Jack’s Walk

A fine set of pinecones, ©voyager, all rights reserved

It’s a bit warmer and a bit more humid today so Jack and I opted for a walk in our little wildflower forest, Trillium Woods. It was a good choice, too. We were shaded the whole way around and had the company of a very busy woodpecker pounding out a beat too fast to count. He was too far up to see properly so I can’t show you a photo, but he was so loud that the sound was bouncing off the trees and creating a sort of echo chamber that you could almost feel as a vibration. It was an interesting experience. Definitely physical and a bit exhilarating, but also a bit annoying and the short pauses the bird took were definitely a welcome break. Jack thought so too. I could see he was a bit anxious and every now and then he’d look up as if he was waiting for the sky to fall. All in all, an unexpected and different sort of adventure for Jack and I today.

Jack’s Walk

Roadside thistle, taller than me, ©voyager, all rights reserved

It’s another beautiful day in Southwestern Ontario so Jack and I took to the country for our outing. We had a lovely slow walk looking at all the growing things and finding everything healthy and big for this time of year. The corn is my eye high and even the weeds reach over my head. I love it when the plants are big enough to make you feel small and a bit like Alice through the looking-glass.

Jack’s Walk

Roadside Lilies, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Wild lilies, ©voyager, all rights reserved

These lilies grow wild in this area and right now is the height of their season. You see them everywhere, lining the roadside, filling the ditches and marking the edges of most every field. I love their bright colour and tall sturdy stems that allow them to sway in the breeze. I’ve tried to cut some to bring home in the past, but they don’t last so now I just admire them where they live.

Jack’s Walk

We had a good rain last night and when it was over the humidity and high temps were gone. We slept with the windows open and this morning greeted us with a cloudless blue sky and a lovely breeze. It’s definitely an outside kind of day. I hope it is for you too.

Pittock Lake, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack’s Walk

It’s a 32° day here with rain expected this evening and boy do we need it. It was supposed to rain all weekend, but we only had a bit of drizzle on Saturday so all the growing things are still thirsty. The heat today will only make that worse so I hope the weatherman has it right this time.

Note: Thanks to kestrel for correctly identifying this plant as False Solomon’s Seal.

 False Solomon’s Seal, ©voyager, all rights reserved

 

Jack’s Walk

Fanshaw pond, ©voyager, all rights reserved

The sunny skies in this photo didn’t last long. Rain clouds have moved in and it’s drizzling which is double good news. The first good news is that the growing things are finally getting a much-needed drink and the second good news is that the temperatures are staying in the mid-twenties.

Raturday.

Agnes, enjoying a good gnaw. Agnes was one of the triplets comprising Amelia, Magrat and herself. Like Alfie, Agnes was one of the Super Smartypants™. She was the thinker, and always figured things out first. Like Amelia, she was very outgoing, loved to play and wrestle, and was sweet natured to the core, with a wide streak of mischievousness. Click for full size.

© C. Ford, all rights reserved.

Jack’s Walk

False Spiraea, ©voyager, all rights reserved

The upcoming weekend promises to be hot and humid and neither Jack nor I do well in that kind of weather. We’ll probably need to get up early and hope for the best. Today is gorgeous, though, and we enjoyed a pleasant walk along the meadow path close to the Thames River. I’m pretty sure this plant is False Spiraea and it’s one of my favorites. I’m a fairly tactile person and I really love those fuzzy plants that invite you to touch them.

Jack’s Walk

The fun way to have a bath,
©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack has been skunked!

I was having trouble sleeping last night and Jack was (mostly) staying awake to keep me company. Around 2:30 am he asked to go out for a pee so I let him and that’s when it happened. Right in our own yard and 5 meters from our front door. He got a big dose too with sticky, stinky skunk goo from his nose to his tail.

There’s a fairly simple recipe that works well to break up the oils in skunk spray and I went around the house gathering supplies. Pails of water, dog towels, Vaseline (to keep water out of his eyes), dish soap, baking soda and….no peroxide. No Peroxide! That’s the liquid into which  you add the dish soap and baking soda to make the shampoo. It’s essential, so I got in the car and started driving around to convenience stores trying to find some. We live in a fairly small city of about 40,000 people and none of the big stores are open 24 hours. Finally, at my 5th stop I found 2 overpriced small bottles of peroxide, which was not quite enough, but it felt like I’d just won the lottery.

We bathed him in the back yard and got enough of the smell off that Jack was allowed back inside. It was almost 5 am by the time we were finished and fell into bed. Jack wisely slept in his dog bed instead of trying to get up with us. At 8:30 the alarm went off and I trudged to the drugstore to stock up on peroxide and then I took Jack down to the river, waded in wearing old sneakers and repeated the shampoo and let him rinse himself off with a frolic instead of the unpleasantness of having buckets of water (warm water!)  poured all over you.

I still have a stinky pile of towels plus the clothes we were wearing to wash, but that’s just going to have to wait. I need sleep first and that’s exactly what I’m going to do now. Night, night.