Countdown: TREE, 2,1, ....

Into Toronto for an event just as historic for me as the Raptors in the final! Magnolias blooming, blossoms booming, beach flooding. And a good omen --- a sparrow on my knee?!?!

After 4 years of bureaucracy and false starts, finally got a permit to take out the rogue maple at the back. It's only about 40 years old but over 80 feet high and crushing into the buildings on both sides. Big glitch right away ---- raccoons are living on the unused neighbour's deck! Not exactly a threatened species, so only an hour's holdup as they grudgingly relocate.

Then Day 1--- the crew plans, climbs, cuts, and makes progress.

Awesome to watch the sequence of ropes, pulleys, chainsaw and teamwork.

Returning for Day 2, the can-do crew (1 guy and 3 women!) eventually get down to the big chunks. The trunk is now down to the height of the decks. But a crane will be needed to hoist the next slabs. Dang --- that will be Day 3 sometime. Stay tuned! But the cleanup is thorough and the job is actually going to happen.

Back at Kemble, the birds forgave the two days of not being fed (how many gold finches can you count?). The yard gets the first cut of the season. Rain and sun take turns nourishing the natives. The Gardener says it's time to get the veggies. One of the tomato names catches my eye --- an obvious Choice!

What a week! To celebrate, the Cook used a heritage family recipe to prepare pinwheel date cookies. Dough, filling, rolling up, and into the fridge to set. The baking is tonight --- tree, two, one...

FROM THE AIR, FROM THE LAND, FROM THE WATER

This is a holiday weekend in Ontario, celebrating a Crown Vic but not the '50's Ford by the same name...Who was Vic anyway??

So here's a seasonal quiz of things popping out of the ground. Which of these photos are forsythia, vinca, Dutchmen's Breeches, tulip, and trillium?

The pond is also flowing back to life. The Girl threw in 60 water hyacinth. The Guy slid in 12 pieces of gold. And there are several clusters of salamander eggs --- how can that 3" amphibian pump out those hundreds of jellied eggs??

Pat cleaned up the thyme zone. Meanwhile a Tobermory tour boat passed by, knowing it's time to get back to its zone. Got that?

Birds are still passing through, as hungry as a blogger on a Sunday morning. They're going through about 8 pounds of sunflower seed, a pound of nyjer, a quart of hummingbird sugar water, and 4 oranges --- every day! This week's dazzling attractions are the Baltimore Oriole, indigo bunting, pine siskin, and American Redstart.

Meanwhile, other winged wonders are nesting. The robin is in the same nest at the barn for the umpteenth time. The phoebe is a little shyer but stays near her nest, same place on the other side of the barn. But new this year is a pair of mallard ducks who are setting up in the watery ditch about five feet from traffic!

Also new this week is another point-and-shoot camera. You may have noticed some of the pictures have dark edges --- the lens on the old Canon wasn't opening fully. That camera has done some hard trips.The full-size cameras are OK but they're too bulky, so another  SX620 gets the call...

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