The World Through Our Lens
Bob and I spent three days skiing and hiking on various trails in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, trying to make the most of the last weeks of winter. We love to go looking for birds and animals, but in this case, on Opeongo Road a Gray Jay came looking for us. Read more
With little to no snow left in Toronto, Ontario, one would hardly expect that possibilities for skiing still existed in March in central Ontario. But as we soon found out Algonquin Provincial Park still had tons of snow and great opportunities for skiing and snowshoeing in the spring. Read more
On a visit to the Claireville Conservation Area in west-end Toronto, in Ontario, before we had barely set off from the parking lot, fellow visitors walking their dogs drew our attention to this wild coyote emerging from the edge of the bush. Read more
On an extremely warm and sunny spring day, Bob and I drove east to Whitby, in Ontario, for a walk at the various conservation areas found in that area. Along the roadway, we spotted an American Kestrel eating a mouse on a telephone wire. Read more
One winter day, Bob and I drove into Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, with plans to walk the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail. It is there that we sighted numerous Boreal Chickadees. Read more
On one of our winter excursions, Bob and I drove to Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, Canada, where we got to see a Black-backed Woodpecker when hiking along the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail. Read more
Chateau de la Bourdaisiere in the Commune of Montlouis-sur-Loire, in France, is elegantly situated on a 54-hectare estate of combined gardens and mixed woodlots in the famed Loire Valley. Having changed hands many, many times over the centuries, it was lastly bought, in 1991, by the brothers Prince Philippe Maurice and Prince Louis Albert de Broglie. Read more
One winter, Bob and I took advantage of the lovely ski trails at Oxtongue Lake to explore the woods along the west side of Patterson’s Bay. It is there that we located two Pileated Woodpeckers, a male and a female, working industriously for their breakfast. In this closeup, the bright red pointed crest is really conspicuous. Read more
One of my hopes on our trip to France was to spend a night in a “real” castle like Chateau de la Bourdaisiere. By happenstance we learned about this castle when we came upon a little tourist information booth along a country road in the Loire Valley. It happened to be staffed by an English-speaking young woman. Read more
After one failed attempt, Bob and I made our way back to the shores of Frenchman’s Bay in Pickering, Ontario, to see if we could spot the Snowy Owl that has been making its stay there during the past winter. We drove to a little park on the east shore of the bay, and started scanning with our binoculars. Read more
