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.

The Soft Laughter of April

Our spring has come at last with the soft laughter of April suns and shadow of April showers. 

~Byron Caldwell Smith

If I didn't hurry up and post again soon, you'd all think it was still winter in my world.

It isn't.

In fact, it has turned into lovely spring weather.

At least for now.


A couple of weeks back, Carol Anne and I took a day trip into Port Perry, Ontario - less than an hour from home. The day started off sunny, warm and perfectly lovely.






The best part about being a passenger is the opportunity for drive-by shootings - in this case, of a barn which caught my eye.






We arrived at Port Perry just in time to have a bit of a wander before lunch.

After feeding our faces, we looked around at some of the local shops. It's not a large town so we soon ran out of shopping spots and instead, zigged and zagged down a couple of side streets.






One of those streets led us to Ozzy, this adorable eight week old French Bulldog pup.
Correction: Both Theresa and Daryl indicated that they believe that Ozzy is a Boston Terrier. Mine was a guess. I stand corrected. :)






He was irresistible, and he got lots of pats and belly rubs in whilst chewing on fingers and shoes. I managed one last photo of him in the middle of a good shake.






As clouds began to gather, we were indecisive about setting out for a walk which would take us farther from the car. We stuck to the nearby waterfront of Lake Scugog.






It turned out to be the right choice. We knew that rain was expected and those dark clouds approached rather quickly.






There's something beautiful about dark, gloomy skies - especially if you aren't far from shelter.






By now the wind had also begun to pick up so we took that as our clue to get to the car and head home.






Five minutes into the drive, and the windshield looked like this.






But all of that rain and subsequent sunshine soon gave us new growth like this.






And like this.






And this.






And now, when the sun begins to set, the newly-budded trees are ablaze with colour and life once again.

Spring has indeed sprung.