Nature and Birds in Southern Ontario, Canada
Oh friendly fleeing fox; who made a mad dash in front of our school bus to a little patch of remaining woods.
How excited the children were to see a wild animal up close.
Where will you go, when even those woods, are obliterated and a new housing complex, or strip mall springs up?
Oh frosty November morning! Where will we get the warmth that will carry us through till spring?
Oh wood duck! How beautiful you are!
I thought you were an exotic visitor from a faraway land when I saw you in the pond with all the other ducks.
How plain the mallards were compared to your beauty!
I hope we will meet again.
Wow! Just when I thought I knew, (more or less), about all the flora and fauna that surrounds me in my general vicinity, I made an astonishing discovery.
On our way for a nice walk on the boardwalk on Beverdams Pond; my husband insisted that we turn back because he saw quinces on the ground.
I told him that we don’t usually grow quince in Canada, as far as I know; maybe in the warm parts of British Columbia.
So, ( we never made our walk that day); we found the monkey brain fruit all over the ground. (It is otherwise known as Osage orange, or hedge apple.)
They looked like quinces, or large yellow apples, but had this weird brain cell-like covering.
So I found out, that they are commonly found in the southern United States, and you can’t eat the fruit.
The wood was prized by the Indigenous people and early settlers for bows and tools. It was also used as a natural fence, until barbed wire was invented.
Anyway; completely fascinating. The seeds must have been brought up to Canada by early American settlers because the trees, bordering the road, were very large.
P.S. Just to make it a little more weird; there is a theory that the only animals that really loved its fruit are now extinct; making it a very interesting anachronism, and history lesson prompt.
P.P.S. The fruit, apparently, also contains latex; so that was important for waterproofing.
Today I am celebrating the birth of Baha’u’llah; the Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i Faith.
As I turn down the lane, the flaming new red maples greet me; like giant red lollipops.
They are so vibrant; they awaken my early-morning senses to the shocking beauty of fall; that never grows old and is always new and invigorating.
Purple and pink explosion; as it fills the autumn sky.
Purple and pink explosion; as the bridge is held so high.
Purple and pink explosion; as the ship goes gliding by.
The early morning mist rose over the pond.
The mist of the past; mist of memories; of those who were here before.
When their canoes drifted silently over the waters; and their voices were raised in song.
A patch of blue in a dark, foreboding sky.
Brilliant, blue, and a world beyond.
The dark clouds are temporary and will not last forever.
There is a clear blue sky beyond.
Hey Mr. Blue Jay!
Why so raucous?
My Wylde Lyfe 