That Warm, Sweet Sunlight

Late afternoon sunlight, warm as oil, sweet as childhood

~ Stephen King

A couple of posts back, I mentioned that there was one evening when the sunlight was gracing us at that golden hour. I had walked to Little Lake where photo opportunities seem to ever-so-kindly present themselves to me, most days. There's always something of at least mild interest to be seen in Peterborough. Come join me on this walk and see for yourself.

Pleasure is wild and sweet. She likes purple flowers. She loves the sun and the wind and the night sky.

~ J. Ruth Gendler

I pass by this little garden of phlox (and at that time, tulips) almost every time I head to the lake but this time, the late-day sunlight really intensified the purple colours.

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.

~ Alice Walker

Here's a close up view from directly above.

A wild goose never reared a tame gosling.

~ Irish Proverb

The goslings are growing up very quickly - no longer little goosebumps. However, Mother and Father Goose are still very protective of them. Here, the mother is shooing them along, out of possible harm's way.

The family is one of nature's masterpieces.

~ George Santayana

They paused by the water's edge for a little nibble of grass and tiny, wild violets.

Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.

~ David Ogden Stiers

After giving it some thought, Mama figured it would be safest to bring them into the water where the Dad was waiting.

Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.

~ Brad Henry

And they casually moved along, soaking up those warming rays.

I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry dock.

~ Lester Roloff

Elsewhere on the lake, this odd sight was approaching - like an oversized wooden alligator.

I've learned .... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

~ Andy Rooney

I've never seen anyone move a dock like that but these folks did not appear to be having any difficulties with it. They transported it a fair distance, slowly and steadily.

I have great joy in the tulips and lilacs which make my garden 'look like the waking of Creation.'

~ Helen Keller

On that day in May, the park's tulips were in full bloom.

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.

~ Gerard de Nerval

There were different colours sported in various areas but I quite liked the oranges, yellows and whites of this collection.

To me sometimes a mute sky is more expressive than the roaring sea.

~ Munia Khan

The boats had only begun to gather at the marina for the season. Just a week later, it was quite full - but that's for another blog post.

Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.

~ Steve Maraboli

There are two of these Survivors Abreast dragon boats filled with women wearing pink PFDs, who row to raise awareness and funds for cancer care in the community. Each of these women has had a diagnosis of breast cancer.

She made broken look beautiful, and strong look invincible. She walked with the Universe on her shoulders and made it look like a pair of wings.

~ Ariana Dancu

Here are the pink warriors on their return trip, an hour and a half later.

I worry about kids today not having time to build a tree house or ride a bike or go fishing. I worry that life is getting faster and faster.

~ John Lasseter

This poor fish had a rough go of being caught. It was rather battered against the rocks and then endured the wait while the kid wrestled the hook from its mouth. I'm not so sure that it survived its release back to the lake, but the kid sure was proud of his catch.

Pit bulls are famous, in circles of knowledgeable dog people, for the love and loyalty they bestow on anyone who shows them a smidgen of kindness.

~ Linda Wilson-Fuoco

Some of the sweetest dogs I've ever met, and heard about (I'm thinking of you, Roy Boy!) are pit bulls. And this handsome boy was no exception. Ontario has a very unfair and biased ban on pits. The ban should actually be for people who raise them to be aggressive. Of course, that or even educating the public about responsible dog "ownership" is the more costly and tougher task. This dog is only part pit bull but looks like he's a pure breed. He belongs to his human companion's daughter but was enjoying a lengthy, possibly permanent visit with "grandma" due to family circumstances. The dog tends to bark encouragement when excited, in a very non-threatening way, and a neighbour recently decided to make a call to police about this woman owning an illegal dog. The officer arrived, got down and cuddled with the pooch and got nothing but gentle affection from the dog. Still, she had to reluctantly make the report, and give the woman two weeks to get the papers from her daughter, in order to prove that the pit bull in him was truly watered down with another breed or two. She can and will get the papers, hopefully within the required time (which would be long passed by now). According to the woman, if she could not prove it, this beautiful soul of a creature would have to be destroyed. That's just unthinkable. Our province is very backwards with this law. I hope to see this duo out on a walk soon, so I can know for sure that all is well.

The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog.

~ Ambrose Bierce

All this sweetie wanted to do was dive into the lake to retrieve the sticks which his person was tossing, shake off the water and go back for more. Over and over again. He kind of reminded me of a crazy little JRT I once knew. ♥

How come everyone calls me 'Crazy Eyes'?

~ Uzo Aduba as Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren

And speaking about Crazy Eyes.. it's almost time to binge-watch season four of Orange is the New Black. Who else will be watching?

Goosebumps

I had already been out for a stroll on Friday. I'd seen and photographed a number of eye-catchers which will appear in future blog posts. As the day wore on, I felt restless and very much in the mood for another walk so I headed back toward the park with camera in tow.


As I approached the water, I saw a pair of Canada geese with a jumbled bunch of fluff in between them, navigating the modest waves of Little Lake.






Introducing Father and Mother Goose and their six little Goosebumps. They began to swim the short distance to shore, a little beyond where I was standing.






I moved a bit further along than that and sat quietly while they made their way up onto the grass.






The little ones pecked around while the parents stood sentry.






Satisfied with their snack, four of the six wee ones settled down into a downy cushion of contentment.






Last summer, I was still living up north on the lake. A lone goose egg sat abandoned on the shore. No geese stayed back to attend to it in any way, and after a day or so, it became obvious that the egg was not viable. I had assumed that some animal (raccoon or squirrels, if nothing else) would devour it in no time but that never happened.






A short while later, I spotted it in the water where it stayed for several weeks.






This maturing family wandered by on the same day - a small number indeed. I suppose surviving the surrounding wildlife is not easy for these guys.





Their adult markings are just beginning to show as they grow into that awkward yet still lovely adolescent stage.






This one has learned the skill of staying safe by camouflaging itself beside mama.






It's a gift and honour to see new life and to be allowed the privilege of watching them grow.

More photos coming up soon.

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.

Cuteness

There isn't anything cuter than young children or animals, and especially the combination, as in young animals. This post has all three. Prepare for cuteness.

This photo was taken outside my front door. Skitty is lounging on the fence between my neighbour's and my yard.

Let's start with one of the sweetest creatures I've ever known. Skittles is a gentle, curious, funny and fun feline. A real purry pal to all. In the early days of Benny's visits, Skitty did a lot of hissing, growling and swatting - until he realized that Benny was rather benign - all bluster and bark and turn-on-a-dime agility, who never gave worse than a soft-mouthed chomp, never causing pain nor reason for serious concern. Skitty stopped seeing Benny as a true foe and began acknowledging him as the real pest he actually is. Over time, Skitty came to realize that he actually enjoyed his confrontations with Ben, and would wander across his path with this "come hither" slink that cats do so well. The little brat was seeking him out to engage him in creature combat. I'll have to record their antics again sometime soon but if you've never seen the two of them in action before you might enjoy this video from a few years back.

One of my young neighbours, T.

I watched T playing in his driveway across the street for a bit. He was having a great time sculpting soap suds. "Hey, T," I called from my front deck, camera to my eye, "what are you making?" He glanced at me for a moment, grinned and turned back to the lather. "Oh, just a mess." Ya gotta love little boys.

Everybody loves some bunny, sometime.

One afternoon, I was looking out the back door, noticing how the grass needed to be cut when a pair of teeny tiny ears popped up between the blades of green overgrowth. The grass wasn't excessively long - maybe about 3- 4 inches, so you can imagine how small this little cutie really was. It was no more than 6 or 7 inches, ears included. So sweet.

Goslings are all fluff and cuteness.

Out by the pond in the park, the only goslings I've seen are this pair which I featured a few posts back. They seem to have moved on, now. I've not spotted them for a few days. They sure were entertainingly cute while the were here.

Ready to spring into action.

Rounding the bend, and glancing up, this little guy sprung out at me from behind the tree like a wee, furry ninja. He decided I'd make a better friend than foe, however. I just might have had peanuts.

Meet Snoopy.

On my way back to my house, I pass by a neighbouring home where one of Benny's buddies lives. Benny always tries to take a detour down their driveway just in case Snoopy is available to play. On this day, I was without Ben, and Snoopy was having a "time out" for misbehaving. That sad look comes to you from behind the glass door.

That banana has a-peel.

Little Miss Lily, looking as cute as ever, was quite taken with that banana peel for a while. Until Benny stole it from her, that is.

And speaking of Benny...

No set of "cute" photos are complete without da man (as Sandy sometimes refers to him)! Here he is doing his merry water dance. As long as someone has a hose, he's one happy customer. Summer has arrived - and so has that certain smell of wet doggie!

I'll have more photos to share with you in a few days.

Mellow Yellow

Back to the howling old owl in the woods

Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

This is the only current image in this series. This yellow and aqua ball has been sitting on the snow-covered pond for the past couple of weeks. When I first saw it, only the yellow portion was visible. Most recently the aqua half of it is most apparent. This was taken somewhere in between those two times.

Welcome to my kitchen window where my plants reside through the winter, soaking up yellow morning sunshine. I'm looking forward to late spring when I can transfer them outside again.

A Mother's Day gift of beautiful yellow lilies from my younger son almost two years ago. They enjoy a rainy day.

The yellow roses also glistened under the raindrops.

A different rainy day. This tiny yellow leaf clung to the larger green foliage like this for days afterward.

Brilliant yellow wildflowers grow along one of my usual walking paths.

Fuzzy yellow goslings snuggle up together in the sunshine. They're supposed to be sleeping but the little one on the right kept a wary, weary eye on me.

The soft, silky petal of a solitary yellow rose.

Queen Anne's Lace makes a lovely silhouette in the deepening yellow sunlight of a winter dusk.





This was one of my favourite unexpected photographic moments. It was an October afternoon and we'd been walking alongside the creek. The air temperature must have dropped slightly. As we walked away from the creek to go back home, we could see a fine yellow mist beginning to form above the creek, and breeze over the path...

By the time we reached the path just a few meters away, the air was filled with this golden yellow cloud. Here two people - one on bike and one on foot break through the sunlit haze.

See hue soon!