Chickadee Trail - one more time

As you know, I love nature. I can enjoy it alone but it can be even better enjoying it with others. I've visited Chickadee Trail (at Lynde Shores Conservation Area) many times but when RJ is with me, the enjoyment goes off-scale. This time it was Jane, RJ and yours truly. RJ adds more to our visits than he'll ever know.

Conservation Areas in Ontario are common and very popular. You can't camp in them. They're for day visits. Free or maybe a couple bucks for the time you're there. Chickadee Trail at Lynde Shores is first class for families. A short walk where you may encounter deer, raccoons or wild turkeys and definitely chipmunks, squirrels, ducks & geese, blue jays, cardinals, nuthatches and of course chickadees. 

I realize the RJs days of spending time with Nan & Poppa are slowly closing. But it truly makes me enjoy each day with him to the fullest.

A 'frozen' Great Blue Heron, with the patience only animals and birds exhibit, awaits his chance at a fish. It came, he got it... as ducks and geese swim impatiently by.

 RJ loves feeding all birds and animals. I grew up in Saskatchewan. Despite this highly populated area of the country that we live in, nature is available more easily than in many areas of our country. It's ironic really. RJ benefits. Someone just has to take our young ones out in nature. A lesson I learned a while ago.

In this instance, RJ said he felt the 'wind' from the goose's wings. Something I never felt. RJ is very observant and very conscious of all that is around him.

Holding your arm out can be tiring. RJ has more patience than me though. :-)
 
















Nuthatches are less common at coming to your hand for feed, but a couple did today.The 'upside-down bird' as I call them. They spend most of their lives climbing down trees, rather than up.

Don't we all love chippies? How can you not? Beautiful coloring, stuff their cheeks like there's no tomorrow, and that 'chippie' sound that they're constantly chipping and chipping and chipping.

I love squaky blue jays. The sounds carries and rings thru your yard or forest. Cheeky, bold...  This is my territory. Where's yours?

We've been to Chickadee Trail enough times that RJ checks certain things out... like this 'fort' that seems to move around a it.

The 'name ' tree as Jane suggested. The only one that was on the trail. Not 'pretty' to many of us, but the tree will be fine. Only girdling the bark will kill it.

The 'big white snake' we spotted.

It had been a while since I was out in nature. RJ helps to 'get me out there'. 

Nature is more important to us than we realize I think. 'Forest bathing' is a new thing in some parts of the world. Problem is, our world has changed so much that fewer and fewer of us 'get out there' to receive nature's benefits.

It's been great chatting with you all.

Take care,
Bob
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Our Garden --- August 2019

Summer in Canada has a way of slipping by all too quickly. Of course if doesn't, it's just our perception of time... or whatever. In any case, here are a few pics from our garden. 

The other day, as we walked 'our' path, Jane was saying how umpteen months of winter are not far away. True. As everyone says, where does the time go? It just goes.

Jane has a touch for presenting things. This is on our garden gate.

One of our garden clocks... can't rely on it now. It's the time in some other universe maybe. :-)

Some websites that collect images say, "No more images of flowers please." :-) But they're so beautiful. :-)

Catch you later,
Bob
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RJ's 10th Birthday PartyAugust 10th, 2019

Jane and I went to RJ's birthday party today. He was officially 10 last week. We've been to most of his birthday parties. Maybe all. Jane would know. :-)

The main reason I'm posting this is that I'd like to hear from you... about your grandkids' birthday parties these days. How things have changed since my day... 150 years or so ago. :-)

RJ is our our only grandchild, so I do often post about him. But it's their parties these days. Wow.

No more simply at a friend's house, simple presents and cake. Now parties are at 'high-tech'  places. I'm not saying this new way is good or bad. Things change with time. Big changes sometimes. This isn't our first high-tech party with RJ and I'm sure it won't be the last. Is it happening at your end too?

This time it was at a Virtual Reality venue in our local shopping mall. Here's the overall scene. RJ in the foreground in a blue top.

Ready to go... In case you're curious... the T-shirt is "Canada's Wonderland 1981" when it started.

Lost in a virtual world... 

Always lots of food to eat. Time for the cake.

There's a place for posed shots, but in most cases they're on the boring side... my humble opinion only. 

RJ... on the right... knees up, deeply immersed in Virtual Reality. He kept screaming... who knows what he was seeing? These 'pods' are 9-dimensional. Yah, right. The manager encouraged me to try it. I thanked him of course, but...

My episode was inside the human body. Boring as hell. Crappy graphics. Sure as hell didn't look like the human body to me, or any resemblance thereto. Lol. But heh, the kids seemed to love it. That's the important thing.

Shots like the following 2 are why I find posed shots so boring. These last two are genuine 'moments in time' of family. They were oblivious to the camera. They had no idea I was shooting them. No 'camera faces'... just capturing a moment.

RJ... and the rest of us, were enjoying a 'joke book' gift from someone.

So please let me know. Some of you are in 'far off' countries. But I'd love to hear from you all. Is this the 'new' birthday party style? I'm guessing yes but I need you to confirm it for me. From near and far. Please do.

Bob

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RJ at Oshawa Zoo

Oshawa Zoo doesn't pretend to compete with the Toronto Zoo, but it's a quiet alternative, and close by, for locals. It's more of an advanced petting zoo than a zoo, but it's cool. :-)

We enjoyed it. Me, because I shared it with RJ.  RJ because he was 9 years old, and could feed pretty much all of the animals. BTW, he's now 10... as of a few days ago. :-)

It's been a bit of bummer summer for RJ. He broke his wrist so no baseball for most of the summer... no hockey skills training... hockey never stops. :-)

Though it looks like RJ is feeding the goats orange juice, it's just the angle. :-)

You could buy popcorn to feed most of the animals... the lemurs required raisins. You're given a small number of raisins if you buy the popcorn. 

A slide in the goat's enclosure. They said they used it the first day... only once in a while since.

Baby pigs... so cute. But baby anythings are cute aren't they?


A pygmy donkey in a large enclosure. Isolated for some reason? I forgot to ask.

 

Chicks. 

RJ got a real kick out of the fact that the goats put their head right in the pail of popcorn.

This brought even more of a laugh for RJ... the pail handle got caught on the goat's horns. It took him a bit of juggling to get the pail off the horns. Yet another case of small things adding to the day. :-)

If I'd gone to the zoo on my own, I would have enjoyed it, but only to a point. Of course having your child, or in this case my grandson along, is the difference between night and day.

He's discovering the world at a frenetic pace. All too soon, he'll be spending his time with his friends, rather than with parents & grandparents. Tempis fugit. Life goes all too quickly. No earth shattering news there... but it does catch me off guard now & then.

Hope things are going well for you all.

Bob

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Lynde Shores CAJuly 30th, 2019

Hello again. It's been a while. I finally got out to a nature area again with my camera. With more talk these days about 'forest bathing' I guess I should try to get out more often. More and more sources are encouraging us to get out in nature to rejuvenate our senses. And to take our children and grandchildren with us. Many of us already knew of nature's healthful effects on our state of mind but it seems more are discovering it now.

As I stepped out of the car, it was this gander's turn to keep watch over the flock.

Water levels are high in Lake Ontario so the spillover into Lynde Shores is obvious. You can't get as close to the ducks & geese as you can normally.

I've always called these snake fences. They line parts of Chickadee Trail. I've always thought they were cool. You used to see more in the countryside but they're rare now.

"What you got today?" Squirrels were looking for handouts.

There were dozens of squirrels & chippies out & about today, all looking for a free meal.

Love your puffy tail, bud. Eastern Grey Squirrels are usually grey as the name suggests but many of them are black in areas in Ontario... like in our backyard. :-) But most at Lynde Shores are grey.

Ducks wander the trail for handouts. This one has some duckweed on his body from the abundance of it in the 'pond' at LS.

Goose grooming, Mallard swimming by. I like the rocks below the waterline.

 

Birch tree decaying. Birches are a fav of many.

There's a flock of about 20 wild turkeys that frequent Lynde Shores. Today I saw 2. This one on the fence was rather unusual I thought. I noticed when it was on the ground it looked like it had a bum leg. Couldn't keep up with the flock maybe.

Despite my love of nature, this was my favourite shot of the day. A woman enjoying nature while her husband walked the trail with his camera, with a lens the size of a small car. I spoke to them a couple times in my wanderings.

I like it even more in b&w. It emphasizes her and her 'perfect' hat for the shot. I commented to her how relaxed she looked. :-)

A knarled tree trunk... home for a creature at some point no doubt.

Late stage Mayflowers. One of my favs... though not at this stage. Time marches on.

I had to throw in another one of the snake fence. :-)


In keeping with tradition, they didn't use nails or spikes, just wire. 

Bush shadows on the Duckweed in the 'pond'. Looks like algae but it's not. I used to get duckweed for my goldfish when I had a small outdoor setup. I always wondered if ducks like duckweed so I just looked it up on Google. 

Yes, ducks do. So do cows and poultry and many other creatures apparently. Google it if you're curious. Probably not that curious... right? Don't blame you. 


Leaves of Dog-strangling Vine. The tiny, pink star-like blossoms are the giveaway. If you've ever encountered this in quantity and tried to walk through it, you can agree that it could easily strangle a dog.


Pods of the Dog-strangling Vine.

Though I can't say it was an exciting day in nature, based on sightings, it was still a good one. They all are. There were 100's of birds... chirping, singing and generally enjoying the warm afternoon. More than I usually hear. This is one of many Mourning Doves.

Duckweed surrounding the Water Lily. Tons of duckweed, only a couple Lilies.


Sometimes it's not the main subject that catches my eye. In this case it was the patterns in the water surrounding the duck.

Here the water patterns emphasize the duck's 'bow' pushing the water forward. :-)

Lynde Shores is one of the best nature areas for kids. My personal favourite is still Second Marsh, but it's not as well known to some of the locals.


Doesn't a bridge sometimes say, "Come to the other side."



Almost silhouettes. Mama & Papa thinking about their next move.

One of the things I love about blogging is that it lets me relive an outing... cementing an experience just a little stronger into my memory... which needs all the help it can get. Since I've posted less often, I'm now reminded of that.

Get out in nature more Bob. Post more often. :-)

Take care all,

Bob

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