A Canola Field in La Fontaine, Ontario
Children of the Canola
I had a fun time visiting with my in-laws Ron and Fran last week at their cottage on Georgian Bay. When I arrived one of the first things I noticed was that Ron had rigged up a make shift scarecrow to keep a few big black birds away from his bird feeder. Determined to keep the bird feeder safe and enjoyable for the pretty local finches Ron had also sprayed the metal post holding the feeder with WD40 as a couple of squirrels had been scurrying up the pole and devouring all the seeds. Ron talked with delight about how the squirrel's attempts to climb the newly greased pole usually ended in a comical thud. I watched as a big black squirrel attempted to raid the feeder only to be humiliated in front of the chipmunks below as he crashed to the ground. Mr. Squirrel then took out his defeat on the chipmunks by chasing them away from where they had been feasting on all of the dropped seeds.
Mr. Heron posed for some pictures today. He seems less shy over by the waterfalls where there is much more activity IE. car traffic, kids playing in the park, dogs and cats running around and me sitting quietly on the hill with my camera. BTW, just for the record I rarely bring my camera with me while out meandering. I would say I bring my camera approx. 2 times out of 10. Like the other day, I was out for an easy run after a long day at the computer screen. Always having in mind that The Heron's may be around I looked for them in their usual spots and wouldn't you know it but Mr. Heron walked right up the hill out of the pond. His legs were so thin and knobby and he appeared awkward as he strutted across the trail and down to the lakes edge. Of course the first thing I thought to myself was "Darn, I wish I had my camera with me". However if I did have my camera I would have seen the surreal sight of a heron walking down "The Meandering Trail" through an LCD display. I would have been fumbling with buttons and zoom lenses and missing out on enjoying the moment just so I could have photographic evidence that the unbelievable story about a heron meandering down the trail is true. So I am glad that I did not have my camera that day. Instead what I do have is a lasting memory that may have been lost if I did and I am sure you all believe me without the photo evidence anyways, don't you?
A few years ago I bought the Peterson Field Guide Birds of Eastern and Central North America. At the time I bought the book because my Grandmother always kept an edition of the Guide on her windowsill. As a child I remember looking through her window at the birds in her garden. I also remember being a bit disappointed that I never saw as many birds through that window as were shown in the book. It was not until recently that I came to appreciated the fact that everyone of those pretty pictures was a detailed work of art. I made this revelation as I was reading the Foreword to the Guide. The Foreword was written by Canadian wildlife artist Robert Bateman. Bateman tells of how he received his first Peterson Bird Guide when he was 12 and how it's author, Roger Tory Peterson greatly influenced his life. Bateman talks about the discipline one must have to render such works when he says, "You cannot get loose and sloppy even once. You must always pay attention, not only to the detail, but to the general shape and form". He then goes on to praise Peterson further, ""Every species has been sweated over, brushstroke by brush stroke". Roger Tory Peterson documented the species he loved through his art, however art was never his goal. I believe he expressed his true goal when he said, "We must reach all mentors of children, their teachers and those who teach teachers. We must give them the tools and instill in them a responsibility for creating in their young charges a knowledge and love of nature". So it turns out that my Grandmother's Field Guide was more then a book with pretty pictures. It was the vessel used by Roger Tory Peterson to instill in us a knowledge and love of nature. 
The water can be mirror like in the early morning. The reflections of the sun, clouds, treeline and houses in the water got me wondering about what the birds flying overhead might think about when seeing their image below. Do you think they are checking themselves out?
My Mom recently gave my daughter a couple of Audubon Society Field Guides(Wild Flowers Eastern Region and North American Trees). She was quickly drawn to the wildflowers book as it is full of colourful photos of flowers of every colour including pink which is her favorite. There are so many flowers on the trail and it is amazing how this one little book holds the key to unlocking the mystery to each one of them. The field guide has arranged the flower photos according to colour and then has a corresponding description, habitat and comments page. We decided that we would pick one flower each during our walk and then go home to learn more about the flowers in her guide. My daughter picked what looked like a common daisy and I chose a bulb like flower that is very abundant along the side of the trail these days. As we were flipping though the Audubon Field Guide we came across many similar looking flowers and really needed to check the shape of the leaf and read the description before settling on what we hoped was the correct identity for each or our wildflowers. We then set out to draw the flowers we had picked learning even more about each flower as we attempted to put it's likeness on the paper. For instance the Oxeye Daisy's petals are almost blunt at the end and not rounded. The flower of the Bladder Campion is emerging from within the bulb which will eventually reveal the entire flower leaving the bulb shape in tact. It was a fun and educational way to spend an hour or so after school. Thanks for the books Mom.
I tried my hand at a little sketching today. I have not sketched in 25 years. I have doodled mind you(note my other blog) but sitting down to attempt to draw Mr. Heron is another thing. I was intrigued by Mr. Heron's neck, the way he curves it and tucks it just so as a resting place for his proud plumed head. I wanted to colour him in but with out the proper supplies I scanned my sketch into a paint program and coloured him on my computer adding the moon and title as well.
These are my first and favorite photos of Mr. Heron. I had just spent my early morning taking pictures of the sunrise and was meandering home at 6:00 am when I realized I was about to pass the pond where Mr. Heron sometimes fishes. I decided to turn my camera back on just in case I lucked into seeing him. With that thought Mr. Heron flew up from the cattails along the edge of the pond where I was walking. I had obviously startled him as he had me and I began to furiously snap away without thought or time to focus or even aim. The blurring action of my unsteady hand together with the early days light and the lilly pond setting all brought to mind a painting Monet may have painted if by chance he had happened upon this pond that day instead of me.
