Enchanting Essex

Tag: wildlife

  • August Poetry Challenge: Wild Hearts

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    Dawn breaks; wild hearts leap,Young hooves dance through rising green,Life feels sweet and new. Many thanks to Rebecca Cuningham who, in her blog post titled Chilean Citizen Scientists Find Ancient Fossils, asked us, Got haiku poetry? Sign up for the August Poetry Challenge.  I’ve never participated before, but this time I’m trying.  Rebecca tells us For August’s…

  • Carolinian Banquet

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    There is nothing quite like that rush of excitement when nature decides to put on a little show just for you. This afternoon, two teeny-tiny, spotted fawns confidently walked out of the woods behind our home, noshing away while we watched.  ‘Though there was no sign of Mum, we think they are perfectly safe! Mother…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Lens-Artists Challenge #399: Stuck in Place – The Angels of Kingsville

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    You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.†  The Challenge:  …let’s get stuck in one place. Ideally, you should carve out thirty minutes to an hour to do…

  • Essex Erato #15

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    Young Bismark Standing on the steps,delicacy in his grasp,hungry but wary. But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.† ’Til next time, y’all… †John Muir, “Steep Trails” — Page 1343, Chapter IX Mormon Lilies from his anthology “John Muir: Ultimate Collection”.

  • Essex Erato #14

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    Epaulets Caterwauling voice.Polygamous and brash thisblack and red devil. But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.† ’Til next time, y’all… †John Muir, “Steep Trails” — Page 1343, Chapter IX Mormon Lilies from his anthology “John Muir: Ultimate Collection”.

  • Essex Erato #13

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    Temporary Habitat Snow melts and ponds form —springtime’s home for dabbling ducks.Duckling watch begins. But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.† ’Til next time, y’all… †John Muir, “Steep Trails” — Page 1343, Chapter IX Mormon Lilies from his anthology “John Muir: Ultimate Collection”.

  • Essex Erato #12

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    Jonathan Crasher of picnics,contriving to look, at once,hopeful and aloof. But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.† ’Til next time, y’all… †John Muir, “Steep Trails” — Page 1343, Chapter IX Mormon Lilies from his anthology “John Muir: Ultimate Collection”.

  • Glorious Gooses

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    Canada Gooses are majestic. Barrel-chested.The envys of all ornithologys.† This post is inspired by an article in today’s papers:    Ontario man fined $1,000 for ‘throwing large rocks and swatting’ at Canada geese It is the story of a cruel and ignorant resident of my beloved Essex County who, first caught a gosling, and then…

  • Essex Erato #11

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    Flicker handsomely moustachedflitting around the forestbeauty in the sky But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.† †John Muir, “Steep Trails” — Page 1343, Chapter IX Mormon Lilies from his anthology “John Muir: Ultimate Collection”.

  • Joyspotting 2026 #1

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    1.  Look Up: 2.  Look Down: 3.  Keep an Eye Out For Colour: 4.  Follow the Curve: 5.  Go Where the Wild Things Are: 6.  Seek Out Symmetry: 7.  Search for Signs of Abundance: 8. Watch for Weirdness: You can trim a tree but not it’s determination to grow where it wants! 9.  Zoom In:…

  • Lens-Artists Challenge # 396 – Pick a Favourite Quote and Illustrate it

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    This week you can choose one quote accompanied with a maximum of five pictures or a maximum of five quotes illustrated with one picture each. Make us “feel”your quote(s) in pictures! Annie Dillard: “Today is one of those excellent January partly cloudies in which light chooses an unexpected part of the landscape to trick out…

  • Lens-Artists Challenge #395 — On the Water:  Liquid Lapse of Thought*

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    Lens Artists Photo Challenge #395 – Looking back to #151 On the Water Some of my favourite creatures to photograph live in shallow water habitats — ponds, creeks and, my favourite, marshes.  Wearing my water shoes, I’m not averse to mucking about in those areas, but my entire world changed when I got my kayak.…

  • Lens-Artists Challenge #393 — Lucky Shot

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    I struggled with this challenge.  Come to think of it, I’ve written that same sentence with regards to a few of these challenges and I’ve not even been doing them all that long.  In many respects, I think mine is an appropriate reaction — it is a challenge, after all… My first photography teacher (Dad)…

  • Introduction to Joyspotting

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    A decade or more ago, a friend recommended a hiking and photography tool to me —  Joyspotter’s Guide — which is simply twelve prompts for things to watch for whilst out walking.  This thought-provoking and inspiring document was created by the oh-so-delightful Ingrid Fetell Lee, whose website is Aesthetics of Joy.  Not only does she…

  • Unwinding With The Critters

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    Lens Artists Challenge #389: Time to Relax But what relaxes you? What gets you away from the stresses of daily life. What’s your passion?† On any given day, I’m probably the most stressed-out person you’ll meet.  Relaxation (without stress) doesn’t typically come easily to me but answering Anne’s questions was easy.  A leisurely rural ramble through…

  • Insects are Interesting

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    I grew up in a childhood idyll;  beside my house was an enormous wild meadow.  Technically, it was a Hydro Right-of-Way, but it was an unspoiled field with long grasses, wildflowers galore and — especially appealing to us kiddos, bugs galore.  It was in that field that my love of wildflowers was born and too,…

  • Crops and Discoveries

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     Lens-artists challenge #385 – unusual crop.   First, here’s the assignment and the inspiration: What an Unusual Crop! No, I cannot do this; it’s too hard. No, it’s not. Give it a try, be bold, be creative. You can do it. Exceed yourself, like they say in the Olympics. Cropping stands as one of the…