Anne's June Phenology Calendar

A few days ago, I posted my June phenology calendar - which focused mainly on weather, with a few brief notes about events that marked the day.

Later that day, Anne - who introduced me to this beautiful way of noting nature - shared her June calendar with me. As usual, her sketches of what she sees - bird, animal and plant life make me marvel that she can paint them all so skillfully, fitting them into the small wedge of paper allotted to each day.

She also sent me this photo she took of a black and white Eudryas Grata moth she noticed resting under an outdoor light one evening. (It's also knowh as "beautiful wood nymph." Its resemblance to bird droppings protects it from being eaten by them! Amazing!!)

Anne commented that she has begun checking "under the light" for beauties like this that often go unnoticed. She added some to her June calendar. (June 10, 22, 23, 28, 29)

I will be looking for more "under the light" creatures in her July calendar!

Beauty Everywhere!

Walking around in nature near my son's home in the country, I see beauty everywhere!

Every (random) grouping of wild plants - like these grasses in a ditch no longer filled with water...

These colorful flowers that "just happened" to be growing at the edge of the ditch - are all so beautiful....

These white daisies growing at the foot of some pine trees... 

No human gardener has planted or tended this - yet here it is! Beauty everywhere, if I just stop and look!

God's handiwork all around us - planted by wind and birds, tended by rain and sun... Just as beautiful as any garden planted by human hands.

Nature is innately - lavishly - beautiful!

Fireworks!

My daughter was watching fireworks that looked uncomfortably close to the elevated Gardner Expressway in Toronto...

I don't know... Is that safe?!

If I were driving on the highway, I'd be very startled!

A Quiet Road Home

The last time Terry and I returned home from Toronto, we took a quieter route, which is a little shorter - but not necessarily faster - than our usual route - highway 401 (with short excursions onto highway 2, so get a view of the St. Lawrence River).

We hadn't taken highway 7, through Tweed, in a long time.

Years, I think...

What changes would we see?!

We passed Tweed's tiny historic jail... No change there!

The biggest deterrent on this quiet highway is not being able to pass slower vehicles for long stretches at a time.

That problem didn't happen - but a dozen cars did get caught up (with us) behind two extra wide loads - two halves of a large prefabricated building. So there was no passing at all! But the whole convoy did manage to maintain a reasonable clip. 

Near Perth, the wide-load vehicles turned in at a truck weigh station and our convoy quickly dispersed.

An interesting, peaceful drive home.

The June That Was

June ended so quickly this year. I must have been busy... - then suddenly we were in July!

I finished my June phenology calendar a few days later...

My observations: This year, in Ottawa, June was very hot and sunny. In fact, a little too hot on some days!

The "longest day" wasn't simply June 21, which some call the first day of summer. The "longest day" here in Ottawa was June 23 when there was 15 hours and 41 minutes between sunrise and sunset. But for 15 days, from June 14-28, there wasn't much change. Some days, none.

I marked with yellow the 15 day period when the daylight hours didn't change much - moving from 15 hours and 39 minutes to 15 hours and 41 minutes and back again over a 2-week period. 

(Before long, we'll be losing 2 and 3 minutes of daylight a day!)

In those early summer days, it sometimes felt as if time were standing still!

High Park

On a recent trip to Toronto, Terry and I, together with our daughter, headed to High Park, a place none of us had ever visited.

I didn't know what to expect, as we drove in and parked.

The day was hot, even in the shade of trees, so - after walking for 15 minutes - we opted to pay for a "train" ride.

So glad we did! We saw so much more!

We passed rugged walking trails - where I wouldn't dare walk now, for fear of falling - but which I'd have loved to explore as a child.

This beach with swans...

Exuberant schoolchildren on a field trip!

This manicured garden! 

Something for everyone!

Lots to explore on a future visit when it isn’t quite as hot!

It's Canada Day!

Yay! 

It's Canada Day!

So glad to be part of this great country!

So thankful to be here!