Monday, August 25, 2008

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.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

More Feathered Friends

goldfinch
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.


grackle









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. raven

Thursday, July 31, 2008


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.