2010 February

I just came back from three days at the "summer place". I think "seasonal dwelling" or "country retreat" would be better names. Since most people associate the word "cottage" with waterfront then I cannot call the place a "cottage" since the closest waterfront is ten minutes drive away. From 2009 June to 2010 January part of the old house was torn down and a brand new house put up in its place. Someone (the owner) needed to be in the house when the Bell technician came to re-install the phone system. So I went up Sunday afternoon and came back yesterday morning. It is just as marvelous and inspiring to be there in the winter as in the summer. However there are not so many things to do in the winter: no gardening, no long walks in the bush, no birds since the feeders are not out, and no chipmunks. So I stayed inside, watched the outside, rested a little, did some reading, marked and marked and marked, learned some more PHP and took a few pictures.

This is what one of the raised beds in the vegetable garden looked like in the middle of August.

This is a sample of one day's harvest from a couple of the beds.

More Feathered Friends

This small (about 5 cm high) yellow and black bird is a goldfinch, sometimes called a wild canary. This is a male goldfinch, the female is the same size, but gray-green all over with some black.

The black bird is a common grackle. They are very common indeed, living in most of Ontario. It will eat almost anything it can put in its mouth. This one is looking for peanuts that the chipmunk might have missed.

The mighty specimen below is a raven that landed in the top of one of the trees down the north side of the driveway. It is about 20 - 25 metres to the top of the tree. Ravens are somewhat larger than crows. It is easy to tell them apart if you know you are looking at two adults. However, a young raven and an adult crow can be the same size. Ravens appear often in stories told by Native Americans and in Norse mythology. They are often portrayed as tricksters or as messengers. Ravens are extremely intelligent for birds.

This little one (and its relations) is a common and popular site in the Almaguin region. This one climbed a metal pole to the bird feeder and feasted on sunflower seeds every time I put some in the feeder. It also was very quick to hide any peanuts that were left on the front walk.