Bathing Bird/Wild Bird

Young blue jay on edge of birdbath

Hmmm. I could tell you about this bird's bath...or simply show you.

 Encounter with a big, BIG frog

A little privacy, please!

Splish-splash I was taking a bath....

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Reesor Pond/Nature Notes

A great birder spot

Reesor Pond is a man-made pond that's less than a decade old but still very alive with wildflowers and birds.

Largest square: a savannah sparrow about to take a grasshopper to it's young.

Moving clockwise: Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) still in bloom but here just about to fade;  pasture thistle (Cirsium pumilum) in various stages of bud and bloom; gray-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) also in various stages of bloom; highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum) - not a true cranberry - turning yellow and then red; and goldenrod (Solidago ssp.).

Please note: I include botanical names because so many common names names change from region to region but botanical names remain the same.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Singing Bowl/Our World

Reflection in Singing Bowl, Alton Mills Art Centre

Representing the heavenly body Venus, this bowl my Marlene Hilton Moore is said to have been spun from a single sheet of sacred bronze metal.

The bowl does not actually sing, but represents the meditative aspect of traditional singing bowls. The artist believes the size amplifies that connection without shouting, and the colour (golden yellow) carries the promise of enlightenment and happiness.

Another view of the reflection

 Brown on the outside surface represents earth, which connects the meditative moment to all things natural.

More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.

Floating on Air/Sunday Best

Bubbles are not just for kids!

I love it that on one side of the bubble, the scene is upside down!

Chasing bubble with my lens

Another view of my house and garden

I am linking to Your Sunday Best at A Rural Journal

Day in the City/Camera Critters

 Returning from  the city

Asphalt versus green grass...hmmmm.

 Coming in for a landing

Ah!, WATER! Cool, cool water.

Gotta soak those weary feet

To see many more critters, visit Misty Dawn at CAMERA CRITTERS 

EG Windows/Weekend Reflections

Sunset on sports complex windows

I love the lines that divide the sunset reflection into panels.

More windows facing westerly

To enjoy reflections from around the world, visit James at Weekend Reflections HERE

Watering Hole/Rural Thursday

So refreshing!

I am linking to

Rural Thursday

J/Alphabe-Thursday

 JOE-PYE weed (Eupatorium) in bloom

It's late JULY and local wetlands are beginning to turn a dusky pink where stands of JOE-PYE weed bloom attracting butterflies and other insects.

A field of Joe-pye weed

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Green Heron/Birding

 Green heron pose #1

Looking at the heron from this direction you are probably wondering why this is called a GREEN heron when it looks so rusty coloured. This bird's back is greenish...but it wouldn't turn around to show you.

Green heron pose #2

Here's another view but still not showing its back. Maybe next time.

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

July Garden/Nature Notes

Samplings from my garden in late July

There are many red blossoms and a few blue in my gardens right now.

Largest square: monarch sipping nectar from garden phlox (Phlox paniculata). coleus (an annual),  firetail (Persicaria amplexicaulis 'firetail'), red daylily,  bee on oops! a plant I cannot remember its name, and blue balloon flower (Platicondon grandiflorus).

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Fort Willow/Our World

 Entrance into Fort Willow, Barrie, Ontario

Notice the British flag inside the palisade. At the end of the War of 1812 (actually 1812-15), this fort was a supply depot that helped  ensure that Canada maintain the geographical  boundaries it has today.

Fort Willow was strategically located, part of the Nine Mile Portage between Lake Simcoe and Willow Creek, which empties into the Nottawasaga River and eventually into Lake Huron.

 Bateau

In the spring of 1814, British soldiers arrived to fell trees and build bateaux - stable,  flat-bottomed boats suitable for carrying heavy cargo down creeks and rivers.

During the War if 1812, this area was known as the northwest sector and British forces were concerned that American soldiers might try to enter  Upper Canada (now Ontario) through the "back door" - Lake Huron.

The fort included eight log structures, but only part of the site has been restored in an attempt to blend the historic site with a conservation area (Minesing Wetlands).

 Three Sisters garden

Planting squash, corn and beans together was a traditional First Nation strategy.  The first sister - corn - grows strong and tall, a place for the third sister - beans - to climb on. Meanwhile, beans fixed nitogen to the soil providing fertilizer.
The second sister? Squash, which provided shade, keeping the roots moist and cool.  Also the prickly squash leaves discouraged hungry predators from helping themselves to the ripened corn.

Entrance from parking lot

More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.

Thistle/Sunday Best

Bull thistle

Prickly and invasive, the bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is not popular with most humans. If you have ever stepped with bare feet on its first year basal rosette - as I have - you can guess at least one reason why.

But insects love them!

I am linking to Your Sunday Best at A Rural Journal

Wood Nymph/Camera Critters

Common wood nymph

Gotta love a butterfly that wi;; pose for the camera!

To see many more critters, visit Misty Dawn at CAMERA CRITTERS 

Ontario Fields/Rural Thursday

Outside Zephyr, Ontario

Ontario is dry and could use some rain, but some of our fields are still quite green.

I am linking to

Rural Thursday

I/Alphabe-Thursday

 Christmas in July?

You're correct. This ICICLE photo is from my archives.  It sure has been hot here - and maybe where you are too - so I thought you might like to see something cool and refreshing. Way cool, don't you think?

ICICLES at sunset

What? Too cool?  Well, what about this?

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Mid July/Nature Notes

York Regional Forest last weekend

Butterfly sipping nectar from dogbane at the edge of the forest.  In fact, all these photos were taken at the edge of the forest while I waited for an indigo bunting to appear. (FYI: He did show up but at too far a distance to get a good photo.)

Moving clockwise: soapwort (Saponaria officinalis), bladder campion (Silene cucubalus), wild grass. speedwell (Veronica) and lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria).

Please note that I include the botanical names because common names vary so widely.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Sculpture/Our World

 Head to Ear

Here you see three sculptures that are currently outside the Alton Mill Arts Centre in Caledon, Ontario, which my husband and I visited a couple of weeks ago.

Head to Ear by Marlene Hilton Moore: In this bronze sculpture, an ear fragment is situated near lips underscoring the concept of listening.

 Head in the Ocean

Also by Marlene Hilton Moore: Two bronze heads  joined to form a vessel listening to the sound of a waterfall, restoring and replenishing the psyche and reminding its viewers to live in harmony with nature.

Fallen

Fallen by Floyd Elzinga: This stainless steel and steel piece represents brokenness. A right bud (which you cannot see in this photo) implies a hope that can never be realized.

More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.

Wednesday Sunset/Sunday Best

Barn overlooking a valley

Don't you love it when nature dips her paintbrush into her pots of orange and yellow?
I am linking to Your Sunday Best at A Rural Journal

Chiquita/Critters

 Long-haired chihuahua

Chiquita is still a puppy, a little less than a year old. Isn't she a pretty girl?

Watching kids

She's a good girl too!

To see many more critters, visit Misty Dawn at CAMERA CRITTERS 

Private Pond/Weekend Reflections

 Yellow iris

This photo was actually taken nearly a month ago but I just discovered them in a folder in my computer. OOPS!

Another view

To enjoy reflections from around the world, visit James at Weekend Reflections HERE

Cottage Country/Rural Thursday

 On the road to Lake Rosseau

When it's hot and muggy, Toronto's Cottage Country is a great place to be!

AH!

I'll have a tall glass of lemonade, please.

I am linking to

Rural Thursday

H/Alphabe-Thursday

 House wren assessing whether this is - or is not - the perfect nesting place

Last week, a house wren moved into our neighbourhood. Into our garden, actually.

 A  longer view

At first the wren was all alone. It appeared to be calling out hour after hour for a mate to join it:  Look what I found! I'll be a great mom (or dad).

 Cleaning out the former nest

On speculation, it began house cleaning. Earlier this year, a chickadee family occupied this dwelling and left the place sooo untidy!

However, last July a house wren lived here. (Hmmm. Could this have been the same one?) Truth be told, the chickadees also had  to clean up before moving in.

Happiness is singing your heart out

Well, cleanliness must be next to Godliness, as the saying goes: Yoohoo! Are you out there? The house is ready!

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Cardinal/World Bird

 Male cardinal with crumbs on his beak

I have never been so lucky before to meet a cardinal so willing to pose for me. Yesterday, this male was clearly not terribly afraid of me, though he was keeping  his eye on my camera.

 Munching on a tasty seed

The reason? My husband and I were visiting a conservation area where some visitors provided yummies for the birds, chipmunks, squirrels, and - yes - even raccoons.

The seeds were in the sun. Isn't it interesting how some of the cardinal's feathers appear to be yellow? The sun was very bright.

 Hmmm. Is this seed as tasty and fresh as the last one?

I have never thought of cardinals as bullies, but there were two squawking male red-winged blackbirds waiting in line that didn't enter the seed tray until the cardinal was gone.

OH YUM! Big seeds are the best!

I am linking to World Bird Wednesday.