Good Morning Jenny Wren

Every morning little Jenny Wren sings to us to start the day... and she starts very early in the morning.  Probably earlier than I want to start my day.  Through my lens I have captured some photos of the house wren, whom I call Jenny Wren.

The photo is slightly blurry as she was hidden away in one of the honeysuckly bushes close by the nesting box and I was taking the photo from the other side of the garden.

This photo shows off her little tail, which is usually sticking striaght up.  Remember that birdhouse on the fence I was offering for cheep rent? That's the one she is is busy making the nest in.  Wrens can lay 6 to 10 brown speckled eggs.  I know when I go back to the composters she certainly tells me off. So I'm really hoping there will be lots of little baby wrens in there.

 

Check out other bloggers that are sharing photos of Camera Critters. 

 Edit:  Thanks to Carletta who visited and left the play on words ... cheep wren-t.  I love it and will use it again for sure. Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Two Osprey for 2sDay

It's 2sDay - the day when I post photos of things I have captured in twos. This week I'm thrilled to share two slightly different photos of the male and female osprey.  We stopped by the waterfront last Saturday to see if I could capture some more photos of the osprey.  On my last visit I captured the male in flight.

This time I was lucky to get the pair of them sitting on their nesting platform.  The male was quite annoyed at me and kept telling me off the whole time.

It certainly seems like they are in the nesting process and I'm really hoping that I hear and see the babies my next few visits.

 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Sweet Milkweed Blooms

The sweetness of the milkweed blooms can be inhaled in the garden.  The bees have been busy around the blooms capturing the nectar.I love the delicate individual blooms. The flowers grow in clusters and will attract bees and butterflies. Later towards Fall the clusters will turn into pods filled with silky fluff attached to the black seeds. Nature's way of spreading the growth of the milkweed plant.  Milkweed is an important plant in the life cycle of caterpillars, especially the Monarch butterfly. Here is a Monarch caterpillar or Danaus plexippus that I captured through my lens munching away on milkweed a couple of years ago.
I think I'm addicted to creating mosaics or collages of my photos using Picasa or Photoshop. Mosaic Monday was created by The Little Red House. You are encouraged to create and share a mosaic/collage of some photos. Why don't you stop by and see what some other participants have created. Then try creating a mosaic photo of your own and join in the fun.  You just might get addicted too!  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Conch Shell Twirler

It's time for a revisit to a post from the past.  I've made these conch shell twirlers in the past and had the pattern on my website.  Recently I had a request to do the pattern in pdf format for easy saving and printing.  So I'm posting the directions again and adding a link to my pdf file.

 Twirlers or whirlygigs are so much fun to have in the garden. Even the gentle breeze will make them twirl.

For this pattern you will need:
-wire from a coathanger that is about 16 inches long.
- fishing swivel
-fishing line
-clothes peg
- interlocking craft beads
-plastic canvas in your choice of colours, use 2 or 3 colours and alternate the strips

Cut your plastic canvas five holes wide and 70 holes long.  You will need 27 strips.

Twist a loop in the end of the wire and thread three beads on.
Alternate beads and plastic canvas until all 27 strips are on the wire.
Take the free end of your first PC strip, and thread it on the wire.
Add a bead and move on to the next PC strip.
Continue until all strips are used.
End with 3 beads.
Bend a hook in the wire, add the swivel, and close.
Fasten a length of fishing line fastened to a clothes peg.
It should look something like a conch shell

Here is the pdf pattern for the twirler.  Have fun making it.

 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

The Cat Sanctuary

On our recent visit to Ottawa we stopped by to see what critters were in the Cat Sanctuary on Parliament Hill.

 There is a small enclosure with a wooden structure in it that houses the stray cats on the Hill.  Other animals also call this safe haven home ... racoons, groundhogs and squirrels.  The Cat Sanctuary was started by Irene Desomeaux in 1970.  It is now looked after by Rene Chartrand.  A click on the above photo will lead you to some info on the Cat Sanctuary.
Photo shared by Wikimedia Commons, taken by Montrealais.

  Through my lens, I captured some of the critters that call the Cat Sanctuary home.

Check out other bloggers that are sharing photos of Camera Critters.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Watching the Rideau

We reently spent a few days in Ottawa showing our family from British Columbia our wonderful capital city.  It is always lovely to watch the boats go up the locks into the Rideau Canal. Here is a photo is looking up the Rideau Canal, which in the winter becomes the world's second longest skating rink.

I love the way the trees and bridge are reflected in the calm waters of the canal.

And then a few moments later the buses crossed the bridge and gave perfect shadows in the water - just perfect for Shadow Shot Sunday.

 Shadow Shot Sunday is hosted on the Hey Harriet.  Be sure to stop by and join in the fun.
Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Blue Everywhere

We are having several days vacation with some of our family from British Columbia and sharing the sights and sounds of beautiful Ontario with them.I couldn't resist sharing these photos on my blog as there is blue everywhere.  The sky was a gorgeous blue dotted with white cumulus clouds .. just perfect for sky watching.

 One of the drives was through scenic Prince Edward County and a trip on the Glenora Ferry.

 This old willow had been struck by lightening at some point in its life but it still continued to grow bending over into the water.  It was a 'tree'mendous photo opportunity.

This is the view from the Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.The water was quite calm that day and the photos have many shades of blue in them.
If you love sky photos as much as I do be sure to check out the other participants in Sky Watch Friday.  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

A Stroll After the Rain

We had some much needed rain overnight.  The gardens and lawn are looking much better already.  I just had to stroll around the garden taking photos of raindrops on leaves and blooms.  Isn't that what we all do after a rain storm? The roses are still spectacular as the rain was coming on the front of the house and they were sheltered from the rain and wind at the back of the house. The large pot of coleus is beginning to fill in.  It loves the shady spot on the driveway under the lilac bush. The dahlia and canna are poking through the soil with a promise of lovely blooms later in the season.  The Quiet Country House invites you to take a Sunday stroll around your garden too.  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Osprey in Flight

Earlier this morning we were down by the bay in the hopes of getting some photos of the osprey.  There was just one bird sitting atop the light standards.

I got several shots of it through my lens before it decided to fly over towards the nest.

This is a nesting platform set up overlooking the bay.  It looks like there is the starting of a nest there, but we didn't see the pair of osprey on this visit.  I'll be back again in hopes of capturing both of the birds on the nest like I did last year.

 
 Check out other bloggers that are sharing photos of Camera Critters.   Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Trellis Time

It's the first Friday in June and time for me to flaunt some of the flowers blooming in the garden that are filling in the trellis.

Here is the rose trellis covered in blooms.  I have no idea the name of this rose, but it will give prolific blooms at the beginning of June, and then some more throughout the summer.  This trellis is at the back of the house and gets full sun all day long in a southern exposure.

The trellis is laden with honeysuckle blooms. This vine was planted several years ago and produces these lovely blooms in the late spring.  This trellis is at the back corner of the house and actually has 3 parts to it.  The other 2 parts of this trellis have clematis climbing up them.  These had to be taken down and the plants were moved when the waterproofing of the basement. We finally got the trellis put back up on the long weekend and replanted the clematis. I'm not sure how they will grow this year.  Thank goodness the honeysuckle vine did not have to be moved.

These two trellis climbers don't need much looking after or much fertilizing.  Now that is my kind of plant. Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Frog Parking

 

Frog parking only, all others will be toad!

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.