Old Autumn

I saw old Autumn in the misty morn

Stand, shadowless like Silence, listening

To Silence.

~ Thomas Hood

Most of these photos were taken during a walk or two back in October and September.


Colours were still pretty much in full display along the shores of Little Lake in Peterborough.






This couple was enjoying the day's warmth.






As were these two.






This little cutie's colours shone in the late day sunlight.






All dressed up and nowhere to go.






This Liftlock cruise boat was sailing right into the rainbow.






I guess this was its turnaround point for the tour.






That boat sailed alone but this honking flotilla numbered thirty.






And our sweet little mallard friend is waving them through.






There is a rather large community of boaters who stay moored to the harbour throughout summer and early autumn.






The setting sun makes the building across the lake appear as if it's all ablaze.






Good to know that the fire department is always ready – just in case.

Creature Feature

Animals, it would seem, are the photographic subject we have most of around here. Whether they're our own pets or one of the birds or mammals which look to us for daily feedings, or those which will have nothing to do with us at all, there is no shortage of creatures around here. Hence this creature feature. I hope you enjoy our critters as much as we do.


My beautiful Zephyr. He (along with his brother Skitty) is fifteen and truly hasn't changed much since the day I brought him home at 10 weeks. He's fearful (mostly of that killer vacuum cleaner, unexpected sounds, strangers, a cough, his shadow, his thoughts and just about anything else), gentle, loving and sweet. We won't get into his IQ, but let's just say that his tender heart more than makes up for what might be lacking in that department. This is his kissable nose.






This little cutie is a juvenile white throat sparrow. He was hanging out on the decorative (lichen covered) bird house outside of our kitchen window. It was through that window that I snapped this photo several weeks ago.






Oh yes, I know. You've met him before. Our sweet little red squirrel ex-regular, Rufous. He pretty much believed that he owned the place. He kind of did. We've not seen him for quite a few weeks now but Noivus (a very nervous red squirrel) and Sprout (or Little Red as Frank calls him) have taken his place.






Every now and then, through the summer and early autumn, a couple of families of geese would wander by our dock. Sometimes they'd hop onto the shore and nibble on grass. Other times they just peacefully paddle past our place. The young ones were growing nicely. They've all moved on now because that lake is now frozen over (at least in our bay) and it carries a few inches of snow on top. Winter happened very quickly around here. Much quicker than I was able to get these photos out to you in a timely fashion.






The always-present blue jay, snacking on some seed. They're a handsome but very noisy bird. Last winter, they were quite destructive - picking and eating the finish off of our house, in search of the calcium citrate found in paint. This year, we're ready for them with cooked, crushed egg shells.






Benny semi-recently got a new collar and he's proudly modelling it for you. Doesn't he look fetching? Oops, did I say fetching? He'll be running off in search a stick now.






The sweet, little red-breasted nuthatch has been a regular visitor to our feeders all summer. They are truly a joy to watch. Even with the snow, they've stuck around and have recently been joined by the larger white-breasted nuthatch.






I think I caught this chipmunk in mid-chew. He reminds me of Buddy Hackett in this photo. And you might have to be bordering on old to know who he was.






This is Hunter, my son's beautiful trouble maker. You wouldn't think by looking at those innocent green eyes that he has caused my old guys such stress and angst and frequent emptying of bladders throughout the house - but he has. And yet, despite it all, I love the beast and miss him terribly now that he's moved on to Jeffrey's Dad's place where he is the only feline and gets all of the attention he loves and needs - without causing trouble. It would have been so much easier to see him go if he wasn't also such a sweet cuddler and purr machine. In this image, he was lounging atop the kitchen cupboards. He thinks he's a wild cat - see those furry ear tips? Just like a lynx. If he was here right now,  he would be hiding behind my monitor and attacking my hands as they move around the keyboard. My cats do not miss him, however. They are much more relaxed, not fearing surprise attacks, eating better, not afraid of using the litter box and not peeing inappropriately any more. It was the right move but I still miss you, Hunter.





I believe this was a young phoebe preening itself on our front deck a few months back.






Most nights, we get visits from not one, not two but up to seven flying squirrels. We once believed they were a family - some of them are considerably smaller than the others. Now, I'm coming to realize that the larger, more friendly squirrels are of the Northern variety. The shyer, smaller cuties are Southern flying squirrels which have been making their way up north through the years. They're all quite sociable with one another. This image was taken with a flash and I have re-darkened the eyes in Photoshop.






And last, but not least, my two boys together, lounging on the kitchen island. Zephyr is enjoying his kitty massage. Skitty is happy to preen his brother. Can't you just hear the purring?

That's all for this post. I'll have more photos for you before too much longer.

Nature's Hearth

To be admitted to Nature's hearth costs nothing. None is excluded, but excludes himself. You have only to push aside the curtain.

~ Henry David Thoreau

Just a few more photos of some nature found just outside our door.


I can't think of a better way to start the day than by gazing out at the peachy gold sunrise - aside from turning over and going back to sleep afterward.






We see these beauties every day. Even when they're invisible by the darkness of night, we can hear their haunting calls across the lake's expanse.






It's been a joy to watch so many different birds come out to enjoy the seed Frank pours for them each day. That's a female goldfinch on the left and a juvenile house finch on the right. Let's get a closer look at that one.






Isn't that a bright-eyed little cutie? We had trouble identifying it at first but the bit of gold at the corner of its mouth gave it away as a juvenile. Google is so helpful that way.






Two families of Canada geese swim past the end of our dock. I like how the young are in slightly different stages of their development.






Purple bell flowers after a summer rain. They were growing outside our kitchen door.






This unusual looking insect was sitting on the inside of the screen door for a long time before I decided to photograph it and try to learn its identity. It's an Asilidae or Robber/Assassin fly and his behaviour is as sinister as it sounds. According to Wikipedia: "They are powerfully built, bristly flies with a short, stout proboscis enclosing the sharp, sucking hypopharynx. The name "robber flies" reflects their notoriously aggressive predatory habits; they feed mainly or exclusively on other insects and as a rule they wait in ambush and catch their prey in flight."






I moved him over to a different spot before sending him on his way outside. Have a look at those killer eyes.






Well I can't leave you with a creepy crawly going through your head. Instead I'll give you a couple of photos of our favourite little red guy, Rufus*. Here he is enjoying a red cherry, donated to him from our fruit bowl.






Don't tell him how fetching he looks surrounded by all that fuchsia. He'd never be able to live it down.

Thanks for joining me for a look at our local nature. I'll have more photos coming up before too long.

*Rufus has been missing in action for a little over a week. I think we need to just let our wild critters keep crawling on the deck and stop allowing them to crawl on our hearts. We miss this little brat. And Indy, our friendly little chipmunk has been missing for a few weeks. Furry little heart breakers.

If I Had Wings...

Fight or flight? If I had wings, there'd be no choice. But since I don't have wings, I have to rely on my cape, and a long running start. ~ Jarod Kintz

All quotes below are by Jarod Kintz

"If my love could be represented by a blur, it would be the beating of a hummingbird's wings. Did you know that my love is the only love that can fly backwards?"

A sweet little male Ruby-throated hummingbird perches atop the feeder holder ready to shoo off any interlopers.

"My phone rang and a duck quacked, so I answered the bird."

A duck on a dock. There's not much more to say about that other than it was a dull day and I used the flash to fill in some of the missing details - hence the Mallard's red eye.

"Insects have the most sex. Trust me, I peep on them through my microscope."

I may not have a microscope to peep on bugs but this one is indeed behind glass. The kitchen window, to be exact. And the macro lens helped to see this probable stink bug up close while the flash assisted in illuminating it. Many of the spots on the window are out of focus gnats, mosquitoes and other assorted insects. Many more of them are water spatters, dust and other marks which prove we don't have sparkling clean windows. They don't look that bad without the flash.

"I've always envied flies. Think about it: you're a fly, your name is an action, the very thing you do all the time. It's your innate action in life, the thing you were born to do. It's like a salesperson who was named Sell. I love that. If I ever met a salesperson who said, "Hi, I'm Sell," I'd reply, "And I'm sold!."

I found this attractive fellow in the house. He's sitting on a turkey feather which I used to transport him back outside.

I am a duck. I'm cool and calm on the surface, but underneath it all is a nonstop struggle to succeed. My feet are like orange spatulas"

At the same time the mallard was on the dock, these two new (to me) creatures were swimming beside it. The trusty bird guide told me that they're a pair of Lesser Scaups. The male on the left. A rather rare migratory find around here.

"Love, I love it like an airplane loves a helicopter, but not as much as a bat admires a butterfly."

A lovely Eastern yellow swallowtail butterfly whose tail has seen better days.

"I once snorted a moth. Unintentionally, of course. Its not like I was trying to get high."

Once night falls, there are countless numbers of insect staring at us from outside the window. This moth was one of them. Next post, I'll show you one of the most unexpected wee creature I've seen on a window - just a few inches over from the moth.

"I once saw a snake having sex with a vulture, and I thought, It's just business as usual in Washington DC."

For such an unattractive bird, the Turkey Vulture sure does look beautiful in flight.

"I had a dream about you. The leaves changed from yellow to red, but the stoplights did not. This made me continually cautious, and you kept honking at me. I thought you were the rudest goose ever."

One of our local family of geese. This goose, gander and their four goslings mingle with another family of two goslings, Mom and Dad. They're such devoted creatures.

"If God had wanted men to swim, he would have taught fish to fish. But fish don't fish, and neither do I, but it's also the reason I don't swim."

Loons. They're beautiful, entertaining, wonderful, haunting and enchanting birds. If you've never heard the call of the loon, you don't know what you're missing. In fact, please do find out what you're missing. Have a listen over here. The first (pair tremelo), second (pair wail) and last (wing noise, hoot, yodel) will give you all the typical loon calls between them. They're a joy to listen to. And to watch. We have five loons that tend to hang out together on the bay. Some may be wee ones but they all look full grown to us.

I hope you enjoyed some of the winged creatures who share our space, along with the crazy quotes of Jarod Kintz. I should have more photos coming up before too long.

Fine Feathered Friends

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” 

~ Robert Lynd

Whether on the wing or at rest, birds are lovely to watch and fun to photograph. Since I've been doing just that the past several weeks, I'd like to share a few of those images below.


A while back, when I posted some pictures of spindle berries, my fine bloggie pal Suldog asked me if they were edible. I have to admit to not knowing that for sure at the time, though I suspected they were not, as the "berry" part is really more like a seed. I looked it up when responding to him and learned that they are edible for birds but rather poisonous for humans. Being one of the feathered variety, this Cardinal was checking them out a few days later.





Canada geese - relaxing, preening and doing a fair bit of pooping atop the dam of our local pond.





One of my favourite feathered friends is the Northern Mockingbird. He he is perched at the top of a dead tree by the pond. I'm also quite fond of that tree, and have posted images of it frequently.





Here's a closer look at this sweetie. It's not the best exposure or even his best side but I'm always happy to see and share him.






Ms. Mallard is showing off her lovely colours in the late day sunshine.






This little Downy Woodpecker was flitting about while I was out walking. It's not a great shot but after several attempts, I finally managed to capture it flying between the branches of this pine tree.





Much to my surprise, I snapped the photo of this hawk through the car windshield while Frank was driving.





Two ducks and a gull - the subjects of this photo are in shadow, but I still loved the colours in the trees and the reflection in the creek.





Over that same creek, you can see gulls flying around at most any time of day. This is a young one, who hasn't acquired his bright, white plumage yet.





This sweet, little sparrow almost faded into the similar colouring of the foliage. If you look closely, you can see a bit of red on his beak from nibbling hawthorn berries.





Last, but never least, the Great Blue Heron, after he had had enough of my incessant picture snapping. Sorry bud!

More photos in a few days.