Let's Go For A Walk In The Woods

 On September 30th Nancy and I went for a 3 hour walk in the Rare Woods along Langdon Dr. in Blair. This was the first time we had been to these trails and it was an amazing adventure. There was a large flock of blue jays near the entrance to the trail and a number of turkey vultures circling
overhead. The forest floor was covered in very young maple trees once we descended into the valley area and we slowly made our way into more heavily forested area. We traveled through an open area and into the butterfly meadow before re-entering the forest at a pine plantation. As we traveled along we met up with a red squirrel that let us know we were not welcome in its territory but it was kind enough to stay long enough for a few photos. Some of the maple trees were huge and there we a few that grew so straight and tall that we had to get some shots of them. The butterfly meadow area had a number of sulpher butterflies fluttering about but we managed to spot one monarch that was busy collecting nectar for his journey south. Once we headed back out of the woods I spotted a larger bird sitting in a dead tree just up the road so I slowly walked that way to try and get a photo of it. The merlin was quite cooperative and I got some amazing shots of it. I must say that it really kept it eyes on me and did move a little lower in the tree at one point. After watching the merlin for a while it was time to head home. This is definitely a trail that we will visit more often now that we explored some of it.

The beginning of our hike

Turkey Vulture soaring in the wind

One of the straight and very tall maple trees

Lots of moss and fungi throughout the forest

Chattering at me to move along

Found a number of these in the open field

The yellow jackets were busy on the flowers

 

The butterfly meadow was covered in flowers

Very busy collecting nectar

 Found an old piece of fence along the trail

I liked it with the flowers in the background

Mr Monarch was very busy

There is always something smiling in the woods

Not often you find blue fungi

One of the many blue jays

Merlin landing on a branch

It's keeping an eye on me

Walk In The Woods

 On Thursday Sept. 22 my Mom's Lunch Group went for a walk along the Grand River in Blair at the rare Charitable Research Reserve. It was a beautiful sunny day and the company along for the hike was cheerful and we had lots of laughs. I never knew that there were so many interesting things to explore on the property. Growing up near here most of this land was farm land as well as wooded areas that were privately owned so we never explored along that rivers edge. There were two young osprey that were perched on two separate nest boxes that are on the property so I was able to get a few good photos. The other ladies in the group were concerned that one of the osprey might come after me since it was making so much noise as I was taking pictures of it. It did fly off the nest but returned right back to it so I was able to get shots with its wings spread out. As we walked through we past a number of limestone cliffs and also checked out the fossils that are in the rocks that were used to build the rare slit barn on the property. It was a great adventure and we will be back there to do some more exploring.

Close up of one of the fossils in the barns stone

There are many stones with varying fossils

Dew drop on the flower along the rivers edge

Juvenile Osprey keeping an eye on me

Landing back on the nest

Bracket fungi down by the river

The remains of a tree covered in chewed gum

Maybe its a new kind of forest art!

Large piece of Americanum Tooth Fungi on a fallen log

A section of limestone and rocks along the trail

A good example of Shelving Tooth Fungi

View of the Grand River

A natural bouquet at the edge of the trail

A sure sign that fall is upon us

A natural log chair in the woods covered in fungi

Hibiscus flowers growing along the slit barn wall

Big Chair Adventures

 My Mom's Lunch Group decided we had to get our pictures taken in the big chairs that are popping up in different places. So, on Sept 13th we started our adventure to the first chair where we took individual photos as well as a group photo. Unfortunately when Marty was getting down out of the chair her foot slipped and she went for a tumble. We went out and enjoyed lunch before our second photo shoot in a red chair. This one had steps to get into it so we had no injuries at this one. Marty's hand was getting quite painful and swelling so a trip to emerg was required. She had a splint cast put on and has to be seen at the fracture clinic tomorrow. Hopefully she will get good news and be back to work soon. We didn't realize just how big these chairs were until we had to climb into them. When we saw the photos we just laughed as we all looked so small sitting in the chairs.

I look rather small in this chair

Maureen R, Nancy, Me and Marty

My Mom's Lunch Group

We always have such great fun!

Point Farms, Sept.9-11 2016

 This may be our last trip to Point Farms this year so I am sure that any of you that follow my blog know where we had to visit. Yes, we put in an order for our Saturday morning pick up of donuts and we picked up some cookies from Culbert's Bakery to enjoy that evening by the campfire. I was looking forward to enjoying a wonderful sunset over Lake Huron but the clouds rolled in and it was not as spectacular as it could have been. Never the less it was nice to watch the setting sun before we parked our bodies in front of the fire for the evening. I enjoyed my delicious hot chocolate and Duncan his tea as we were embraced by the warmth and beauty of the campfire.
 When we awoke on Saturday morning it was pouring rain. We both were hoping that the skies were going to release all that wet stuff now so we could enjoy our afternoon outing.  We made the trip into Goderich for our donuts and enjoyed a few before we headed to Blyth for the rest of the day. We were going to meet up with Mike and Wendy to explore the antique steam threshers show. It was great walking around and checking out all the displays and we only had a couple brief misty periods of rain. It was a little disappointing this year as there were not as many of the old steam engines and trucks displaying how they work. We took a shuttle ride around the grounds to check things out as it is quite a large area to cover on foot. Besides it was nice just to sit for a while. We headed into the arena at supper time to enjoy a wonderful roast beef dinner that was put on by a local church group. It was really yummy and we even managed to get the recipe for the wonderful carrot salad that was served. I'm sure that we all agreed we ate too much but that every bite was thoroughly enjoyed. Mike and Wendy headed back home and we enjoyed another evening by the fire. Thanks,  Mike and Wendy for a great afternoon of laughs and fun together.
 Sunday I went for a hike before enjoying brunch. We packed up and did some exploring in the park and a walk on the beach before heading home. It was another great weekend enjoying nature and relaxing in the woods.

Busy as a bee collecting pollen

I liked the colour combination

First signs that fall is upon us

Friday evening sunset by the lake

Steam Thresher letting off some smoke

It was built in Waterloo

How's that for a camper?

One of many trains on display

Pretty purple flowers still blooming

Busy working on its web

Walking to the cliff to see Saturdays sunset

I thought this cloud looked like a 

plane coming in for a landing

Lots of chickadee's in the park

Fungus along the trail

This bee has an abundance of pollen on it

The monarch's are migrating south

Busy collecting nectar for their journey

Thistle seeds glistening in the sunlight

Mushrooms and moss on an old log

There were many sulpher butterflies in the park

These spiders were everywhere

Red squirrel checking me out

Enjoying our walk on the beach