R is for Ready. Which I'm not.

This was the scene on November 26, 2008.

Brilliant red winterberries blanketed by snow.

Are you ready?

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The Growing Flock

A friend was over the other day and commented on one of the wading birds on top of the pine cupboard.She wanted to know if I could recall where I bought it. And I could.

In fact, each little wooden wonder has a story to tell, that usually involves a holiday somewhere, a local gift shop, and the search for something unique.

However, it  seems that my definition of "unique" is somewhat slanted. Unique means anything birdish...wood, stone, wood and stone. If it has a beak and wings, and  a certain charm, then it gets placed on the list of possible acquisitions.

'Course, once people catch wind of the fact that you like carvings of birds, then it's pretty much game on, and the collection begins to take on a life of its own.

A very nice life I might add.

I now have decoys, and carvings, and sox, and boxer shorts, and earrings, and necklaces, and prints and paintings and books, many, many books...and the subject matters is birds.

And of course, there is always room for more.

It's amazing when I stop and look at the 'aviary' that my home has unwittingly become! And when I start to count all of the birds in it, including those in the all the other rooms, not just the kitchen/dining/living area. Well, let's just say, there's more than a baker's dozen. Or  four.

I would venture to say that most birders have a similar affliction. If it's got wings, and beak, and it flies...it'll likely end up feathering your nest. And if you don't want it, I think I know someone who can likely find a place for it.

Light of November

As we hurtle towards the shortest day of the year, light becomes a huge topic of conversation for those of us who live above the 49th parallel.

This weekend, we "fell back", as in turned back the clocks by one hour in order to, to...help kids walk home from school in the sunlight? (Do kids still do that? Aren't they all bussed?) Allow farmers to farrow their fields in the late afternoon? Huh? Their combines now come equipped with lights, and stereo systems, and leather seats, so that's not right. No....no, wait!  I think it's the opposite. We "spring forward" for those reasons. I have no idea why we fall back. Because someone in 1926 said we should, before the installation of  Sirius Radio on the ol' John Deere? Who knows?  I'm sure someone will enlighten me.

But this I do know...

 This morning I woke up in the dark, drove to work in the dark.

Came home in the dark. Heard the term Seasonally Affective Disorder (SAD) for the first time this season, and thought about the benefits of being a bear,

sleeping the dark away.

In the meantime, I wait patiently for sunrise, 

knowing it will help lighten my mood.

Rust and gold and copper and gray. This is the light of November.

Seeing is Believing

The beautiful Atlantic marshes in Cape May, New Jersey make me long for super vision, and that's a first!

There were days on this magnificent coast line that it felt surreal, until I realized that it was.

Here's lookin' at you,  kid.

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Good Morning Miss Cellanea

The past several weeks have been full of work, and more work,

then throw in some work, and that about sums it up.

Holidays are wonderful but there's a price to be paid besides the Visa bill at the end of them. Starts with W. So I haven't had much time to sit and relax, and go through the photo albums that are so easy to build on the computer! Take the camera, go for a drive, take lots of shots, download, name the file, and then...wait 'til there's a spare hour hanging about.

That would be now! Finally!

So going through the album for September, I remember this day clearly.

A soft, misting September morning.

Quiet. Perfect day to grab the bins, the books, a bun  

and just go.

The Ottawa Valley is a perfect place to ramble. Rolling meadows, roadside streams, very little traffic once you're off the main highway. You can take your time and look to see what the ditches have to offer.

Obviously well used, and right in the middle of a raspberry patch?

It's all about location, location, location.

Just beyond I spy a sure sign that summer is over, and birds of a feather

are making flight plans.

The signs were everywhere on this day. Some less subtle than others.

Obviously, this is where I was meant to stop.

A place to have a little picnic - or catch one if you can.

The area was originally settled in the 1800's, as loggers and farmers and merchants came to the Ottawa Valley in search of the tall stands of timber. It was a tough life, that spared no one. Coming across small family plots overgrown and unkempt is not an everyday event, but nor is it that rare.

This particular road is an old one, and it was likely once an animal trail, 

  that followed the river. It still is rich with life.

The hunted and the hunters dwell here.

They know they're being watched.

By this guy.

While the chickadees hunt juicy little seeds and berries, and

the Great Blue Heron heads to the next fishing hole.

It's all a matter of perspective. Yours. Mine. Theirs.

Life and death. Daily dramas.

Food for thought.

Courting Good Behaviour

The beautiful Superior Courthouse in our town recently received an international  Building of the Year  award, in recognition of the outstanding renovation, restoration and heritage conservation that has taken place in the building in the past few years. It is truly a magnificent structure, that by its very presence says Justice Lives Here.

The building was originally built in the mid-1800's, and was in need of upgrading...bringing it into compliance with the modern building codes and security standards necessary to keep the the judges and lawyers and victims safely separated from the criminals. Crime has changed in the past 150 years, and so to have it's perpetrators. The architects and designers tried to show this in their renewal efforts.

Still stately, a place where the weight of the world often sits on the shoulders of those in this courtroom,

 pondering the depth of the crimes and misdemeanors.

 Now, it's also bullet proof, and there are emergency panic buttons if the need arises.

The light shines softly through the windows, and seeks hidden channels so that it can reach the inner depths of the building and shed a little more light within.

The quiet shadow land of the interior court is a place to reflect.

And, if you're about to be sent to jail, a place  to be very, very happy that our criminal justice system decided it was too harsh on the criminals when they were sentenced to a term in what are now euphemistically called "heritage jail cells".

Imagine spending time in here?

Approximately 4 ft. by 8 ft. No windows. A brick platform to dream on. A tiny cubby hole for your slop pot.

No TV. No computer. No lights. When it's dark, that's where you are.

A place to contemplate the reason that all of society's privileges have been removed.

 But it's been deemed too hard and horrid a place, and relegated to history.

But there are some criminals that I think it suits perfectly.

It's a good place for a disgraced, depraved, serial rapist and double murderer who once was a Colonel.

A Walk Around the Neighborhood

Today was one of those picture perfect days, an apple  of a day, a day to celebrate being alive! Cool, clear blue skies, soft southerly winds, and best of all, a Sunday, so nothing to do but enjoy it.
We live in eastern Ontario -the Ottawa Valley, which is a little slice of heaven on the shores of the Ottawa River. I brought my camera along on this morning's walk so I could show you my neighbourhood...
First - the walk out the back door, towards the driveway...and right past the coming winter's warmth:

Yup. We heat with wood (and electric when we're lazy).  There's tons of it around, and it means you can open the doors on a cold day to cool

the house down, and not feel guilty.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself here,

Our driveway is beautiful.



There comes a day, every year when the trees just give up their gold.

And let it fall. Today was that day.

 

There's always a few hold outs... waiting to be the last leaf to fall.

The sidewalks in my neighbourhood are not paved with cement. 

They lure me, lead me and make me walk slowly. I do not wear a watch.

 I wander down the "sidewalk" and check out the block.

The view of the main drag, so to speak...

Like any urban area, we have to contend with litter:

So many of them! And the smell is evocative of childhood. Rich, earthy, ripe scents of yesterday and filled with promises for tomorrow.

Today, I found plants that weren't quite ready for winter...

Still blooming, defying the odds. How  like a daisy-cle.

The lane to our home is not paved with good intentions.

It's simply winding and welcomes me every time I'm on it.

The front yard is inviting too.

I sit and watch which way the wind blows,

while the leaves dance.

 

Company's Coming. Now We're Cookin'

Well! My last post led me smack up against a brick wall- nary a thought shared nor a comment posted. So I have to now admit that sidewalk embellishments are more of a niche topic, and I shall send the post off to a bunch of urban planners. They may enjoy it.

In the mean time, I hope you all feel like eating. Food is a topic I love. Not only do I love eating, I love growing it, foraging for it, talking about preparation methods, and ultimately cooking it.
I am not one of those people who eat to live. No, I live to eat.  But I will never suffer from being too thin. (Or too rich sadly). However, I digress.

I achieve almost the same meditative state I get from taking a walk in the woods with my camera and binoculars when I'm in the kitchen, preparing something special. Not just anything though...the daily drudge does not induce peace. Just plain ol' boredom. As in ho hum, another supper, I wish they'd invent new food and I wish I could find the genie in the olive oil bottle, and he could do the dinner drive.
BUT! when company's coming, that's a whole other bag of groceries!

And so tonight, having first served frozen fish sticks and coleslaw (see what I mean? Pure drudgery), I am now cooking up a storm for guests who are coming for dinner tomorrow night.

On the menu:

Warm olives with orange slices, cheese and seeded crackers
Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup
Mushroom Lasagne

Spinach, Pear and Pancetta Salad

Strawberry Rhubarb Vanilla Yogurt

The soup is first up, and is  pretty easy peasy...roast the veg to bring out the flavours, simmer in stock, puree, done.

I have never made this before, but it sounds delicious, I love eggplant, garlic , onion and tomato, so it should be tasty. Should may be the operative word here. We'll see.
It's not that I like to experiment on my guests, it's that  having guests ignites the creative cook within. And I have difficulty following specific directions and cooking within the pot so to speak.  Sometimes the results are disastrous...but not always.

Bathed with olive oil, it's into the oven  the veggies go for some flavour intensification. The kitchen  smells incredible as they mingle in the heat.

Once they've softened up somewhat, and browned a little, then it's time to make formal introductions and let them dance together in a slow simmering pot filled with a tangy broth with accents of cumin, pepper, and thyme...I'm making myself hungry here!

The flavour is rich, full bodied, earthy with a tangy lemon accent and back notes of pepper. It tastes wonderful as it's simmering away, but truthfully, doesn't look all that swell. The eggplant is quite stringy, a gelatinous mass.  I suspect once it's all pureed it will be a caramel colour..a bit odd for soup..but the taste! That will overide the visual, and I'll be sure to serve it by candle light.

or maybe in full light. Bon appetit!

                                                                                         ...to be continued.

All Around the Circle.

When we began paving paradise a few centuries ago in North America there were craftsmen hired to do the job. They took pride in their work and despite it being back breaking, they also tried to inject some creativity into the paving stones so that they would smooth the way, both literally and figuratively.

This wavy tile treatment is a fabulous example of form meeting function! The steel grate serves two purposes: it warns the pedestrians that the cross walk is near, and it drains water away from under their feet.

These bubble bricks do much the same thing, notifying the blind and those in wheelchairs to be careful and watch for passing traffic. Someone was thinking with both sides of his (or her) brain. And while the good councillors of the day may have ranted and raved about the costs of careful construction, I'd lay odds that thousands of lives - and dollars - have been saved as a result of these design considerations. 

And who ever said that stair risers couldn't be attractive; adding greenery and life to a concrete and clay landscpape?

I want to walk up these stairs.

Or these ones...

The idea of letting nature assist, especially  after bulldozing most of it away, is a good one.

Creating spaces that suit humans, plants and animals is a challenge.

One that some cities, like Savannah, seem to be better at than others.

I thought at first, how funny! They think that dogs can read...then I realized

how far some people will lower

themselves for a drink.

This little guy's quenching the thirsty child within.

Travel. See. More.

Between the Earth and the Sky

http://www.hawkmountain.org/

If you're a birder, with  capital 'B', then you will have heard of Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania. Since 1932, it has been a sanctuary for birds and buteos and  buzzards and the humans who want to watch them.

It is an international birding hotspot, and people from all over the world

make special vacation plans so they can be here. 

Just like we did two weeks ago.

The first bird I saw was big. And goofy looking.

Oh. A guide to let us (and the 100's of others streaming to the park)

know that we had arrived. And park your car over there to the left, please.

Keeeekkkkkk!

If by chance you didn't actually know why you were here, the park is filled with reminders, and outdoor guides to let you know what you may be seeing.

And the excitement begins to build as you realize it is entirely possible that you may soon be eyeball to eyeball with a bald eagle. Or a hummingbird.

Just depends which way the wind blows.

So filled with energetic expectation you begin the trek to the top.

 A mere 1500 feet. Straight up, and sometimes down, over boulders.

Can I just say that this looks a lot easier than it actually is? Not so much the climb, but scrambling over and around the rocks was an exercise in ankular dexterity. And for god's sake, don't wear flip flops! ( No, I didn't.)

1450 feet later from this spot on the path, I spotted my first bird!

A Great Horned Owl. Just sitting there! Oh, wait...why is there a tail feather lofting in the breeze? And why so mangy looking? Ah ha!

It's a stuffy GHO. Truly.

I guess he's mounted here to let you know that you are indeed now here too. You're at the north summit, a remote corner of southeastern Pennsylvania, where you  can sit quietly and watch as hawks soar by, catching thermals alongside the mountain ridges and kettling before your eyes. A sight to behold.

Did I say alone? No?

Good, because that is one thing you won't be.

(And no, it isn't a Tilley Hat fashion show.)

It was such a surprise to see all of these people! Although in hindsight I can't imagine why, as they likely read the same birding publications that I do, and were just doing exactly what we were. Seeking Mecca!

So, what's a birder to do?  Enjoy the scenery...birders come in all shapes and sizes, and you may as well people watch while you're waiting

for a bird to fly past.

He was enjoying the cool mountain breezes as well.

Eventually, the birds drifted through. On bright, sunny days like the day of our visit, the traffic is slow. No imminent storm brewing,

no strong winds blowing...

just a nice day for a leisurely flight south.

This Bald Eagle -the fuzzy one that was pretty far way- was one of four that we saw, along with several Broadwings, Sharp Shins, Coopers, Merlins, and assorted other birds, including Chimney Swifts, a Hummingbird,

and some Cedar Waxwings.

Oh, and a Bronze Eagle. Best shot of the day!

 Hawk watching is a different kind of birding all together. Unlike warblers or shorebirds, that you seek out and generally find as you enter their habitat, with

hawks you sit and wait. And wait. And hope the wind picks up.

Would I go back? Depends which way the wind's blowing.

Was I happy we went?

Do birds have wings?