The Lazy Mist

So dull and dark are the November days.

The lazy mist high up the evening curled,

And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze;

The place we occupy seems all the world."

~ John Clare

A week into November, the day started off sunny and bright. I made some coffee and settled in at my desk to check email and to see what was happening on social media. Time passed and I was probably about to pour a second cup when I turned to look out the window. No more sunshine. But no real cloud. It had become rather foggy, and the sunlight was ever so slightly visible on the edge of the haze. Time to grab the camera and head out.


I wandered around the neighbourhood for a while. The sun was already threatening to burn through the mist and I decided to make my way to the river.






Although the air was crisp enough between the bench and where I was standing, I could scarcely make out the opposite river bank.






The view came into focus a bit better once I reached the shore.






Bare trees and misty air. Cold - and yet comforting.






It wasn't long before the sun brought brighter colours into view.






The day soon resumed as it had started - in full sunshine.






Ten days later, on November 18th, the day warmed up to near-summer temperatures. I needed nothing warmer than a t-shirt for my walk.






I wandered in areas both familiar and less so. This was one of the latter.






The day smelled like spring, felt like summer, looked like autumn...






...and yet, in anticipation of winter,  people were taking the opportunity to decorate for Christmas.






Despite the unseasonal warmth, the playground was devoid of kidlets.






The ducks were strutting around as if they had somehow managed to sidestep winter altogether. I might have been doing likewise.






The end of a perfect day.

Reality returned two days later with below-freezing temperatures, very strong winds and a little more than a dusting of snow. But it sure was nice while it lasted.

More photos coming up before too long.

One of Those March Days

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:

when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

~ Charles Dickens

Spring has officially arrived. Don your rubber boots and join me on a short walk around the neighbourhood.

Drunk people run stop signs. High people wait for them to turn green. ~ Unknown

There's still a bit of snow in the shady spots (or at least there was ten days ago when these photos were taken) but for the most part, it's looking like spring in Peterborough.

When I played in the sandbox, the cat kept covering me up. ~ Rodney Dangerfield

This little cutie came running to me from his comfy spot on the front porch, demanding a belly rub.

A mouse does not rely on just one hole. ~ Plautus

Another cute little scavenger which was nowhere near the cat, thankfully but nearly got himself run over by a car as he panicked and hesitated on the road. I shooed him across the street and he promptly ran into an open door at the back of the gymnastics club.

The balanced rocks that sit on the inuksuk...represent the balance we strive to find in our lives. 

Life is fragile, just like the balanced rocks, but they help us remember that anything is possible. 

~ Shelley Hrdlitschka

An inukshuk just outside of a business not too far from home.

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.

~ Jarod Kintz

This handsome Mallard just emerged from the Ontonabee River to graze along its shoreline - just a couple of blocks from my place.

March is a tomboy with tousled hair, a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes and a laugh in her voice. ~ Hal Borland

While watching the ducks, a little voice pieced my thoughts from off in the distance.

Childhood is that state which ends the moment a puddle is first viewed as an obstacle instead of an opportunity. ~ Michael K. Williams

She was full of fun and glee just as you would expect when stomping puddles on a sunny spring afternoon.

The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful. ~ e. e. cummings

I chatted with her mom for a bit. A bit earlier, she had been running around barefoot. It really wasn't that warm out (15C/59F) but the sun had been strong and the kidlet was strong-willed. Eventually the chill got to her and she wanted to get back into the car to warm up. Little Ms. Princess Galoshes.

To me, driving through construction zones with pylons and barriers is a lot like giving birth:

I have to remind myself to breath. ~ Brenda Priddy

Lots of melt in this parking lot which allowed for the colourful reflections of the pylons.

Real flowers may wilt away but fake flowers have never lived. ~ Anonymous

Just as I returned home, I came upon this fake flower which sat face down in the driveway. It won't be long before real flowers will brighten gardens, parks and other landscapes.

Thanks for joining me on this walk. I hope you'll be around for the next one - 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.

Spring Bling

“And the day came when the risk to remain in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom.” ~ Anais Nin





“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.” ~ William Shakespeare





“Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson





"Let a thousand flowers bloom and we'll see what flourishes.” ~ Clara Hemphill





“Here and there you'd see a tree that was budding or grass trying to grow. There was hope.” ~ Carolyn Hunter





"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds." ~ Aesop





"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song." ~ Chinese Proverb





"Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best." ~ Henry Van Dyke





"When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck." ~ Richard C. Cushing





"To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also." ~ Igor Stravinsky





"Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath." ~ Michael Caine





"If you keep your feathers well oiled the water of criticism will run off as from a duck's back."
~ Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards