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.

The Sun Pours Down Like Honey

As promised, I'm going to post a few photos of our new digs.

I've spent the last ten days up here and each morning, I fall in love with our surroundings a little bit more. The sunrises unfold with their unique mystery each day - changeable with clear skies, clouds, fog and mist. I should be sleeping but first light, along with the family of local blue jays call to me more often than not.

Soon, there will be more chaos around here than I care to imagine. We'll be extending one side of the house for an addition which will include an enlargement of an existing bedroom, an additional bedroom, office area, washroom and closet. That disruption will probably take us well into the autumn though I'm probably being naive as most people who are about to endure renovations tend to be, and it may last into the winter months before the new portion is livable. In any event, I'm enjoying the peace for a few more days before I return to my townhouse in the city, and continue readying it for sale.

The photos below were all taken last week. I have dozens more which I've snapped since then but those are going to have to wait until I have a few spare moments to upload, sort through and select some to post. With all that is going on, that's going to take a while. For now, I hope you enjoy these offerings.



Despite our east-facing view, we still enjoy some pleasant sunsets from the light which reflects from behind. This was taken from the dock - a view of the land across the bay.




Stepping back a bit, we bring the dock into view, along with the purple martin house which remains unoccupied at this time. You can see that we have neighbours nearby. That's their boat off to the right. Frank is still in the process of finding the boat which will take him out into these beautiful waters where the fish are whispering his name.




Standing at the living room window, this was the first sunrise I witnessed. There have been many more beauties since then.




Speaking of beauties, this little gemstone with wings is a regular visitor at the feeder. He and at least three others provide a steady flow of humming, thrumming wings through the daylight hours. They're seemingly fearless of our presence, sometimes hovering right in front of our faces.




They do pause and relax for several seconds at a time.




On a different misty morning, the sun poured down like honey. (Thank you, Leonard Cohen)




With windows on both sides of the house, we get decent light throughout the day. This is morning light just hitting the kitchen. Please excuse the cluttered counters - we're still in setup mode.




A cheap plastic bowl, some fresh fruit and the morning sunlight.

I'll have more photos coming up in a few days but they'll be previously scheduled posts from before the move. Thanks always for visiting.