The World Through Our Lens
Our anticipation ran high the night before our first visit to the Carden Alvar that is located northeast of Toronto, Ontario. We had our alarm set for 5:45 a.m. but I woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. We were on site by 8:30 a.m. and spent hours touring the area. It was around mid-afternoon that we came across an American Woodcock, and the sighting pretty much made our day! Read more
One particular family of Red Foxes in Algonquin Provincial Park has become quite celebrated, so much so that seeing them no longer represents a challenge. On our day trip to the Park in late April, it was exciting to come across not one but two Red Foxes separate and distinct from the other well known foxes. This vixen was spotted near Lake of Two Rivers. Read more
When my son forwarded photos of a Mudpuppy that he and his buddies pulled from Lake Nipissing in Ontario while ice fishing, I thought “how interesting” but gave it no further consideration. I did not realize how uncommon these little aquatic creatures are. Read more
One of the highlights of our January visit to Algonquin Park was seeing a small flock of Evening Grosbeaks. What a marvelous way to spend my birthday, trekking about the trails in the Provincial Park. Our winter weather had been so fickle…fluctuating between spring-like temperatures and those more typical of the Canadian Arctic…that we had no idea what was in store for us when we booked our stay in Whitney. Read more
Our winter here in southern Ontario has been a real mixed bag to say the least. Yoyoing between a series of very warm spells and frigid Arctic air has left us, here in Toronto, with no snow to speak of, and it is now the end of February. What a surprise then, when Bob and I walked along the shore of Lake Ontario in Whitby, to find the water thick with slab ice and the most fanciful ice formations decorating the shoreline. Read more
There is something really satisfying about observing a wild animal such as this Red Fox in its natural habitat. Read more
Bob and I had not entertained our youngest son and his wife for quite some time, so in early August, we got together to catch up on all the news. Not being ones to sit around and visit ad infinitum, after passing a couple of hours on our backyard deck, I suggested a bit of a walk to work up an appetite for dinner. Cedar Trail at Rouge National Urban Park is close by, and we promised that we would not stand around for hours photographing birds, but the chance sighting of a Question Mark Butterfly did hold us up for several minutes with no complaints from our company. Read more
On any given trip into Algonquin Provincial Park, Bob and I are on the lookout for wildlife. Who goes to the Park and doesn’t hope to see an animal in its natural habitat? One of the purposes of the Park is to provide a safe natural habitat for all the creatures that live within its boundaries. On this visit to the Park in early October, an Eastern Wolf gave Bob a rare opportunity to see and observe its movements. Read more
Upon learning of a family of Pied-billed Grebes at South Reesor Pond in northeast Toronto, Bob and I made it our destination for a late afternoon outing in hopes of getting a look at them. What we found were two immature Grebes with a mother whose vocalizations kept the pair in check. Read more