Like all over the world, our weather has been unusual, in this case unusually hot --- 105F on the ground for several days...
That heat and late May meant that many springtime sights were right on time. Trilliums, dandelions, and lilac are in full bloom. The strong lilac fragrance reminds me of the $1 jug of perfume I would buy as an 8-yr. old for my mom! Hummingbirds are swooping around anything red, including the cars. And Great Lakes cargo ships are offloading salt, then onloading grain in Owen Sound harbour.
But there are still lots of late bloomers. Apple and hawthorn trees are the last to hold onto their flowers. Some tulips are still hanging in ---- they seem to be the ones with the richest colour? And back in the harbour the biggest ship ever to anchor here has been high and dry for months --- what will fill that giant? When?
Now for some drama at the pond. This garter snake must have been hungry to swim out to grab a yummy young frog. Over-reaching would you say --- that's a big mouthful! There was a tense standoff for several minutes before the snake made a lunge. You can relax, frog lovers, the amphibian jumped away like LeBron James flopping. The snake reconsiderd...
It's also the season when the real (wild) geese fly by heading a few hundred more miles north. At 6am they're forming up, just paddling. By 7 the leader says let's flap, using the cold water up-currents to give extra lift. By evening they're at full strength and so close to the house you can hear the downstroke of their wings.
We'll be flying this week too. But not north, so in what direction???
That heat and late May meant that many springtime sights were right on time. Trilliums, dandelions, and lilac are in full bloom. The strong lilac fragrance reminds me of the $1 jug of perfume I would buy as an 8-yr. old for my mom! Hummingbirds are swooping around anything red, including the cars. And Great Lakes cargo ships are offloading salt, then onloading grain in Owen Sound harbour.
But there are still lots of late bloomers. Apple and hawthorn trees are the last to hold onto their flowers. Some tulips are still hanging in ---- they seem to be the ones with the richest colour? And back in the harbour the biggest ship ever to anchor here has been high and dry for months --- what will fill that giant? When?
Now for some drama at the pond. This garter snake must have been hungry to swim out to grab a yummy young frog. Over-reaching would you say --- that's a big mouthful! There was a tense standoff for several minutes before the snake made a lunge. You can relax, frog lovers, the amphibian jumped away like LeBron James flopping. The snake reconsiderd...
It's also the season when the real (wild) geese fly by heading a few hundred more miles north. At 6am they're forming up, just paddling. By 7 the leader says let's flap, using the cold water up-currents to give extra lift. By evening they're at full strength and so close to the house you can hear the downstroke of their wings.
We'll be flying this week too. But not north, so in what direction???
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