Enchanting Essex

Author: pamperrault21

  • Date Night in the Forest

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    We have a regular visitor, an Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) that I’ve named Bismarck (our squirrel in Cobourg was Fargo).  Squirrels are known to be meticulous groomers, often spending a significant amount of time licking their fur, rubbing their limbs, and using their front paws to wipe their faces and ears.  Bismarck put on…

  • The Flower Hour #41:  Hardly a Planter to be Found

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    Welcome to the Dead Plants Society.† Full disclosure:  I have two “black thumbs” — I’ve managed (usually quite rapidly) to kill the plants in any and every planter we’ve ever had.  Forty-two years’ worth!!!  Ergo, there weren’t many pictures to choose from but yes, Terri, I do dare! This is a scan of a photograph…

  • Forest Grace

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    Canada Anemone is such a cheerful native perennial. Its bright, five-petaled white blooms with golden centres are at their peak right now, thriving in moist thickets, meadows, and along the edges of dense woodlands.  You’ll see them with nearly every step you take along the trails here in southern Ontario. Forest Grace Beneath a sea…

  • A Tiny Surprise

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    Passing through a meadow filled with blooming Milkweed and spotting a hovering, Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, was a truly magical summer experience. A Tiny Surprise Flashes of pink all through the green,Where meadow milkweed reigns supreme,A tiny guest upon the breeze,That flits among the rosy frieze. With whirring wings and see-through flight,A feathered shadow in the…

  • Sunday Stills:  Mediocre Reflections of Beautiful Summer Locations.

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    Photographs that feature or highlight reflections on water are amongst my favourites.  Truth is, this is not a genre I spend much time on myself (which will very quickly become apparent).  I must admit, though, that it was fun to assemble these shots.  Thank you Terri! ↑  Ouse Creek, Trent Hills, ON.Just south of this…

  • Lens-Artists Challenge #406:  The Lazy “Daze” of Summer

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    Summer Daze Summer is the flutter of a painted wing,Where sleepy pollinators and beetles sing.A rustle in the stalks of emerald corn,As raindrops reflect the light of early morn. Summer is feathered, marine and furry folk,Within and beneath the shade of ancient oak.Where petals proudly unfurl in vibrant hues,And painted boats go cruising Lake Erie’s…

  • Summer’s Stars

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    We have a glorious copse of these beauties on the edge of our woods.  Multiflora Rose is a non-native, sprawling, perennial shrub that climbs over other, native plants, choking them out in the process. ’Though included on Ontario’s Invasive Species list, I cannot help but think that it is absolutely okay to celebrate any beautiful moment in nature. …

  • Sunday Stills #Animal of the Month:  Barnyard Baby Boom

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    …the calf was beginning to lose patience with me because when its head was forced out by the cow’s contractions we were eye to eye and I fancied the little creature was giving me a disgusted “For heaven’s sake get on with it” look.2 Not having been to a zoo… Are you surprised they’re not…

  • Cerulean Snub

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    Blue Jays are very intelligent (if loud) birds but often, in our woods, they seem to be a wee bit mischievous. Tricksters, perhaps. For all the world, after a bit of a ruckus in the branches, these two looked to be having a bit of a lovers’ tiff. Cerulean Snub A cerulean snub! A cobalt…

  • Parasols

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    I saw a glorious copse of Wild Parsnip in bloom and their intricate clusters of tiny, yellow blossoms looked remarkably like the delicate lace parasols used by women of the Victorian Era. Far more than mere sun protection, they were vital, class-signaling, snobbish, fashion accessories. Parasols A copse of gold along the lane,Defying clouds and…

  • Climbing Sprite

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    Bird Vetch (or Cow Vetch) is a lovely, delicate flower with a fascinating history. Brought to North America from Europe and Asia for livestock fodder, it has become a prolific — now deemed invasive — scrambler along sunny roadsides, fields, and wetlands, like the beautiful Caldwell First Nation Conservation Boardwalk in Leamington. Climbing Sprite Upon…

  • The Petty Josie Pye-Weed

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    I suspect that every lover of the Anne books automatically thinks “Josie” when finding or identifying Joe-Pye Weed.  So, as a bit of a humorous nod to Anne’s notorious rival from Avonlea: The Petty Josie Pye-Weed A rosy spray of Josie Pye,Stands crisp and proud beneath the sky.It holds its head with haughty grace,The vainest…

  • The Flower Hour #40:  GHI — A Triple Trio Gone Wild!

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    Wildflowers are the stuff of my heart.* Where wildflowers bloom, so does hope.1 Thanks to Terri for another Flower Hour challenge, her weekly reminder to be sure to notice the flowers along the way (borrowing from the great Walter Hagen2).  Please take a few minutes to read Terri’s lovely post and see her purely amazing…

  • Our Patchwork Quilt Adventure

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    The Lens-Artists’ weekly challenges resumed this week with a wonderful prompt by Ann-Christine:  “Adventure”.  If someone were to ask you, What was your greatest adventure, could you answer definitively?  I can, without a doubt.  100% — my marriage to Cam.  Corny?  Maybe.  True?  Absolutely!  And our grand adventure began 42 years ago today.   When…

  • Camouflage

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    Female Northern Cardinals wear warm, pale-brown and olive-tan plumage, accented with subtle dusty-reds on their crest, wings, and tail. When pressed against the textured, earthy grays and browns of an old-growth tree bark, this rich earth-tone colouration serves as highly effective natural camouflage. Camouflage A shadow carved of root and wood,Where time’s slow, textured bark…

  • Ballerinas

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    Watching the breeze ruffle the petals of our Rose of Sharon blossoms, I thought how much they resemble the layers of delicate tulle in a ballerina’s tutu. Ballerinas Beside the lane, a quiet stage,Where summer turns a graceful page.In skirts of pink and mauve so deep,The dancers waken from their sleep. Upon the branch, they…

  • Fanciful Floral Folklore

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    The Tansy is a fragrant, herbaceous perennial in the Aster family.  It was one of the first medicinal herbs to be introduced to North America, in 1631, by English colonist John Winthrop Jr.  Dried Tansy leaves are the preferred fuel of many apiarists in their smokers.  In folklore, the Gypsy or Romany keep a Tansy in…

  • #405 — Adventures: Fantastic and Fascinating Finger Lakes

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    Personally, I think every day is an adventure.* One of my favourite aspects of the Lens-Artists’ posts are the photos you share of your travels. Living vicariously is me. Your adventures appear exciting, and enlightening and exotic and breathtaking and transformative and enjoyable — all at the same time. I love the pictures and the…

  • Garden Gold

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    There is a joyous humming in our laneway garden as bees galore feast on the pollen and nectar in the masses of Cutleaf Coneflowers.  An absolute haven (and heaven) for our local pollinators, and pure delight for me. Garden Gold Upraised against the summer sky,Golden coneflowers reach up high.With lobed and leafy stems they stand,A…

  • Woodland Dancer

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    One of my favourite wildflowers is the White Campion, an herbaceous annual of the Pink (Carnation) family.  Its corolla appears to have ten parts but it actually has five deeply cleft petals. Its blossoms open wide in the evening, emitting a sweet, clove-like scent which attracts many species of nocturnal moths for pollination.  As daylight…

  • Impish Grace

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    Impish Grace Along the creek, the sunbeams dance,On purple spikes that caught my eye,A fuzzy bee is in a trance —she’s bobbing, buzzing, bumbling, by! She rolls in pollen, head to toe,And takes a sunny, fuchsia seat,Uncaring this is a “no-grow,”She knows she’s found a tasty treat. So pretty in the afternoon,Magenta splash of impish…

  • Midsummer Rural Ramble

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    We are smack dab in the middle of summer and yesterday, even with the scorching heat, it was just too pretty to stay home. There is an undeniable allure in slowing down and leaving the main roads behind.  Choosing to trace the rural farm routes is, for me, the perfect way to unplug and experience…

  • The Flower Hour #39:  Orange you glad?

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    Orange is the happiest color. [Frank Sinatra] Knock, knock.“Who’s there?”“Orange.”“Orange who?”“Orange you glad Terri picked this challenge?” [Sorry! Couldn’t resist.  Favourite childhood joke, bar none.] Thanks to Terri for our weekly glimpse at floral beauty – quite the loveliest weekly challenge of all, IMHO.  Please take a moment to view Terri’s post and admire her…

  • Wash and a Brush-Up

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    I caught a juvenile male robin grooming himself, sitting on the top of our fence. He was comical. Robins really do have the best personalities, especially when they think no one is watching. Wash and a Brush-Up Upon the fence a feathered knight,A flash of rust and belly white,With twitchy tail and awkward pose,He preens…

  • Sunday Stills: The Power of Three — Triads in Agriculture

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    My Cam, a bona fide farmer himself, always marvels (read: chuckles) at how a city girl — through and through — like me, became such a lover and admirer of farmers, farms and everything they entail.  But I do.  Very slow, leisurely rural rambles, at all times of the year, are one of my favourite…