SNOWVEMBER

The snow came early and it snowed and snowed. If that wasn't bad enough mother nature added winds up to 70 km per hour to the mix and we had temperatures down to almost -20. After 4 days of this we are now going to temperatures around 10 degrees by Monday with lots of rain to go along with this crazy week we have had. It did however give me a chance to get a few early winter pictures of the birds and there is still a month until winter officially arrives.

Tall grasses covered in wet snow

These European Starling must have known the snow was coming as they
arrived and cleaned off most of the berries from the euonymus tree

Closing its eyes in the strong winds

Chickadee hanging on tight

The tree was a busy resting place in the storm

Mr. Cardinal braving the weather for a few seeds

Black squirrel must be hungry

A line up waiting for there turn at the feeder

Mourning dove finding anything that gets dropped

Good gel or the wind is just to much....

Pinery, Nov.7-9 2014

This was our last weekend away for the 2014 season. One week earlier than last seasons final getaway. We did have a bit of snow just after we arrived and a group of people started singing "Let it Snow". I was thinking to myself that we really didn't want the snow quite yet! There were also times over the weekend that we had light rain and ice pellets.  When we went to get firewood for the weekend I spotted a bald eagle on a tree trunk in the channel. I told Duncan to stop so I could try and get a picture. It was about 4:30 so the light was not the greatest but I was going to try. It must have spotted me with its eagle eyes and flew to a nearby tree. I was able to take a few shots before it flew down the channel. This was my first time being that close to this amazing bird and I was astonished at how big they really are when you are that close to them. I can now say I have a photo of the majestic bald eagle even though it is in poor lighting. We enjoyed a roaring campfire in the evening before retiring indoors later that evening.
Saturday we went exploring in the park hoping to spot the eagle again but we were not successful. We also traveled into town as it was "Christmas in Grand Bend". Many of the shops were decorated for the holiday season and had specials and were serving treats as well. We both enjoyed a few treats and I picked up a couple of gifts. The evening was spent trying to burn the last of our wood so we had quite the campfire or maybe bonfire for part of the evening. The wind was doing a lot of swirling so we couldn't sit to close or we ending up in all the smoke.
When I got up Sunday morning the coals were still quite hot and I was able to get a small fire going with just that heat. We headed out to do some more exploring as the sun was shining and we decided to take advantage of that and have a late breakfast after we returned. After filling our bellies we packed up and went over to the visitors centre area before heading home from our last adventure of the year. I will miss our trips to the parks but we can still head out on day trips to spend time in nature. The weather is calling for our first accumulation of snow tomorrow so it is best that we put Georgie to bed for the winter. Before we know it we will be starting to book our 2015 adventures. I will now try to keep you updated on what is happening closer to home. Emma is growing like a weed and there will be lots of fun changes with her so I will have to do regular updates on our precious granddaughter. Wishing for a short winter season so we can get an early start to next year adventures.

How exciting! My first Bald Eagle photo

 

Bald eagles nest from this year in the park

The nest can be seen in the top left side way up in a big tree. 

It is a huge nest and must take much work on the eagles part to build.

Can you spot the squirrel?

One of many downy's in the park

Male white-breasted nuthatch

Female braving the weather for some nuts

There were 6 wild turkeys looking for seeds

Cardinal enjoying berries by our site

Chickadee opening a sunflower seed

Another first, a male pine siskin

Three pine siskins at the 

visitors centre feeder

 

Large piece of bracket fungus

 

Nuthatch collecting peanuts to hide in the trees for the winter

 

A face only a mother could love......lol

No one swimming. 

Not much beach with the high water levels

All puffed up in the cold

Tufted Titmouse

I was hoping to get lots of pictures of these 

but there were not many in the park this year

New sign erected by the natives at the park entrance. 

This is part of one mans protest over land claims.

The trailer that he parked at the park near the ski hill. There was no one in it all weekend from what

we could tell. Duncan's comment was it should be in the dump as it had holes in it and is in bad shape. Maybe this was just a way to get rid of it!

November Blooms

Hard to believe that my clematis had decided to put out a couple of blooms this late in the season. It usually does this in July. Nice to have some colour in November.

Pretty In Pink

This one is fully open

Not quite open but fuller that the other

MacGregor, Oct.31-Nov.2 2014

We had an adventurous weekend at MacGregor. The weather was not bad when we left home but it sure changed when we got north of the Kincardine Hwy, (Greenock). We hit a wall of wind and it just got worst the further north we went. Lucky for us we had a really secluded campsite so we were quite sheltered. We had not finished setting up when a young red squirrel came for a visit. Must have wanted something to eat!! Duncan also let me know that the chickadees were outside singing away and he said to me that "they heard Maureen was here and they wanted some sunflowers". I had to finish what I was doing before I could collect my treats and head out to feed them. They were quite friendly and landed in my hand to get some seeds. I left them with a few as we were heading out on a deer search. Unfortunately there were not any out and about. We drove up to Southampton to shop at the Kitchen Cupboard Store and to see a few of the kids out trick or treating. We picked up some chinese food for dinner to enjoy back at camp. It was an indoor evening as it was raining and snowing lightly. We watch the movie Frozen, which I really enjoyed. The lake was very noisy and our site was not far from the water so we listened to that as we drifted off to sleep.
 Saturday I awoke to a light dusting of snow pellets on the ground but it wasn't long before they melted. My feathered friends came for a visit so I spent some time with them before we headed out to Sauble Beach. It was a nice drive up and we toured around the area for a while before heading back to the park. We went out to dinner with John & Joanne to Duffy's for a fish and chips feast then went back to their place for a visit. I have to send out a special thanks for all the carmels I was forced to eat.....lol
 Sunday was an exciting day as the sun was shining and it was warming up. We went for a hike and drove around the park looking for some deer friends. We were not disappointed. We found a yearling out enjoying some grass. I was able to get a number of photos as she was quite comfortable with me being so close. At times I was less than six feet away. It was a thrill spending so much time observing her as she enjoyed a feast of young fresh grass. We spent some time back at our campsite before heading home. This weekend we are off to the Pinery for what may be our last adventure for the season. I am hoping that the weather will give us more time away but with the cold temperatures at night it is not looking good. I will keep you posted when I update the blog next week.

Friendly chickadee enjoying some seeds

Blue jay getting what was dropped on the ground

Poor red squirrel has a broken tail. She can't 

lift it over her back to keep warm and dry

A large piece of tooth fungus

Mr. red-breasted nuthatch hiding his seeds

The tamarack trees are a blaze of golden colour

Male white-breasted nuthatch

Giving me his best pose, I'm so pretty....

Looking down from the cedar tree

Spider out on a flower in the warm sun

Late fall beauty in the woods

A lucky chance to get the two of them 

as they squawked at each other

I hear something over there

Reflections in the water at Turtle Pond

Chickadee opening a sunflower seed

It has a wee piece in its beak

This grass is so yummy

Dragonfly enjoying the warmth by the pond

My favourite photo of the weekend  :o)

1 small used nest for rent

Always wash your paws after eating

I see your pink tongue

A big peanut for a small bird

Check out her tongue

Heart reflections in the reeds

Hey....you talking to me