Lynde Shores CA February 15th, 2016

Family Day in Ontario. A long weekend in February that the powers-that-be felt we needed to break up the winter doldrums. I went to Lynde Shores. The parking lot was jammed. Lots of families, lots of kids. The kids love to feed the chickadees, geese, etc. So do the adults for that matter.

Things were relatively quiet. Lots of geese, a few ducks, some squirrels, a cardinal and blue jay & a bunch of chickadees, but no turkeys or deer.

No open water either. After our frigid couple days I would think even the geese are cursing the weather, waiting for spring.

"I've got you covered honey. You can relax."

A youngster talking to his parents through the railing.

Enjoying a stroll on the ice. Others were playing hockey or skating.

Ash trees marked to be cut down. Here we go again. Dutch Elm disease killed most of the elms, Chestnut blight killed chestnut trees, and now the Emerald Ash Borer is killing our Ash trees.

The process has started. They can be saved with chemical treatment, if it's detected early enough, but it costs hundreds of dollars per tree. Municipalities can't afford to save them all. I expect very few will be saved. These are fresh cuts. Tens of millions of ash trees have already been cut down in North America.

These are fresh cuts. 

This article states that about 8% to 10% of trees in our area are Ash. Almost all are probably destined to be cut down. The article is from 2013—which means it's too late for most of our Ash trees anyway.
http://www.thestar.com/life/homes/outdoor_living/2013/04/04/time_has_nearly_run_out_for_our_ash_trees.html

Interesting patterns & colors on a Birch.

You don't see many fungi in winter but there are some. This one is appropriately colored for the season.

It was about zero today. Not particularly cold but I find that I'm more sensitive to the cold than I used to be. I'm not happy about that but c'est la vie.

Warm or cold though, getting out in nature is always a joy. 

"Nature rejuvenates so quickly, so completely.  Though we often view ourselves otherwise, we are nature."                                             

 ~Jeb Dickerson

- fini -