Kingston, Ontario -- July 22nd, 2011

We went down to Kingston for a 2-day getaway. It was at the peak of the hot spell but it was a bit cooler in Kingston so it was a little more bearable. In fact on the second day it was quite comfortable. Even so, we still looked for shade everywhere we went.

We went down to the waterfront the night we arrived.

Kingston City Hall...

We headed up to the village of Westport in the heart of the Rideau Lakes district north of Kingston.

Common Loon

Overlooking Westport village. If you're familiar with the view of Dorset (near Algonquin Park) from the fire tower lookout, it immediately comes to mind when you see Westport from this vantage point. There's a remarkable resemblance.

One of the shops in Westport has a colorful garden behind it.

After we saw the decorative butterflies and dragon flies, we saw a few real ones.

This one flew well, despite its battered wings. It's a male Blue Dasher... Thanks John.

An Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly (female)... Thanks John.

A Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly... I've seen lots of these around Oshawa this year but I've never been able to get a shot of one. They seem to fly almost constantly and when they do land it's only for a few seconds-- at least the ones I've seen. 

I hope to get a better shot of one sometime soon but for now this one will have to do. It's a start at least.

These wildflowers were on Foley Mountain (Foley "Big Hill" would be more accurate) at Westport. There were 1000s of them.

They're Woodland Sunflowers (aka Annual Sunflowers)... Thanks John. Also called "Cut & Come Again" according to the Web.

Chaffey's Locks on the Rideau River north of Kingston. The lock-master told us the "French Navy" would be coming next week. Apparently dozens of Quebecois boats were in the system and headed their way.

Jones Falls locks...

The Hotel Kenney at Jones Falls. We stopped for a turkey sandwich with scrumptious french fries.

 

Jen is a "dragon boater" so Rob & Jen were in Kingston for dragon boat races.

All ages were enjoying the races. There was a beautiful breeze and in the shade it couldn't have been any better temperature-wise.

There were lots of Mallards along the shoreline at the races, either looking for handouts or just swimming about.

And a couple other species... this is a Bufflehead duck.

It was a good getaway.

- fini -