All Living Things

Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace. ~ Albert Schweitzer

As the above quote might suggest, this blog post will feature some of the creatures I've encountered when out walking in the last little while. Despite their seemingly perpetual presence, there's an absence of dogs in these photos because I have enough of them to fill up their own post at some time.

What greater gift than the love of a cat. ~ Charles Dickens

Let's start with my little buddy, Oliver. He belongs to my neighbours Carol and her son, Evan but he's an occasional resident at my place when they are away. Zephyr is still at the stage where he hisses at Oliver from time to time but he allows him to lie down beside him, and is somewhat surprised to find that Oliver usually greets him with a quick nuzzle. Zeph has been a very different cat since my beautiful Skitty died in September. We both miss him intensely but Zephyr's whole personality has shifted from loner to clingy, and from quiet to excessively vocal. Even though he still treats Oliver like an intruder, I think his presence soothes him a little. It also irritates him when Oliver is in chase mode. He is a young cat, after all. Time will tell with these two.

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn. ~ Henry David Thoreau

I was passing by this storefront when a sweet little song caught my attention. I looked up to see this little cutie watching me from its perch atop the letter 'M.'

Swamps where cedars grow and turtles wait on logs but not for anything in particular; fields bordered by crooked fences broken by years of standing still; orchards so old they have forgotten where the farmhouse is. In the north I have eaten my lunch in pastures rank with ferns and junipers, all under fair skies with a wind blowing. ~ E.B. White

This guy was sunning himself down by the lake, about a month ago. I am uncertain what type of turtle he is. I had a quick email discussion about it with Karen at Living in My Valley, who is a former Peterborough resident. We figured it might be a map turtle.

Cats are connoisseurs of comfort. ~ James Herriot

I've seen this sweetie on my walks before. He always offers up his belly for a rub and of course, I always oblige.

His idea was to pluck the genes from a red siskin - a relative of the canary from South America - insert them into an ordinary yellow canary and turn it red. ~ Tim Birkhead - The Red Canary: The Story of the First Genetically Engineered Animal.

This lovely songbird is the Red Canary. It was enjoying the fresh air and sunshine of the late spring day. It wasn't the least bit wary of me or my camera. I am not keen on the idea of birds in cages but I do have very fond memories of my childhood pet budgies. There must have been about four or five of them through the years - all of them blue and every one of them named Vicky. Yup, no score for originality but top points for tradition. ;)

Ant Prune was holding one of the squirrels in her hand. 'And once a day, we have ta clean their little private parts with a Q-tip, so they'll learn ta clean themselves.' That was a visual I didn't need. ~ Margaret Stohl

How cute is this little gem? It was a questionable "rescue." I'm not sure that he was in the best of hands (aside from the hand in the photo, which is my own), but he seemed healthy and active. And I learned that he commandeered his own release just a couple of days later.

Not much goes on in the mind of a squirrel. Huge portions of what is loosely termed "the squirrel brain" are given over to one thought: food. The average squirrel cogitation goes something like this: I wonder what there is to eat. ~ Kate DiCamillo

I hope he is still doing well.

"How do geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans know when it is time to move on? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within if only we would listen to it, that tells us certainly when to go forth into the unknown." ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

This was actually snapped back in my old haunts in Mississauga, in April, while I was walking around the neighbourhood lake.

The smallest feline is a masterpiece. ~ Leonardo da Vinci

A porch kitty watching the world wander past her door.

The greatest fear dogs know is the fear that you will not come back when you go out the door without them. ~ Stanley Coren

Okay, so one dog. I'm including this guy because he has no idea how big he is. I watched him standing by the water's edge, slowly creeping up to something. He was both curious and fearful, and the latter won out. His people had to take him away to recover from the scary monster he'd encountered. He continued to watch it nervously from a distance.

I'd kiss a frog even if there was no promise of a Prince Charming popping out of it. I love frogs. ~ Cameron Diaz

This handsome specimen was his fierce nemesis.

More photos coming up next time around.

Gone Fishin'

Thank you to everyone who left such kind comments for my son, Jeffrey on my last blog post. Your good wishes, kind words and prayers are all very much appreciated.

Below are a few random photos taken over the past couple of weeks. They're accompanied by lyrics to which I thought they were suited. Please remember to click on each photo to enlarge.

A couple of weeks ago, Frank and I went fishing, not too far from his home. We drove along lovely, hilly roads to get there.

"May the trail rise up to meet you. May your heart rejoice in song. May the skies be fair above you as you journey ever on."
(Ever On ~ Dan Fogelberg)

Along the way, we happened upon a small herd of donkeys. We stopped so that I could take a few photos.

"Ill never be your beast of burden. My back is broad but its a hurting"
(Beast of Burden ~ The Rolling Stones)

We caught a few trout and a couple of perch, some of which we kept for dinner. This trout would have ordinarily been deemed too small to keep but it was already injured and bleeding so it became part of that night's dinner.

" Yes, you've been fishin' all the time. I'm a-goin' a-fishin' too. I bet your life, your lovin' wife, catch more fish than you. Any fish bite, got good bait. Here's a little somethin' I would like to relate. Any fish bite, you've got good bait. I'm a-goin' a-fishin', yes, I'm goin' a-fishin', I'm a-goin' a-fishin' too."
(Fishing Blues ~ Henry Thomas)

We stood on a narrow, rocky shore. Occasionally, we waded into the water to steer clear of brush while casting.

"I want to feel myself go under, baby, wWhere the deepest river bleeds. I want to feel it pull me under, darlin' until it drops me to my knees. I want to know that I can find you when there's no more eyes to see. In this cool, clear water runnin' you'll come runnin' to me"
(Cool, Clear Water ~ Bonnie Riatt)

As the day wore on, I decided to wander up the road to see what was around. The sun was dropping low in the sky, casting lovely, golden light on all that it touched.

"Like a tree in the meadow wind, she will bend to take you in now. Makes no difference where you been. That's the way she feels about you. That's the way she feels about you."
(Sunlight ~ The Youngbloods)

A chorus of honking led me to a flock of geese, which gathered in the sparkling sunlit water.

"When we arrived on Gillis Mountain you could see for miles in the light. The whitecaps on the sea of blue sparkled like diamonds in the night."
(Gillis Mountain ~ The Rankin Family)

A couple of Canada Geese took to flight.

"Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic."
(Into the Mystic ~ Van Morrison)

Along the shoreline, where trees meet the water, golden sunlight dazzled my eyes from behind the trees.

"Silent sunlight, welcome in There is work I must now begin."
(Silent Sunlight ~ Cat Stevens )

Across the road, I found this fence, charming it its pastoral setting.

"Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze, and listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees. Send me off forever but I ask you please, don't fence me in." (Don't Fence Me In ~ Bing Crosby)

Once back home, it was time to take Benny for his second walk of the day. Here he is being his usual, adorable self.

"Obedient and true-loyal through and through. A fuzzy reflection of you. If you are hurt, I will lick it. If you feed me, I won't forget it. If I mess up, just rub my nose in it. You let me out to sniff around, do my business and stretch out, and I always come running for you. I look cute at the end of your leash - your adorable beast." (Your Adorable Beast ~ Bobby Bare Jr.)

The fresh spring water rushes along the rock-strewn creek, babbling and bubbling as it does.

" Like a rock, I was strong as I could be. Like a rock, nothin ever got to me. Like a rock, I was something to see. Like a rock."
(Like A Rock ~ Bob Seger)

Much of our walk hugged the edge of the creek. At that magical hour, when the sun was low in the sky, this tree marked the edge of enchantment.

"And it goes on and on, watching the river run. Further and further from things that we've done, leaving them one by one. And we have just begun watching the river run. Listening, learning and yearning to run, river, run."
(Watching the River Run ~ Kenny Loggins"

Taken from beneath the limb of a cedar, these branches appeared to be gnarly figures dancing to the music of the wind.

"There's a world far away from the one we see. There's a dream I will never let go. One thing is certainly true. This moment's for me and for you. So while there's not a thing that we can do, let's dance."
(Chris Rea ~ Let's Dance)

These tiny, yellow Trout Lilies were growing along the pathway. The flower gets its name from the similarity between its mottled leaves and the markings of the Speckled Trout.

"And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers, but all that lives is born to die. And so I say to you that nothing really matters, and all you do is stand and cry." (That's the Way ~ Led Zeppelin)

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