Fall Colour Begins

We're actually past what is usually the peak of fall colour, and fall is looking very confused.  A few trees are showing the expected colour, but very few to my mind; many trees are still green.  Today I rode down to the harbour and only counted four trees that were both colourful enough and close enough for me to get good pictures.  But it has started, so I'll have more pictures over the next few posts. 

This was the first of the two big trees out back to turn colourful, but it stood alone for some time.

The other big maple of the two of them has finally begun turning red now.

And then there's a patch of yellow leaves at the base of the first of the pair.

Around a few blocks there's this big maple which I look for every year, looking beautiful as usual.

And then there's a Norway Maple across the street, with its more yellow leaves.

And around by the hospital there's another Norway Maple that I watch for every year.  It's close enough that I can get a few good shots of leaves - that will be the next post.

You may notice that the colour looks a little distorted in some of the photos above, particularly the 3rd, 5th and 6th photos.  The simple program I use for editing (usually just cropping) has been enhanced, so I tried 'colour saturation', but as you can see, you have to be very careful with this.  The mental rule I use for doing this is to try and capture the photos as I saw things outdoors, but by the time I got the leaves right, the sky was off.  You'll just have to be patient with me while I learn this!

In Search of Sandhills - Part II

We continued down the sideroad past the still-standing fields of soybeans, figuring we would enjoy the drive even if we didn't see any Sandhill Cranes.  This is a narrow lightly travelled gravel road where you're more likely to see farm equipment than any other vehicle.

We have driven down so many roads like this over nearly 6 decades, finding interesting adventures along the way - Manitoulin Island comes to mind.

You pass a nice barn looking across a soybean field.

Turning two corners we checked out the other field we've seen them in and there they were - taking off in a scattered flock just as we pulled to the side of the road.  I could hardly see them.  They're very large birds, but seem small in these pictures.

This view is a bit better.  Some are silhouetted against the trees and others against the sky.  A good description of their size is that they are like a 'stout Blue Heron', just as tall but heavier.

In this picture they're all silhouetted against the sky as they rose and disappeared over the trees, landing over a rise where they were no longer within sight.  We counted about 25, a far cry yet from the 1000+/- we saw last year.

We still looked closely and saw two who stayed behind on the ground.  I think this is a harvested wheat field.  We'll have to go back in about two weeks.

In Search of Sandhill Cranes (Again)

It was late August when we last went for a drive in search of Sandhill Cranes.  They aren't due to form their big flocks prior to migration until the last week of October, so Mrs. F.G. obviously enjoys the drive for its own sake!  We go slowly through the marsh to see what we can see, before reaching the back road where we saw the enormous flock last year, always in recently harvested corn or soybean fields.

This time was very similar, except that the Egrets have already left.  Never-the-less, the marsh was interesting as always.

Looking across the open water Mrs. F.G. saw a white dot, right below the taller tree in the centre.

I zoomed in as much as I could, and there were two blurry swans.  Likely these are Trumpeter Swans, the biggest bird in Ontario, reintroduced a few decades ago from eggs produced by birds in Alberta.

A troop of Canada Geese stood on a nearby island.

Looking across the nearer marsh was a sea of lily pads.

Lily pads, rushes and trees turning colour!

We really must come here in spring sometime, to see what water levels are like then.

We reached the end of the marsh and turned down the sideroad, but immediately saw the soybeans were still not harvested.  Our hunt for Sandhills won't likely be very successful...

Update on the Garden

It`s been awhile!  Yes it's been a long time since I've taken you to see our garden, and it's changed a lot!  The Day Lilies, Crocosmia and Lavender were in bloom when we last visited in late July, but now it has had its fall clean-up and only a few Cosmos and Fall Anemones remain in bloom.  Never-the-less it's a busy time of year for Mrs. F.G. and our undergardener, with all the fall work to do, including new plans for next year.

When I go down onto the patio now I am met by a wall of white Cosmos, which I can also see from my window.  They're are the brightest feature of the garden these days.

A few weeks ago I managed to capture a bee in a Cosmos bloom, where it was reluctant to leave, giving me time for the photo.

There's also a nice patch of Fall anemones.  I love the colour.

On the wall of the shed is the last of the Clematis vines blooming, a small pale yellow bloom.  We had this at our previous home where it crawled over a large Ninebark shrub and had to be cut back frequently.

And yellow, red, white and pink Echinacea are fading into fall.

It's reached the point where Mrs. F.G. went out and bought two pots of mums, one pink and one bright yellow for near the front door.

Meanwhile the chipmunk races around the back yard, rarely pausing for breath!

Around the Neighbourhood

 I`ve accumulated a number of pictures of things around the neighbourhood, just things that struck me as interesting.  Shows you the things I notice in my wanderings!

Our neighbour has had a spectacular Hibiscus in bloom, the so-called 'dinner-plate' hibiscus.  Gorgeous!

Elsewhere a number of people have big clumps of Brown-eyed Susans that really stand out.

The municipality held a safety day down at the community centre, so I dropped down to see what was about.  Since we had a house fire once, I enjoyed chatting to the volunteer firefighters under their hook and ladder truck.

Around a few blocks a homeowner is building a big addition.  Since I've done the same twice, I'm interested in watching it develop.  He seems to be doing it himself, and it seems very well done.

We have a new long term care home in town, and I now often ride down this wiggly sidewalk past two sides of the building.

Down at the bay the last phase of repairs after the last big storm three years ago has been completed, now a line of huge boulders for a long stretch.  At least you can still see the bay over top of them, if not the waves rolling in.

Here at home we're watching the first of the new homes get built across the golf course,

While three doors away the last of the houses for this street is finally being built.  It will be interesting to watch.

New England Asters

My favourite flower of fall is the New England Aster.  A rich purple, it's the last major wildflower to bloom in the fall, and it's always been quite prolific along roadsides, fencerows and ditches.  As you may recall, I was afraid it had disappeared this year, but I just had my timing off, because I've now found plenty of it.

I first found a bunch in the wildflower strip that a woman has allowed to grow where an old sidewalk was, and in the adjoining ditch.  Now a beautiful place for summer wildflowers.

You can see it's got the typical aster flower, numerous rays surrounding a bright yellow centre of stamens and pistils.

A few days later I spotted this big patch bordering the side of a driveway.  I slipped in and grabbed a few photos.

I always think that a close-up of this flower looks most striking.

I've since found it in three other places, including right at the end of our own street, not far from our mailboxes.  So I'm reassured that it's as plentiful this year as it has been in the past.

The Last of the Scarecrows!

There were also quite s few home-made scarecrows I spotted, sitting outside private homes.  I was really impressed with these.

A lady at the end of our street made the best of these, really neat!

These are the purchased ones many people put out, mostly the small size,

The new long term care home had a number at the front entrance.

One big pirate and a family of little ones.

The most creative effort, a pirate aboard his ship!

And our neighbours themselves sat out front taking in the sun while fishing!