The Birds and the Bees

It's May, and signs of new life are everywhere.

Some birds are still calling for mates - like this red-winged blackbird.

Other newly-emerged species just hang around looking pretty.

Chickadees are house hunting.

Bees are up to their knees in pollen.

And when the bees are done with them, dandelions will do their own reseeding.

Geese sit around, lazily enjoying the milder weather.

At second glance, we can see that there's nothing lazy about what this mama is doing. She very kindly obliges us with a peek at her eggs (I count four) while she primps and re-feathers her nest.

Rest up, beauty. Your goslings will soon keep you very busy.

Spring is also a time for evening walks in the park. This dock in bathed in the light of the lamp posts which dot the trail. Nearby, is a park bench, farther away from artificial light. In fact, it's very close to where the above goose is nesting. It's there that Frank and I went to sit and enjoy the night air for a while.

I'm sure you'll agree that it's difficult to see what's going on in the grass without natural light. For most people. Some people have a knack for seeing things that others might miss. Especially a certain fisherman (who also noticed a couple of the above shooting opportunities). Particularly an angler who has written a book about fishing and who can spot a worm, nay two worms doing their best to increase their worm population.

It was that scene exactly which Frank pointed out to me IN THE DARK! I saw nothing. But sure enough, when I followed where Frank's finger pointed, and aimed my camera in that general direction, turned on the flash and snapped a shot...

...we had worm porn.

Yeah, I know. It's not fair to leave you with that scene filling your mind, so here's one from Monday morning.

Nine little ducklings - the first of the season on our pond. Much cuter than worms. Except maybe to Frank.

More photos coming up in a few days. Thanks always for joining me.

Seedy and Posts of the Week

Who's to say what's a flower and what's a weed? When I take a good look at how simple and sweet a dandelion flower is, I have no idea why people don't like them.

Oh yeah. Never mind.

And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week.

The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a Post of the Week - either as top post or as a runner up.

This week's Post of the Week goes to this amusing and unusual sight:

So This is the Way I Started My Day
by TSannie
at The Tombstone Chronicler

Other wonderful posts are categorized below (they may well fit into more than one category but I'm only selecting one for each):

A Turkey in Limbo
by Daryl's Ray
at Out and About in New York City






Endure
by Sandy at Writing in Faith

Closeted
by Mage
at Postcards

Hey Man
by Brian
at WayStationOne






Mantis Molt
by Kerri
at A Little Piece of Me






A Little Bit of Hope
by Mami
at Unknown Mami

Hawaiian Wedding Day
by Cloudia
at Comfort Spiral

Play Date
by Ellen
at Stuff From Ellen's Head




Scared Straight
by Betty at Bossy Betty
Recommended by: Linda

All You Need is Love
by Janie
at That Janie Girl
Recommended by: Di

Sunday Prayer
by Cupcake Murphy
at Odd, Good, True
Recommended by: Hilary

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you.

A Lucky Mom

I'm a lucky mom. I've got two loving, intelligent, funny sons and both of them happen to be home with me for Mother's Day for the first time in four years. Jeffrey will have to head back to RMC in Kingston later today but he had an unexpected leave to come home this weekend, and so he did. I'm going to sit back and enjoy my time with my boys. I hope you enjoy the Mother's Day flowers in the photos below.

Happy Mother's Day!

"Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together." ~ Pearl S. Buck





"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes." ~ Walter M. Schirra Sr.





"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." ~Rajneesh





"Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother's love is not." ~ James Joyce





"Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all."
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes





"A woman has two smiles that an angel might envy, the smile that accepts a lover before words are uttered, and the smile that lights on the first born babe, and assures it of a mother's love."
~ Thomas C. Haliburton





"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much." ~Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis





"Making a decision to have a child--it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. " ~ Elizabeth Stone





"A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary." ~ Dorothy Canfield Fisher





"My son, when you were born, you brought me happiness, as you grew, you made me laugh and brought me joy, now you are a man, and you make me proud!" ~ Catherine Pulsifer

Petals & Wings

Just a few more images of flowers and birds which I've taken over the past few days.

Flowers for Mother's Day from my younger son, Alex. This along with a hanging basket will help brighten up my front yard. His card to me read "To the most metal Mom out there. Love, Alex" If you're familiar with my boy, you'd know that that was the best compliment he could ever give me. Totally inaccurate, but high praise nonetheless. Thanks, Alex!



The lilacs in my back yard are coming along very slowly, so I wandered over to another location to snap this shot. Lilac is one of my all-time favourite smells.



Dandelions, on the other hand, are growing just fine in my back yard.



Gee, any guesses as to why? Click to enlarge for detail.



Having some fun with my macro setting. Make a wish!



Wandering around my local park, I came upon this wary robin which had just caught a small worm (click to enlarge). A second later it was gone, along with its dinner.



Moving along, I found these three geese standing in line at the top of the dam, at a nearby pond.

Later in the week, I noticed this bird perched upon one of the concrete structures which appeared behind the geese. It was flapping its wings in place, and resting occasionally, but always with its wings outstretched. After checking a few sources, I eventually learned that it was a Double-crested Cormorant - a bird that is quite familiar to many, it seems, but one that I've never seen before.

I learned that its wings will not repel water as with other water birds. Water absorption allows the Cormorant to dive and remain submerged, in order to hunt for fish. It then needs to dry its wings, and does so by flapping and holding them open.



I stood there for so long that the bird eventually turned around and took notice. Please remember to click the photos to enlarge.



A different day, our friend the Great Blue Heron made a return visit. It landed by the shore, but soon waded into the water when it knew I was hoping to get closer. It returns most days around five p.m. so I hope to get more chances to photograph this beautiful bird.