Jack’s Walk

 

©voyager, all rights reserved

This is a trail that Jack and I seldom use. In winter it’s drab and funnels the wind and in summer it’s full of mosquitoes.  Today, though, it was perfect and Jack and I had a slow wander through the unfamiliar landscape. As we approached this section of the trail the trees began reaching out from either side to meet in the middle and close us in overhead. It felt as if we were stepping into a magical tunnel that would lead us to the secret forest places where fairies and pixies live. Of course today all the magical creatures were hiding, but the sense of possibility stayed with me. It isn’t often that Jack and I go to unfamiliar places and I think we both felt a sense of wonder at this special something new.

Z Is For Zinnia.

Zinnia.

Zinnias make for wonderful summertime garden flowers, attracting all kinds of pollinators and many birds which feed on their seeds. Snails (and slugs) also seem to like them, not only the flowers but especially the seedlings. It’s kind of a spring tradition for me, sow zinnias and hand-pick snails and slugs around them every night until they grow to a certain stage or until snails estivate. This photo was taken in November, when snails are active again, and some zinnias are still standing.

Oh, what a poignant and beautiful photo! Click for full size.

© Nightjar, all rights reserved.

The Daily Bird #714.

This was yesterday: “Oh gods, I went and filled the feeder, then took Jayne on a walk around the property, and there were DOZENS of Cedar Waxwings in the apple tree. I’ve been trying to get a photo of them for years.”  This was not easy shooting, but still, oh, this was so exciting! I sat on the ground under the apple tree, and shot up. Lots of photos here, 12 of them, most below the fold. The last set is underexposed, but I was once again shooting into the sun, so it was the only way to prevent a bunch of silhouettes. They are constantly active, so most of my shots were somewhat artistic blurs. These are also birds who excel at the quick flip the moment you get a focus, so I ended up with a lot of butt shots too. These 12 were the best out of them all. Altogether, a great and grand morning, sitting under the apple and box elder maple trees, in the shade, surrounded by the soporific buzz of bees in all the blossoms. Picked a bunch of lilacs for the studio, too. Click for full size!

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Jack’s Walk

 

©voyager, all rights reserved

It’s raining today and rather than get muddy on one of our trails Jack and I decided to stay close to home and walk on the nice, clean concrete sidewalks in our own neighbourhood. We haven’t done that in a while and it was fun to check out everyone’s gardens and see what’s come up and what’s been newly planted. Yesterday we celebrated Victoria Day, and traditionally this holiday weekend is considered the safe date to plant outdoors with no risk of frost. That means that gardeners all around get busy and get their hands dirty. It also means the end of spring bulbs and I do hate to lose the tulips. They’re one of my favourite flowers and they come in so many colours, all of them bright and cheerful. To mark their ending I’m posting these beautiful tulips belonging to one of my neighbours. I think they’re a double tulip, but I don’t know the variety.

X Is For Xerophyte and Xerófito.

Xerophyte. Xerófito.

Xerophytes are drought-adapted plants, commonly found in environments where water is scarce.  An example is the cactus Opuntia ficus-indica. The fruits, seen here, are delicious but harvesting and peeling them can be quite tricky because of all the small spines, it is almost guaranteed that at least one will find its way into your skin no matter how careful you are (speaking from experience here). Bonus wasp!

The wasp looks so tiny! Click for full size.

© Nightjar, all rights reserved.

The Daily Bird #712.

Black-headed Grosbeak, click for full size. It’s always a joy to see the Grosbeaks arrive. Around here, the males are notoriously cautious and shy; they’ll usually fly off if they spot the slightest movement from me. Happily, this fellow was an exception to the rule. He didn’t care that I was leaning on the windowsill, very close indeed, and making all that clicking. He just kept on eating with enthusiasm. The last shot was his first checking out the feed situation, from there, he flew to the top of the tray hook, then on to food!

© C. Ford.