The Teddy Bear's Picnic

Our good friends, Joan and Eli, are excellent cooks and therefore, by default, excellent hosts too! Everyone I know loves getting an invitation to their beachfront home. Feral cats hang around the patio doors, waiting for tasty little morsels to be cast their way, so it was no big surprise when this "little" fellow came looking for the source of all the delicious scents wafting over his neck of the woods behind their home!
Definitely not Little Red Riding Hood!

Seeing the big Black Bear looking through the windows to see what was cooking, Eli dropped his spatula and quickly called the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources. They are very resourceful indeed, and know just what to do when B.B. king comes calling ...












Sensing he may be in a little bit of trouble, B.B. headed up... (By the way, this is a great shot, and a great time to say that Eli and Joan took these pictures with their cellphones! Amazing!)





















And we all know that what comes up, must come down. Fear not fellow nature bloggers, it's a dart gun,
and, two darts later B.B. was in dreamland.









When he awakes, he will be about 50 km north of the deck, in the midst of the forest and free to forage without harm to himself or the humans who cared enough to call the bear busters.


There are lots of reports of Black Bears on Allumette Island this year, and we who live here are happy about that, and about this ending!

Hot August Night

Hot August night...
And the leaves hanging down



















And the grass on the ground smelling sweet
















Move up the road


















To the outside of town




















And the sound of that good gospel beat
















with thanks to Neil Diamond...never, ever (!) thought I'd remember the lyrics to any of his songs, but it's 30 C right now (for Americans that's 30 x 2 + 32= 92 F) and I'm not complaining, given the cool, wet summer we've had up til this past week. So the heat is great, and Hot August Night just came in to my little head. The photos are all within 5 minutes of here.
Time to go jump in the river!
Also,thanks to National Geographic, for the shot of the Pileated...we have them, but my camera just ain't up to it. ( note to self: time for a new camera!!!)

FINALLY! Hummers are here!

Monday, May 4th, 7:34 pm -Allumette Island, Quebec,
about 5 minutes from Pembroke, Ontario. Let it be noted that the first Ruby-Throated Hummingbird of 2009 (in our yard) has been spotted at the feeder!!! -which I put out yesterday just in case...It was such a big thrill because this year's winter/spring transition has felt long, cool, rainy, and depressing and this just makes it feel like finally(!) spring has sprung!
The little guy made it! and I feel really good! Like cheering on the tiniest marathon racer in the world with all odds against him...and he wins! Yayyyyyy! There is a glimmer- no, an iridescent explosion of fuchia - hope indeed.
I reported this first annual siting on: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html and if you haven't already seen one, then this is the place to do it. Cheers all!

Waterblogged

The mighty Ottawa River is about to be declared a Canadian Heritage River on National Rivers' Day, June 14th, 2009. Without this magnificent river (that has the 3rd largest volume of water in North America) Samuel de Champlain might never have made his way west, nor lost his Astrolabe near Cobden, Ontario. The fur trade may not have opened the routes between England and the New World, the War of 1812 might never have... etcetera, etcetera and blah! de blah.
It all happened...this is not a history lesson. ( or at least, not intentionally).
And here I am today. On the banks of what I consider to be the most fabulous river I've had the pleasure of living beside. But there is a wee , er we, problem. It's rising today. Beyond what we have seen in the past 15 years we've been here. Thirty feet of reliable, beautiful sandy beach? Gone. The photo of our place taken a few weeks ago, shows a patio and a few steps...taken from further out on the beach. Today? April 27th? the water is lapping at the patio. Bonfire pit? See the log sticking up out of the water? No fires any time soon.
This afternoon was absolutely amazing. When I arrived home from work...winds from the south, gusting to 50 kph, and it felt like I was on the beach...in Maine, or Cuba...wherever there's an ocean...on a cheerfully warm day. Except. I wasn't. I'm here in the "valley" and it's April 27th and its + 27 degrees C. And that's just not ...right
I meant this to be quirky and funny, but really? As they say "WTF"?

THAT being said, the image to your left is of a root system, presumably from the oak trees about 200 feet away, or the pines which are closer. In either case, the water has wiped away the sandy protection, left the roots exposed, and well cleansed. This isn't the first time they have been exposed, and won't be the last.
I vacillate between trying to be relentlessly cheerful (which I am actually) and a doom'n'gloomer...I love the drama that the river is providing six feet away, and I hope that everything's gonna be alright. Really. Seriously. OK.