Shades of Spring

From beautiful sunrise to subtle but lovely sunset, our world has awakened in soft, fragrant shades of spring. I hope you enjoy the photos below, along with the humour of Jarod Kintz, Wallace Stevens and Jack Handey's Deep Thoughts.

The morning always has a way of creeping up on me and peeking in my bedroom windows. The sunrise is such a pervert.

~ Jarod Kintz

On this May morning, Frank's two wonderful sisters, Lisa and Theresa were sleeping under our roof. It was the first time they came up to visit and we enjoyed their company immensely. I hope they'll return before too long. On that day, I awoke early to see shades of pink spilling into my bedroom. Outside, the sun was rising and a duck was having a peaceful swim alongside the dock.

The grackles crack their throats of bone in the smooth air. Most spiss oh! Yes, most spissantly. They sing right puissantly.

~ Wallace Stevens (taken from two of his quotes)

Despite their cold eye... despite their raucous call.. despite how they appear to be a simple black bird, grackles, when viewed in the right light - are beautiful, colourful birds.

My two favorite colors of the rainbow are gold and leprechaun.

~ Jarod Kintz

Given the right conditions, it's almost impossible for me to resist looking for and photographing a rainbow. They're always such a visual treat. Bring on more sun showers!

I bet the sparrow looks at the parrot and thinks, yes, you can talk, but LISTEN TO YOURSELF

~ Jack Handey

Another little cutie who comes to visit us is the chipping sparrow. Isn't that a sweet little face?

Whenever I hear the sparrow chirping, watch the woodpecker chirp, catch a chirping trout, or listen to the sad howl of the chirp rat, I think: Oh boy! I'm going insane again.

~ Jack Handey

Here's a closer look. Was I wrong?

Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here, looking through your stuff.

~ Jack Handey

Daffodils look quite pretty from any angle - especially after a rain.

We like to praise birds for flying. But how much of it is actually flying, and how much of it is just sort of coasting from the previous flap?

~ Jack Handey

Stepping outside on the deck, I inadvertently spooked a great blue heron. They sure are graceful for such a gangly, awkward-looking bird.

Instead of casting my fishing line into the lake, my hook got caught on a passing cloud. It's OK, because I ended up catching a bird.

~ Jarod Kintz

When I saw this cloud, I immediately thought of the old Irwin Hasen comic strip Dondi. To me it appeared as if he was glancing up to the left and whistling a carefree tune. Can you see it? You probably have to be over forty to remember Dondi.

As I walked through the woods, I looked up and saw a squirrel. I smiled and he smiled. At least I think it was a smile. My teeth were showing and my cheeks were pulled up. That's a smile, isn't it?

 ~ Jack Handey

So now that spring is here, it would appear that this red squirrel probably has some little ones to feed. No more calling her Rufus. She has now been dubbed "Rufette."

If I could lick the sunset, I'll bet it would taste like Neapolitan ice cream.

~ Jarod Kintz

Aside from its location, there are some days that our dusk is quite similar to our sunrises. We do face east and if anything is going to explode into colour it will be the dawning sun. But occasionally, the reflective sunset gives us some colourful moments, as well. Just imagine how this might have looked on a western waterfront.

I want to be the first and second man to dance on the moon. No, I won't moonwalk. But I will Cha Cha-with my clone.

~ Jarod Kintz

The clear evening sky revealed a partial moon. When moonrise happens before sunset, you still get to enjoy some of the blueness in the sky.

More photos coming up before too much longer.

Nature Resumes Her Loveliness

The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also. ~ Harriet Ann Jacobs

There was a brief window of lovely spring days between winter and black fly season. Yes, they're annoying and they restrict regular activities such as the enjoyment of a walk but they are also known to be indicative of a healthy aquatic ecosystem so I'll take consolation in that.

During that bug-free time, some photos were taken of our emerging plant life and a couple of summer birds.


As soon as the grass began to grow, I started to notice the pussy willows emerging. You can see them in two different stages here - the spiky catkin and the soft fuzzy bit that most of us associate with this plant.






Here's an up close and personal look at the former.






On one of my walks a couple of weeks back, I saw a few of these lovely but very shy birds. This image was taken from quite a distance away and it's the best I could do. I haven't been able to identify it to my satisfaction though we're thinking it might be a flycatcher of some sort. Any help in identifying this cutie would be much appreciated. A big thank you to Jennifer Jilks for identifying this little beauty as an Eastern Phoebe which is indeed part of the flycatcher family like Frank suggested.

A couple of weeks ago, Frank's son, Francis came up for a visit with Frank's sisters Theresa and Lisa. We had a short but wonderful time together. Frank had to head back to his other place for a few days so he left early the next day with his son. Lisa and Theresa and I shared a long walk headed into the nearby town to look at antiques. It was a whirlwind visit but I enjoyed it immensely. I think they need to consider moving up here.
 


Lisa spotted this Red Trillium on our walk. Funny thing about this flower is that it has so many names. It's also known as trillium erectum (yes, I hear all of you immature guys snickering), wake-robin, purple trillium, birth root and stinking Benjamin. I'll probably stick with red trillium. The white trillium is Ontario's provincial flower. I also snapped some photos of them in bloom but they're still in my camera as I type this.






It's important to remember to look up occasionally. When you do, you might see some beautiful spring green.






The promise of something delicate and lovely about to bloom.






And here's something different which has already kept its promise.






I could probably do a series of images of nearly-photographed birds, and perhaps I will, one day. You might want to consider this one as a preview. It's nearly a photograph of an Osprey which flew in over the lake with a piece of nest-building material. By the time I got her in focus, she was flying over the roof.






These lovely pink hyacinths are among the many spring surprises growing in our garden.






Another little surprise of the insect variety. I didn't notice it until I looked at the image on my computer.






Here's a sweet coincidence for you. The former owner of our house, Josie told us about Rudy's tree at the time we purchased the place. One of her stipulations upon selling was that she reserved the right to uproot this tree which sits outside our kitchen window. It was planted when her beloved husband, Rudy passed away a few years back. Of course, we agreed to her request but it turned out that the tree had matured enough so that digging it out would prove difficult and expensive, and there would be no guarantee to its survival, so she opted to leave it behind. I knew that the anniversary of his passing was in late May. I wanted to take a few photos of its leaves about to unfold and send them to her so she could share them with her family so that she would know that we were honouring his memory. I took a few photos earlier in the week and processed them on Sunday. Then I proceeded to look through some paperwork left to us by Josie to see if I could find her email address. I could not. I made a mental note to stop by the next door neighbour, Jayne to see if she could provide it. Then I went to sit on the dock and read a book.






Not a half hour later, I heard female voices approaching. Glancing up, I see both Jayne and Josie making their way along the dock to come see me. Josie was in town visiting another neighbour and stopped by to see Jayne, and in the process, hoped find out what our addition to the place looked like. It was one of those serendipitous moments when things work out so beautifully. I had a nice visit with the ladies and showed them the changes. Josie spent a couple of quiet moments with Rudy's tree, I showed her the above two (and a few more) photos and I was able to obtain her email address. All in all an unexpected but lovely event. The rings which are tied with ribbon to one of the branches, are from Rudy and Josie's grandchildren, I believe, and they read "Memories. Peace. Family."

That's it for this post. I hope to put a few more photos together before too much longer. And start catching up on my blog visits. But it's spring and even if the mosquitoes and black flies are telling me to stay inside, other things beckon like Saturday morning yard sales and catching the breeze at the end of the dock. And Frank's boat is back in the water so fishing will be added to the agenda. In reality, I might be a bit more scarce than my norm, this summer. But I will continue to stop by from time to time and post as often as I can. I know you'll understand because you're all pretty wonderful that way.

More photos coming up soonish.

The Very Breath of Spring

“Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?”  ~ Neltje Blanchan

Spring.. it ain't over yet. Come join me in taking in a few more sights around my neck of the woods, and Frank's. 

One of just a few red tulips which grace my front yard this spring. 

Not far away, a daffodil bud shortly before it opens.

  Outside my back window, this little cutie was enjoying some of the seed which was scattered primarily for the birds. The photo quality is poor as it was taken through two panes of glass. I've always loved red squirrels, and especially since I was introduced to sweet, little Roxy. Go on and have a look - she's adorable. 

Frank lives near a lovely creek which makes its way into Lake Ontario. Each year, they lose more trees and other plant life to erosion. I suppose it won't be too much longer until this tree loses its grip and makes its way into the great lake. For now, it still makes a pretty picture. 

There are a lot of walnuts to be found around the area.

And of course, what self-respecting spring season makes its appearance without the obligatory robin. This one stopped pecking in the dirt in order to watch me rather closely. You can see some of the wet earth on its beak. 

Back home again, the sun is setting behind a new leafy growth.

That's it for today. I'll have more images for you in a few days.