I LOVE NATURE!

We were driving down a country road, commenting on the beautiful fields, when he blurted out: I LOVE NATURE!

I was surprised at his passion, given that he's only 6 years old. 

Where had he heard the word "nature"? Had his teacher been talking about nature in school?

He went on to mention the parts of nature that he loved: the clouds, the trees, the birds...

Even the cherry tomatoes that were growing in a pot on the porch.

I was so thankful to hear his comment! So thankful that he shared my joy at being out and about in our beautiful world.

Pink!

The air feels cooler in the morning these days.

So I'm pleased to still be surrounded by flowers, especially bright pink ones..

August was my "pink flower month" - they seemed to last the whole month through!

And - added to that - I appreciated the occasional pink sky!

What will the colour of September be? Will the pink linger on for a while - before fall colours arrive?!

The Month That Was

One of my daily habits is jotting down details about the weather - and how I spend my day.

I do it on a large sheet of paper - a calendar of sorts.

Last month, August 2026, the temperature ranged from 28 degrees C to 10 degrees C (82.4 degrees F to 50 degrees F). Temperature wise, for me it was perfect! 

But we did have one wind storm that caused us to lose power for 2 1/2 days.

Highlights of last month were several monarch butterfly sightings ... and lots of beautiful flowers in bloom. But we are losing daylight minutes day by day, and went from 14 hours and 45 minutes of daylight on August 1 to 13 hours and 20 minutes on the last day of the month. That's a noticeable shortening of the day.

Oasis

One of my friends has a patio oasis I love to sit in.

There's a pond nearby...

Lots of potted flowers - plus the sound of running water makes it a peaceful place to relax or chat..

Where's "Waldo"?!

My kids used to enjoy "Where's Waldo?" type books. 

I remember a Richard Scarry book where an ant or a "lowly worm" appeared on every page - and we used to hunt for them.

Also - trying to get them comfortable in French - I bought a book called "Ou Est Pere Noel?" ("Where is Father Christmas?") with lots of Santas on every page... and we hunted for them, too.

Hunting for bees (or wasps?) on this photo of Japanese anemones reminds me of this game. I pointed the camera in the direction of bees buzzing around flowers. I MUST HAVE captured a few... But where are they?! 

Bees? Or Wasps?!

The Japanese anemones are in bloom... 

And the bees are out... or are they bees?!

I think of bees as yellow with black stripes ... These seem more white with black stripes!

After looking "white bees" up online, I came across a website where black and white bees are really wasps... But that was in California...

Are these wasps, too?!

There's so much variety in nature! So much to learn. So much to know...

Woodland Sounds

Often in summer we leave a few windows open for fresh air.

On quiet mornings, bird songs - and the chattering of chipmunks - remind us that there's an active world out there!

Those who enjoy the sounds of nature - but can't open their windows - can still listen to forest sounds from around the world on a website called Tree.fm.

A world map is even provided to indicate where these forest sounds have been recorded.

Another kind of "virtual" travel!

My June Graphic Calendar

Life has been busy! So it has taken me a week to bring out my graphic calendar of weather, daylight hours - and human activity for the month of June 2026.

The most enjoyable part of this creative activity for me is drawing the daily sky at some point of the day.

The big news was the summer solstice - the several weeks when there is very little change in our (longer) hours of daylight.

To me it sometimes felt as if I were holding my breath, waiting for change to return. For most of the year we gain or lose 2 to 3 minutes of daylight from day to day. But in the month of June very little changes. We started the month with 15 hours and 25 minutes of daylight and ended it with 15 hours and 37 minutes.

Although we had 11 days with about 15 hours and 40 minutes of daylight, the actual longest day here in Ottawa was June 23 (not 21!) with one minute more - 15 hours and 41 minutes. 

The whole month was warm - and busy!

Trees Fall...

Recently arborists removed a large tree branch that had snapped and fallen onto college property near our house. Arborists came to remove the fallen branches.

I took a few pictures and posted them on the blog...

Last week the rest of the tree toppled over - landing in the opposite direction! 

I don't think anyone expected that to happen!

Luckily no one was harmed either time - though the fence will need to be repaired.

Ants, Lemons, Squirrels and Tulips

I'm trying to make some connections...

We often have a large ant hill in our front yard. It's noticeable mid-summer when the soil is dry... Then a dusty mound emerges in the grass...

How to get rid of ants without chemicals, I remember googling...

Somewhere I came across an answer: Ants hate lemon peel...

Hmmm. I often buy lemons. Why not toss the peel into my flower beds and see what happens. 

So I did - all last summer and last winter - mainly into the large front flower bed... where NO tulip flowers were snapped off by squirrels this year... 

But in a smaller bed, where I had tossed NO LEMONS, two out of four tulip flowers were missing.

Is there a connection?! Does lemon peel deter squirrels?! 

I guess I'll keep tossing my lemon peels into flower beds - at least wherever I have tulips.

I have yet to discover if lemon deters ants!

Interesting Tree

One neighbour - in my son's neighbourhood - has been working on this large tree in his front yard.

Last year, the branches were trimmed - and it looks like they carved birds and animals into the wood.

(Or did they just attach them?!)

Now... I wonder if new leaves will sprout on the branches, shading these lovely carvings?!

Will more animals and birds be added??

An interesting work in progress!

If You Sit Still Enough...

Hmmm. If you sit very, very still, maybe no one will notice you're there!...

I walked past this spot a few days earlier ...

I noticed the sign but I didn't understand.

Then, a few days later, I walked past again... and I noticed her - a mother goose - sitting very, very still in a planter.

The planter was in a quiet corner of a shopping mall.

I looked around but couldn't spot her protector - the father goose. I'm sure he was there, somewhere, watching, ready to fly to her defence.

I'd really love to come by every few days, just to see what is happening - but it's not my usual path...

From my limited experience, I notice that urban Canada geese choose the most unlikely spots to build their simple nests - a few sticks on the roof of the house (next to my daughter's apartment in Guelph). On the edge of a cliff overlooking the river in Manotick. And now this planter in a strip mall.

Her days here may be numbered... 

Is it my imagination, or do I see a gosling peering out from under her wing feathers? Have some or all of her eggs hatched - and she is now covering her chicks with her wings? If so, they may soon be gone.

They don't learn to fly for several months... but they do walk away from their nests when all the eggs are hatched. They follow their parents, when only a few days old, walking - as their parents search for grass and water. Then, several months later, much larger and stronger - they begin to fly.

Budding

After a few cold, blustery spring days, I notice trees and bushes budding!

Nature is not deterred! 

Spring is here!

A "Walk on the Wild Side"

Last Sunday, Terry suggested we take a walk at Andrew Haydon Park, on the Ottawa River.

There's a large pond in the middle of the park, where ducks "bob" for food.

We hadn't been there for a while... (Or, as kids apparently now say: we haven't been there "in a minute"...)

The river was running high...

With a brisk wind, the park felt "wilder" than usual.

We saw ducks, seagulls and Canada Geese.

Why are the rocks here so orange? I've never noticed that before.

Had the rocks absorbed the colour of the dead leaves and pine needles?!

No frogs, turtles or otters in the creek this time. I always come to check. 

Chilly, but still a lovely, refreshing walk. 

Glad Terry suggested we head over!

New Neighbours?!

After our last snow fall, I noticed a tiny path in the snow - between our neighbour's cedars and our wooden shed...

Do we have new neighbours? 

Mice? Rats? Chipmunks perhaps? 

Not an animal that hops. One that burrows, or so it seems to me. And the burrowing path stops at the base of our shed!

A skunk once lived under that shed. It would let off warning whiffs from time to time. After it left, Terry wired up all entry spaces... or so he thought!

But those tracks... Tracks in the snow don't tell a lie! I think we have new neighbours!

Snow Moon 2026

I read last week that the "Snow Moon" was coming... and that it would be extra bright.

I looked up the definition of  "Snow Moon" - and discovered that it was the name given to February's full moon. 

My daughter saw it in Toronto - commented on it, and sent me the picture below.

I saw bits of the moon between pine branches in our back yard early yesterday morning.

But it was our neighbour Mary who captured the first two amazing photos - the first, while driving on Fallowfield Road, south of our neighborhood at 5 pm last Sunday; and  the second, the following morning, shining over our house!

Thank you do much, Mary!!

Wild Life Among Us

It doesn't take much to remind me that - although we live in a city of a million human inhabitants - we are surrounded by at least that many animals and birds as well. Many species come out in the dark, when I'm rarely out. I don't even know they're there.

I see dozens of squirrels daily. It's rare that I look out the window without seeing one. Raccoons, chipmunks, mice, groundhogs, coyotes and foxes inhabit our neighbourhood, as well, though I see them less frequently. And, of course, lots of birds!

There are skunks, too ... one sprayed our neighbour's dog a few mornings ago when the dog was let out into the back yard. She's an indoor dog... For two days every window in their house was left open, until the scent of the spray disappeared!

Then, a few days later, this owl (a barn owl?) swooped into this same neighbour's garage workshop, three crows in wild pursuit.

Fortunately, the owl soon exited through the open garage door - then attempted to hide in our pine tree.

Eventually it flew away, still chased by the crows.

This little taste of wild animal life has reminded me that they all live here, among us, all the time... a fact I usually forget!!