CDP Theme Day

Umbrella-shaped gazebo

City Daily Photo Theme Day: UMBRELLAS

Given that umbrellas are not very common in rural Ontario during the winter months, I'm stretching the umbrella theme to "umbrella shape", which I am stretching even further because this gazebo is only sort-of umbrella shaped. But hey! It has ribs and the roof does protect people from inclement weather.

I am linking to CDP  HERE

Morning Watch/Cool Clicks

Ring-billed gulls, Whitby Harbour

What are they looking at? (I haven't a clue - there was nothing there!) And look at the gulls below the fence waiting for their turn to sit on the top rail!

I am linking to Cool Clicks HERE.

K/Alphabe-Thursday

Looking southerly on a kold Kanadian morning near Huntsville

K is for KEEN on KOLD KANADIAN sunrises
(with apologies to those readers who kan't abide intentionally misspelled words)

While I kan't  say I enjoy extremely kold January mornings, I am keen on Kanada's winter sunrises.

Looking easterly

Last Sunday my husband and I traveled north to Algonquin Provincial Park and were nearly in Hunstsville when the sun rose.

Looking westerly

The sky was awash with kolour in all four directions, but unfortunately I took photos of only three. What was I thinking?! So here's what the sky looked like when we reached Huntsville:

Looking southerly

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Great Horned Owl/Wild Bird

 Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus)

I was lucky and I know it.  It was a very cold day and I suspect this great horned owl was soaking up sun for warmth. A native of North and South America, the great horned owl is said to be our most common owl, but I have rarely seen one.  By the way, it's "horns" are not dangerous. They are really tufts of feathers.

Not a fussy eater, its diet consists of rabbits, small mammals, geese, herons, reptiles, amphibians and - EW!! - skunks.

High up in a pine tree

This owl and its mate have lived in this area for a few years now.  They don't build their own nests but every year take over another animal's abandoned nest. Many local birders are trying to guess in which nest they plan to raise their young this year. Perhaps they have already moved in as nesting often begins in January or February.  For sure they are thinking about togetherness, as we spied them sharing a limb in a dense area of the forest a few days ago.
I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Intense Cold/Our World/Nature Notes

Canada goose swimming in icy waters

A lone Canada goose taking a break from all the cackling and mayhem on a Lake Ontario beach...

A gazillion Canada geese

but these geese were sticking together - swimming, waddling and sleeping -  trying to hide from the wind with a wind chill factor of -29°C  (-20°F). Luckily the air warmed up a bit as the day wore on.

 Very cold

After an unseasonably mild first half of January,  the recent cold snap was a nasty surprise.  For sure I was winterized when I went outdoors with my camera - a few layers of warm clothing and a cup of cafe mocha helped a lot!

 A small portion of a gazillion scaups with a few other ducks mixed in

And it was worth being outdoors. Standing on a cliff over Lake Ontario, I witnessed the landing of a huge flock of mixed ducks - scaups, redheads and mergansers. It was a sight to see as they slipped into the bay,  then headed towards deeper water in long ribbons.

A scaup "invasion"?

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

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Scavenger Hunt

1. Lace

True, this is not a lace made of fabric. In fact, I don't know what it's made of, perhaps it's scrollwork cut from wood. It edges the roof of a cottage next to a woods, and  seems quite appropriate there. Isn't the shadow magical?

2. Bling

For the most part, I'm not into bling unless it's created by Nature.  I read somewhere that "bling"  originally meant the imaginary sound created by light reflecting off a diamond.  I'm hoping you think the light sounds just as amazing reflecting off ice crystals.

3. Wood

 This tree stump now sits on a Lake Ontario beach.

4. Fuzzy

I have grown quite fond of these fuzzy critters. These two muskrats seem easy going and are quite friendly with the local Canada geese and mallards.

5. Fabric

I'm not sure what the first Maple Leaf flags were made of but this appears to be a polyester knit.

I am linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt HERE

Icy Cold/Top Shot

Looking out over Lake Ontario

January and it was cold this week - 'nuff said?

I am linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Jackson's Point/Weekend Reflections

January warm spell

These photos were taken where a river empties into Lake Simcoe, Georgina, Ontario.

Sailboat waiting for spring

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

January Thaw/Cool Clicks

Gull taking a sip of cool, cool water

I am linking to Cool Clicks HERE.

J/Alphabe-Thursday

Not my car (sigh)

J is for JAUNTY JAGUAR

No, not my car, but it could be...if someone out there offered to buy it for me. Okay, only kidding as I hear the maintenance and insurance bills are ridiculously high.

Front end

But it would be fun to tootle about town in warm weather, don't you think? For a few minutes - as I was playing in Photoshop Elements (see below) - I imagined I owned this car.  Now I'm ready to give it up.

Photoshop Elements and I had some fun

As Marshall McLuhan is supposed to have said: "The car has become an article of dress without which we feel uncertain, unclad, and incomplete in the urban compound." Do you agree?

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Snowy Owl/Wild Bird

Male snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) atop a barn roof

There's no surprise how this guy got his name, is there? He's as white as snow. He's currently visiting a central Ontario field for the winter and in the spring will return to the Arctic to raise a family.

Snowy owl about to take off

He allowed me to get quite close before flapping his wings to take off for another roof close by.
I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Waiting/Our World

Many hands out along the trail...waiting

What were they waiting for?

Looking expectantly

 Still waiting

Even a little hand was  outstretched...waiting

Finally!

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

Scavenger Hunt

 1. Basket

This shopping cart is a metal basket on wheels, don't you think?

2. Park

I'm stretching this one a bit, I think. This is the Duffin Creek section of the Waterfront Trail.  It's a lovely stretch of land on Lake Ontario, and since there are benches here and there to look over the water,  I am thinking this is kind of a park. This is what it looked during our recent January thaw.

 3. Auto

This auto is actually a horseless carriage. I wonder what the first horses to see one of these thought. Hmmmm.

4. Recycle

Antique farm implements are often recycled as lawn ornaments on rural front yards. Kinda cool and definitely more fun than scrapping the metal.

 5. People watching

I was the "people watcher" watching the people watch the geese, mallards and swans.
I am linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt HERE

Sunset/Top Shot

 Geese flying over harbour

Last Saturday (not today, brrrr!) was a warm day and ended with a beautiful sky.

A longer view

I am linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Boat Docks/Weekend Reflections

Canada goose swimming among otherwise empty docks

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

Pine Martin/Cool Clicks

 Pine martin sitting on a suet feeder in among some shrubs and vines

This cutie - approximately the size of a small house cat - is related to minks, badges, otters, and weasels.

Is the coast clear yet?

Its favourite foods are rodents such as flying squirrels but it will also eat rabbits, birds and reptiles. This one has a particular fondness for suet.

I am linking to Cool Clicks HERE.

I/Alphabe-Thursday

 Swan assessing hole in the ice

I is for ICE, ICY and ICICLES

Is the mute swan wondering if its tush is too big to fit in the hole?

Icy rocks beside pier on Lake Simcoe

Here you see melting ice during last week's January thaw.

Icicles on granite, Algonquin Provincial Park in early January

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Long-tailed Duck/Wild Birds

Male and female long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis)

 Long-tailed ducks are divers, known to dive down as far as 60 metres (200 feet) to find mollusks, crustaceans and small fish.

 Female long-tailed duck

This female was fun to watch dive as I never knew where she was going to appear next. 

Male long-tailed duck

These two - as part of a large flock - are spending the winter here in central Ontario. They spend the spring and summer months in the Arctic.

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Rain NOT Snow/Our World

Melting ice and snow on a Lake Simcoe dock

Lately it has been so mild here in central Ontario that instead of snow we have been getting rain.  Saturday was so warm that a temperature record was broken.

 Boathouse seen from the dock

 There's ice under the puddle but I doubt it's very thick.

 Tundra swans way out on the lake

I turned around, zoomed out my point-and-shoot's lens and captured some tundra swans standing in water over ice. Aren't they funny?

 Reflections #2

The swans are spending the winter in balmy Ontario, their cold weather destination. (And YOU thought every Canadian headed for Florida or Arizona this time of year!)

 Reflections #3

I bet you can guess by their name that they are visiting from the Arctic where they breed.

Reflections #4

The swan on the right is a juvenile so not totally white yet.

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