Enchanting Essex

Tag: photography

  • Threads of the Rural Trail: Week 1

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    Welcome to the first issue of “Threads of the Rural Trail” — my winter project celebrating the rustic beauty of Ontario’s countryside. As a quilter, I’ve long been fascinated by the painted quilt squares that adorn our historic barns, each one a vibrant piece of community history. Throughout the cold months ahead, I will be…

  • Festival of Leaves 2026 Week #3: Several Thrills of Maples

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    Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill — several thrills?I’m going to decorate my room with them.* While most of our local trees are still stubbornly holding fast to their summer green, a short drive through farm country revealed this magnificent exception. Standing proud and well ahead of the season, this…

  • I’m not alone…

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    Today, 14th October no less, a single white rose, pure and bright, stands quietly in our courtyard garden, cradled gently between two tall, green buds. I’m not alone… A quiet grace in petals spun,A peaceful light beneath the sun,A single bloom of pure reprieve,To heal the day and softly breathe. The taller buds are standing…

  • The Flower Hour #52: Cornucopia – Abundance and Gratitude

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    Yesterday was Thanksgiving day here in Canada. This year, besides my abundance of riches, I am very grateful for this chance to host The Flower Hour and to Terri who so kindly offered me this privilege. In photography, the most compelling images are rarely just about the literal object (like a roasted turkey); they are…

  • Thanksgiving Night

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    Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends! Today, I took a quiet, very short walk out onto the lane. Each home has a beautiful Red Maple on its lawn but they haven’t changed colour just yet, which seems quite late: ‘Though there was no autumnal colour, the garden still had a gift to offer —…

  • Lens-Artists Challenge #417: Where Does It Lead?

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    A Study in Steel and Smoke When considering this week’s prompt, my mind kept returning to a double, unyielding line cutting through our landscapes. Unlike winding footpaths or open waters, the railway offers a unique perspective on journeys. It is a path bound by parallel steel lines, built for power, momentum, and an absolute certainty…

  • The Summer Crown

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    Wild Bergamot is an herbaceous, native, perennial in the Mint family. Indeed in this area, it is considered to be a quintessential Carolinian zone native, thriving beautifully in southwestern Ontario’s prairies, open woodlands, and laneways. It is a tough wildflower that plays a massive role in supporting local ecosystems. The explosive, ragged, lavender-hued crown of…

  • The Gentle Imposter

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    Often mistaken for a bee or a wasp, the Transverse Banded is actually a harmless (no stinger), common species of hoverfly. It is native to Ontario and, for self-preservation, is adept in Batesian Mimicry*. It “wears” bright black and yellow stripes to trick predators into thinking it’s a stinging bee or wasp, but it is…

  • Festival of Leaves 2026 Week #2: Buttery-Gold Elegy

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    Come autumn, Silver Maples transition into a pale, buttery-yellow rather than the brilliant reds or deep oranges seen on other maples. According to my neighbour, this tree is 100+ years old and was, originally, part of the Carolinian Forest. It is very tall, and almost entirely dead except for a couple of limbs near the…

  • Cleopatra

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    Unintentionally continuing with the green pollinator theme… This eye-catching insect is the Common Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata), a blowfly. What looks like a brilliant red “crash helmet” is actually her pair of massive, wrap-around compound eyes, which cover nearly the entire upper surface of her head! On this bright, sunny afternoon, her eyes gleamed…

  • The Flower Hour #51: Purple and Gold — The Perfect Royal Pairing

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    Good morning, everyone! Today, and next Tuesday, I am posting the Flower Hour prompt for Terri who is, I hope, kicking up her heels in Europe and having a grand time. In Terri’s words: For the Flower Hour, share your images of flowers, gardens, fields of flowers, seasonal leaves and plants, fungus, algae, cacti, trees…

  • The Sunshine Party

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    Today, minded by Cam this time, I wandered down the laneway to see what was happening in our community pollinator garden. I saw one, very busy, Bicolor Striped Sweat Bee, and a handful of Northern Paper Wasps — all of them dashing from flower to flower, drinking madly, preparing for the winter. It was like…

  • Courtyard Welcome

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    Look who I found this morning: Dandelions are an herbaceous, non-native perennial of the Aster family that have been used for food, wine, and medicine since ancient times. Blowing Dandelion seeds has become a common wishing ritual. In the Victorian language of flowers, Dandelions symbolise love, wishes come true, and a warm, sincere welcome —…

  • Lens-Artist Challenge #416 — Hidden Music

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    this challenge is all about capturing the energy, excitement, and emotion of live music—or anything connected to it. Think instruments, the crowd, listeners, and most importantly, the emotions and feelings that music sparks in us all.* When this week’s Lens-Artists challenge arrived with the theme of “musical instruments”, I’ll admit I hit a bit of…

  • Festival of Leaves 2026 Week #1: First Flash of Red

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    Even if something is left undone, everyone must take some time to sit and watch the leaves turn.* Hello from a very dreich Kingsville. This will be my first time joining in on the Festival of Leaves and I’m really happy to do so. I can’t wait to see everyone’s colourful images. Here in southwestern…

  • Wings of Cream and Rust

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    The butterflies were playing in our pollinator garden yesterday and a pair of Cabbage Whites fluttered all around my head. Twice. It made for a truly magical moment. Fun Fact: In folklore, the appearance of a white butterfly inside a home or flying directly around someone (me!) was often considered a sign of good luck,…

  • Lens Artists Challenge #415: Move Your Body – My Nifty 50:50 Combo

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    My gear of choice for this assignment was my Nikon D850 paired with my AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G lens. If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.* This is the ultimate call to physically move your body toward the subject rather than relying upon a zoom lens or shooting from afar — precisely…

  • A Curious, Candid Stare

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    This afternoon I was out playing with my camera in the laneway garden, trying to move my body up and down to get interesting angles on my shots. This is part of this week’s photo challenge which I’ve yet to complete. Today, ‘though, whilst experimenting — a very sweet interlude. At the base of a…

  • The Flower Hour #50: WXYZ – The Cheeky Yellow Quartet

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    The Cheeky Yellow Quartet I’ve skipped the rare botanical names,And played a few semantic games.For “W,” Wood-Sorrell stands,The sweetest star in shaded lands. For “X,” a xanthic Dandelion grows—A xenial welcome that everyone knows![A bit of dry and clever(?) wit,To make the tricky letter fit]. Then Yellow Archangel takes the “Y,”With cheeky charm and a…

  • Precious Gem

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    Green seems to bee the colour of the week in our pollinator garden. Today’s beauty is the Pure Green Sweat Bee which is another native bee. Earlier this week I wrote about the Bicolored Striped Sweat Bees that live in apartments. Today I’m writing about a bee that enjoys the bucolic log cabin lifestyle. True…

  • The Zinnia Climber

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    This afternoon at the pollinator garden in our laneway, I enjoyed a lovely interlude with a Grasshopper. She definitely showed out for me! Differential Grasshoppers (fancifully “Herringbone” Grasshoppers) are pretty easy to identify, both by the chevron or herringbone patterns on their upper hind thighs or femurs. Also, below their “knee”, they appear to be…

  • My Orange Surprise

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    Fun Fact: The Painted Lady is famously known as the “Cosmopolitan Butterfly” because it is found on almost every continent. They love visiting sunny gardens to sip the nectar of asters and zinnias, just like this one… My Orange Surprise I stepped into the lane today, on a quiet little quest,To find a striped and…

  • The Emerald Sentinel

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    Yesterday morning I “met” a new bee species: The Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee. She is spectacularly beautiful, she is native, and I shot 300+ images of her. “Bicolored” because her head and thorax are a brilliant shade of emerald green, whilst her abdomen is stark black and white stripes. Female because males have bright yellow…

  • Red Stalks and Feathered Flocks

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    The Gray Dogwood is a native, deciduous shrub, indigenous to the woodlands, riverbanks, and natural thickets of Southern Ontario. It is a “super bush” — ranking amongst the highest-performing native shrubs for supporting both breeding and migratory birds. Over 40 local bird species feast on those high-fat white berries to fuel up for their autumn…

  • The Panicled Diner

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    Panicled Asters are an herbaceous, perennial, native wildflower here in Ontario. They produce small, white, Daisy-like flowers in the autumn and provide important late-season nectar for local pollinators. Yesterday, during a very short visit to our pollinator garden, I counted six species enjoying the feast: The Panicled Diner The diner is open, the sign is…