backyard fauna

"Oh my ears and whiskers!" said the White Rabbit. That's how delighted I feel to wake up to such a beautiful- and coolish- morning. A real treasure, the kind I'd hoped for when we moved out here almost 5 years ago. After some seriously hot summers (and who's to say that's still not coming), the temperature sits below 20C on this cloudless sunny morning.

Yesterday, was a temperate day that kept the house cool with the windows open til midday.

I woke to this wondrous sight, dodging the laundry line as I

surreptitiously took photos from behind the curtains.

Having to enlarge my shots gives a fuzzy impressionistic look which works out well

with this lovely subject

I'd obviously caught her hearing something and with a flash of her tail

she leans towards where it's coming from

ever intent

Her ears large receivers, receptors for pertinent information

such a beautiful, even regal, animal

I'm so blown away that I have this opportunity

These shots are in sequence; I could almost make a video of them

For all her stillness and decent light, my little camera can only capture so much,

making these pictures rather pixilated.

Still, there was enough  information that I was beginning to suspect from the unusual brightness of her body that she might be the young piebald fawn all grown up,

and sure enough, as she turns, chewing on something tender enough to call her into the middle

of the field, I can see, beyond the laundry line,

  that she is, indeed, the young Piebald fawn all grown up.

I have pictures of her from last year that you can see in the pink link.

It is amazing to think that only a short time ago I was taking pictures of the pheasants in this same spot where the grass and lupins are about 4 or more feet high now.

Such a magical moment

She poses as she breakfasts so well that I can see her mottling clearly now

I am thrilled to see the beautiful young piebald doe

all grown up, even more special for her rarity

She moves further away

preparing to leave

with tail raised

she may suspect reason to depart

The morning was fresh and cool and I came out onto the deck, now that "the coast was clear",

to listen to the chorus of different bird calls, and record this geranium beginning to bloom.

Suddenly I heard a thump behind me on the cabin window and there was that same fool bird doing battle with itself in the window that I had shown you about a month ago.

I was too slow to capture him so close,

but I did see this small yellow warbler flying away from the apple tree.

I mistook it for a female goldfinch, and am now amending this post after several of you have already been to visit

landing on a stray branch of the hydrangea

with apologies for mislabeling it, it is not a female goldfinch

but a small yellow warbler- with a truly delightful song

Overnight, the buds of the wild rose in our border hedge bloomed

I turn towards the Honeysuckle which is beginning to bloom very nicely

despite the dramatic haircut I gave it in April.

How amazing to see Mr. Slug, about 2.5 inches long

making his way out of the sunshine toward the shade of the cabin

There are some bricks to signify an old garden on that shady side of the cabin, but grasses

with a raggedy beauty of their own

Forget-me-nots grow there as well, as they do all over the property

which is a bit raggedy as we slowly address the bits and pieces

of our new life as town folk in Nova Scotia.

While preparing yesterday morning's pictures, I could hear the rumble of a large machine approaching. It took me a few moments to realize that it was the sound of the tractor mowing the field out back.

It took me a while to brace myself for the loss of the lupin field only an hour or so after I took the pictures of the deer in it. There is an odd bit of unmowed field towards the back there.

This morning, the tractor is back, baling the hay

He has made short work of the field, leaving odd unmown clumps though one or two I know hold young trees planted last fall by a young couple.

As I cleaned out the birdbath of debris, I caught this view of more bales beyond our raspberry bushes.

As much to comfort myself as to try out my new sticks of graphite,

I drew this monastic on kraft paper with 6B (soft and dark) graphite.

Always, always with gratitude,

we make our way in life,

a little raggedy sometimes,

but intact.

peace

Hay Baling on Canada Day

It's Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day, a holiday for most people in Canada,
but not the Early Bird.

Yesterday I woke to the hayfield mown, and today I woke to the last of the hay baled.

There is a makeshift wood shelter at the back of Forget-Me-Not Cabin beyond which I can see a goodly portion of the hayfield, looking due south.

The Honeysuckle perfume was intoxicating but the scent of hay had already waned.

I think this must be a new hayer, judging by his work style: the Early Bird.

As I turned back towards the house, there was Muji, squinting in the morning sun, waiting for me.

Turning towards the garden, one can see how high the hydrangeas are.

Our Canada Day garden

A row of Broccoli, looking like a totem pole with Oregano for a head

Just a little catch up on a most beautiful day.   While we're still waiting for rain, we are lucky to be able to water our little garden and keep it "together". .

Remember to hold this moment

wildflower walk around the hayfield

I'm so grateful today as I write this.
On Monday I fell against the kitchen counter, my foot asleep, and slammed my arm and wrist, saving myself from a complete fall.  I twisted my ankle, barely saving it from a fracture. Ouch!

I got my foot up, slatherered in Arnica cream, and then remembered to put on a bandage with castor oil, both old-time healers. Muji is more concerned about being cuddled than my foot, believe me.

By the next day I was so much better that I could wear shoes, and suddenly found myself out in the hayfield on a breezy, overcast afternoon. I honestly don't know what propelled me except for the delight in being able to walk at all. Here's the back side of Forget-Me-Not Cabin as I depart.

I slowly walked the perimeter where bits of mown hay still lay

happy to see the wildflowers like this daisy

and these cinque foile

These are a form of wild aster called Fleabane

Fleabane up close

a wild rose blossom

The sweet smelling flower of an unknown tree

Now I've come around the back edge of the field, its eastern corner,

 where you can see Forget-Me-Not Cabin in the distance

There is a surprise stand of milkweed here, main food source of the Monarch Butterfly (that we never see out here) and how it smells, so sweet that I'm constantly amazed that it has never been bottled

Really, it is as wonderful as any rose!

These little babies, I've learned, are very common in this part of the world.

They are called Longleaf Starwort.

Another variety of wild rose

a heavenly blossom

a tender beauty

Here is a berry I have not identified

It has the leaf of a cherry, but the fruit doesn't grow like cherries

It is just beginning to ripen 

 

a happy snail

I turn around to capture home

a pretty pink/violet flower

There is a sudden profusion of them

It has the appearance of a thistle but I don't detect thorns

a little bumblebee enjoys them

Keys! I've only seen them on maples and this is not a maple

This sweetly perfumed, pretty fluffy flower grows on a tree
that seems somehow familiar to me, as if we used to see it on our old property

Like a bit of natural fireworks. its name is unknown to me 

nature girl

I pluck one of them and slip it into the hole of my zipper. 

This little venture around the hayfield has made me so happy.

The scarlet underside of a yellow leaf

A Thistle for real.

A grove of Sumac that makes me think of childhood visits to my grandmother's cottage.

With this I turn to make my way back across the field. There is an ominous feeling about the air.

A Queen Anne's Lace unfurling, a typical field flower

The globe seed head of a a large weed

I decide to head back on a diagonal toward home, heading north to Forget-Me-Not Cabin

Behind me, the fan of trees that I admire from home

I hold up a mitfull of hay as a token to my walk made easy by its cutting

The house looms closer

Home beneath the clouds

 

Muji awaits my return

a little romp around the garden. Behold the beautiful onion flower

and the hollyhocks on one side of the composter

almost black

heart of a hollyhock

an asymmetrical echinacea on the other side of the composter

and the rain comes down of a sudden.

Have a lovely weekend, grateful for all our working parts,

 our senses, our innate connection to the sublime