A Fine Autumnal Day and Posts of the Week

With this post, I'm taking one of my steps back in time to this past autumn. I have a few photos which I took back at my old place and I have yet to share them. I've been incredibly inconsistent blog-wise these past several months and generally less organized than usual. The southern hemisphere is heading into autumn soon so just like a broken clock which tells the right time twice a day, my post is current somewhere.

It was, as I have said, a fine autumnal day; the sky was clear and serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance. The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet.

~ Washington Irving

The leaves that I saw, this past autumn didn't appear to be quite as vivid as years gone by. They were still lovely though - especially when reflected in the pond water. Most of these photos were taken in Mississauga during October, while I was preparing to move.







Getting up close and personal with a sunflower.







Here's the one exception to the location of these images. This was snapped when I was out walking with Benny at Frank's old place. We were in town for a family wedding. It's salmon roe which had leaked out of a recently caught female.








A pumpkin bravely faces its fate. Hallowe'en was just around the corner.







What's autumn without the lovely hues of potted mums? Beautiful in shades of yellow...








Orange...








and purple.

The leaves may have been more subtle this year, but the colours in general were beautiful.

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And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if your blog post is named as a POTW.

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A GOOD READ

Ice Fishing in America
by Betsy
at What Makes You Think I Have Cats?


The Biggest Surprise
by Michael
at Michael Manning.TV

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PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Evidence of Love
by Lisa
at Lisa Gordon Photography

Mesa Arch
by Scott
at Just Used Pixels



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JUST PLAIN ALL AROUND GOOD


A Thailand Beach Surprise
by Reena
at Missing Moments

Favourite Things
by Marianne
at Under Wide Suffolk Skies

The Scale of Things
by Bimbimbie
at Bimbimbie Plus

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YOU'LL LAUGH

I Am Claiming My Divine Rights
by Anvilcloud (with Sue's permission)
at The AC is On


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READERS' CHOICE

Recommended by: TexWisGirl
Betty and the Super Bowl
by Kathy
at Kathy Goes A Ramblin'



Recommended by: Linda
I Hear the Train A-Comin'
by Montanagirl
at Montanagirl

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

Did Somone Say Salmon?

For several weeks between mid-August and late-September, this was a very common sight at the Goodyear Dam on Bowmanville Creek, just a short walk from Frank's place.


Dozens of Chinook salmon (intermingled with a few trout) wait near the base at the fish ladder as they regain some strength and determination to make their way upstream to spawn. I recently posted about the ladder here, and at that time, indicated that I would tell you about the salmon transfer that took place at the dam, this year.

Human intervention was required as so many of the Chinooks have outgrown the fish ladder which was originally constructed for significantly smaller trout. The hope was to transfer as many salmon as possible before the end of September (their final number of transferred fish totaled 5,540 which exceeded their goal of 5,000) and then start construction on the new, improved and larger ladders.

Funds and time have posed a problem, and now the new ladders will not be in place before next summer. That's okay as far as the spring trout run goes as they're still able to use the old ladders. Hopefully the new ones will be in place for next autumn's salmon.

You're probably wondering how it is that people go about sending 20 to 30 pound (9 - 14kg) salmon up a dam. I had no idea, myself and so I headed over to the creek to watch the volunteers at work. Lucky for you, I brought my camera with me. Did you honestly expect otherwise?


Along the way, I noticed that these men were transferring the salmon in a different way - home to the dinner table.





Others were not going to be allowed to transfer them anywhere. They were caught fishing without a proper license and their vehicles and fishing equipment might well have been confiscated because of it.

But back to the transfer.



Dozens of volunteers came out on various days to help with the process. Before school began in September, many of those helpers were kids. They worked tirelessly to net, hold and carry fish that probably weighed about twenty to thirty percent of their own body weight. This photo was snapped in late August when the air and water were considerable warmer.





It was a much easier catch for this guy than for the young girls. He seemed to be having a pretty good time.





Another one nabbed.





Volunteers worked together to transfer the fish from the net into a sack.





Frank guesstimates this one to be at least 25 pounds (11kg)





Once the salmon is bagged, it's hooked onto a pulley to make its way to the top of the dam. Now you know what the bird seed sack was all about in the previous post.





Volunteers at the top of the dam are there to receive the fish, record the numbers and to weigh the ones they feel are particularly large.





The salmon is carefully removed from the bag, placed into a basket and passed over to waiting hands in the water at the top of the dam. The fish is held in the water for a while as it regains its equilibrium - necessary after being suspended upside down for the trip up the pulley system.

One after the other, fish are handled in this fashion and then released. I witnessed many of them eventually slide right back down the dam. Perhaps some of those had already completed the business of spawning. Perhaps they were just too exhausted to make it. I hope that most of them did though.

Sadly, these numbers only represent a fraction of the fish which were trying to make it over the dam, this year. There are simply far too many salmon - more every year. They are probably putting a dent in the trout population, which is disappointing to many - especially the trout.



And speaking of trout, the amber globes seen in the previous post was a close up of salmon eggs. The roe is often collected and kept as bait for trout fishing. When anglers are walking back to their cars with the salmon in tow, the roe will often spill out along the path behind them.

This less than two minute video shows the transfer process for one salmon from start to finish. Please keep in mind that I had a large, heavy lens on the camera, and when switched to video mode, it does not allow me to hold the camera close to observe through the viewfinder (my preferred means of snapping shots). I had to extend the camera and lens out in front of me to look through the live capture window instead. Therefore, there are a few portions which are quite blurry while I struggled to maintain focus and avoid the shakes. I apologize for that and hope you enjoy the video anyway.



More photos coming up in a few days.

October Gold

October is the golden month.

Leaves change from deep greens to yellow, gold, orange and fiery red. It's the gold tones which bring magic to the days and enchantment as the sun sets at night. Please join me for a series of golden images taken around my home, Frank's area and up near the cottage. Sit down and I'll pour you a glass of golden mulled cider to keep the chill off.

On our way up to the cottage last week, I noticed this restored railroad caboose and quickly snapped a shot through my side window - hence the glassy appearance. (please click to enlarge)

There weren't too many moments of sunshine while we were away, but occasional snippets of sunlight illuminated the trees' autumn colours. Benny and I took advantage of the cold, but dry moments and walked for a while. Rain soon forced us to head back to the cottage. (please click to enlarge)

Back home, I discovered the last rose of the season had just bloomed on the bush in front of my house. It only produces flowers for two limited growth periods each year. In late June, I usually get about a half dozen blooms at one time, and then nothing again until September, when I often see one or two buds reappear on the plant. There was just this single, lovely rose this time. (please click to enlarge)

A walk around the park revealed autumn's presence. This stem of Ash leaves had fallen and was resting on the bough of a Pine tree. (please click to enlarge)

As the late day sun began to set, it gave life to the changing trees and their brilliant reflections. Hopeful ducks swam toward me, wondering if I might have some bread, but soon realized I had nothing but my camera in hand, and a sigh on my lips. (please click to enlarge)

At Frank's place, we took our usual walks along the creek. Life is very different there through the autumn months, since the spawning salmon attract ridiculous numbers of anglers from around southern Ontario. The shores of the creeks are crowded with people trying to get their hooks into one of these huge beasts - and not always in the most ethical way. (please click to enlarge)

The salmon leap up the ladder to return to their birthplace and die. As you can see by the carcasses in the background, many don't make it. In their exhausted state, if they land in the wrong area, they often lack the strength to return to the water to try again. Others just keep trying... (please click to enlarge)

A few of the several thousand salmon trying to make their way upstream this year.

This is roe - eggs which have spilled out of a female while she was dragged away from the water's edge. Sometimes the salmon are gutted simply to acquire the eggs (which work well as bait for trout fishing) and are left to die and rot on the shores of the creek. It's a disgusting practice - particularly since a few eggs can often be coaxed out of a live fish. The creature can be returned to the water to resume her journey, none the worse for wear. (please click to enlarge)

These wonderful flowers are in full bloom along the pathway. They seemed to just appear overnight, which is quite impossible because they've grown to a height of about ten feet. From what I could gather from Google, I believe they're called Sunroot, Sunchoke or Jerusalem Artichoke. Of course they're not really an artichoke nor are they from Jerusalem. (please click to enlarge)

As evening fell, there was gold to be found in the sky above. (please click to enlarge)

Even the electric light which cast a warm, amber-toned glow on Frank's back deck provided us with yet another golden moment. (please click to enlarge)

I hope you enjoyed the tour of all things golden. More cider?