the trees have been stunningly beautiful over the last while…
quite a bit of that time the sky was gray so even though it was lovely, it didn’t make for any great photos…
the last few days the sun has been shining brightly…
this frost appears to be rime frost…
from Weather Lab:
“With rime, the moisture comes from freezing fog water droplets that turn directly from a liquid state to a solid state, or through direct freezing. On the other hand, hoar frost occurs on a clear, cold night where water vapor sublimates: transitioning immediately from a gaseous state to a solid state.” Jan 5, 2021
what a treat it was to watch a new batch of baby house sparrows test out their wings…
they kind of hover when they are trying to figure out where they want to land…
and they don’t really understand that a person might not be safe to land close to…
once they’ve finally found a spot, they sit there and call mom or dad to come and feed them… I finally got a photo of the feeding, although it is a little fuzzy, lol…
in recent years Canada day has been a much quieter event for me…
for many years my beloved and I would have a gathering with family, friends and neighbours, and end the day with huge bowls of popcorn which we would consume as the fireworks went off at the Park…
chairs for everyone would be placed out on the street and there was lots of oohing and aahing at the fireworks as we munched on the popcorn…
this afternoon, I made a bowl of popcorn and munched on it thinking of the past and dreaming of a more inclusive future…
after forty plus years, the trees have grown so much that we could no longer see most of the display and over the last few years the Park hasn’t set off fireworks due to construction happening where the staging area used to be…
last year it felt like celebrating would be an insult to our First Nations peoples and so I spent time learning more of our sad history…
today I hung an orange heart on the front door and wore an orange shirt with red leggings… I continue to learn and support in ways that I am able…
I love this country and hope that we can do better… I am finding these to be very complicated feelings and continue to struggle with them…
I am really enjoying a newer feature on the Merlin Bird ID app… it lets you record bird sounds and then, nearly instantly, tells you what bird you are hearing… I’ve used this free app regularly to help identify birds that stop by the garden to eat or drink…
this new option is great for times, a lot recently, when the birds aren’t coming to the feeders and you want to ID them…
in the last day, there’s been a house wren here, and this morning the house finch and chipping sparrow seem to be chatting, lol…
fun to know who’s around, even if you can’t spot them…
I watched a Ducks Unlimited webinar a few days ago on dragonflies and damselflies…
it was interesting and I learned some new things about them… I also learned more about iNaturalist, a free app that I have on the phone…
up until now, I’ve usually used Merlin to search out a species, whether birds or other creatures… going forward I will try to use iNaturalist to record what I find… and I will be what they call a citizen scientist, lol…
recorded this little flycatcher… first time I’ve seen one of them;-)…
one of the things I enjoy after a snowfall is seeing the tracks that the bunnies, squirrels and birds make…
it is fairly obvious that one or more bunnies are living under the deck… they climb a snowbank and then head underneath… there is lots of space under there…
the squirrels have been running around on the deck… likely the red ones are chasing the other squirrels and birds away from their stash…
soon the bunnies will be able to eat directly from the front feeders because the snow is getting so high, lol…
it is wonderful to have such a great view of nature just by looking out the windows…