HOSTAGE TO FORTUNE The sole point of this post is to make sure, by making a public commitment, that my current project is actually going to be completed on time. After 23 years just looking at wildlife in this region and after the daily species blog posts I published for a couple of [...]
Sometimes, while wandering around town, it's pleasant to find a bench with a view and just sit down and ponder for a while. Bryan, a small town resident who lodges with us, is collecting ponderable town benches as winter approaches ... he has asked the town residents to suggest which benches they [...]
All Hallows Garden Flowers : 1 November 2021 In England we used to have fun finding how many plants we had in flower in the garden on Christmas Day. Not really an option here but J had a good idea when she noticed just how many flowers are still flowering (some only just) [...]
Dark-eyed Juncos As the temperatures start to fall towards zero (a few days yet) and the cold rain falls we are beginning to see the first arrivals of birds form the north that usually spend the winter with us. Today there was a flock of over a dozen Dark-eyed Juncos busily working [...]
A Carolina Wren Although we see them every year now, the Carolina Wrens are still uncommon, not to say rare, around here. Last winter we had two (at least?) on our feeders almost daily and in the spring a pair nested in a flower pot on our front porch and fledged a [...]
Around the edge of the garden is a quite dense thicket of bushes and trees where the outdoor staff, the "Wild Things". do whatever it is they do. Just every now and again I venture in there to see what's happening and to collect the rent. [...]
At the end of September we successfully completed the eighth season in a row at the Garden at Fritz where, as faithful followers will know, our community grows free and fresh and organic produce for local food banks (click the link to know more) The numbers have to be tallied but a rough [...]
Since the start of the Covid restrictions far away in early 2020, Bird Protection Quebec have had to replace the regular weekly, guided field trips at weekends with a series of innovative and interesting “virtual” field trips. This weekend past participant birders were invited to do a Big Sit. In a Big [...]
Warbler Soup! The waterfall earned its keep today with six species of migrating warblers plus a warbling vireo. Shortly after luncheon there was a terrific commotion on the header pool of the waterfall with between 15 and 20 small birds frantically competing for the chance to splash in the water. They splashed around [...]
Happened across this little fairy fungus on the edge of a wood-chip path at the Fritz Garden this morning. Later in the day it will already have 'deliquesced' and turned black and slimy - hence ink cap - but it was lovely around 8am. (Apologies for having to admit it was taken with [...]