The World Through Our Lens
After Bob and I were safely on shore following the boat tour of Cobh Harbour, the greater part of the afternoon was still available to us, so we drove up to Blarney Castle, in County Cork, to Kiss the Blarney Stone. Read more
When Bob and I decided to travel to the Grand Canyon, it was more about seeing the spectacular scenery than anything else, but on our first morning at Grand Canyon National Park , we had an early morning helicopter flight booked at the local heliport. When we emerged from our rental car to check in, our birding instincts took over when we spotted a Mountain Bluebird perched in one of the trees at the edge of the parking lot. Read more
We found the Recumbent Drombeg Stone Circle in a pastoral valley that was very similar to the one where Coppinger’s Court is situated. Read more
Late one fall morning, Bob and I decided to pack an impromptu picnic and head down to Rosetta McClain Gardens on the Scarborough Bluffs here in Toronto. We anticipated wonderful views of Lake Ontario as we munched on our modest lunch, but we did not foresee the multitudes of dragonflies that had gathered at the gardens, ones such as this Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly. Read more
Coppingers Court Ruins looks more like a haunted house than a former Grand Stronghold. But it was that pervasive cryptic appeal that had Bob and I veering off R597 in County Cork, in search of its exact location. Read more
About mid-morning one day, as we traveled along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, Bob and I decided to take a drive over to the North Rim since a couple of highly touted unique features, one being Angel’s Window, are situated on that side of the sprawling gorge. Our progress took longer than expected because of frequent stops to admire the scenery. Finally at our destination, we hastened to take in the views, but were brought up short by the unexpected sighting of a Western Tanager at Cape Royal. Read more
Bob and I awoke to a fine drizzle the next morning, so rather than pursue the harbour boat tour first off, we headed to The Titanic Experience where visitors are invited to retrace the footsteps of the Queenstown passengers who boarded the Titanic on its maiden voyage. Cobh Town was known as Queenstown from 1850 until 1920. Read more
From Waterford, Bob and I followed the scenic coastal road towards our next destination, Cork Harbour. Sheer cliffs and pretty farms were visible all along the route, but it made for slow progress. As storm clouds hemmed in the sky, we eventually resorted to using the main freeway in order to achieve our destination by mid-afternoon. Read more
Years ago, I planted a Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) in my front garden in the hopes of attracting butterflies to my property. I never imagined that one day I would be seeing, not one, but two Giant Swallowtail Butterflies cavorting amongst the branches of the plant. Read more