One Touch of Nature

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.

~ William Shakespeare

It would seem that the vast majority of my photos from summer can fall under one of four categories - winged things, furry things, flowery things and weather conditions. I also have images from a couple of weddings and a few other things but I guess I'll start with a mix of a few photos from each of the above-mentioned groups.


We have frequent visits from this little guy. And by frequent, I mean daily. And by daily, I mean that he's back and forth between our supply of seed and peanuts and wherever it is that he stashes the latter - all of a few feet away. In recent weeks, he's been hopping on the patio table and he makes himself quite at home skittering all over Frank's lap, reminding him that he is still around and just about passing out from hunger. He's a bit of a drama queen but adorable as all get-out. That's our Rufus.






Every now and then, he has to make sure the neighbourhood knows that he's large (he's really pretty tiny) and in charge (yeah, right). He lets out his warning call (it sounds like this) which Frank says means "Stand aside, everyone. I take large steps!" - a reference from the old movie A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.






Every now and then, when we toss a peanut for Rufie or one of the chipmunks, a bold-as-brass blue jay will beat them to it. Not much intimidates them. This guy is just learning his way around the goodie hour. He's a cute but goofy looking young one.






And an even goofier looking baldie. That seems to happen to a few of them (and other birds) sometime during late summer. It's just part of the moulting process though most birds don't lose all their head feathers at once. We have two of them in this state - this being the worse of them.






This is what a summer night looks like outside on our deck. This photo of the patio chair cushion was taken with a flash. Some of these itty bitty bugs get into our house and cling to the ceiling. By morning, they're part of the horizontal surfaces below. They don't last a night indoors. I wonder how many we inhale or otherwise ingest?






Here's a little guy we wouldn't mind seeing a little more often. We spotted him in the tree near our deck, one day and though the lighting wasn't great, I snapped a few shots, thinking he was a young Downy or Hairy woodpecker. It turns out that he was neither. We were perplexed, briefly, then Frank said "See what a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker looks like." And sure enough, that's who he is. Adorable, eh?






Our hanging pot of petunias look especially vibrant when they're back lit by the late day sun.






The Black-eyed Susans grow quite profusely around here. They're always a cheery sight on a summer day.






And the same goes for daisies. You can't have summer without these sunny charmers.






This is what early June looks like across the bay - just a little to the left. Those same spring greens are now showing signs of shifting over to autumn colours. Summer didn't last very long, this year.






Just three weeks later, across that same bay but over to the right, Blueberry Island glows in the setting sun. Funny how those fresh greens of summer can appear to be ablaze when the sun is low.






And rather than end with the sun going down, here's a mid-July sunrise, complete with the peachy hues of a misty morn. Right outside our window. Sigh!

That's it for this post. I'll have more critters and plant life for you soon. Or maybe something completely different. Ya never know.