Jack’s Walk

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We had a wind storm on Friday that caused a lot of damage across my region in Southwestern Ontario. There were wind gusts of up to 100 km/hr and some areas suffered power outages lasting several hours because of downed trees and hydro lines. There wasn’t any real damage in my neighbourhood, but today at the park Jack and I found a small uprooted tree and several large branches down. I’m  worried that our little wooded trail in the country will also have suffered damage. There are quite a few trees there in precarious condition and it’s prone to storm damage. I plan to take Jack tomorrow to check it out.

J Is For Jealousy and Jardim.

Jealousy. Jardim, Portuguese for garden.

I hope I’m not the only one thinking that the wasp in the background is clearly coveting the fig that the butterfly is feeding on, in my garden’s fig tree. This is of course an excuse to show you this gorgeous and unmistakable butterfly, Charaxes jasius (foxy emperor). It’s a large butterfly that occurs in the Mediterranean region and in Africa. The adults can often be seen during summer sucking the liquids out of overripe fruits. The common Portuguese name for this butterfly is “borboleta-do-medronheiro”, which means “butterfly of the strawberry tree” referring to the larvae’s main host plant.

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Signs of Life.

I managed a short wander today, might have pushed a bit too much. It’s still something of a shock that I have so little energy to expend, and have to stop and rest so damn much. The dizziness and ocular toxicity don’t help. Probably not a good idea to go wandering with just Jayne for company, but he did good today, sticking fairly close to me. Slowly, things are coming to life here. I saw one butterfly and one wasp, desperately searching for blossoms, of which, we have none. Surprised I got a shot of the wasp, I was shooting blind, into the sun. Most stuff under the fold, click for full size.

Box Elder Maple.

Box Elder Maple.

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Jack’s Walk

I’m so excited. Today Jack and I found new leaves on the maples. They’ve come so quickly this year, almost overnight, that it’s a bit astonishing. It’s likely because our temps have gone from the zeros to the twenties this week and seem to be staying there. All those plants that were waiting for some warm are making up for lost time. My grass already needs cutting. What a strange year.

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I Is For Iris and Iridescência.

Iris. Iridescência, Portuguese for iridescence.

One thing I love about Iris flowers is the way they look iridescent under the right lighting conditions, but I find this very hard to capture in a picture. I tried my best here with the purple irises blooming in my garden right now.

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© Nightjar, all rights reserved.

H Is For Hose and Horta.

Hose. Horta, Portuguese for a vegetable garden or a small farm.

This photo shows onions being watered with the help of a large hose, simulating rain. It was late in the afternoon and I couldn’t resist the way the light illuminating the young and wet onion leaves from behind was giving them a lovely translucent green appearance. This is an old photo, from 2013, back then my grandmother was still alive (this is on her yard) and my mother was still healthy (she was the one holding the hose here). I miss those times.

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© Nightjar, all rights reserved.

Jack’s Walk

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Yesterday I noticed a lot of dead or dying trees in the forested area up by the lake so today Jack and I went back to do a bit more exploring. I know that some of the damage was caused by the emerald ash borer beetle which decimated a nearby park, but there are also a lot of dry, brittle fir trees and I don’t know what’s causing that. I’m also curious to see how healthy the underbrush is, but we need a few weeks of growing time before I’ll really be able to tell. In the meantime, the trails are easy(ish) and Jack is having fun.

 

 

Jack’s Walk

It’s another beautiful day so my boy and I went wandering around the woods up by the lake. I don’t walk those trails very often because there’s usually a lot of bugs, but it’s early in the season so I thought we’d give it a try. Jack loves new places so he had a great time and I found a few interesting trees to photograph. The first two trees are alive, but the last tree has been dead for a while. It left behind an interesting carcass, though, and was full of little sparrows as we approached it.

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