the Ceruleans were either quiet or not yet back from winter quarters, the woods were ringing with the calls of Ovenbirds, Scarlet Tanagers, Tufted Titmice, and Baltimore Orioles—most, alas, uncooperative models. But some old hardwoods, led by a Shagbark Hickory, that were guarding the hillside were not averse to posing. When you've got all the tree-time in the world, you're more inclined to honor a photographer's request.