Monday, November 08, 2010

Half Marathon


One more half marathon under my feet.
Ran a few seconds faster than
the one in the spring
but
felt good 99% of the time
on this run
still had energy left at the end
and did not feel terribly sore.

A different story
on the morning after
but i think I will recover
fairly quickly.
Just need to move
and not sit too much.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Frosty Sunrise


Frosty Sunrise
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

We have had a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds calling all fall even though most of the migrating birds were gone weeks ago. Yesterday, along with the heavy frost, there was silence from the Red-wings. I thought they were all gone. There were the sounds of Blue Jays, Starlings, Chickadees, and Nuthatches but no Red-wings. On to winter I thought. No, this morning there was the sound of at least one Red-wing calling as if it were March. Wonder if he plans on staying the winter?

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Rubrum


Rubrum
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Acer rubrum is RED Maple. It really lives up to its name at this time of the year! Most of the walnut leaves have already fallen but the willows are still green. Lots of variety in leaf fall happen in the autumn.

Meanwhile, the Red-winged Blackbirds are singing their spring songs when they are not flocking to fly south. Spring Peepers are calling every night and crickets are still singing too. Southern Ontario is not quite ready to say winter.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Sounds

From yesterday
Spring songs of Red-winged Blackbirds
Don't know why
Many have left for the south already
One cricket
Or possibly some other chirping insect
Spring Peepers
Calling again and again
After a summer of silence
One hoot
From a far away owl.

Monday, October 04, 2010

Macro & Micro


Macro & Micro
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Two views of a Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum). The first is a bit more than life size on my computer and the second is through a microscope, so it is much larger than life size. It was one of several late blooming flowers in our area that I saw today.

Meanwhile, overhead, some geese were flying east. They were probably on their way to Lake Ontario.

Sunday, October 03, 2010

First Fireplace Fire of the Season


First Fireplace Fire of the Season
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

It's getting cooler in our house. Down to 16 C (61 F) this morning. Since it was dark and raining most of the morning it felt even cooler so the fireplace seemed to be calling for some fire to help us warm up a bit.

Meanwhile, yesterday, I heard lots of Eastern Meadowlarks in song. I don't know why they were singing unless it was a call to join in for migration time.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

On the Roof

It's been so long since I put anything on the blog that I have kind of forgotten what the process is. Hope this works:

I was climbing around on the barn roof yesterday, putting some calking on the metal seams trying to keep water from coming in during rains, when this little spider suddenly appeared. The camera had been in the way but it was nice to have it when the spider appeared.



On the Roof
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Moved


Moved
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

I made this sculpture several years ago and put it in our west meadow. The weather took its toll and not many people saw it so I rescued it, replaced some pieces, repainted it and moved it to the roadside. Several people have stopped to tell me how much they like it but no one has offered to buy it. Ha!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

From Our Breakfast Table


From Our Breakfast Table
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

As I ate my oatmeal I caught a bit of motion from the corner of my eye. My iPhone was used to record the event. The deer stood and watched us eat for a bit and only left after Fleur-Ange went for her camera. It wandered along the edge of the yard and then took one of our trails as it headed toward the willows round the east pond.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Small-Eyed Sphinx Moth


Small-Eyed Sphinx Moth
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

(Paonias myops) is another of the many moths found in our barn this summer. According to the information I read, the larvae eat leaves of hawthorns and cherries but the adults don't eat at all.

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Hot, Hazy, Humid


Hot, Hazy, Humid
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

The heat waves continue . . .

What you don't see is all the mosquitoes!

Monday, July 05, 2010

Michigan Lily


Michigan Lily
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer


These lilies started blooming last week in the RBG's Hendrie Valley. Always a treat! It seems that bright orange wild flowers are few and far between.

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Part of our First July Weekend


Part of our First July Weekend
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Our canoe has been in storage for too long. We paddled from Paris to Brantford today with the water levels not too low yet. We only hit bottom a few times and only had to walk once. I lost count of Great Blue Heron sightings. I think it was 6 or 7 plus 3 Mergansers and almost 40 Canada Geese, several kayaks, a few canoes, and a rubber raft or two.

Polyphemus Moth


Polyphemus Moth
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

According to my insect book these large silkmoths only live a few days as adults and do not eat. The larvae eat a variety of leaves from trees and shrubs. It is found in most of southern Canada and the lower 48 of the U.S. We see them almost every year and, yes, I am still in the barn. We have a bug zapper with a black light there and many moths are attracted. Fortunately this one is too big to get into the zapper but many micro moths are not so lucky. It's really for mosquitoes but many other insects are attracted.

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Sheep Sorrel


Sheep Sorrel
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

The camera and I were on the ground for this photo. We have lots of Sheep Sorrel growing in our lawn and in our meadows. I think it is good to eat but we have not added it to the vegetables on the table yet.

The other strange looking flowers in the photo are on English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata.)

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Ctenucha venosa


Ctenucha venosa
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Yes, another moth. They seem to be catching my eye lately. This one is the Virginia Ctenucha. It appears to be very common on our area and is often seen flying about during the daytime.
I found this one while I was out walking the dog this July 1st morning. Because it was only 8 degrees C. (46 F), the moth was not moving.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Standin' on the Corner


Standin' on the Corner
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

I am looking at many moths in our barn these days. This is one of the larger ones. I think it is a sphinx moth of some kind but I do not have a proper ID yet. Any help would be appreciated.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Grammia virgo


Grammia virgo
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

I have a bug zapper in the barn to help cut down the number of insects pestering the goats and donkey. Unfortunately it also attracts and kills many small moths. The larger moths cannot get through the screen so are safe but that mean that we often have more moths in the barn during the daylight hours. I found this one early this morning on the gravel floor of the barn. It's common name is "Virgin Tiger Moth."

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Another Slime Mould


Another Slime Mould
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

It's rare that I find any slime moulds and never have I found two in two days before. Well, actually Fleur-Ange found this one but it was on our front lawn.

The photo was taken through a microscope at 20 x.

This slime mould is "common" on lawns according to the literature. It looks like someone spilled grey ashes on the grass.

Coral Slime


Coral Slime
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

According to my mushroom book, slime moulds move like an animal but reproduce like a fungus so they are hard to classify in the regular scheme of classifications.
(Beorge Barron's Mushrooms of Ontario.)
If you are looking for some, have a look at a rain soaked, well rotted log.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Dam Stitching


Dam Stitching
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

I used new software to stitch together four or five iPhone photos to make this image. Water levels are low in northern Ontario due to lack of snow last winter. I've not seen this little water below the dam before.
This is the Smooth Rock Falls dam across the Mattagami River. Smooth Rock Falls is the home town of Fleur-Ange.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Poison Ivy Flowers


Poison Ivy Flowers
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Sorry, no close up this time. The wind was blowing and I did not want to get down in the poison ivy patch with all the moving leaves. Like many other plants, the ivy is blooming early this year. I almost missed it.

Sunday, June 06, 2010

Fence Repair


Fence Repair
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer


I quite liked the shape of the fence repair at RBG's Arboretum so I took the photo and then erased the fence and vegetation. The repairs were made with the plastic tabs that are used for closing garbage bags at times or for attaching cables to bicycles or timing chips to shoes in road races.

Saturday, June 05, 2010

Raccoon Energy Replacement?


Raccoon Energy Replacement?
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Part of spring time rituals down by the Grand River. Turtles come up to the rail trail and lay eggs and then raccoons dig them up and eat them. I wonder how many turtle nests go unfound.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

If I Lie Still No One Can See Me


If I Lie Still No One Can See Me
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

This was my third encounter with a new fawn in two days. Wonderful.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Moss


Moss
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

I attempted to use a 15x hand lens in front of my camera to take a photo. This was the only one of about 6 attempts that came out well enough to share. It was hand held but I think a tripod would have helped in this attempt if the tripod were small enough.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Spiderise


Spiderise
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

As I looked out the window this morning I saw lots and lots of spiderwebs catching the early morning sun so out I went. Yes, it was worth being wet up to my knees to get out into the early morning meadow.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Climber


Climber
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

I saw two toads yesterday. The first was dirt gray all over and gone by the time I got my camera. This was the second. It was a much brighter colour and trying its best to climb a tree to get away from the camera.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Meeting


Meeting
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

At the "you me Gallery" Fleur-Ange met with the owner, Bryce Kanbara, and a fellow exhibitor, Leo Davis, before the show opening last night. The show is on until June 6 on James Street North near Barton Street in Hamilton, Ontario. Fleur-Ange is also exhibiting some of her other works at several other locations during the next couple of months.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Early Morning Breakfast View


Early Morning Breakfast View
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

After listening to a beautiful coyote chorus last night, we were lucky again this morning with deer visiting our east meadow. I saw two deer but from the upstairs window, Fleur-Ange saw three. Nice way to start the day.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Sycamore


Sycamore
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

I seldom get to see Sycamore tree flowers as they are usually too high to see properly. There are very low branches on a Sycamore tree at the RBG Arboretum in Hamilton, Ontario.

Friday, May 07, 2010

From Our Pasture


From Our Pasture
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Over the years I have found Morels various times but often too late. These were just right! They just needed slicing, hot butter, salt, & pepper and a couple of minutes in the fry pan before the table.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Spring Colours


Spring Colours
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

The cherry trees are blooming in the RBG's Arboretum. Nice to see some colours again but I worry a bit that they are so early this year. I wonder what the summer will bring.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Ontario's Provincial Flower


Ontario's Provincial Flower
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

In bloom 5 days earlier than I have ever seen it before . . . along with several other wild flowers. The American toads were trilling today too.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

New Resident?


New Resident?
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

A mallard duck flew up from beside the path this morning as my dog and I went for a walk. I checked to see where it came from and found this single egg in a new nest. Given that mallards lay from 5 to 14 eggs and then incubate for 26 to 30 days, I am not sure if this will be a successful nest. We plan on putting a small fence around it so the donkey and goats will not step on it accidently but it may be a futile gesture given the location of the nest.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

April 11 Asparagus


April 11 Asparagus
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Instead of snow on the ground we have asparagus pushing through the soil. Early, early.
I did not really expect to see any but checked the asparagus patch anyway. Lots of grass that needs to be removed in the patch but also asparagus pushing through already.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

March Mystery Less Mysterious in April


March Mystery Less Mysterious in April
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Some people should recognize this by now.
It's growing about 100 metres from our home near our east pond.

Saturday, April 03, 2010

Northern Brown Snake


Northern Brown Snake
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

We saw the first snake of the season on our property today and one that we rarely see. It was the Storeria dekayi dekayi or Northern Brown Snake. The old name was the DeKay Snake. It is a very small, hard to see snake that likes to eat slugs, earthworms and soft bodied insects.

We saw it because our dog started jumping around it. When we took the dog away, the snake froze for many attempted photos. This was the best I got in spite of many tries.

Friday, April 02, 2010

Elm


Elm
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

From Susan Fenimore Cooper's Rural Hours entry for April 3, 1848:

"Delightful day; first walk in the woods, and what a pleasure it is to be in the forest once more! The earlier buds are swelling perceptibly - those of the scarlet maple and elm flowers on the hills, with the sallows and alders near the streams."

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Plan B Garlic


Plan B Garlic
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Each week I spend a half day working at Plan B Organic Farm in the Hamilton region. There are many seedlings up in the greenhouses but the garlic is up in the fields already.
We enjoy fresh organic food all year round grown both locally and from other places on the day that it ships in.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Hamilton Round-the-Bay Start


Hamilton Round-the-Bay Start
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Over 7000 runners headed out from the start line. Fleur-Ange (Eglantine) was on a pedestrian overpass about 500 metres from the start line when she took this photo. I was somewhere near the back of the crowd you can see. Four minutes of runners had already gone past.
I did a 10 kilometre run for a 3 person relay. Most of the runners you can see here were doing the whole 30 kilometre run.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Up Early


Up Early
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

An early view of an Early Saxifrage (Saxifraga virginiensis) just up. Bloom time may be a week or away depending upon the weather.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Sunning Friday - Hiding Sunday


Sunning Friday - Hiding Sunday
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Temperatures were up to + 18 C (64 F) on Friday but down to below freezing Sunday. I suspect this Garter Snake is well underground again. We had a skim of snow on the ground this morning and no snakes in sight.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Sunbathing


Sunbathing
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Unseasonably warm here yesterday.
Anyone know what kind of spider this is?

Saw the first Mourning Cloak butterflies here yesterday and the Silver Maple, Aspen, and Willows are all blooming. The American Woodcocks are calling morning and evening and Robins, Killdeers, Grackles, and Red-wing Blackbirds are all here and in full song.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

To the Tune of Coyotes . . .


To the Tune of Coyotes . . .
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Too bad I cannot add the sound to this as the coyotes were serenading a train as I went out this morning. I liked the look of the crescent moon coming through the twigs in the trees.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

On the Wall


On the Wall
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

I found this Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus occidetalis) in our living room yesterday. I wonder where it spent the winter?

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Past Time to Disperse


Past Time to Disperse
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

A couple of days ago Gangi [http://www.flickr.com/photos/gangie/4409284914/ ]
put up a photo of milkweed seeds so I went out to see if there were any left on our property. Yes, there were!

Friday, March 05, 2010

Snow - Drops


Snow - Drops
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Spring is coming but winter is not over . . . These two photos were taken about 300 metres apart in the RBG's Hendrie Valley. Still ice on the ponds but there are flower up and blooming in sunny, protected spots.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Willow Bud


Willow Bud
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Other people told me that the willow buds were opening. This is the one by our east pond. It is not swelling as far as I can see but maybe this weekend when the temperatures are supposed to get above 10℃.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Listen, What do you Hear?


Listen, What do you Hear?
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

These two deer were on the edge of our west field when I walked the dog yesterday. The chose to stand still and listen and look instead of running. I took the dog back to her pen and then returned with the camera to get this photo.

Monday, February 22, 2010

View Out the Bedroom Window


View Out the Bedroom Window
Originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer

Finally we got some snow! It's late in the season and the temperatures will be above freezing soon but at least we got some snow to play with. On the other hand, when I went out to shovel I found that someone had beat me to it. Guess I was not the only one to want to play with a snow shovel.