a place where nature, photography and writing meet
One of the problems that we encounter when trying to identify species is that there can be quite a lot of variation in appearance. The above example is a case in point. I found this very tiny lady beetle while I was walking about in the woods yesterday. Although it has 4 black spots on […]
I’ve been watching for the first appearance of Twice-stabbed Lady Beetles (Chilocorus stigma) for several days. They’re very tiny and not so easy to find unless you know where to look. As it happens, they may be found wandering over the lichen-covered bark of Trembling Aspen, which we have quite a lot of here at […]
This was the scene in the field across the road earlier today. A small flock of geese swimming in a row down a narrow creek. Unfortunately, it seems that some geese have no imagination and can’t play along with the illusion. As you can see, it’s just a puddle and not a creek. Last weekend, […]
I shot these photos on the weekend before the latest blanket of snow once more covered the fields and woods. Temperatures are turning mild once more, so perhaps this will be the last delay before the spring season gets underway. Last week, when I gave my talk about nature photography, I began by distinguishing between […]
view of maple sugar bush at Mill Pond Conservation Area FAMILY TREES John’s voice comes over the telephone line in whispering hesitation. Would I like an orphan lamb to raise on extra milk from my dairy goats? Within the hour, I’m driving along icy dirt tracks leading to a stone house atop a sweeping ridge. […]
This is the scene that greeted me when I sat up in bed to take a look out the north-facing window into our garden early this morning. Not a pretty sight! Shortly after, I saw three large “V” formations of Canada geese winging their way southward over the house. They looked rather *determined* — like […]
Today I’m just going to post a couple of things that may be of interest to some of you. I might have written more today, but I’m feeling a little “talked out” after last night’s slide presentation to the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club down at the Canadian Museum of Nature. For those who are curious, I […]