Poems by Heart

It is spring again. The Earth is like a child that knows poems by heart. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Springtime - when everything awakens after a long winter's sleep. A couple of weeks back, I took advantage of the warm weather by heading out to walk whenever I could. All sorts of creatures had the same idea.


One day, early last summer, I ran into a man who was allowing his pair of pet snakes to sun themselves on the rocks.






Well, I encountered him again this year, and he had one of his Ball Pythons with him.






Kids kept stopping by to get a closer look.






Some opted to try him on for size.






This little cutie was proudly showing off his new friend to his dad.





On to other, less slithery creatures...



The ducks are enjoying the new growths of spring.






It looks as if this guy just quit smoking.






This mallard is sailing free over Lock 19.






Robins have been back in the area for quite a while now, but this is the first one who has held still long enough for me to photograph it. Thanks, little one.






A starling has found a nice little glass house in which to build her nest.






A rather small snapping turtle was keeping her eye on things while hanging out near the water's edge. I wondered if she was laying eggs or just having a relaxing moment.






It was a treat to see this little mink pop up on the rocks with its catch. She watched me for a few seconds then disappeared back into the water with her meal.






My neighbour's cat often hangs around my place. He thinks my door is an extension of his own place and just steps right in when he gets the opportunity. Make yourself at home, Oliver.

That's it for today. More photos coming up whenever I get around to them - which is not so often, these days. Thanks for sticking by.

Flora & Fauna

I would request that my body in death be buried not cremated, so that the energy content contained within it gets returned to the earth, so that flora and fauna can dine upon it, just as I have dined upon flora and fauna during my lifetime. ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson

No surprises here. This post is all about some of the plants and critters I've seen around town recently. I have one photo collection of just dogs but that's for another time. For now, enjoy some flora and fauna - not necessarily in any orda.


I used to think of robins as the first sign of spring but over the years, I believe the red-winged blackbird became its true harbinger. Still, there's no denying the robin is a lovely bird to see and to hear throughout the summer.






Here's that same handsome specimen, a little bit closer.






Over the past several weeks, through June and July, I've been doing some enumerating work which required a lot of walking around my neighbourhood. All those hours without a camera made me antsy for another walk, one evening. Throughout the previous week, I kept passing this overgrown thistle which shot up out of the sidewalk along the side of the road. On this evening, I decided to go back its location and take a few shots.






The sun was low and it gave life to its rich colours.






Pretty beautiful for a thorny old weed.






My neighbour's beautiful cat, Oliver having a short rest in the warming sunshine, between bouts of virgorous play.






This makes me think of that Canadian actor.. what's his name? Oh yeah, Lyin' Gosling(s).






It was a hot day. A perfect day for a frozen treat. And this little cutie somehow scored an ice cream cone of his very own. He sat there on the fence for a long time, enjoying every last bit of it. This was taken through the window, three floors and half a yard away.






A pretty iris growing in a neighbourhood yard.






I was walking home from the park one evening and this sweet, friendly kitty demanded that I stop and give her some attention. She started speaking to me as I approached, and head-butted my hand as I reached down to pet her. She staked her claim by lying on my foot lest I try to depart too soon. We had a good, long chat and snuggle, and then she returned to her driveway to await the next cat lover.






And here's my own sweet Zephyr with my son Alex, who visited me in July. Both of my boys were rather tired.

More photos coming up before you know it.

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.

Winter is Dead

She turned to the sunlight

And shook her yellow head,

And whispered to her neighbor:

"Winter is dead."

~ A.A. Milne

Winter is dead.

How do I know this? Well, I don't really but everywhere around me, there are sure signs of spring.


Signs like the ubiquitous robin and other warmer weather birds heard singing for their mates. I snapped this image with a short lens, through all sorts of twigs which were partly obscuring a branch fairly high above me. I couldn't resist the robin's cheery song. Yup, I should have put the camera in video mode but alas, I did not.







It's March. In Canada, that means that we're never sure whether we'll need the shovel or the rake, so why not keep both handy?







The kids don't care about the above dilemma. They're gung ho to dig in the snow or in the earth. I suspect these toys might come out at any time during the year. They were at the same house as the rake and shovel.







Another sign of spring is when the mallards become rather possessive of their mates, fending off other potential suitors. Of course, an even clearer sign is that there is open water in which to do that.







It's March and that means that St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner. And on the Sunday before the 17th, Peterborough gives the GREEN light for the St. Paddy's Day Parade. I became aware of the event with plenty of time to plan attending. The route takes it to within a couple of blocks of my place. Judging by the recent Santa Clause parade, I estimated how long it should have taken to make its way here. And I was way off. I missed most of it but caught the tail end.







Its few remaining minutes (about 15) still brought some interesting characters my way. These guys were from the nearby town of Hastings where they run an educational theme park called Blades of Glory.







Cars and drivers, big and small were all decked out with the greenery of the day.







These are the pipers and drummers from The Rogues of Northumberland.







This girl did her own personal version of an Irish jig. I wonder if she kept it up throughout the whole parade route.







And this adorable fashionista stopped to pose for me, and throw some sloppy doggie kisses my way. Smooch!

That's it for now. I've spent the last couple of weeks totally flattened by a nasty flu bug but I'm very much on the mend now, and have been getting out for walks more often. This means more photos coming up before too long. Until then, I hope you've enjoyed this emergence of spring.

Conscious of Our Treasures

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.
~ Thornton Wilder

I find treasures - large or small, almost every single time I go out walking with my camera. Below are a few of those which have caught my eye over the past few weeks.


The trees have already experienced their full blooms and have settled into the leafy shades of green for the summer. This is one of my favourite areas of the park caught at the hight of blossom season. I will admit to having Photoshopped this image to remove the unsightly trash and recycle cans from the left hand side in front of the fence. There was also the beginning of a floating island taking shape but the florescent orange balls bobbing in the pond also looked wrong for this scene. If you'd like to see how it looked before I removed these things, keep on scrolling.





Which of the two photos do you prefer - the one with the original distractions or the one where I cheated?





Geese are always a treat to see whether they're paring off for nesting season..





...or just stretching to greet the day.





On one of Frank's visits here, he noticed this fuzzy-headed little cutie swimming around all by himself. I believe he's a juvenile hooded merganser.





Up close and personal with a delicate, white blossom.





Way down at the bottom of the dam, this little sandpiper whistles his little song while rummaging around for insects.





My neighbour, friend and walking buddy, Caroline spotted these very tiny wildflowers (or weeds) in the grass at the park. Each bloom wasn't really any larger than an appleseed. You can tell how little they are compared to those blades of grass which surround them. If anyone knows what they're called, please tell me?





Before the leaves came out, this lovely robin was enjoying the dried berries from last year's harvest. You can see that some of the leaves were just beginning to bud. This was taken toward the end of April.

I have lived in this home for 29 years. Coyotes have been in the area for at least 15 of those years. I walk the parks regularly, as you know. In all these years, when everyone else has seen coyotes numerous times, I have yet to encounter one. I've always been rather bummed about that.

I was walking along the path one afternoon. A couple of people told me that they'd seen one hanging around for the last few days and he'd been spotted as recently as in the past fifteen minutes. I walked around the pond once.

Nothing.

I walked around a second time and glanced to my right, just on the other side of the fence when I thought I saw slight movement on a rather large rock. I stopped to see what might be on the rock. That's when the rock stood up and looked at me with the most beautiful piercing eyes. I took a step toward the fence and raised my camera. This made the coyote a bit nervous and he moved deeper into the brush. I followed him with my camera as he headed down toward the pond. But he stopped briefly and looked back at me before continuing. He allowed me to take a photo.


This was my greatest treasure, that day. What a wonderful gift from a gorgeous creature. It's not a great image, having shot it through a chain link fence and various twigs and branches, but I was just thrilled to see this handsome creature, let alone get a photograph of him. Thank you, beautiful beast.

Word has gone around that shortly after that day, this wonderful animal was seen struggling with a serious injury. There was speculation that he'd been hit by a car or possibly shot (I don't want to believe the latter about our neighbourhood). I'd seen Police and Animal Services in and around the park on many occasions but they'd all been very closed-mouthed about the purpose of their business. A couple of days later, my neighbour, Caroline heard a distinct gunshot at around five in the morning. I wrote to my community Counsellor Pat Saito and asked her straight out if the coyote had been destroyed. She replied that Toronto Wildlife Services had been trying to catch and treat the coyote but that she knew nothing further. She said that her staff will find out and let me know. A few days later, one of her staff members followed up with a "we're still awaiting a response" kind of email. To date, I have still not heard further nor has the coyote been spotted by anyone I've talked to.

I'm hoping for the best for that beautiful treasure.

More photos in a few days.