Can turtles smile? :) (She sure looks like she is!) and other weekly adventures!
The eggs are laid somewhere back towards the shed and she was headed back to the lake, taking a rest in the shade by the truck this morning:) Cats were watching…large snapping monster, they avoided her on their way out, been there, sniffed that! Keep moving, there are chipmunks to find!
She mosied on her way after they went out, crossing the lawn, resting again in the shade before heading down to the water. You can almost mark the calendar with the day she is going to show up! Four years now and who knows how many before that!
The daily walk out to the mailbox always leads to something new or just beautiful. The Wood frog is one of these beautiful things along with his cousins the Northern Green Leopard frog…cats have discovered the baby green guys, they are out, more than one has been rescued! The Wood frog I never see until they move, this one hopped across the road in front of me. A bit further along I came upon a new to me snake-The northern redbelly snake, nonvenomous like most Ontario snakes (OK, there are exceptions…one, The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, Sistrurus catenatus, is the only venomous snake still found in Ontario. Although the venom is potent, this snake’s small size and retiring habits make it a minor risk to humans) I didn’t see the red belly but then I didn’t turn him over;) Adults grow to 20–28 cm (7.9–11.0 in) in total length, he was about 6″ long, so darn cute, snake haters avert your eyes! At the end of the laneway by the road there was an uncooperative Milk Snake. Got very snarky with me, rearing up, ya ain’t no cobra buddy, and quickly slithered away. I lost my GT Boutique $2.50 reading glasses somewhere in the leaves following after him! Will have to go back and look another day;) About 4′ long. No red on this one just brown and tan patches. Sometimes it’s not reptiles at all!
This delightful Hooded Merganser female was swimming along the edge of the beaver swamp…with her ten chicks! She dove and came up in the middle of the swamp…Called her kids! Everyone in line! March , I mean swim on youngsters! Chop, chop! Mom is busy! I didn’t know what she was at first having never seen a female Hooded Merganser here. Just the males in Spring and Fall, I figured they went further North to breed, apparently not! Usually I just get my fill of bugs, every week a new type of dragonfly emerges!
I ran across a doe on her way up the hill and I was wondering where baby was being hid, she was obviously nursing. Occasionally the Great Blue Heron decides I’m OK and stays put out in the swamp, especially if he is intent on fishing. Those American Bullfrog pollywogs are disappearing quickly!
The song sparrow serenades me out at the mailboxes each day. The water lilies are blooming as well as the clumps of Iris, not much else along the road. Mushrooms won’t be far off now with the latest torrential rains and heat!
I keep forgetting to bring my shorter lens to get a photo of the road, same place, four seasons. I have Fall and Winter, will get one for Spring this week. It feels like you are going into a tunnel as you go down the road with the vegetation and trees closing in on you! I did finally get the canoe bailed out and took a quick paddle to check on the Osprey nest. The Loons have been quiet so they are probably busy sitting, don’t want to disturb them!
It was pretty quiet except for a doe snoozing on a small point in the shade…she was a bit worried but didn’t move as I slowly drifted by…too damn hot she said!! The Osprey nest is intact and I heard a few kikiki’s but they were far away. The Kingbirds were busy bug hunting alongside the water but not much more other than getting a tail slapping from the beaver! ha! I have heard the Loon at night calling, but haven’t seen them during the day. Patience!
The monarchs are starting to appear along with the Little Wood Satyrs and American White Admirals. The Honeysuckle is done blooming but the chive bush was covered in Swallowtails this morning…until Rocket pounced on it…sigh…all swallowtails escaped unharmed. Giant orange cat leaps onto chives…until he found something else in the grass…
This boys middle name is trouble! This is what happens when you sniff a 4′ long Gray Rat snakes tail! “But I just wanted to sniff!” he seemed to say as the gray rat snake was doing his best Cobra impression! I was too slow to catch the show he put on weaving back and forth! Rocket said it looked very dangerous and he would let it go! The Gray Rat snake slithered off to house Slytherin;) It’s a regular on the lawn and in the rocks here. Always an adventure! I shall sign off, looks like we are in for more torrential rain, thunder and lightning, new adventures later folks with a trip to see the Heron Rookery and a visit from a black bear, I saw him swimming across the lake…I was like WTF is that…yup, Mark Bear Spitz….Stay tuned…did get some nice reflections on the lake before the storms moved in! Saludos amigos.
