Port Burwell, June 5-7 2015

 What a wonderful weekend to be on the the shores of Lake Erie. The weather was sunny and warm and there was a breeze all weekend long which helped to keep the mosquitoes from biting too much. They do seem to like me for some reason. Maybe its that I'm sweet or it could be the O blood that they prefer. Last year we bought some pepper cheese at the Sweet Shop in town and Brittany really liked it so we were able to pick up a couple of pieces for her. We found out that it is made near New Hamburg so they will be able to pick it up and enjoy a nice ride in the country all at the same time. We enjoyed burgers and corn on the cob done on the bbq for dinner. Yummy! Had a nice stroll on the beach and relaxed by the fire for the evening.
 Saturday I went for a morning hike before a late breakfast. I was able to get my first picture of a deer at the park.  It came out of the woods, spotted me and headed back in. Gave me just enough time to snap a shot. In the afternoon we drove to Vienna to check out Viennafest. The best part was the french fries....lol  There was live music playing but I have to admit it was certainly small town quality that we heard. On the way back to the park we walked along the boardwalk to the beach where I observed a pair of yellow warblers fluttering about in the same location for quite some time. I decided that they must have a nest near by which I was able to locate. There were 5 eggs in it. It was wonderful to watch them as they went about eating. The male was bringing food to the female. I'm wondering is she is filling up before starting to spend the next several days in the nest to incubate the eggs. Would have been nice to be able to watch them for the next several days and see the young ones. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and a lazy evening by the campfire.
 Sunday morning I went for another hike for about 2 hours. The mosquitoes didn't bother me unless I stood in one spot for awhile and then they would bite at my hands as I took photos. Duncan cooked a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs with peppers, mushroom and asparagus with rye toast. He also cooked a pizza that we had for dinner later in the day. After packing up we headed to the beach for the rest of the day. When we parked a killdeer started to do the broken wing dance in front of the motorhome. I snapped a few photos before going out to see if there was a nest nearby. It was just ahead of where we parked. I was able to get some amazing photos of her as well as the nest. We walked the beach and enjoyed the warm weather. I watched a few sand pipers near a marshy area for awhile. When we left I had to make sure Duncan didn't run over the nest as it was in the parking lot amongst the gravel. I'm sure the killdeer was glad to see us leave so that she could just relax on her nest. Every time we were in or out of the motorhome she would do her broken wing dance and squawk away. I hope she is able to hatch her young safely. It was a great weekend and very relaxing as well.

Lilies growing in the marsh area along the road to the beach

Hugs for the tree

Sunset on Friday evening

The aroma of these blossoms were spectacular

 

Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Natures painting

The blue on this demoiselle was eye catching

Old steel bridge in Vienna

Male Yellow Warbler with food for his mate

The Mrs doing some preening

 

 Their nest in a small shrub

Five eggs in their nest

Busy collecting pollen

Deer heading back into the woods

Flox in bloom

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Wildflowers are a beezy place

Killdeer sitting on her nest

She's doing the broken wing trick to 

distract you away from her nest

Her tail feathers spread to show the beautiful colours

There are four eggs in the nest. 

They are quite big for the size of her

You can see how she has placed the rocks around the nest

Point Farms, May 29-31 2015

Into everyone's life a little rain must fall.
 We tried a new route to get to Goderich. It is a nicer drive through the country and we avoid having to drive through Stratford and all that traffic. When we arrived on Friday the weather was gorgeous. We set up camp and headed into Goderich to place our donut order for Saturday. It had been much too long since we had enjoyed this treat. We received a number of photos of them from John over the winter as he teased us with the ones they had picked up to enjoy. We did our usual tour in town before heading back to camp. I went for a 1 hour hike while Duncan prepared supper for us. Oh how I love to just sit at a campfire sipping a hot chocolate and enjoying the sights and sounds of the burning wood. There is nothing more relaxing than an evening in the woods with the flicker of a fire. Just after we headed to bed the thunder storm started. I must say mother nature timed that one quite well.
 Saturday morning I went for another hike as it was going to rain later in the day and I wanted to check out what nature had to offer in the park before it got to wet to enjoy. We had a quick bite for breakfast before going to market in town and stopping at the bakery. Nothing like a delicious donut for your breakfast dessert....lol  After spending some time in Goderich we headed to Pine River Cheese to stock up on some of our favourite cheeses before heading back to camp. The rain had started so we spent the rest of the day being lazy at camp.
 Sunday was going to be a short stay as we had to get home to attend a memorial gathering in Burlington for Duncans Aunt Shirley who had passed away on May 11th. On May the 12th, Ians birthday, Duncans Grandpa Johnnie passed at age 95. Then on May 13th his Aunt Marie passed away. They say things come in threes and they sure did as it was three days in a row.  What a party they all must be having. We had breakfast, packed up and were heading home by 10:30. It rained most of the way home so I am sure we didn't miss to much by have to cut our weekend short. Looking forward to our next trip to Point Farms.

Welcome road into Point Farms

Large bracket fungus

A pair of eastern kingbirds at the waters edge

Seeds of life for a dandelion

This raccoon looks like it is eating a Culberts donut

Red-eyed vireo in the evening light

Lots of apple blossoms throughout the park

Great view from the tree tops

Lake view from the cliff tops

Female red start posing nicely

Lots of giant ant hills along the roadsides at the park

Placed my lens cover on it to show the size

Count my rings and find my age

Flowers are blooming everywhere

Common wren, a first for me

Side view shows off the feather pattern

Building their nest in a rotting gate post

Blue heron ready for a landing

The smell of the lilacs was amazing

Someone built a leen two shelter on one of the campsites

Can you hear me now?

Pinery, May 22-24 2015

HI ho, hi ho, its off to the Pinery we go....... I bet I have you singing that tune now.....lol
We had a wonderful weekend away on the shores of Lake Huron. It was a little cool on Friday but the rest of the weekend was hot and humid. We enjoyed two evenings by the campfire. It was so relaxing. We explored lots of the park and I did a few hikes on my own as Duncan is still fighting a sore throat and cough. He didn't get much sleep Friday night so I let him sleep in on Sunday for as long as he wanted. We were able to check out the bald eagles nest and we saw an eagle up on it. It is so well covered by leaves that we couldn't tell if there were young ones or not but someone told us that there were two young ones in the nest. The chipmunk that was at our site last year is still there and using the some hole to hide its stash of nuts. While driving back from getting sunset pictures at the beach on Saturday evening we had to stop as there was a 2 foot snake crossing the road. I asked at the visitors center on Sunday what kind it was as I had taken a few photos of it. They said it was a mature Hog Nose Snake and that they are at risk in the park so I had to fill in a report of where we saw it, what time and in which direction it was traveling along with my name etc. I was also asked to send them the photos I had taken. I'm glad we were able to spot it and let it cross successfully. On Sunday I watched a racoon swim across the channel. I didn't know that racoons could swim. I am always learning new things on our adventures. Sunday when we pulled up at the dumping station there was a Scarlet Tanager sitting on the roadway so I was able to get a few pic's before it flew away. I was wondering if it was collecting mud from the damp area at the filling station or just getting a drink. Was nice to see it out in the open like that. We had a great weekend and will return to the Pinery in the fall as it is really busy in the summer months.

The blossoms are beautiful in the evening sun

The tent caterpillars are emerging from their tents

They are devouring the new leaves.

Red-eyed Vireo singing his heart out

If you look very closely in the middle of 

this photo you will see the bald eagles nest

Large snapping turtle at the channel

Yellow Warbler singing his song

Dwight the racoon reaches the far shore

Canada goose family out for a swim

Mr. & Mrs. red-eyed vireo collecting nest material

A box turtle out exercising and soaking up some sun

There were still a few trillium's in bloom

Working hard to fit the peanut into its cheek

I found a patch of wild lupins

Bumble bee on the lupins

Natures art work on the Ausible Channel

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

This tree is keeping an eye on me as I hike past

Hognose snake slithering into the leaves

Lots of dunes erosion damage all along the beach

Amazing Saturday sunset over the lake

I was so excited to get photos of this pair of downy 

woodpeckers together on our peanut feeder at camp

What a beautiful song this male eastern towhee was singing

Purple beauty in the woods

Male Scarlet Tanager

Chippy coming out of its home on our site