Sunday 30 October 2022

White.throated Sparrow

 Seldom have I seen something that suggests its name so obviously as did this bird this afternoon. Enjoy.





We were between 5m and 10m apart.





WOB at Leacock

Saturday 29 October 2022

Saturday Live

 I have been trying to decide how to balance my safety with water and air temperatures. I am not so concerned about Sea-Doos now that the locks are closed and the only boats out are rowers, the duck hunters, the fishermen, and the crazy kayakers. Today the water temp was 11.8°C but I don't know at what depth - say 1m? The air temp was 10°C on the balcony and 14°C on the weathernet. It was warmer in the sunshine than in the shade. Winds were light, the lake like a mirror usually. With few exceptions I was close to shore.


Here are some impressions from 2hours, 5Km and 56 photos:







There was some wildlife:




Paddling back I had some objects back lit:


                                This is the bow "wave" from the kayak.

The Moon:


The Kayak:



In the other direction, the lawn north of the condo:




How many more days of Thanksgiving and Remembrance?


WOB of the Orange shirt

Friday 28 October 2022

On Friday Bill drove past Kilbear to Killarney, bearly!

 Verily, verily I say it was not today but rather September 30th.

And Vicki saw it first:


She saw it from research station cabin. However, you can see part of "The Hilton" at the right side of the photo.


I was closer when I saw it some time later:


I recalled then a phone call from a friend that his wife saw a bear up a tree:


This would have been some 300m west of us.

He said that there had been reports of a bear being seen in Tudhope Park, on the east side of us, also perhaps 300m away. He suggested that it might have crossed our property - did I have any reports or sightings?


So I looked, and sure enough on Mon July 4th around 4AM I had a bear in our Willow tree. Here is the sequence:





Do you get it?



Sirius-ly. I actually was after the aurora and did not react to the bear until after Donald asked me.

 

What is about the MacDonalds that drive bears up trees?

 



Does this prove that bears are camera-shy?

I think I'll skip the other, missing, days of the week. Maybe I'll look at just what I have in July and August in the Ursus maritimus direction - before I go due south or even west.

(The last 2 photos are from Ken via FB.)


WOB


Thursday 27 October 2022

On Tuesday Bill puddled in the Beer?

 Well, not exactly, but close - actually not because I did not drink any beer on Tuesday. I did however, take my camera around to Leacock's Brewery Bay. It was a rather dull day but still mild and calm and I was curious as to what I might see - like his boathouse:







The first two photos have the boat house on the other side of the peninsula/drumlin. Then just the railing, the part for the whole as it were. The last 2 are "obvious". 

In among these photos I had the feeling I was being "watched". And I was:




Kayaks and canoes are great for getting my camera at eye level with my subject - where cracking of joints and aching knees would have frightened every living thing, especially myself!

Still, this was not the only bird watching the wise old - I was so surprised by this sighting:





I thought all the Osprey had flown away. It was not watching the Heron - it had another spot in mind - among deck chairs on docks.








By the end I thought I had made the heron nervous and so I said good bye to it, back off, and returned across the Bay.





And home:



Why would I leave?


WOB

Wednesday 26 October 2022

On Monday Bill paddled West, young man!

 Am I forcing my luck? A second perfect day with a very light warm breeze from the South. I thought I would go for it and paddle toward Mariposa. It appears that parking spots are in short supply:



And I felt I was not alone with this thought:



Mariposa is nestled between moraines and Lake Couchiching:



On my return I passed this Nine-hole golf course:




Yes, Tom, there are homes on either side of the fairway.


It has an elevated tee at  the crest of the hill - I don't know where it is relative to the tree. Does one aim for it? Although the distance tea to green is short, like the old 18th at Aurora, one would get a lot of exercise walking between holes - right back up the hill!



You see it is only a 9-hole course with some of the white flag pins visible. I don't know the course rules about being on the rocks or against the fence or out of bounds. I did see one golf ball in a meter of water - yes, that is right, we measure our water usage with meters - about 20m off shore - maybe the golfer looked up?


A little further on I came across this haunting tree:



And then, as at the end of many a game of golf, a visit to Brewery Bay;






The colours have been brilliant and have lasted so long.


When will this Heron fly South?



And before I knew it I was back home:



WOB