Connected and (a few) Posts of the Week

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected. ~ Chief Seattle of the Suwamish Tribe

Lest I leave blogging behind all summer, I figured I'd better get a post up now and again. This is the now. Before too long, there'll probably be an again.

Below are a few images of creatures I've happened upon in one way or another - at or close to home.

A few weeks back, Frank discovered a large hole near one of our pine trees. He surmised that it could belong to none other than a groundhog.

Sure enough, a few days later, a glance out the kitchen window, toward some movement in the garden prompted me to grab the camera and capture this little cutie.





Nom, nom, nom.






We're hoping that none of the neighbours see him. Some didn't take kindly to the beaver in our lake - understandably since they have done serious damage to trees on the property. We know that groundhogs aren't generally very popular critters either so stay less visible, little guy!

Early summer is a busy time for egg-laying, if you're a turtle. Unfortunately, very few of them seem to make it to maturity since other creatures, like raccoons are quick to find the unattended eggs. The sides of the road (near the swampy areas) are strewn with small white opened and empty egg shells.


I was driving along our road when I saw this Common Snapping Turtle busy laying her clutch. She's way bigger than she appears, and gave me a few warning snaps even though I never left the car to photograph her.






Later that same day, I was driving along a country side road when I saw this little guy sloooooowly making its way across my path.






I got out to have a closer look, and found that it was a very pretty Painted Turtle. It was only halfway across the road and I figured it needed a bit of help getting to its destination safely.






Of course, I took the obligatory up close photo before sending it on its way. He's a bit shell shocked. ;)






Benny spends a few active hours after dark, looking for and chasing night creatures. Ninety-nine percent of the time, his chase is only in his imagination - although he was observered by our neighbour cavorting with a red fox a couple of weeks ago. He charges, snuffles, barks and then disappears for a few minutes, until call back. Most of the time, he returns all proud of himself for playing the fierce doggie cop - to nothing.






But every now and then, there's truly a reason for his guarding duties - like this young raccoon raiding the bird feeders.






He's managed to get himself stuck between the feeder and the lamp. Help! He left soon after Benny came back inside. I love his little foot print on the siding.






Last, but not least, this odd looking creature is a very wet, Skittles. He needed a much-hated bath after a two hour round trip to the vet. He didn't like traveling in the carrier without his brother and had a couple of accidents - there and back. "Smelly cat, oh smelly cat, what are they feeding you?"

Hopefully there'll be more photos coming up soon. Blog visits will happen sporadically. I hope everyone in the northern hemisphere is enjoying this wonderful summer. I know I am, and that's the main reason that I haven't collected too many Posts of the Week, recently. I do have a few photography posts for you to visit, and a couple of our regulars have sent me posts which they have recommended. So please do visit the few offerings that I have for you, and I'll try to have more for you soon-ish.

❀  ❀  ❀  ❀  ❀

And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if your blog post is named as a POTW.

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PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Brian II
by Adrian
at Adrian's Images

Macro With Red Background
by Linda
at The View From Squirrel Ridge

Stormy Beauty
by Fiona
at Lady Fi

Close That Oven Door
by Tabor
at Room WIthout Walls

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READERS' CHOICE
 
Recommended by:  Joeh
The Satellites are Laughing
by Murr
at Murrmurrs

Recommended by: Eddie
D-Day Remembrances: 70 Years On
by Hilary Melton-Butcher
at Positive Letters ... Inspirational Stories...

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Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

Where it Leads

If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads. ~ Anatole France

One day, in the middle of May, I took a walk up to a park about fifteen minutes from home. There's a man made pond there called Lake Aquitaine, which attracts many of the creatures that my local pond does, and often a few others. Mostly, it's just nice to have a different place to stroll, sit and smell the flowers. And of course, take a few photographs.



Not far from my front door, a couple of neighbours have magnolia trees growing by their homes. Frank has a beautiful tree on his own front lawn, also. I never got the chance to see his in bloom, this spring so I was pleased to be able to enjoy the blossoms closer to home.





The lovely white blooms of the Serviceberry or Juneberry are a promise that there will be a lot of edible fruit coming soon. A few posts back, I included a photo of this tree from a distance, along with a profuse growth of dandelions. A couple of you asked me what the tree was. I looked it up at the time but completely forgot to edit the post to include the information. So consider that done now. The fruit is a favourite of birds and of yours truly. I usually try to sample only a couple of them and leave the rest for my feathered friends.






Maple leaves are always interesting when they first begin to bud. These flowers have yet to fall off despite the leaves being nearly fully formed.






Another tree on the way up to the pond - full of colour, texture and life.






Out on the pond, a painted turtle was sunning himself on a floating log. I didn't have a very long lens with me so this was the best I could do from a distance. Thankfully I can still zoom and crop on my computer.





A young dad was trying to teach his little boy how to fish. The child was about three, and a bit more interested in dancing on the edge of the dock. One time too many for my maternal nerves to stand and watch for too much longer.






At the end of the afternoon, I followed the scent of crab apple blossoms which beckoned me homeward.

Thanks for joining me at Aquitaine - even though we took this walk back in May.. I'll have more photos coming up for you soon.

Creature Feature

I have a few critter photos to share with you, all taken either on walks or in Frank's back yard.

Of course no creature compilation would be complete without Benny so I might as well include him right from the start.

This robin keeps a wary eye on Benny and me. She might have wee ones nearby.

This one hopped up onto the fence ready for a quick getaway.
 

This is an odd place for a seagull to land. It's the top of a sawed off tree, standing about ten feet tall. He just perched there for the longest time.

What do you think the chances are of seeing the same gull a few weeks apart, along the same creek but in a totally different spot than before? I'd say they're fairly good because that's exactly what happened. How do I know? Look closely and you'll see that this gull is missing part of its left leg. He's the same bird featured in this post.

This little cutie is a female cowbird. They're different from most birds as they don't build nests in which to lay their eggs. Instead, they invade the nests of other species and allow them to hatch and raise their young for them. This one is getting sustenance, Chez Frank's - probably building up her strength to lay more eggs.

One of the finest singers in the park - the male red-winged blackbird.

The catbird often eludes my camera but this little guy sat and posed nicely for me. They really do sound like cats mewing.

Crows are beautiful and intelligent birds. I don't often see one in the field when I walk there, and this one watched me closely as I passed him by. He took off a few seconds later but without a sound or call. I guess I was just a bit too close for comfort but not to the point of his needing to alert others.

This goose wasn't taking off from me so much as he was heading to the opposite side of the pond where someone was tossing out bread crumbs. It's not a great shot of the bird but I liked his reflection in the water.

That's enough birds but here's one more winged creature. A bee busying himself with a pretty, purple flower.

So is it just me, or does anyone else see the left-facing profile of a baby bunny in this photo. I thought that the patched tar on the sidewalk strongly resembled one. The dark clump of mud would be its eye. You might need to lean back from the monitor a wee bit.







And while I'm showing you weird marks on the sidewalk, do you see a butterfly in this one?

And this brings us to...

The end.

Thanks for joining me. You're always such fine company.
 

A Walk in the Park

It's time to join me for a walk in the park. Grab a hat and some sunscreen. These hazy days are deceiving.

Fresh as a daisy.

Twin Iris. Born of the same stalk.

Frank pointed out this young Robin primping.

And preening.

A duckling explores the water and comes up empty-billed.

Our local Painted turtle basking in the sunlight on the slope of the dam. The water sparkles behind him.

Up above him, Mr. Blue does a fly-by.

I hope you enjoyed our walk around the pond. Can I pour you a coffee?

This was a scheduled post. I will not be able to return visits for about a few more days because I am away at the cottage. I do have some more scheduled posts though, and they will be coming up soon.

Creature Feature

It's always enjoyable to have you folks accompany me on one of my walks. So please, slap on the sunscreen, pour yourself a coffee and shut the door behind you as we head out to visit our surroundings.



A small but vocal frog thinks he's well hidden in the shallow shoreline of the pond. Think again, little croaker.




Not too far away this 12-Spotted skimmer lights briefly upon a blade of tall grass.




Another winged beauty poses for us on an upper cedar branch.




Not even attempting to hide, the spider has woven a splendid web overnight.





Almost every day this summer, a Painted turtle basks in the sunlight of my local pond.





A hungry chipmunk greedily fills its cheeks from a pet food bowl which was left on a front deck.




That loud cry you hear is that of the Blue jay - snapped through a pane of glass. He eagerly awaits the peanuts which are left for the squirrels. He's often the first on the scene, forcing the bushy-tailed cuties to find something else...




Like apples. It's a good thing our park is filled with apple trees.





On our way home, a last glimpse of the pond. A Dad and his young son have stopped to chat with the ducks.


Thanks for joining me on my walk around the park. The company, as usual, was just grand.

This was a scheduled post. If all goes according to plans, we're probably back up at the cottage for a few days. I'll be around to read comments and catch up with your blog posts shortly after I return.