Thoughts and things

Pesky photographer!

2011-12-24T16:59:00.001-05:00

Two days ago I went up to Mount Royal to see what might be out and about and came across this young Raccoon as it was descending a tree. Here is what transpired and I felt like I could read his thoughts.

Oh, oh! What is she doing there?!

Maybe if I climb back up a bit and hide my face she will go away.

Hmm ... she's still there. Ok, I'll hide more of my face.

Oh well, I might as well pose and get this over with ...

I took a few more shots and then he clambered back up the tree and into a cosy cavity where he waited for the intrusive human to leave.

The snail

2011-11-28T21:13:00.001-05:00

It seems that a snail was mugged by a tortoise.

When he was being interviewed by the police and asked whether he thought he could identify his assailant,

he replied ...

"I'm afraid not. It all happened so fast!".

Winning entry

2011-11-19T22:31:00.002-05:00

Well it has been quite awhile since my last blog posting and here I am now to blow my own horn!

I just won a photo contest put on by CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society).

I nearly missed the deadline and quickly submitted the photograph above at the last minute and it won in the "Forest Dwellers" category.

I am invited to a Soirée to receive my prizes (one of which is my photograph framed) this Thursday evening but it is in Calgary! They will mail it to me instead.

You can see the other entries here: http://www.thecamerastore.com/photocontest/entries/11802

You can see the winners here:
http://www.thecamerastore.com/photocontest/contest/cpaws-capture-wild-photo-contest-2011

I'm so glad my sweet foxes won and hope it will bring in some money for the organization.

Interesting insects and others

2011-09-29T21:18:00.001-04:00

Finding that mammals and birds are not always available or cooperative, I have lowered my sights (so to speak) to peer into the insect world. I must add that I have included spiders and their kin as well. Here is a selection of some of the more interesting subjects.

Crane Fly

Plume Moth

Jumping Spider (cute little guy!)

Phantom Crane Fly

Green Darner Dragonfly

Giant Ichneumon Wasp laying eggs

Daddy Longlegs

I am still waiting for a good photo of a Praying Mantis and my all time favourite - a Luna Moth!

The Magic Of Lanterns - Montreal Botanical Gardens

2011-09-19T23:30:00.001-04:00

I recently visited the Botanical Gardens and stayed at night to see the show entitled "The Magic Of Lanterns". It was very beautiful and I hope these pictures do it justice.

An added bonus was the full moon which, positioned beside the Olympic Stadium tower, added to the magic. I was trying to get the reflections of the tower, moon and lanterns in the still waters when a duck very noisily landed with a loud splash and sent the water rippling in all directions. Talk about a grand entrance for an audience!

Can't resist another bird sequence

2011-09-07T22:44:00.000-04:00

At the Montreal Botanical Gardens I came across something that I had never seen before - a Great Blue Heron taking a bath. It was quite a show!

The second sequence of Grebe photos

2011-09-05T18:01:00.004-04:00

Back in June I posted a sequence of a yawning Grebe. I mentioned that I would post another sequence of the same Grebe doing a "ballet". Well, here it is.

"Longer than a lifetime"

2011-08-30T22:03:00.001-04:00

This past Saturday I watched the funeral of Jack Layton in its entirety and I was alternately moved to tears, amused to laughter, roused in spirit and just spellbound.
The music was poignant and the singers magnificent. The eulogies were a pleasure to listen to and the priest cracked me up!
Jack - you had a terrfic send off. I wish you could have seen it.
During Jack Layton's son's eulogy, he mentioned some advice that Jack had given and it resonated with me.
I have reproduced it here.
It inspires me.

In an Octopus' garden

2011-08-25T23:09:00.001-04:00

I have a fascination with camouflage and thought this video was very interesting!

"And we'll change the world"

2011-08-25T08:28:00.003-04:00

Jack Layton -
the best Prime Minister that Canada never had.

Downy Woodpeckers

2011-08-22T16:59:00.001-04:00

This past spring I found a Downy Woodpecker's nest and monitored it from the excavation to the young ones' departure.

On the evening before the little ones (there were at least two - one male and one female) left I managed to get this short video.

The poor parents, already run ragged by demanding babies were now being bullied by the hungry little ones. The parent leaps backwards when the baby lunges forward. I can't help but laugh.

The parents were fastidious in cleaning the nest after every feeding (which is what you will see at the end).

I hope you enjoy it.

It is posted at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0sKtOu2oyw

Close encounters of the hawk kind.

2011-08-11T20:11:00.019-04:00

Recently I had the extraordinary experience of spending well over half an hour sitting between two low slung trees at the Montreal Botanical Gardens while surrounded by four young Cooper's Hawks.

These hawks (along with the two parents) have been drawing dozens of photographers to the Gardens and sometimes there seem to be more tripods than trees!

That being said, I was extremely lucky to have had such a long time alone with the foursome. I was able to squat down and waddle slowly (such an elegant gait) up to each bird until I was within 3 to 4 feet.

The reason I could do this was based on a few factors: the birds have been raised in a place that brings them in close contact with humans; they are young and more trusting than the wiser adults; and one was eating its prey which meant the others were waiting for their opportunity to get a share and I was the least of their concerns.

I took hundreds of photos constantly changing settings, angles, flash versus no flash, etc. and here are some of the best results.

Here is a 28 second video. I get a chill each time the hawk seems to look directly at me!

Wildflowers, weeds and wasps

2011-08-05T19:37:00.005-04:00

The other day I was walking along a trail in our local woodland park (a real treasure!) and I started to think about the concept of invasive species. An article in a city publication had mentioned how Buckthorn was being eradicated from this park as it was an “invasive species”. The park has huge gashes in the woods where the offending bushes have been ripped out and laid aside. Another part of the park has large expanses of Milkweed which is celebrated and touted as responsible for a commendation from a Monarch butterfly organization (Milkweed is a major food source for Monarchs). Ironically, some publications list the Milkweed as an invasive species!

Just as a plant can be a cherished wildflower or an offensive weed – it all seems to be in the eye of the human beholder.

Interestingly, the very next day, “The Current”, a CBC radio program, dealt with this whole issue of invasive species. It included interviews with Matt Chew of the Center for Biology and Society at Arizona State University and Dr. Jim Carlton a Professor of Marine Sciences at Williams College.

Matt Chew and 18 other scientists who have co-authored a recent article in the journal Nature, are challenging the pervasive view that we should declare all out war on so-called invasive species.

The article has been published on-line and I have not seen a statement that it can not be reproduced so excerpts are given below:

“Over the past few decades, 'non-native' species have been vilified for driving beloved 'native' species to extinction and generally polluting 'natural' environments. Intentionally or not, such characterizations have helped to create a pervasive bias against alien species that has been embraced by the public, conservationists, land managers and policy-makers, as well by as many scientists, throughout the world.”

“Increasingly, the practical value of the native-versus-alien species dichotomy in conservation is declining, and even becoming counterproductive. Yet many conservationists still consider the distinction a core guiding principle.”

“It wasn't until the 1990s that 'invasion biology' became a discipline in its own right… proponents of biodiversity preservation and ecological restoration commonly used military metaphors and exaggerated claims of impending harm to help convey the message that introduced species are the enemies of man and nature.”

“But many of the claims driving people's perception that introduced species pose an apocalyptic threat to biodiversity are not backed by data. Take the conclusion made in a 1998 paper that invaders are the second-greatest threat to the survival of threatened or endangered species after habitat destruction. Little of the information used to support this claim involved data, as the original authors were careful to point out. Indeed, recent analyses suggest that invaders do not represent a major extinction threat to most species in most environments — predators and pathogens on islands and in lakes being the main exception. In fact, the introduction of non-native species has almost always increased the number of species in a region.”

“Nativeness is not a sign of evolutionary fitness or of a species having positive effects. The insect currently suspected to be killing more trees than any other in North America is the native mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae.”

“Most human and natural communities now consist both of long-term residents and of new arrivals, and ecosystems are emerging that never existed before. It is impractical to try to restore ecosystems to some 'rightful' historical state.”

I tend to agree, however I confess that I am not directly impacted by these species and so can afford a less biased view. But the more I read about eradication programs as well as restoration programs; e.g. the re-introduction of animals into areas where they have been driven out in the past (usually by humans) - for instance wolf recovery programs - the more I think all this management of nature needs to be stopped. Yes, let us curb our destructive habits and tread more lightly on the Earth but now trying to force it into a balance that we deem the proper one is only causing more grief.

On a somewhat related note, last Sunday while in these same local woods, I was delighted to find what I believe were Paper Wasps building a nest behind the glass of a large wooden sign at one entrance to the park. I watched them for quite some time and took many pictures (always trying to eliminate the darn glare from the glass). This nest was at eye-level and afforded me a glimpse into their lives without any danger of unintentionally inciting an attack because of the glass barrier. It was a great opportunity for learning.

Three days later I returned to check on their progress and all the wasps lay dead inside the sign. Some were still in the nest. It looked like a battle scene with all these brightly coloured warriors lying lifeless. I guess someone in the city park services determined that these animals were also to be destroyed.

I wonder if there will ever be an area close by where I can go to see unmanaged, unmassacred, unharassed wildlife.

I dedicate this blog post to the wasps.

Well I am up and running

2011-07-31T20:55:00.006-04:00

After my various computer woes, I now have a brand new hard drive (to which I have been re-installing all the software) and so far so good. However, a bizarre thing happened when I was loading some new photos. As is usual with Windows 7 (or maybe not, but usual in my experience), photos that were taken in the vertical (portrait) format must be rotated manually. I have done this many, many times and the application says "saving" and then it appears in my pictures folder as a vertical photo. Well, after doing this a couple of times I started to realize that the pictures were disappearing! Yikes! However, when I would do a search under the file name, it would say it was saved in the folder. Huh?? After various futile attempts at understanding this and doing tests I decided to ask Microsoft for help. They indicated via their website that I would need to contact the computer manufacturer. On no! Not again!

I plaintively cried out loud "I just want my system back to the way it was...".

Then I saw they had a site where kind souls help others with their problems and I keyed in "rotating pictures" and astonishingly, several people were writing in to say that every time they would rotate a picture it would disappear! One poor woman was distraught because she had taken pictures of her daughter saying good-bye to her father (the woman's husband) for some unknown destination (possibly Afganistan?!) and now her pictures were gone.

Well, thanks to some really smart people, they figured it out that the latest version of McAfee virus protection (which I guess I now have) is responsible. How discernible is that?! I would never have thought of it.

And two solutions were proposed: return to an earlier version of the virus protection until the company corrects it or unhide files. (For some reason, the virus protection program labels a rotated file as a file to be hidden.)

I chose the second option and so far, all is well. This of course, took until 1:00 am this morning to do! I am rather stubborn sometimes and stick with things to the bitter end.

Anyway, I am now in a position to share a couple of new photos with you so here they are:

Grasshopper

Viceroy butterfly (a mimic of the Monarch butterfly)

Computer woes

2011-07-26T20:19:00.005-04:00

Warning! This is going to be a post to vent!

I have been without a computer for four weeks now. ..

Actually, now that my defective power supply and motherboard have been replaced, I can access the Internet to write this blog but now that my hard drive seems to be defective also (which, of course, only became evident a day after the other parts were replaced), I have no data left on it and therefore I cannot upload any photos into this post - but probably that is just as well as the only thing appropriate would be pictures of me pulling my hair out.

On top of all the failing hardware, there has been a comedy of errors throughout this ordeal. When a three hour phone session with Technical Support brought no resolution, it was determined that the company (who will remain nameless) would need to send me CDs in order for me to re-install the operating system but ... the CDs were being held by Purolator since, it seems, my apartment number was not indicated in the address - even though I distinctly remember telling the company to add it.

Then to complicate things, while I was waiting for various (futile) processes to run during the aforementioned three hour phone call, I received a sales pitch for a second hard drive. I was quoted a good price ($65) so I said "OK", then the tech guy came back with a final price of $86 ("because you are in Canada"), I said "OK" again, and he processed it. But then he came back to inform me that I need a special cable and that was another $25 and then after that he said he made a mistake and he ordered two (other) cables and it should have only been one. Well by this time I was getting frustrated and asked to cancel the order, but no, it was too late that evening and I would have to call the next day.

I did that first thing the next morning but the order had already been shipped. Then I was told they would contact Purolator to have the package returned but ... it can't be that simple of course. Purolator was now handling both the CDs (which I wanted) and the hard drive order (which I didn't want). Both were due to be delivered the same day. Then Purolator called me directly about the address kerfuffel and said they had two packages - what did I want them to do? Is one package flat like it could have CDs in it I asked? Yes. OK then, please send me the flat package and send back the other, heavier one. Sure they said. Great I thought. But ... the flat package contained the two small cables! The CDs were somewhere else. Now, I had to repackage the cables and go to the Purolator store to ship them back. Who knows how my refund will be processed.

OK, so now lo and behold, the CDs arrived! Yay!

I just spent half an hour with a Tech guy trying to use them to re-install Windows, etc. but it turns out that it can't be done! Something about being unable to delete partitions. Then I am told that they will therefore send me a new hard drive with everything installed at the factory (sort of like when I bought this *&^$# computer just one year ago!) but wait - no - since I LIVE IN CANADA they can't send me this type of hard drive - they can only send me a blank one with CDs and I will have to install it all myself (with help on the phone).

So, again I will have to take time off work to receive the technician and then spend hours on the phone trying to re-install everything. Probably by the time all this is done, the computer will break down again (with an expired warranty) or be obsolete!!

I feel guilty complaining about my computer problems when there are real, terrible issues that people are dealing with in the world but venting makes me feel better.

One sleepy little Grebe

2011-06-09T21:21:00.011-04:00

Last week-end I visited the Montreal Botanical Gardens and came upon a sleepy Pied-billed Grebe. It went through an elaborate yawning and stretching routine (actually three times!) and later on did another "ballerina" type display. I will put that in a separate blog. I hope you enjoy this sequence of photos.

Can you see the Bittern?

2011-05-25T19:33:00.003-04:00

Have you ever seen an American Bittern? They are not easy to spot. I was aware of their penchant for standing in dry reeds with beak pointing upwards (and even swaying "in the wind") but I had never seen it in real life until a couple of week-ends ago. I managed to get a few shots. There was one where the bird was quite "invisible" but I thought this one was a better choice for the blog.

By the way, they also have an amazing call which to me sounds like a loud and deep "glug, glug". I saw this one doing it and it is interesting to watch as well as to hear because the bird inflates its throat to make the noise.

A photographic long week-end

2011-05-23T21:30:00.010-04:00

Once again I am making a "lazy" post by just putting up some recent photos! In any event I hope they convey a sense of the spring treasures that I came across this lovely long week-end.

Male Yellow Warbler
Jack-in-the-pulpit

Gray Squirrel

Tree Swallow

Painted Turtle

Green Heron

2011-05-16T21:10:00.012-04:00

Finding a Green Heron is exciting enough but getting to photograph one as it goes through some sort of feather ruffling exercise was a real treat. Here is the dapper fellow before, during and after! In the fourth photo he reminds me of a British butler asking for one's hat and coat.
: -)

A couple of critters and lots of spring wildflowers

2011-05-02T19:19:00.014-04:00

What could be better than a beautiful week-end in Spring? I took advantage of the fine weather to check out my favorite wildflower area in a local nature park and I wasn't disappointed! The abundance of flowers and the interesting variety made the place a true treasure trove. The addition of a cute Red Squirrel and a "just as cute" Garter Snake made the experience even more special.

Red Squirrel

Garter Snake

Bloodroot

Hepatica

Carolina Spring Beauty

Dutchman's Breeches

Trout Lily (or Dog-toothed Violet)

Colt's foot

Red Trillium

Raccoons get equal time

2011-03-28T20:46:00.005-04:00

The previous post had a couple of fox videos so to give equal time to raccoons here are two videos. The first shows a raccoon grooming himself and the second one is only a few seconds long and shows several young raccoons in a tree at various levels.

I apologize for the pixelation of these videos. Unfortunately the videos lose quality each time they are transferred from format to format. The originals are much sharper.

Woodchuck and Fox videos

2011-03-27T20:01:00.011-04:00

Although it was a bright, sunny day yesterday, it was quite cold and there was a brisk wind. Undeterred however were several Woodchucks who came venturing out of their dens after a long hibernation.

Here are two videos taken a couple of years ago. Both are very short. In the first one a young fox is disturbed by the presence of a cat and barks at it several times. Both animals were in the Mount Royal Cemetery eating some offerings from a cemetery visitor.

Sightings this week-end

2011-03-22T20:33:00.008-04:00

Having the first sunny week-end in quite some time, I went to the Montreal Botanical Gardens to see what was about. The Gulls were in abundance as were Redpolls and Chickadees. Squirrels hung out in their usual areas asking for handouts and the bird feeders attracted Nuthatches as well as various finches. One of the most exciting finds was a couple of Cooper's Hawks (male and female). Here is a sampling of the sightings.

Ring-billed Gull

Close up.

Gray squirrel

Common Redpoll

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

Cooper's Hawk

Oh my! The gulls are back!

2011-03-09T19:55:00.008-05:00

This morning when I walked to work there were no gulls about. This afternoon they were circling and swooping and making me feel that spring is right around the corner (in spite of yet another winter storm warning for tomorrow!).

Yay gulls!

Fine Art America

2011-03-06T18:53:00.008-05:00

Here is a post to shamelessly tell you that I am now selling my photographs on a website called Fine Art America.

I have enjoyed choosing photographs and setting up galleries on this site. You can access it at:

Fine Art America.

One of the most viewed photos (thanks to a mass mailing sent out by my sister and mentioning it as her favorite) is "Drowning In Indigo".

There is also a permanent link on this blog (right hand side) called "My photography for sale".

Drowning In Indigo

Birds galore!

2011-02-28T20:45:00.008-05:00

Since yesterday's weather proved to be much nicer than what was originally predicted, I went to the Montreal Botanical Gardens. At one of the feeders I saw a bird that I thought was a Pine Grosbeak until I got home and looked at the pictures on the computer (next time I should bring my binoculars!). It was a "first year" male White-winged Crossbill. This is a bird I have been hoping to see for years. I knew it had been sighted in the Gardens but I had never been lucky enough to see one until now! Its pink and yellow plumage (very exotic looking to me) will change to a deep pink.

I also saw House Finches, Redpolls, Juncos, Chickadees, Nuthatches and a Cardinal. It was a great day!

White-winged Crossbill

House Finches (male and female)

Cardinal

The crow

2011-02-20T20:24:00.005-05:00

I saw many crows today on Mount Royal. They were uncharacteristically quiet. However they reminded me of a poem I wrote a few years ago.

In case the print is too small on the photo below to be legible, here it is:

THE CROW

I walk along the wind-blown path
With leaves strewn at my feet -
The trees are bent from nature’s wrath
There’s someone I must meet.

And as the thought comes to my mind
A windsong brings a crow
Which ‘lights upon a branch and I’m
To learn what I must know.

“It’s time,” she says, “for you to fly
You’ve been given many a feather.
Try out your wings and touch the sky
You’ve long lost any tether.

Leave all the sorrows of long past days
Rush now, the future’s calling.
All wounds have healed, now turn your gaze
There is no risk of falling.

Remember that it’s me the crow
Who’s helped you find your wings.
I’m there when soft or strong winds blow
No matter what life brings.”

Woodchucks

2011-02-07T22:06:00.003-05:00

Here is a short video clip taken in the spring of 2009 of a mother Woodchuck and her babies. One baby is determined to wrestle down a particularly ornery root! Mum has a look of resignation as her young ones tumble and play fight around her and she gives a deep sigh at one point. On another occasion she springs to attention when hearing a noise - always ready to defend her young!

Common birds

2011-02-06T18:43:00.004-05:00

Sometimes we overlook the beauty of what we consider to be "common". The birds depicted here all fall under that category but if we look closely, are they not quite exquisitely beautiful?

It's always a good idea to look at everyday things with "new" eyes once in awhile and thus appreciate what is right under our noses or outside our windows.

The starling

The sparrow

The robin

Wild winged wishes

2011-01-31T21:46:00.004-05:00

When I was a young girl and feeling a need to escape the boundaries of my life, I imagined I could call a beautiful, wild, winged horse. This horse would let me climb on her back and we would soar above my troubled world. It was a feeling of pure freedom. Since reaching adulthood, I put these fantasies aside but still there is a part of me that hopes she would hear my call were it to be made today.

WILD WINGED HORSE

She stands alone - wind ruffled mane -
Tossed and wild –
Nothing tamed.

Then surges upwards - unfettered.
Strong and fearless –
Un-tethered.

My heart soars with the wild, winged horse
Who loves the open sky
And I, who loves the horse, do know
What wondrous ride she could bestow.
For which I’d gladly risk it all
Yes, even risk the deathward fall
To have but done it once.

Slideshow for blog

2011-01-25T21:43:00.003-05:00

Here are three fox photographs (only one shows here) that I am posting in an effort to then use them as a slide show! Yay, it worked! You can see it below on the right. However, there must be a better way.

Helping cats and kittens

2011-01-23T17:08:00.009-05:00

I have had the privilege of photographing cats that have been rescued and put up for adoption by a Montreal based organization called Steri-Animal. The photographs are posted on Petfinder.com and are a great way to allow people to find the perfect companion. Steri-Animal does terrific work and has helped a great many cats. I thought you might like to see a small collection of these beautiful and lucky individuals.

You can check out the organization at: Steri-Animal.

Ocean video clip

2011-01-11T20:17:00.003-05:00

I have the need for a relaxing visual and auditory experience. Searching through my videos led me to this 30 second clip of the ocean off Dallas Road in Victoria. I guess 30 seconds is better than nothing. : -)

Ice halo

2010-12-28T20:27:00.010-05:00

If you recall, back in November I had a post about supernumerary rainbows and iridescent clouds. Well, on Christmas day I witnessed another interesting atmospheric phenomenon - the ice halo!

Thanks to the keen eyes of my friend Jean, it was brought to my attention that there was a "rainbow" around the sun. I only had my pocket camera with me but managed to take these shots. You can read about ice halos here.

I find the wispy clouds add to the "other worldly" aspect of the scene.

Young rabbit eating a dandelion

2010-12-26T21:34:00.006-05:00

I am taking advantage of the holidays to try new things and one is to insert a video in my blog post. This is a 30 second clip I took a few years ago of a young rabbit at the Montreal Botanical Gardens eating a dandelion.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T20:57:00.002-05:00

Cats!

2010-12-22T22:43:00.009-05:00

I thought I would share some photos of a couple of my cats here.

The first is of "Sweet Young". Each cat in a feral colony (in which she belonged) was named by some unique characteristic; hence there was a "Flat Ears", a "Long Legs", etc.). Sweet Young was just that - a sweet, young cat who tended to protect the kittens in the colony even though she had never had a litter herself. As many of the cats as possible were sterilized and either placed in homes (those who were socializable) or relocated to a farm in the Eastern Townships (those who were too wild to socialize). This operation occurred back in 1997 and Sweet Young has been with me all this time.

Willow is another homeless cat that I took in two years ago. She is full of life and likes to fling toys all over the room. She is also a cuddler and gets more and more cuddly as time goes by. The second shot shows her staring intently at a toy on the floor. The predatory nature of the feline showing clearly!

Lastly, here is a link to a YouTube video of two cats playing "Pat-a-cake". I find the voice-over hilarious. Click here.

I hope you like it.

Foxes return to Mount Royal

2010-12-06T20:52:00.004-05:00

I was very pleased to find three (!!) foxes on Mount Royal yesterday. Two were together (and had been sighted by another fox enthusiast last week-end) so I am thinking that they are probably a mated pair.

Fox sightings have been very scarce for over a year now so these were a welcome sight.

One was kind enough to settle down for a snooze and allowed me to get these photos. I like the way his fur matches the fallen leaves. In the second shot you can see he still has one eye on me!

Moving On

2010-11-21T18:47:00.002-05:00

Some catch phrases tend to make one chafe and for me it is this notion of “moving on”. It strikes me that “moving on” is no longer what one does when a grieving period is over but what one feels obliged to do to make others feel better. People are told they should move on. People are made to feel selfish for not doing so.

I have heard a young widow say how friends and family were supportive for a short time but then lost patience with her.

I recall an extreme case of this when John F. Kennedy Junior’s plane was still missing. All things pointed to a tragedy and family members were gathering in Massachusetts. Caroline Kennedy had arrived and was seen riding a bicycle on the grounds of the Kennedy compound and this spurred one reporter to declare that this was Caroline’s way of sending the message that we must all move on. Remember – his plane had not even been found yet!

I am appalled by people’s impatience with the grieving process and the added toll that takes on those who find that they need more time to deal with a tragic loss and then feel guilty because of it.

This type of attitude was exhibited recently at the lunch table at my workplace. For the third time my lunch mates brought up the issue of another co-worker’s sister who is mourning the death of her son (a young man) from a sudden illness several months ago. This mother has been in an almost catatonic state ever since and is lost in her grief. She barely eats or functions in any way.

This is severely frowned upon by my lunch mates because, you see, there is another living son. The fact that the mother is not “looking after” this son (also a young man) is seen as outrageous and some even suggested that if she is trying to slowly commit suicide, they would gladly bring her a gun. This would be “better for the family”. One suggested she is being unfair to the remaining son and shouldn’t be “wallowing in self-pity”.

Having heard this too many times I said, “You can think of “fate” as being unfair to the other son and to the whole family, but we should not judge this woman. If she were lying in a coma due to a physical illness, no one would say that she was neglecting her son.” People still think of mental illness (including depression) as something you can snap out of it you weren’t so selfish!

My suggestion to not judge the grieving mother was met by an aggressive attack by one co-worker with rather extreme language and an accusation of being judgemental (ironic really, considering the point I was making).

When discussing this with a long-time friend whose son was killed in a plane crash many years ago, she recalled how she couldn’t talk about him for TEN years. Things take time.

Not everyone can comply with others’ timetables so we should accept the mourning period however long it takes. Sure, urge people to get help in the form of therapy or drugs and do whatever YOU can to help them but remember that there are processes that the mind and the soul need to handle in their own time frame.

Instead of criticizing those who are suffering, maybe we should all try to be more compassionate and also remember to be grateful that we are not in such a position.

The Blue-spotted Salamander

2010-11-18T19:55:00.014-05:00

I can't resist one more post on the Blue-spotted Salamander. This little creature is not only a wonder to see, but thanks to my friend Armas Hill of Focus on Nature Tours, I now know a lot more about this species.

Having travelled to Arizona and Mexico with Armas in 2008, I was amazed by his knowledge of all sorts of wildlife and it was a wonderful trip. His website is full of photos (many are mine I am pleased to say) and you can find all sorts of interesting information.

Here is what he wrote me about the Salamander:

The Blue-spotted Salamander occurs in your part of the world, west into the area of the Great Lakes. It does occur as far south as my part of the world [Delaware], to New Jersey, the southern limit of its range.
South of you, there's another species called the Jefferson Salamander, mostly to the west of here.
Where the two salamanders overlap, they can interbreed. When they do, they create yet two other species of salamanders, both hybrid ALL-FEMALE species: the Trembley's Salamander and the Silvery Salamander.
And there's even more to the story:
The male Blue-spotted Salamander breeds with the female Trembley's Salamander. The male only stimulating the female's egg development. The male's genetic material is not contributed.

...

I hope you are as impressed by this Salamander as I am!

A wildlife week-end

2010-11-09T20:52:00.009-05:00

It’s interesting how things happen. On Saturday I went with a friend to the nature park in Ile Bizard and being November I figured there wouldn’t be a lot of wildlife to see but maybe a Muskrat or Beaver and possibly the Owl that is often sighted in the woods.

Well, I strolled the boardwalk for any sightings and my friend went off on another trail for a power-walk. At one point she came hurrying back to tell me that a Woodpecker was in full view and would make a good photo opportunity. I followed her but unfortunately only saw it as it flew further into the woods. I recognized it as a Pileated Woodpecker – quite the handsome bird! Well, no Owl and no Woodpecker photos for me but … just as I paused to photograph a mossy log on my way back to the boardwalk, I saw something I have never, ever seen in my life – a Salamander!!

I knew they existed and I also knew that one had to search carefully in wet areas under rocks and leaf litter to find them so I relegated that to a “probably won’t ever happen” category of life events. But this little guy was right out in the open and very nearly under my foot! Luckily I saw him in time and I think I stood for several seconds unable to believe my eyes. (I am sure you have noticed by now that these types of sightings get me very excited : -)).

So, to reiterate: no Owl, no Woodpecker but a Salamander on Saturday. By the way, this is a Blue-spotted Salamander.

Well, on Sunday I went to Mount Royal and while passing a large evergreen tree I noticed that a Crow flew around it once with a loud “caw” and then left. It made me wonder if something was in that tree. So I walked up to the tree’s trunk and looked straight up. I didn’t see anything until suddenly I noticed movement and there was a Long-eared Owl staring down at me! Yay! – an Owl – and a new species to add to my list to boot!!

A little while later I heard a “knock – knock” on a tree and there to my astonishment was a Pileated Woodpecker!

It’s almost as though the Owl and the Woodpecker were deferred to the next day so that the Salamander could have my full attention on the Saturday.

Then just to add icing to the cake, I spied this lovely and unusually marked Squirrel. Its coat was a soft blend of white and gray and he posed quite nicely against the fall foliage.

Not at all bad for a week-end in November - a time when one feels Nature is entering its dormant stage.

Supernumerary rainbows and iridescent clouds

2010-11-02T21:38:00.008-04:00

It's interesting how one thing leads to another and before you know it, a mystery is solved. Last night on the way home from work I saw a spectacular rainbow and as I studied it I noticed narrow bands on the inside of the arc. I checked the Internet and found out that this was a supernumerary rainbow!

Then, as I was perusing the website I clicked on iridescent clouds and this solved a mystery regarding a picture I took in March of 2006 in the Montreal Botanical Gardens.

On that day I had the camera pointed up towards a Goldfinch in a tree when I noticed the strange colouring of some clouds. It was unlike anything I had seen and so I photographed it but never researched it any further. Here is the photograph with reduced brightness to show the colours better. The colours themselves have not been enhanced.

First snow

2010-10-31T20:46:00.013-04:00

First snowfalls always come as a bit of a shock (especially in October) but if they are as beautiful as this, well ...

This fellow isn't sure he likes the idea.

And this one seems to be wondering what has happened to his tree!

So much beauty ...

Rather Christmassy for Hallowe'en ...

Amethyst enchantment

2010-10-24T18:34:00.006-04:00

A fellow blogger posted Robert Frost's poem "October" and I found it inspiring. (Thank you "Daffy"). I especially loved the lines "Retard the sun with gentle mist; Enchant the land with amethyst."

I submit this photograph to accompany the poem as I feel it also expresses an amethyst enchantment.

October

by Robert Frost

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
To-morrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
To-morrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow,
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know;
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away;
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost--
For the grapes' sake along the wall.

A little whiskey makes for a good day!

2010-10-16T22:26:00.011-04:00

Today I decided to visit a park on Gouin Boulevard which I really only go to each fall because of the colourful maple trees and the little inlet from the Rivière des Prairies which attracts ducks.

Most week-ends I go to Mount Royal or sometimes Angrignon Park so this is another case of being in the right place at the right time. I say this because on my way back from the park and while waiting at the bus stop I suddenly saw a brown and white dog standing (alone!) at an intersection. He ran across the street to another nearby park and raced around. I watched to see if he ran up to someone but it was pretty far now and I couldn’t quite see. I told myself that he had probably just gotten away from his owner in the park but there was another tiny voice saying “hmmm ... I don’t know about that”.

But the bus came and I was cold and tired so I got on along with my nagging misgivings. The bus turned the corner and continued along the perimeter of the park. Oh no, there was the little dog all alone! OK, forget this – I got off the bus and ran towards him as he continued to race around to a playground now. A young man thought he was my dog and scolded me for not having him on a leash. Finally I caught up with him as he lay on his back in front of two small children asking for a “tummy rub”. After ascertaining that he wasn’t theirs, I scooped him up (not an easy task since he was a beagle mix and not exactly light).

Now what to do? As he squirmed, I carried him to the entrance of an apartment building and got inside. At least if he broke free from me he was still somewhat confined. Next I saw that he had a tag (yay!) and that it had a phone number (yay again!). Luckily I had my cell phone in my pocket but it was no small feat to read the number and try to dial the phone while holding onto the collar of a squirming, twisting, jumping dog!! Finally I put the phone on the floor and dialled. A man answered. In very broken French I managed to explain that I had his dog and where I was. He said his sister would be there in five minutes. Now I had to go out to the side of the road so she could spot me and I was afraid this friendly but rambunctious dog would get away from me. So, I fashioned a makeshift leash from my camera strap and we stood together waiting for her – or rather he pulled me and I pulled back and we went around in circles and thankfully very soon there she was running to him with a proper leash. She thanked me profusely and said "Whiskey" had slipped out the door and just when she realized he was missing, her brother called out to her and said there was a woman on the phone who had him!

So now reunited, she trotted off with little “Whiskey” on the end of the leash. This was a very good day!

More Sutton photos

2010-10-13T22:20:00.015-04:00

Several more pictures from Sutton. I was particularly excited by the Monarch caterpillar and the Monarch chrysalis!

Sisters in Sutton

2010-10-10T08:38:00.020-04:00

A couple of weeks ago my sister Diane and I went to Sutton in the Eastern Townships for five days. She had stayed at Auberge Schweizer there in July for a watercolour painting course and raved about the place. So she suggested a short stay for us where she would sketch and paint and I would do my photography. We timed it to coincide with the lovely fall colours.

On the Sunday afternoon when we arrived it was showering but the forecast predicted a sunny Monday so we held on to that thought. The rest of the week looked "iffy" but we wouldn't let that get us down.

We proceeded to get the news that the accommodation that was expected (a two bedroom suite over the "painting room" would not be available due to a mouse that had to be "taken care of"). The Auberge owners were stunned when we both said in unison "that's OK - we like mice". They insisted in upgrading our accommodation but I was more concerned that they not kill the mouse/mice. Well, interestingly enough considering my previous post, they had a live trap and later in the week they announced success and that the captured mouse would be released "up by the dam". We even offered to do the release which elicited more stunned looks.

In the meantime we had quite taken to our substituted living quarters. It was a very comfortable chalet with a fireplace, full kitchen and two bedrooms - each one with a bathroom attached. We ate lunches in the chalet and had our breakfasts and suppers in the dining room. The food was vegan / vegetarian (as requested) and was absolutely delicious. Most of the food came straight from their organic garden.

While everything was wonderful, the weather was not very cooperative. Each day our mantra became "I think the sky is clearing" or " there seems to be a break in the clouds". Most of this was wishful thinking and actually things got worse as tropical storm Nicole sent torrential rains and gale force winds later in the week. However, we never let it get us down and I still managed to get some interesting photos (mainly of insects). On the worst day we simply headed off to wine country and toured the local wineries and stocked up!

Here are some of the photos of the trip. You can also find many of my Sutton insect pictures here.

"Our" chalet on the hill

Some of the fall colours

Here I am doing one of my favorite things - petting "Lucky", one of the resident dogs.

Diane doing one of HER favorite things!

Some early sketches

A Viceroy butterfly (mimic of the Monarch)

This pumpkin was grown in the Schweizer's garden and is estimated to weigh 100 pounds!

My next post will show more photos of this enjoyable stay in Sutton.

Choices

2010-09-24T19:28:00.007-04:00

Yesterday I wrote about a little mouse named Guy but tonight I'd like to write on a more serious note.

This is the time of year when wild mice seek out warm shelter and food supplies to help them through the winter to come. In the process some will enter our houses if given the opportunity (improperly sealed external walls, etc.). This occasionally happens at my work place and the company puts down glue traps or spring traps. Glue traps are notoriously cruel causing the mouse to lie stuck and in terror until it starves to death and the spring traps are little better when they don't kill outright but only strike and maim the mouse where it is also left to die slowly. To counter this, I started searching for humane alternatives and lo and behold they are readily available, cheap and effective! One needs only go to Zeller's or a similar store or hardware store and buy a live trap.

Check out humane traps here and here. A friend of mine actually constructed one herself and caught several mice one season which were taken outdoors to a suitable location (there should be plenty of cover like bushes or tall grasses) and released. Her large dog became fascinated by this process and insisted on accompanying her to the release site where it would put its face close to the trap and watch the mouse's exit. He never attempted to hurt the mouse and just excitedly watch the event.

So the more we can deal with the little lost animals on subway platforms to the little hungry ones seeking warmth in buildings in humane and life-affirming ways, the better off we all are. Here's to the tiny creatures that need some empathy!

Guy the mouse

2010-09-23T19:11:00.009-04:00

I found something the other day which has brought back memories of a rescue I made about twenty years ago! It is a "mousie" bag and this is the story of the mouse named Guy.

One day in 1989 or 1990, I had a doctor's appointment downtown and since my sister Diane worked not too far away, I thought I would take the opportunity to meet her for lunch. I did have to eat after all and it wouldn't take much more time than my regular lunch period at work (or so I thought). That was before I realized that fate was engineering a little drama to come. I left the doctor's and headed for the Guy Metro station to go the couple of stops to her workplace.

While waiting on the platform, my attention was taken by some sort of commotion a few meters away. I looked over and saw a small white mouse running along the side of the wall of the station towards me. I looked down and saw that there was a little jutting out part of the wall that would slow the mouse in his tracks when he reached it and, positioning myself to pounce, it all went off like clockwork! The mouse paused at the "roadblock" and I grabbed him and quickly dropped him in my purse! The purse had a zipper closure and I closed it just enough to prevent his escape but to provide him air. I also managed somehow to remove all its contents (and stuff them in my pockets) without him escaping. Suddenly a woman came up to me who had been waiting on the platform too and offered the mouse a few pieces of her bagel. She said "he might be hungry". I was touched!

I am not sure how this mouse (soon dubbed "Guy" after the Metro station) came to be there although I vaguely remember teenagers making a commotion at the time he was running (maybe they had released him as a joke to play on the passengers?) but in any event no one tried to claim him and I would have resisted attempts to take him from me.

Now of course I had a mouse in my purse and was on my way to a lunch date. So imagine my sister's surprise when I arrived and then announced that we were being joined by a surprise guest! Unfazed, we still had our lunch at a nearby restaurant where I surreptitiously passed little samplings of my salad to him.

After lunch of course I couldn't just head straight back to work so I had to detour to a pet shop and buy him a cage and supplies and then take him home and install him in my apartment (in a separate room from my cats!). This simple doctor's appointment stretched into quite a few hours. But it was all worth it. Guy was a friendly little fellow who would come to the front of the cage for treats and petting. He also lived a long life of three years which is well above the average lifespan. Here he is.

He was also treated to fresh salads whenever I went to "La Cage aux Sports" restaurant after work which was just across the street from my company. I asked the waiter one time for a bag in which to take home my left-over salad explaining the story of Guy and that it was a "mousie" bag rather than a "doggie" bag. He was rather taken by Guy's rescue story and even made this special bag up for him. I have kept it all these years.

Cicadas

2010-09-15T22:06:00.006-04:00

Well, since I devoted a post to the Walking Stick I thought I'd give Cicadas equal time. Granted I don't think they are quite as cute but they are interesting too.

The picture below was taken in Toronto and as far as I can tell it is Tibicen Pruinosa. If you enlarge this photograph you can see three tiny red eyes which lie between the two large eyes on each side of its head. Rather alien looking, eh?

This fine fellow was in Arizona and again my best determination is that it is Tibicen Dorsata.

And finally, this is the discarded skin of the Arizona species.

An interesting fact about Cicadas is that they live the major portion of their long lives in the nymph stage. And of course, we have all heard their incredibly loud whine on our hottest summer days.

You can watch an amazing video of one shedding its skin here.

Another cool bug!

Photogenic birds

2010-09-14T20:38:00.009-04:00

Although I mentioned in the last post that birds prove to be difficult photographic subjects, here are some that were quite cooperative. In fact the Black-and-White Warbler came so close I had to keep walking backwards to try to keep it in focus!

White-breasted Nuthatch peeking out of a tree cavity.

Black-and-White Warbler

Downy Woodpecker on a stalk of Mullein

An anorexic grasshopper?

2010-09-13T19:41:00.006-04:00

On Saturday I had the great serendipity of finding a "Northern Walking Stick" insect while checking leaves for interesting caterpillars. Lately I have been taking quite an interest in insects (especially as birds are generally very difficult photographic subjects!).

I was so thrilled to see this little guy! First I couldn't believe my luck and then I began to suspect it was wishful thinking. I could only see four legs (if indeed they were legs) and I know insects have six. So what was going on? I very gently prodded it with a small fallen leaf and it recoiled so I knew it was alive. So the solution for me was to photograph it and then examine it more closely on the computer.

Here are the photos. The second one shows it after it had moved to another leaf (and to that leaf's underside where I would never have noticed it if it had been there when I first passed by). Upon examination one can see that it has extended its front legs (green) to be parallel to its very long attennae (brownish). This further enhances the "stick" look and made me think it only had four legs.

From the Internet and books, I have learned that Walking Sticks are strict vegetarians who use their camouflage to escape notice by predators. They are preyed upon by birds mainly but also mice and chipmunks of all things! Some species can even change their colouring to match their surroundings like chameleons! They also have the amazing ability to regenerate severed limbs which is almost unheard of insects.

Not only that but some species reproduce by parthenogenesis (without a male partner) and seem content living on their own. Hmmm - a vegetarian, likes to live alone, has no sexual partner - sounds familiar! ... but I digress. :-)

Another interesting fact is that they produce eggs singly and drop them from leaves to the ground below where they lie dormant over the winter and hatch in the spring as nymphs. After six moults the nymphs resemble the adults and their development is complete.

I hope all these facts fascinated you as much as they did me. What an amazing world we live in!

Oh, as to the title of this post? Well - this was a friend's description of the creature. I liked it.

And for a little bit of trivia, David Hyde Pierce ("Niles" on the TV show "Frasier") was the voice of the Walking Stick named "Slim" in Pixar's wonderful animated film "A Bug's Life".

Toronto trip - Part 3 (final)

2010-09-12T17:56:00.013-04:00

Toronto's High Park was the last nature area that I visited during my short stay in the city. Because of the intense heat wave, I think more time was spent at the Grenadier restaurant drinking cold orange juice than at the Grenadier pond but I still saw some wonderful wildlife.

A lovely reflecting pond.

I found this hovering bee quite cooperative while trying to get a mid-air photo.

I noticed a whole string of Wood Duck boxes along the far shore of the Grenadier Pond and obviously they were productive!

One of my favorite subjects!

This photo shows just how expansive and wild the pond is.

And, proving the "wild" point, here is a Black-crowned Night Heron.

And, the ubiquitous Great Blue Heron was also out and about.

Another ubiquitous creature (at least at this time of year).

And lastly, this little fellow. The squirrels I had seen up to that point had been quite shy but this one was flattened out in the grass to try to cool off and was not about to move for anyone!

Toronto trip - Part 2

2010-09-08T22:01:00.010-04:00

Having scouted out the area via the Internet before leaving for Toronto, I found the Ernest Thompson Seton Park was not too far away from my hotel. It turned out to be a 50 minute walk and was well worth it. Ernest Thompson Seton was a renowned naturalist, artist and writer and he travelled the ravines of Toronto sketching and observing the wildlife.

Here is a friendly Torontonian that I met during my walk in the park!

Early morning mist.

A Downy Woodpecker along the trail.

One view of the trail.

This photo is rather "busy" but I liked all the patterns and textures of the water and the duck's feathers.

The hot, humid weather and the over-grown vegetation made me feel like I was in the tropics. I was thinking of Egrets when I suddenly spied this Great Blue Heron. It felt magical.

These graffiti messages struck me as poignant and a good use of chalk on concrete.

Toronto trip - Part 1

2010-09-05T18:26:00.019-04:00

On August 27th I ventured off to the big city of Toronto. The main reason was to attend a family wedding but I also hoped to visit areas where wildlife could be found. On the very first night I found the Mount Pleasant Cemetery which turned out to be as much of a treasure trove as the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal (and even more so as will be seen further on). This map shows the location of my hotel at the corner of Eglinton and Mount Pleasant and two of the major places I visited (outlined in red). Unfortunately it will not enlarge for some reason.

The next post will be devoted to the Ernest Thompson Seton Park. For now we'll see some of the sites of the Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

The beauty of the area.

One of a small flock of migrating Red-Breasted Nuthatches.

A Monarch Butterfly. These gorgeous creatures were flitting about everywhere.

I have tried to get a good close-up of the berries of the Bittersweet Nightshade for a long, long time. I finally got it!

I found these bees on one of the most colourful flowers in the cemetery!

Aside from the Gray and Black Squirrels, several Red Squirrels were out and about and this one seems ablaze in the late afternoon light.

But here is the sight that I have never seen at the Mount Royal Cemetery!! I was astonished to see a deer come running close to me. It was stressed by a loud grass mower hence the open mouth but afterwards it ran to another area and then just calmly walked.

And lastly, here I am. My reflection is caught in the polished granite of a tombstone. I thought it gave a dreamy image of the foliage and sunshine. Contrary to what people may think, I believe cemeteries are for the living and are poignant reminders to live life as fully as possible.

A few photos from last week-end

2010-08-10T22:09:00.005-04:00

A couple of pictures of a raccoon being cute (head tucked in tree cavity and dipping its paw in a container of rain water). A flower with an iridescent green fly and a Goldfinch on a thistle. Another post of few words! :-)

Swamp creatures

2010-07-25T21:41:00.012-04:00

Finally back to blogging. I seem to have blog posts that run through my mind but I haven't put anything down in writing. Actually, to take the easy way out, this will be another "picture post" with little text. My spare time seems to be spent either editing photos or taking them, with little time left for thinking or writing.

Here is a sampling of some of the swamp creatures that I encountered yesterday at my favorite nature park (Ile Bizard).

Least Bittern (a normally shy bird)

Turtle

Song Sparrow

Frog

Marsh Wren

Dramatic Dragonflies

2010-07-01T22:06:00.022-04:00

The more I photograph dragonflies the more fascinated I become by their beauty and variety. The following identifications are my best judgements. If anyone has another suggestion, please let me know.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Male Eastern Pondhawk

Female Eastern Pondhawk

Dot-tailed Whiteface

Four-spotted Skimmer

Unicorn Clubtail

Common Green Darner

Female Widow Skimmer

Immature male Widow Skimmer

Male widow Skimmer on Loosestrife

Male Widow Skimmer

Immature male Widow Skimmer

Glorious birds!

2010-06-22T22:02:00.007-04:00

Here is a sampling of some of the glorious birds I have seen recently.

Tree Swallow
Mallard (with a mischievous look but is that a halo over his head?!) :-)

Wood Duck (female)

Red-winged Blackbird (female)

Two more insect photos

2010-06-21T22:42:00.004-04:00

Just another quick post of two more insect photos. Butterflies are obvious choices as beautiful insects but I think this fly is quite stunning too!

I'm back!

2010-06-20T23:06:00.012-04:00

Well, it has been almost a month since I last posted. One reason for this is that I was on vacation for a week and took so many photographs that I have spent all my time editing them since then. Also, of course, there was the usual "catch-up" to do at work and on top of that I bought a new computer and had it installed this past Friday. I was aghast to find out that data transfer (from the old computer) was not included in the installation (it was when I upgraded eight years ago!) so I have worked all weekend doing it myself. I am almost finished but my photographs alone have taken 10 hours to transfer!! What takes 1 hour on my old computer takes only 3 minutes on my new one so it was way past time to upgrade.

Now I am exhausted but thought I would post two dragonfly photos. I took these at an urban nature park that is a real treasure trove for finding dragonflies so I will go back often. I hope you like these in the meantime.

Eastern Pondhawk (female or immature male)

Widow Skimmer (female)

More spring babies (of the Woodchuck variety)

2010-05-25T20:19:00.018-04:00

This week-end I checked out a Woodchuck den that was active last year and was delighted to see a new family with three little ones. I can't be sure but I believe the mother is the same one as from last year. You can see my gallery of that family here.

This den is on a wooded slope in a cemetery which is a very busy place on week-ends and holidays. Car loads of people kept arriving and, in order to be discreet for the sake of these animals, I patiently waited for about two hours hoping that as the day waned, the crowds would thin out. Sure enough, around five pm I could hear car doors slamming and engines starting. At last I would have some "alone" time with the mum and her babies.

Well, one's patience is sorely tested when photographing wildlife! Just after the last car left and I positioned myself near the den, a raccoon wandered by on the upper edge of the slope (where one of the babies was exploring). By its manner I don't think it was stalking the young one but at the very least, it startled it and there was a big commotion resulting in one terrified little Woodchuck hurtling down the embankment (gravity was helping propel it and amazingly it never lost its footing) and all three dove deep into the den. As well, a stone was dislodged in the process and it made quite a racket as it tumbled down into the dried leaves. All this caused the mother to leap into action and climb up to confront the intruder - however it was long gone at that point.

Needless to say, my photo op was quickly over! Instead, I decided to come back the next day at an early morning hour which paid off with many of the following pictures. I am also happy to report that all three babies seemed no worse off for the skirmish of the previous day!

Mother resting.
Two of the babies.

All three babies!

Watching the watcher.

A tender moment between litter-mates.

A young one with the mother.

Mother bonding with baby.

Mother and all three babies!

The little ones love to chew on branches and twigs.

Litter-mates.

Relaxing in the dappled sunlight.

I was amazed to see lots of tree climbing!!

A sweet and alert little face :-)

Spring babies

2010-05-23T21:39:00.010-04:00

This week-end has been a delight and is due to having the good luck to see the new life that spring has brought. Here is a sampling!

Canada geese

Mallards

Didee's artwork

2010-05-12T20:15:00.013-04:00

My sister, known in "blog" world as Didee, is an excellent artist. She has generously allowed me to post some of her artwork here. Some of her favorite media are represented in the selection below.

Watercolour

Batik.

Pencil

Watercolour

Pencil

Bokeh effect

2010-05-10T19:14:00.007-04:00

Having just become aware of an effect called "bokeh", I thought I would post a few photos which seem to illustrate it. It refers to the way points of light in a photograph are rendered. This effect can be created by an editing program such as Photoshop or (as in the cases below) can be created simply by the choice of aperture on a telephoto lens.

Photo edited examples are shown here:

http://psdfan.com/inspiration/graphic-design/inspirational-examples-of-the-bokeh-effect/

Rainy day squirrels

2010-05-09T19:26:00.006-04:00

This was a pretty dreary week-end but there were a few sunny breaks on Saturday afternoon so I grabbed my camera and dashed over to a near-by college campus hoping to find some interesting subjects. Well the squirrels cooperated!

Photography exhibit

2010-05-06T20:20:00.018-04:00

This past week-end I participated in the annual Mount Royal Cemetery photography exhibit. This was my third time participating and is an event that I look forward to since most of my photography is done in this cemetery or other parts of Mount Royal. This year's theme was "The spirit of the mountain expressed through texture in all its forms".

It's always fun to meet up again with the other participants and view their work.

Here are the four entries that I submitted with their titles and write-ups:

Leaf in decline. The texture of this weathered and partially consumed leaf shows how insects and other organisms use it to sustain themselves. The spirit of the mountain is expressed in life's continuance.

Rock and icicles. The textures exhibited in this image convey an abstract quality. The spirit of the mountain encompasses both the permanent and the transient as symbolized by both the rock and the icicle.

Light and texture. The pattern of the veins and the reflection of the light on these leaves highlight an interesting texture. The spirit of the mountain is expressed through the various forms of plant life.

Muddy face. This muddy Woodchuck's face exhibits the texture of its earth-encrusted fur and gives an insight into its habits in the woodland areas. What better expression of the mountain's spirit than this gentle creature.

I was very pleased during the awards ceremony to find out that my picture Light and texture won the "Artist's Choice" award. This is the photograph voted by the participants to have best represented the theme.

All the winning photos will be exhibited in "The Gryphon D'or Tea Room" in NDG (Montreal) for two weeks in June.

Next year's theme is "The spirit of the mountain as expressed by Nature in all its forms" so that makes it wide open - but hard to choose what to submit!

Chipmunk antics

2010-04-29T21:59:00.016-04:00

When a small pile of leaves started moving I became interested. Then all of a sudden a chipmunk popped straight up clutching a nut as its treasure. It was interesting to see how this animal would try to push large pieces of the nut into its cheek and when it wouldn't fit - pull it out to reshape it by whittling it down and trying again. Here is a short sequence of some of what transpired.

Ah, what a find!

Need to get through this hard shell!

There! - got to the good part!

Yumm ...

Now to just push it in.

OK, almost there!

Hmmm, not as easy as I thought!

Uh, oh. This definitely needs some re-thinking.

OK, let's gnaw this down a bit and try again!

Ah, there we go ... success!

A special raccoon

2010-04-27T19:46:00.009-04:00

In September 2007 I came across a lovely "mask-less" raccoon on Mount Royal. The next season I was lucky enough to see her again and with three normally masked babies!

This Saturday I came across what I believe is the same raccoon and she is bigger and her face is whiter! Perhaps the pigment fades with age. However she was quite agile and climbed a tree to sit on a large branch and groom herself.

It was wonderful to see her again and to know she is fine and healthy. I checked into the lifespan of raccoons and from various sources found a range of 3 years to 10 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. I hope she has a long, happy life.

Wild flowers - a character sketch

2010-04-17T17:39:00.009-04:00

Every spring I am compelled to photograph the early wild flowers! One of the earliest is the Bloodroot. I find these flowers, more than any others, seem to express a character of sorts. Here are the various "characters" I found last week-end.

Fending off the cold wind.

A shy family huddled together.

Posing for a portrait.

Feeling good!

Exuberance in the sunshine!

At last a fox!

2010-04-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

Well, 5 1/2 hours of wandering about on Mount Royal paid off on Saturday with a sighting of a fox! And then, as if in a generous gesture for my many months without a fox fix, it curled up under a tree for a photo shoot!

I enjoy it when my subjects seem at ease with me snapping away at them. I do think many of these animals have come to adopt a certain blasé attitude towards the various camera-toting humans roaming the area.

Woodland denizens

2010-04-08T21:38:00.000-04:00

Well, I posted about my sightings of last Friday and then another post of Saturday's adventure, so here is a sampling of the creatures I crossed paths with last Sunday. If you look closely at the wide, narrow photo you will see a Vole looking at a Sparrow. And what about the smiling Squirrel!?

All together an amazing holiday week-end!

A day at Ile Bizard

2010-04-06T20:43:00.000-04:00

After my exciting meeting with the Cooper's Hawk on Friday, I went with a friend to a nearby nature park on Ile Bizard the next day. This is a wonderful treasure trove of swamp wildlife! We've seen amazing creatures from the vantage point of a long boardwalk and it is one of my favorite places in the world.

I was pleased to see many, many Turtles sunning themselves. The Tree Swallows were back as well as the Red-winged Blackbirds who, to me, are the true harbingers of spring. Mallards were wending their way through small channels in the reeds and it won't be long before the swamp will be filled with the delightful trills of the Marsh Wrens and the shrill cries of the Black Terns. Also, the loud scolding calls of the Virginia Rails will frustrate us as the birds hide in the tall reeds then suddenly dart into the open and back under cover (almost always too fast for my reflexes on the shutter release button)!

I also saw Muskrats and even Beavers which are a thrill. Then to top off the afternoon's delight, a fellow photographer pointed out where a Barred Owl was perched. I hightailed it over to the area and this very accommodating bird allowed me to approach within a few feet of it even though I was crunching, snapping and crackling over dead leaves and fallen twigs and branches. He was very calm and majestic and at times gave me the most intelligent gaze that makes me understand why people think of owls as wise. There was something very "knowing" in its look.

Another grand day!

A bad start but a great ending

2010-04-05T17:05:00.000-04:00

This past week-end I did something that I have NEVER done in all the years that I have been taking pictures. I was setting out on a photographic adventure and was already at my destination (Mount Royal) when I became horror stricken to discover that I had no memory card in my camera! And I had no spare in my back-pack either. I couldn't believe it!!

Now I had three options to consider: 1) continue on and content myself with just observing nature; 2) go back home and get the card; 3) go downtown and buy a new card. Number one was rejected when I thought about maybe seeing fox kits and it would kill me not to be able to photograph them. Number two was just too boring. So it would be number three and while I was down there I would stop for a coffee and muffin.

However, this would result in such a long delay to get back to the mountain, I figured the early morning advantage for wildlife viewing would be lost and, considering this would be a very hot day (record breaking in fact!), that I would probably be back right at the hottest point of the day. This would likely reduce my chances of seeing very much but somewhere in the back of my mind (being an eternal optimist) I thought maybe it was fate that I was being delayed.

Well ... when I did finally get back the sun was beating down and I was not seeing much wildlife out and about. I did see some diehard photographers out hoping to photograph the Cooper's Hawks that are nesting on one of the slopes. In fact one of the hawks was in a tree and I snapped a few shots that were not very good. Then I decided to go down to an area where a bird feeder is set up hoping to get a shot of a Chickadee or Downy Woodpecker. As I approached I saw a Woodchuck near the feeder and decided to circle around it for a shot which brought me in close proximity to a small stream. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye something in the water caught my attention and when I turned I was only several feet away from a Cooper's Hawk taking a bath. I was able to spend at least ten minutes taking shot after shot. This was one cool bird!!

A friend of mine says that if a day starts out badly it will end well. This day certainly proved that to be true.

A wildlife week-end

2010-03-28T21:29:00.000-04:00

Well, this has been a very pleasant week-end with numerous wildlife sightings. I went up to Mount Royal early Saturday morning and saw a fox immediately. It was trotting across an open area in the cemetery and then up a wooded embankment and off to the left on the ridge. I watched it carefully to see if it approached any of the denning areas that I know about but it simply disappeared among the trees. I am wondering if there will be fox kits this year. Another nice sighting was of a Cooper's Hawk. Also, I saw my first Woodchuck of the spring and after initially running away from me, it turned and walked directly towards me! It was only a few feet away and I was able to get some photos.

Today I went to a local woodland park and saw Chickadees, Goldfinches (in their "gold" attire now), House finches, Gray Squirrels and two Voles! I was very happy watching one Vole in particular and got some shots of it. I can't wait for Easter week-end to see what another week's progress of Spring brings.

Trees

2010-03-23T20:58:00.001-04:00

In appreciation of trees ...

Canada's shame

2010-03-17T21:17:00.000-04:00

Based on my profile I am sure it will come as no surprise that I am opposed to Canada's seal hunt. In fact, I have been fighting against it, and other animal abuses, since the late 1970's. It is so sad that over 30 years later we have not progressed as a nation. In fact, under the present government we have regressed considerably. And, of course, not just on animal issues. A friend of mine follows politics closely and can list off a great number of serious transgressions!

This friend has also been out to the ice floes of the Magdalen Islands and has witnessed the seal nursery up close. She describes the scene as other-worldly. She remembers a deep blue backdrop of sky with white ice stretching for miles, dotted with the beautiful adult harp seals in their striking black and white coats with their tiny babies. The only sounds were the faint mews of the young seals and the sloshing of ice and water. This is the sealers' killing ground and I will state emphatically and until my last breath that what happens out there every spring is an atrocity. To say anything else is to have no soul.

Should you feel so moved, there is a website giving information and the opportunity to tell the Canadian government your views:

http://www.harpseals.org/

Warning: if you scroll down further you will see photographic evidence of the killing.

Sap sipping squirrels success

2010-03-13T19:37:00.000-05:00

Well, after my previous attempts at photographing squirrels where my auto-focus feature seemed to malfunction, today it was back to normal. The squirrels cooperated too!

The Oscars and The Cove

2010-03-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

Last night was a triumph for a very important documentary entitled The Cove. I held my breath as the winner of the Oscar was about to be announced and kept repeating "The Cove ... The Cove ..." as a mantra. It was extremely important to win that Oscar so that the atrocity of dolphin killing would get maximum exposure. The man responsible for getting this film made is Ric O'Barry who once trained dolphins for the popular TV show Flipper. O'Barry captured and trained wild dolphins and when one of those animals died in his arms of what he believes was suicide after weeks of depression he has devoted his life to help protect these creatures.

As a Montrealer I remember how thirty years ago dolphins did something similar when workers at the Montreal Aquarium went on strike. The dolphins showed signs of depression and distress and allowed themselves to starve to death. It has brought eternal shame to this city.

Here is an important link http://www.takepart.com/thecove/ which gives information on how to help.

The following excerpt is from the site:

"The Cove exposes the slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises in Taiji, Japan every year, and how their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan and other parts of Asia, often labeled as whale meat. The majority of the world is not aware this is happening as the Taiji cove is blocked off from the public. The focus of the Social Action Campaign for The Cove is to create worldwide awareness of this annual practice as well as the dangers of eating seafood contaminated with mercury and to pressure those in power to put an end to the slaughter.

... Under intense pressure, Taiji called for a temporary ban on killing bottlenose dolphins. The film, which was originally rejected, was shown at the Tokyo Film Festival due to public outcry. Residents in Taiji are being tested for mercury poisoning, and for the first time Japanese media are covering the issue.

Close to a million people have signed on to the campaign, but this is just the beginning. The fisherman are clearly rattled, but haven’t stopped killing dolphins."

And here is a link to a petition:

http://thepetitionsite.com/4/ban-the-sale-of-dolphin-meat

Fuzzy sap sipping squirrels

2010-03-07T21:39:00.000-05:00

This glorious, sunny week-end afforded great photo ops of squirrels (no foxes alas) but it has been very frustrating! I found two occasions where squirrels were sipping sap (a sure sign of spring) and then just sitting contentedly as they savoured their treat. Ah ... a perfectly motionless animal in bright sunshine! Ideal for photography right? Well ... no. At least not for my camera. For some reason my auto-focus would not work. The animal's eye (critical for focus) was not sharp. I tried over and over! I do not understand this unless my equipment has become defective. Having just viewed my final fuzzy focused photo I am going to post older squirrel shots to console myself!

Butterfly dreams

2010-03-03T20:58:00.000-05:00

With this wonderful, almost balmy weather this week I am dreaming of spring and the beauty it brings. Here's a butterfly to dream upon.

Action shots

2010-03-02T20:17:00.000-05:00

Every so often I am lucky enough to capture an "action shot".

Often these events are precipitated by crows and I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to these birds. They have helped me find owls, hawks and foxes by their raucous calling and scolding.

Red-winged Blackbird attacking a Great Blue Heron with fish

Raven chasing a California Condor

Merlin chasing a Turkey Vulture

Crows chasing a Red-tailed Hawk

Miniature landscape

2010-02-27T20:37:00.000-05:00

This is a photograph of a small lump in the snow with tiny icy twigs in the foreground and light and shadow patterns in the background. I think it looks like a landscape on a much larger scale. It just reminds us that everything is relative and sometimes there is beauty in the details.

Telephone tag

2010-02-24T21:19:00.000-05:00

I think my ordeal with the phone company is finally coming to an end! I'm not sure this cautionary tale will be of help to anyone but it makes me feel better to vent!

My ordeal (without naming the company - although it starts with "R" and is six letters long) began last August. I decided that I would change from dial-up to high-speed Internet and also change my home phone from company "R" to Videotron (my cable TV provider). Thus I would have three services with the same company and it would mean better rates and one consolidated bill.

Well, Videotron said that they would handle the transfer of the phone number but I needed to contact the old company to tell them I was cancelling the Internet. When I spoke to the company "R" rep about the Internet, I mentioned in passing (actually it was in anger due to some previous incidents) that I was changing my phone too. So there! ... but here comes my first mistake. I may have used the word "cancel".

So this rep took it upon himself to cancel my phone NUMBER. Thus each time Videotron set up an appointment to come to do the phone "transfer" company "R" refused to allow it! Videotron had no explanation why. This went on for about four weeks while I tried to figure out what was wrong. Finally a new "R" rep explained that the phone number was cancelled and therefore not available for transfer. This number, by the way, was mine ever since I left home at age 19 - sob!

He told me that from experience it would be better not to ask them to try to reactivate it (this should have sent off warning bells that they don't know how to manage their systems) and to tell the new company that I needed a new number. OK ... so I did that and things seemed to be fine until the old company sent me a phone bill (which went through my credit card).

Hmmmm. This is not right, I thought, so I called customer service and the rep said it was because of a 30 day notification policy which meant I had to pay this bill. But ... the next month another bill arrived. Again a call to customer service. This was "an error and would be reversed" - OK. Next month - same thing! Next month after that another bill arrived and this one went through the credit card before I knew about it. OK, another call to customer service. This rep said that it seemed that the cancellation had only been done in one system and not another but NOW everything would be OK and the charge would be reversed. I even got a bill showing the reversal ... but on paper only ... it never went through my credit card - because company "R" still thought they were providing me a service and the credit would be offset in future bills. BUT - I cancelled five and a half months ago!!

So, finally I WROTE to their office in Ontario sending an assortment of copied documents (requiring extra postage) and now, two and a half weeks later, I've received a call that the problem was that it was not "completely cancelled in their system" but that a credit will be processed through my credit card (I checked and it has gone through - yay!) and I should receive one more bill with a zero balance. Okaaay .... (she says nervously).

All this hassle when all I wanted to do was transfer my "legacy" phone number to another provider.

I guess the lesson is - do everything in writing from the beginning! This will save hours (literally) on hold or in conversation with reps and all the ensuing frustration.

P. S. Yikes! Now I just got a letter from Videotron telling me their rates are going up! Arghhh!

P. P. S. the BEST phone company that I have ever dealt with is SPRINT! They were just wonderful but were bought out by the "R" company. A sad day that was ...

The Sacred (a poem)

2010-02-22T22:30:00.000-05:00

THE SACRED

A deer materializes before my eyes and the forest is lit by its luminance.
Its atoms flung by unseen hand in glorious constellation.
The divine is manifest and shimmers through its form.

It is the soul of the wild creature that humbles me.
It is the source of purest light, deepest knowing.
To catch sight of a wild animal makes the heart leap -
To be held in its gaze makes the heart soar.

The sacred is clothed in fur and feathers and scales and skin
It flashes out from shining eyes in darkened woods
And speaks in bird songs and cicada serenades…

It touches a place in me where wildness dwells -
A long forgotten, hidden place that shivers in sudden resonance.

Silence

2010-02-17T20:54:00.000-05:00

I find as I get older that noise pollution gets more and more intolerable. I'm sure our ancient ancestors had plenty of noises to fill the air but they were the sounds of waterfalls, insects, wind, birds, and myriad other natural sounds. We, on the other hand, have to contend with leaf blowers, chain saws, beeping car locks & back-up alarms & bank machines, screeching sirens & car alarms, horns, airplanes, rumbling tractor trailers, and booming car stereos. I just realized as I write this that most sounds are related to vehicles in one way or another. Whatever their source, they interfere with our well-being even if it is at a subliminal level.

Here are a few excerpts from a recent Newsweek article by Julia Baird:

An Unquiet Nation

Silence is something you assume you will always be able to find if you need it. All you have to do is drive far enough in the right direction, trek through quiet fields or woods, or dive into the sea's belly. For true silence is not noiselessness. As audio ecologist Gordon Hempton defines it, silence is "the complete absence of all audible mechanical vibrations, leaving only the sounds of nature at her most natural. Silence is the presence of everything, undisturbed."
And silence, Hempton believes, is rapidly disappearing, even in the most remote places. He says there are fewer than a dozen places of silence—areas "where natural silence reigns over many square miles"—remaining in America, and none in Europe. In his book, One Square Inch of Silence: One Man's Search for Natural Silence in a Noisy World, written with John Grossman, Hempton argues that silence—a precious, underrated commodity—is facing extinction.
…
Hempton claims that, during daytime, the average noise-free interval in wilderness areas has shrunk to less than five minutes. Think of the snowmobiles roaring through Yellowstone, helicopters flying over Hawaii volcanoes, and air tours over the Grand Canyon. It is air traffic that Hempton seems to resent the most: in his book, he travels across the United States in a 1964 VW bus, recording sound as he goes, from Washington state to Washington, D.C., where he meets with politicians and officials to press his case for the preservation of natural silence.

I spoke to Hempton about his work, his mission, and whether he is just a cranky leaf-blower-hating hippie.

Why should we care about silence?

It has become an increasingly rare experience to be in nature as our distant ancestors were. Even in our national parks today, despite laws to protect them, you are much more likely to be hearing noise pollution, particularly overhead aircraft, than you are to be hearing only the native sounds of the land. Yet to be in a naturally silent place is as essential today as it was to our distant ancestors. Besides spending time away from the damaging noise impacts present at our workplace, neighborhoods, and homes, we are given the opportunity not only to heal but discover something incredible—the presence of life, interwoven! Do you know what it sounds like to listen for 20 miles in every direction? That is more than 1,000 square miles. When I listen to a naturally silent place and hear nature at its most natural, it is no longer merely sound; it is music. And like all music, good or bad, it affects us deeply.
…

Max Ehrmann was right-on when he wrote: "Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence."

Here are some other quotes on silence:

Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation... tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. His anxiety subsides. His inhuman void spreads monstrously like a gray vegetation. ~Jean Arp

Everybody should have his personal sounds to listen for - sounds that will make him exhilarated and alive or quite and calm.... One of the greatest sounds of them all - and to me it is a sound - is utter, complete silence. ~Andre Kostelanetz

Silence is the secret to sanity. ~Astrid Alauda

Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T20:18:00.000-05:00

I just created the "Recent Photos" blog post when I realized it was Valentine's Day! - (a sad commentary on my love life!). So this picture is the closest thing I have to a heart. Hope you like it. :-)

Recent photos

2010-02-14T19:20:00.001-05:00

Greetings!!

Snowy evening

Path where I had encountered the fox (previous post)

Winter sunset

The National Parks

2010-02-11T20:17:00.000-05:00

I have been watching Ken Burn's documentary "The National Parks - America's Best Idea" on PBS and find it riveting. The history behind these parks is disturbing in the sense that it took incredible efforts on behalf of visionaries to protect these areas. I guess this is the case in most situations. The protectors need to fight the exploiters at every step. Luckily for all of us, the protectors prevailed.

Having visited three national parks last fall in a wonderful nature tour, I could never be stronger in my convictions that these are sacred, precious areas (among many others) and should be allowed to exist for as long as this amazing planet exists.

One of the most exceptional parks that I visited was Mesa Verde in Colorado. The scenery, ancient ruins and wildlife were breath-taking. One evening wild Elk bugled in the far hills as the sun slowly set. Later that same night the sky was lit up by great splashes of distant lightning while the stars shone in astonishing abundance and a meteor streaked across the sky. It was a most magical time.

Male Elk

Lavendar sunset

Another park was the Petrified Forest in Arizona. This place had a special significance to me since I had an uncle who lived in Arizona and gave me a piece of petrified wood when I was a child. I was fascinated by that wood. I probably thought "petrified" meant scared and I wondered what could have scared the trees so much. Even though I came to understand the actual nature of the transformation of the wood, it has fascinated me all my life. I was thrilled to actually be in this "forest" and walk where my uncle once walked.

Close up of petrified wood

Petrified log

And finally, the Grand Canyon, again in Arizona, which defies description. It is an experience rather than a place.

Blue shaded Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Temple Grandin

2010-02-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

Every so often I have the need to rant and I figure this is the place to do it. Today is one of those days. You have been given fair warning!

With the recent airing of the HBO TV movie starring Claire Danes, you may be aware of Temple Grandin, the highly-functioning autistic woman who has made it her life's work to improve the handling of cattle at slaughterhouses. Sounds noble right? Many people think so. But I suspect they admire her because her work makes meat-eating less troubling for them. I guess I wouldn't have a problem so much if she just did this work without presenting herself as some kind of cattle whisperer and wouldn't go on and on about "loving" these animals. She even waxes poetic about having a religious experience as she calms a cow - calms it before it has its head bashed in.

Or could she at least - at the VERY least - encourage people to consume less meat (better for the animals - better for the environment). But no, instead she states that not eating meat is unnatural and how she became light-headed and dizzy (OMG!) when she stopped eating meat. She even implies that autistic people and maybe others are genetically required to eat meat. A thoughtful examination of that idea among others can be found at http://www.compassionatespirit.com/vegetarianism-and-genetics.htm

In my Google searches on Ms. Grandin I found several blogs where people were disturbed by Grandin's ideas. I am posting excepts of two of them here.

Olivia Lane posted back in 2006

"The article reports that after watching the rotating pen hang cows upside down and then slit their throats, slaughterhouse workers now listen for signs of consciousness before dumping the cows' bodies. Grandin used her divine gift of intuition and many years of animal behavior expertise to access the situation: "I didn't hear any cows mooing," Grandin said. "When they do things wrong, cows moo."

Am I wrong to be annoyed by Temple Grandin's existence? It's not that I don't like her. It's just that I'm irritated by the way people flock to her for answers as thought she were some sort of psychic bridge connecting humans to the minds of animals. Why don't people take a much shorter leap of faith and listen to the voice in their heads that says all living creatures wanna keep on living, they don't wanna die in some multi-million dollar "humane" slaughter complex? Is that so hard? Or is it just easier to pay some scientist with an "intimate" connection to animals to convince them that the cow who is now their hamburger died silent and stress-free and that makes everything okay."

Jim Sinclair, also autistic and an animal rights activist writes:

"Dying as a natural process is not the same as killing a healthy living creature... It’s irrelevant if a middle-aged scientist can say that she doesn’t fear death, that she understands it as a natural part of life. Almost all the beings whose lives she helps end are immature or just barely mature. Almost none of them are close to natural death. They’re not ready to die. If someone were to shoot or stab or electrocute the middle-aged scientist today, she might find that she’s not ready to die either. If you understand life, you know that it wants to continue. If you feel life throbbing under your touch, you know it’s desecration to set your hand to stop that living pulse. If you love something, you don’t kill it."

I think that last sentence pretty much sums it up.

Winter birds

2010-02-07T22:01:00.000-05:00

Being blessed with a beautiful sunny week-end, I went to my favorite hang-outs to see what wildlife might be about. No foxes to report this time but I did see many lovely birds. Among other species I saw Chickadees, a Hairy Woodpecker and a Pileated Woodpecker.

Oh, and I don't know what got into the squirrels but some of them were dashing about, tossing sticks in the air and doing back-flips!

Here are some pictures of the birds and a squirrel (who was one of the more sedate ones).

The place where Micha danced

2010-02-04T21:05:00.000-05:00

The place where Micha danced

There was nothing special about it – just a small unused parking lot with a rusted fence and an old shed in the corner. Every night that I passed it after Micha disappeared, I said to my self that one day it will be gone - I should photograph it. Just like I had photographed her knowing that one day she would be gone.

And so one day I did and it was not long after that the sign went up “Condominiums – Plaza Ste. Croix”. At least I preserved Micha’s place in this small way.

Let me tell you of another cat named Micha that I once knew. He was a black and white young, languid, almost liquid cat – who draped himself across your arms, hanging like he had no bones. He was an amazing cat who cried and pawed at the pill bottle for the same medication that his “roommates” desperately tried to avoid and who lay in front of the broom as I tried to sweep the room. Micha lived in cramped quarters with 44 other cats and when I would go to the house where he was being kept to try to help out, he always brought me joy. The woman who kept these cats was overwhelmed by life and by problems that left her with no control. Micha came to a bad end in that house and my life was diminished when he left my world.

It was in his honour that this lovely stray was named Micha. She was not at all like him. She was Siamese and would not allow anyone to approach her let alone hold her. She had been on the street far too long to trust. How I wanted her to trust me. With a live trap she was caught and sterilized and kept in a large cage to see whether she could adjust to a life indoors. It was early winter and yet although she was out of the cold she would not eat and simply crouched with her head hung low. Feeling that I was doing the wrong thing, I decided to return her to the outdoors but in an area that I hoped would be sheltered and safe for her. As I walked with her in the carrier to the spot, I could feel her perk up and become alert. She became interested in life again.

How lovely it was that night. Soft flakes of snow were slowly falling and they glittered in the street light. The snow on the ground was like diamonds sparkling everywhere. Sounds were muffled and the street was still and it seemed that only Micha and I were in this new and beautiful world. She bounded from the carrier when it was opened with what seemed like joy.

But I returned home with dreadful worries. Yet I saw Micha every night for many months after that. Beautiful Micha who I would sometimes find sitting with an air of majesty in the center of a picnic table on a college campus washing her paws, or patiently waiting out a rain storm under the protective shield of a maple tree - or standing on her tiptoes to peer above a particularly high snow bank to see if that really was me coming with her nightly food. She became a regular watcher who ran in circles when she saw me coming or ran down the sidewalk to greet me and then lead me to the feeding place. Often she was accompanied by a tabby friend (I named her Firefly because she lit up my night) and I would often see them side by side. Sometimes each of them would have burrs in their tails from brushing against the same burdock bush.

And one magical night she followed me to the side of my apartment building and let me stroke her for many, many wonderful minutes. Every night I worried about her out in the cold or crossing the busy side street and even though I would see her the next night and I would sigh in relief, it was short lived as I knew the next day would again bring danger to her. She was living on borrowed time. I knew that.

One very cold and blustery, snowy night I went out to feed her wondering how she could stand the misery of her existence and how she must be huddled somewhere in the dark, cold and wet. That was the night I found her dancing with the leaves. Atop the snow, there were many fallen leaves lying about dry and crisp. And in a corner of the small parking lot, by the fence and the shed, the wind was pulling the curled, crisp leaves up and about, spinning them in little cyclones - and there was Micha leaping and pouncing and batting at them. There was Micha dancing.

Many more nights passed and then one night Micha didn’t come running down the sidewalk and she never again stood on tiptoes peering over the snow bank, and she never again felt the stroke of my hand or heard the delight in my voice as I caught sight of her and called her name.

And she never again danced with the leaves.

Micha and Firefly

Postscript 2010-02-04: Firefly is currently living with me and has been off the streets since October 2001