Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Riding Around - Nelson Street West

Since I ride the same two roads all the time I'm always looking for photos to take.  My photographs are nothing like they once were, but I still enjoy it.  Recently I've been trying hard to open my photograpic eye more deliberately and seek out those little things to share.

I usually head down into the cul-de-sac first, and check out the progress on the last few houses.  This is a small company, so they're usually only building one home at a time.  This certainly isn't roofing as I remember it, when you had to carry the shingles up while climbing a ladder.  Here they've got a boom truck!  Too easy.

Beside that house the big digger arrived one day and scooped out the soil where the driveway will go on the next lot.  That's the very first step toward construction.

Nelson Street West has a few spots that aren't manicured where the weeds and grasses are allowed to grow - the most interesting spots along the entire street if you ask me.  I'm waiting for this big thistle to bloom.  Perhaps the most common weed of all is the Linear-leaved Plantain, mostly not noticed because it's all green.  It even comes up in lawns that aren't mown too often, sometimes quite thickly.  But for a week or tow a tall stem shoots up with infinitely small white flowers.  Those are not the leaves of the plant; I'll try to find a good picture that shows them.

I also pass the home I call the decorated house, decorated with all manner of things.  The lady was out in the front yard and I said hello and we had a nice chat.  She's been sewing during the lockdown and now has a variety of masks for sale.

This is just one of the many decorations in their yard.  Cute, don't you think.

I've been so desperate for things to photograph I've started to try and identify grasses!  If I'm correct the one on the left is Smooth Bromegrass and that on the right is Orchard Grass.

This is Timothy, popular with the cattle in the pasture or in hay.  I'm crediting 'Pasture Grasses Identified', a publication of the Ontario Ministry or Agricultue and Food for what I've learned, and hope I've interpreted the diagrams correctly.  I found it impossible to get a really clear picture of this one.

This patch of purple Vetch struck my eye.  But it's been mowed down since.

I thought I might write a post just about trees and the shade they provide, for on the hot days I've been riding quickly from one patch of shade to the next, and stopping to enjoy the breeze.  Yes, the breeze.  Not only do big deciduous trees create shade, there actually seems to be a bit of a breeze under the trees, definitely cooler than the long stretches of hot sun.

On the way home I ride around this corner.  The Bird's-foot Trefoil is growing well, and starting to spill over the edge of the curb.  Almost all the roads on this route have no sidewalks, so I'm riding on the side of the road.  Mind you, they don't have much traffic either.


15 comments:

  1. That's a beautiful row of old sugar maples -- shade to shelter you from the blazing sun.

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  2. You did a fine job of capturing photos!!

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  3. From my point of view, your picture are always interesting. It's hard to be creative, even when you're not confined to a wheelchair. You do great, IMHO. :-)

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  4. I really enjoyed this excursion. Your posts are always informative FG. Thank you.

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  5. I like that creative ladies place, she's got neat stuff. Keep up the good work on the photos:))

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  6. Birds Foot Trefoil is taking over a big patch of my front yard! I love that row of maples. I wonder how old they are? Mine are 30 years old and still spindly things.

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  7. trees with shade, that is my favourite today. And the grasses, years ago, my Dad gave me a book on grasses in New Zealand, mainly for farmers, and one on New Zealand Native Trees.Thinking of these, maybe I should have been a botanist!!! Love the garden decoration, that is really lovely to have on show.

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  8. you sure do have a lot of beautiful things to look at. it's nice to meet new neighbors, especially when they are friendly!!

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  9. I too have been doing daily neighborhood walks, and it's amazing the little things you notice from frequent visits.

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  10. Nature always puts a show on for us but we just have to take the time to look.
    Be Safe and Enjoy the changing scenery.

    It's about time.

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  11. I am woefully ignorant of the names of the wildflowers, weeds, even trees that I see on my walks. I have a number of books that should help but when I bring home a specimen and try to match it up I'm never sure I get it right. So I just look and enjoy.

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  12. Your viewpoint has changed but your point of view is as valid as ever. Keep up the good work of documenting your world.

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  13. Good work!
    My daughter and granddaughter always surprise me with the quality of their closeups. I'm not inclined, and have to remind myself!

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  14. It is so funny...I have been thinking I have not seen timothy hay in so long I can't remember. It is the only one I recognize now.

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