Out For A Walk

I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. ~ John Muir

It's time for another walk around town. Put on your comfy shoes and catch up, will ya?

There is no blue like the blue cup the tall delphinium holds up. ~ Louise Driscoll

The delphinium, also known as larkspur is a beautiful flower, particularly when it soaks up the rays of late-day sunshine. There are still quite a few buds left to open.

When it comes to large boats, I have a yacht to learn. ~ Ken Poirot

My walks almost always take me to Little Lake. It draws many others by foot, by wheel and by water.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die. ~ Thomas Campbell

This touching little memorial on a tree stump had been by the water's edge for quite some time. I assume that there had been a flower in the earth, and that perhaps the candle had been lit a time or two. It was allowed to remain for at least a month before it suddenly disappeared. Rest in peace, Denvar.

I don't have ugly ducklings turning into swans in my stories. I have ugly ducklings turn into confident ducks. ~ Maeve Binchy

This mama Mallard and her triplets were out for a stroll by the water. I notice that the water fowl are not overly fearful of people around here. I was only a few steps away.

Don't take me under your wing and tell me that scent is duck sauce ~ Josh Stern

I love how the little guy in front is checking out the height of the drop down into the water. Eventually, they all did make the jump but it was getting darker by then and the photos didn't turn out very well.

Duck love is recognizable in any language. ~ Edmond Manning

For now, they all decided to settle in for a while with their mama.

A girl's first true love is her father. ~ Marisol Santiago

This little sweetie pie and her dad were enjoying a nice little tête-à-tête over something. She had such an intent look in her eye...

A man's daughter is his heart. Just with feet, walking out in the world. ~ Mat Johnson

Until she noticed me taking their photo. Then it became quite the speculative look. As you can now see, it was a pair of mallards which had held her interest.

Stay, little cheerful Robin! stay,

And at my easement sing,

Though it should prove a farewell lay

And this our parting spring. . . . .

Then, little Bird, this boon confer,

Come, and my requiem sing,

Nor fail to be the harbinger

Of everlasting spring.

~ William Wordsworth

This was one of the first warm days in May and the robin had been happily splashing in the lake until I came along, at which time she stood stock still. Nothing to see here.

Now, finally, this House gets to see a 'bromance' close up. Thanks for making that possible. Although I still think 'dudeplomacy' is more accurate, but I'll get over it." - Justin Trudeau as he introduced Barack Obama in the House of Commons.

I saw this around the time that the presidents of Mexico and the U.S. were visiting Canada for the North American Leaders' Summit. This trio somehow reminded me of the three amigos - blue for the U.S., red for Canada and green for Mexico.

Come, pensive nun, devout and pure, sober steadfast, and demure, all in a robe of darkest grain, flowing with majestic train. ~ John Milton

There's a lovely church just a short walk from my place and on this evening, I snapped this photo of a nun just ending a stroll of her own.

'O Tiger-lily,' said Alice, addressing herself to one that was waving gracefully about in the wind,

'I wish you could talk!'

'We can talk,' said the Tiger-lily: 'when there's anybody worth talking to.

~ Lewis Carroll

Glowing in the setting sun, this lovely tiger lily cleared its graceful throat and spoke to me. I was happy to listen.

Thanks for joining me on the walk. Time to relax with a glass of wine or an ice cold beer. Of course, if it's morning when you're reading this, there's a pot of coffee in the kitchen. Help yourself!

More photos as soon as they're ready.

Beautiful Babies

This post was created and scheduled a few weeks ago - before we acquired our new place. Right now, I'm back in the city continuing to ready my house for sale.

You must have been a beautiful baby, 'Cuz baby just look at you now.

~ Johnny Mercer

Spring and summer - the time of year when we see so many babies of every kind. Of course those of the human variety are no longer bundled up, so we can see them in all of their cuteness. Birds and other critters choose this warmer weather to have their young, and we get the pleasure of enjoying them all. I hope you also enjoy some of the baby photos I've taken semi-recently.


This little cutie brought his own balloons and bench to pose for a photos. His parents thought it would be cute if they snapped his picture out in the park. And it was.





Here's a closer look at Mr. Charming sans balloons. You're grinning like a loon, aren't you?






Five little sweet balls of fluff were born on our pond, earlier this summer. I didn't have the lighting or the lens for this but they were still irresistible to me.





Not quite so cute right now but these babies are going to go through a beautiful transformation before long.





Okay, so I'm cheating a bit here. These aren't really all that young but they are baby roses. The blooms were profuse, this year. The plant was a Mother's Day gift from my son a few years back. I'll hate to leave this behind when I move.





Judging by his adult plumage, I don't think this guy was all that much of a baby either but he acted helpless and wasn't overly fearful of me and my camera. My guess was full grown but still with a sense of entitlement, like.. you know - a teenager.





Bunnies are not the smartest creatures on the planet (except for Maggie Mays' sweeties, of course), but they are among the cutest. This little one was nibbling grass in my front yard, one morning. I took a few photos through the glass then dared to open the door and step outside. Of course the rabbit stood stock still, rendering itself invisible. So what you're looking at is a picture of grass only. There is no bunny to be seen here. Let's move along.






Frank and I had just been to see the house that we ultimately bought when he spotted this turtle by the side of the road. She kept a wary eye on me while I snapped a photo from a respectable distance. You don't want to disturb a mama while she's laying her eggs.






I heard a few odd vocalizations while walking with Benny, one day. I couldn't recognize them as any of the familiar birds I generally hear and see each day. Eventually I found the source - this young blue jay calling for its mama. It sounded nothing like the typical adult blue jay calls. It won't be much longer before this passive little guy becomes a loud, boisterous and bold bird.






On to my favourite non domesticated animal - the furry little bandits who have taken up permanent residence in my heart. My neighbour, Caroline called me over to see these quintuplets (the fifth one was further out on a limb) playing in the tree, visible from her back yard. Mama was off somewhere - probably getting a much needed rest from her rambunctious kits.






Tell me, could it get any cuter than this?






All together now... awwwww!





And because I can never get enough of them, I have one short video of a couple of the kits playing on the branch.

More photos in a few days.

Minky Business

A few weeks ago, I took my morning walk and stopped at the dam as I usually do to see if there were any interesting creatures to photograph.



A crow family was hanging around - each perched in various spots. Some were on the fence which surrounds the dam area and others were in nearby tree branches. Still others were in flight.





A mallard rested on a concrete block while she watched her ten ducklings swimming the the water at the base of the dam.





A lovely sandpiper skittered about along the top of the slope in search of something to eat. There were also more ducks, gulls, sparrows and the occasional appearance of the kingfisher.

Suddenly, the gulls began screeching as only they can do. The adult crows were also kicking up an enormous fuss. Ducks at the top of the dam swam further into the lake and the sandpiper and kingfisher made themselves scarce.





Gulls and crows began dive-bombing an area of the water. I could see a vague shadow moving underneath the surface. I wondered what could have caused such a commotion in the avian community.. and then it surfaced...





The mink is a fierce little creature. Most of the birds in the area were good flyers and not likely at risk but that wasn't the case yet for the ducklings below the dam.





Last year, the mink briefly considered going after a raccoon kit in distress. As soon as it noticed me at that time, it reconsidered the risk and left almost immediately. I figured the same thing would happen as soon as he saw me this time but I was wrong. Perhaps he was particularly hungry. I'd been watching this set of ten ducklings grow for a few weeks by now and I didn't want the mink to get one of "my" babies.





The mink glanced at me and didn't back down. I kicked the fence in front of me to remind him that I was still far bigger and that he might be risking too much by going after one of the ducklings who were still swimming innocently in the water below. I envisioned him going into the water and grabbing one from underneath. I kicked the fence again.

He saw the ducklings and he was not to be deterred.





He made his way down the slope while crows and gulls continued their screaming. Mama duck began herding her wee ones and the mink disappeared underwater nearby. I didn't want to watch.





The crows had not taken their eyes off of him and I let them keep vigil for me.

I took my camera for a full circuit around the pond and returned to the spot about fifteen minutes later. All was calm. The mink was nowhere in sight.




Glancing down, I saw the ducklings on one of the concrete posts. I took a quick count. You can count them yourself, if you like. I'm sure you already have. I don't know what happened with the mink but all ten ducklings were safe and sound.

It was a bit of drama that turned out well for our feathered friends. Not so much for the mink. Still I felt honoured to have witnessed one of the many events which is played out in nature every day.


More photos in a few days.

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.

Where'd You Get Those Peepers?

On Wednesday morning, I made it most of the way around the pond without seeing anything particularly interesting. Just before I turned past the final spot where the path follows closely to the water, I saw some women and very young children watching the ducks. They had a cute little dog with them and I wandered over to pet him when I noticed what looked like two oversized bumblebees skittering around on the pavement by the shore - and they were peeping their fuzzy little heads off.

Peep, Peep, Peep, PEEP!

The group had been watching them for a while. There were only a few mallards in the water and only one of those was female. Was she the mother? The ducklings looked healthy but were clearly beginning to sort of imprint on we humans - looking for and following our movement.

The other folks soon moved on (their little girl was frightened every time one of these miniature fluff balls approached her) and I was left wondering what to do with them.

I kept trying to put them back into the water, in hopes that they'd swim out a distance and that the female would come for them. Every time I placed them in the water, they'd just turn right around and hop out, and waddle up to me. And peep.

Peep, Peep, Peep, PEEP!

The adult female appeared to be totally disinterested in the little ones and soon departed along with the drakes.

I placed them in a shady, protected spot and rushed home (less than a minute away) to phone Nicky. She's the Animal Whisperer of our neighbourhood - the one who helped rescue the orphaned raccoons from under my deck, and the geese which were dying from an oil spill in this same pond a year ago, spring.

She said she'd meet me at the pond. I returned a few minutes later to find them in the water, but as soon as they saw me, they paddled their way out and hurried toward me.

A few people came and went, marveling at their supreme cuteness. One man brought me a small cardboard box in which to keep them shaded and safe until Nicky came along. Before placing them inside, I gave them each a kiss on top of their sweet, fuzzy heads and wished the very best for their survival. I know their chances are not great without a mother.

Nicky was there within the half-hour and ended up taking them home with her. She fed them mushy rabbit food and chopped up dandelions and clover. They were very hungry. The ducklings will be fine with Nicky until she can bring them to the Toronto Wildlife Centre where they will rehabilitate them and return them to the pond if and when they reach independent maturity. She'll keep me posted and I'll do likewise with you. In any event, I know they'll be in the best hands possible.

Judging by the photos I've seen on Google Images, it would appear that the ducklings were between one and three days old. Please keep these little sweeties in your best thoughts.

Meet the wee, feathered twins.

Could they possibly be any cuter?

When some folks were leaving, they rushed to try and follow them.

They almost caught up with them too!

The two of them stayed close to one another. Everywhere one went, the other followed.

This little darling became sleepy in the sunshine.

And decided to take a bit of a nap.

So of course, his brother followed suit, and did the same.

Now, I know you might be wondering just how tiny they were. To put them in perspective, that brown thing on the right is the front tip of a man's shoe.

And if you're still not certain, here's one of them nestled in my own hand.

Same hand, different duckling.

That's more than enough cuteness for one day.