Rainy days, Hello November!
I walked down to the canoe to bail it out before it sank yesterday. I was hoping the swans would swim over but not this morning. A single pair with one cygnet. I was admiring the raindrops on the maple leaf. The canoe was 2/3’ds full, it took awhile! Damn it was cold! It’s starting to look bare, the wind and rain shook the leaves off the trees. 2.75″ of rain, 70mm…it came exactly as we needed it, not too torrential, and the ground swallowed it up!
The Mewberries were not impressed. They asked to go out several times. Groot hunched under the picnic table…sad cats! I told them the sun would be back, eventually!
I was hoping the swans would swim a bit closer but no, they left padding up the lake. No sign of the Loon youngsters either. Mother was looking like she’d had enough of them last week! Ha!
She ducked out a few times only to be found later!
The reflections from the remaining leaves were so beautiful on the lake as she popped up, thinking she had evaded the poking one!
He/she found her. If it wasn’t an incoming submersible juvenile Loon it was a poke, or a pull on her feathers! I always love to watch this interaction:) She will be gone soon leaving the two juveniles to fend for themselves.
The locals are enjoying the feeders and having fun with the pretty props! Even Groot had to examine them! I did a Backyard Bird Photography talk for the Lanark County Camera Club last week, I hope the participants enjoyed it as much as I did! The talk was mostly about using the colour you have in the background, and using branches, sticks, berries and dishes to create different atmospheres. They are such nice people! I hope I gave them some ideas to help pass the Winter! I will work again for Northern Nuggets Linda! Ha! Thank you:) The Chickadees were most cooperative at the Drummond Center, a lone Blue Jay felt we couldn’t be trusted..at all! Ha!
The Goldfinches are out in full force as well as the Purple Finches. The White Throated sparrows have moved on, no chipping sparrows here yet! The Blue Jays wait for their peanut delivery each morning! When the sun is out those yellows pop!
I’m back to sitting and waiting for the Red Bellied Woodpecker to appear! I hear her before I see her! Still only the female around, the juveniles and male are gone. The Woodpeckers always provide such colour. Harder with the cloudy skies but we did a have a bit of sun to lighten things up!
I looked up from the table and caught a flash of white, large bird! The Bald Eagle! I ran outside hoping it would circle around but it kept going towards the East. Such amazing birds!
That rain though, so needed, so welcome! I caught a few puddles before it all sank in! So many colours and reflections!
I spotted a very sad Shaggy mane mushroom as I was walking up the hill, a bit past it’s prime but nice to see some fungi! There are a few spots with turkey tail and I saw some Birch Polypore as well. The earth tones in the fallen leaves were so beautiful!
There are still a few leaves on the oaks and birches. The patches of colour are still there in spots! Yellows and oranges among the bare trunks, the paper and silver birches are so beautiful!
Mike talked me into going out to photograph the Comet Lemmon last week. I did my best. It was hard trying to focus on it. Mike was looking through the binoculars to see it, a smudge in the sky without them but I was impressed with the colour! Green! I tried focusing on the moon to the left and that helped but I was probably zoomed in too far at 600mm, tripod was wiggling a bit in the wind maybe as well. 4 secounds and the stars were trailing but it turned out OK. I was cold, and maybe a bit cranky! Ha!
The wonders that surround us:)
We are still getting a few morning mists but as the lake water cools it will slow down. Groot was quite incensed the other morning when I popped down quickly, no longer bathrobe photography, we are onto hat and mittens! Ha!
That look! WHAT! No treatos before you go down?? He’ll be contacting his Cat Union rep soon!
I loved the contrail being lit up and reflected!
I’ll catch up with the Mewberries later and more mists and storms and some Fall vistas as the sun hits the top of the yellow and orange treetops across the lake. It’s spectacular! Time to go sit in front of the woodstove! We might reach 5° C today…It will be two weeks of no walking the road as deer hunting season starts Monday…:( May it rain, may it pour! Ha! Saludos amigos! I’ll leave you with my flower ruffed tiger cub;)
It was a fun day at Drummond talking about bird photography with like minded individuals. Thanks for a great discussion!!
You are most welcome! New to this kind of thing! Usually explaining Cell phone photography to people looking through Mike’s telescope! Hope to make a few more of the talks at Drummond Center, they all sound interesting!