Rondeau Ric

Anne was at Erieau Tuesday December 30/08 looking for ducks and white fronted geese. The white fronted had moved on but she did hear a kingfisher from the orther side of the Erieau channel. Another birder pointed ou this bird taling shelter behind an old willow. If you look closely you can see a clump of ice around its ankle. Way past time to migrate dude!

CHIN UPS Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur 98...99....100!

Help, I've fallen and can't get up Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur The tragic after affects of Christmas Eve.

See I ate all of it... Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur now can I have desert?

Dude, I don't think we're in Hawaii any more. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur to paraphrase Dorothy

The buck and the corn Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This is a new one as far as we know. We haven't had an antlered deer in close before. Anne puts out a small cracked corn for the deer. Photo by Anne

She's back Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Notch is back for the third year in a row. Normally she has a young one with her, but not this year. It's nice having an identifying mark so you know it is the same one returning each winter. Taken through the wonderful wildlife window.

The rare Moustache Tree Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur The moustache tree is very rare and the handlebar moustache variety is rarer still I have yet to see a soul patch tree.

Is there an owl here? Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur

This doesn't taste like peanuts. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur

What's that delicious smell? Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur

I feel like I'm going in circles and never get anything done. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Ever have days like this?

Sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Stuck!! Our as our younger son said when he was little -- duck, duck-- This downey decided to raid the hummingbird feeder. He became a regular to the displeasure of the hummers

He's not sharing! Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur The fights at the suet feeder are escalating in hte cold weather.

The Conductor Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur and a one and a two.....

Natures lace Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur The little lace making bugs have been busy

He's going to make a mess of the turkey Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur

chrysalis Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur I needed some sun shine and or colour today. This is from the archives. To my American friends - Happy Thanksgiving.

diving gulls Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Normally turns dive under the water to feed but this time it was gulls. I haven't seen this type of behaviour before. They looked like northern gannets diving for food.

Fixation Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Fixation - an obsession - a preoccupation with one subject, issue

A jet ski ATV cross breed Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Red neck heaven So is it a jetmobile, snow jet a water sled?

COUNTRY LIVING. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Ahhh, the joys of outdoor living, personally I prefer an outhouse

Bringing in the harvest. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This is a very large combine that takes up both lanes and the shoulders on a country road. It makes short work of a filed of corn. And that's a lot of corn flakes.

sumack Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur I enjoy fall for the lack of bugs, cool nights and warm days, butterflies, migrating warblers and the folage.

Ok, I posed now pay up Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur peanuts or sunflower seeds, no cheques.

Now THATS marketing. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Beer as a health food. Who knew?

Well I parked it on the snow bank last spring.... Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur and when it melted, there it was

clean up on aisle 5 Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Toss a few dollars on the floor and everbody goes nuts.

Booker & Chet bird watching Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur At the Big Sit in Whipple Ohio. How many birds do you boys see?

properler head Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Are you old enough to remember propeller beanies from the 50's and early 60's? Well they have updated the idea, we now have propeller trucks. Photo by Anne at 65 mph, thur the windshield.

TURKEYVILLE Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This weekend is the Canadian Thanksgiving. I would suggest to our large feathered friends stay out of town.

The Stone Monkey Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This monkey is on the top of the Courthouse in Woodstock. The story is the stone mason was stiffed by the mayor and council on his bill. He finished his work including carving 13 monkeys, 1 each for the mayor and twelve councilors, on the building, for making a monkey out of him.

the Nays have it. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur it seems everyone is voting, Canadians on Oct 14 and the US on November 4. A circle of grackles met on the bath and seemed to be voting. I wonder who lost?

Laurel sphinx caterpillar Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur There are so mnay interesting things to see in the fall. Uou just have to take the time to look.

Birds of a feather? Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur He seems to be hanging out with the wrong crowd

Snakes and Shadows Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Snakes are coming onto the road in the mornings, probably to get warm. Or maybe just to cross the road. Anne saw this one playing snakes and shadows.

Hey, somebody turn the water on! We have 4 bird baths in our yard. The two raised baths seem to get more action than the ground ones. In the fall we get flocks passing through and they can empty a bath in minutes. We had a large number of grackles who spent more time posturing than bathing. A flock of smaller birds spent their time bathing.

It really is amazing the things we have crawling, sitting and flying in our yards. It doesn’t matter if you live in the city or in the country; the beasties are there if you take a close look. This is a Tiger Swallow Tail caterpillar. Its first line of defense is that it looks like bird droppings. If that doesn’t discourage the predator the display their horns. They look like a forked tongue but they aren’t

Hanging by a thread Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur You've heard the expression well here is proof. We went for a walk on a closed road and haning in the middle was this little white fellow. It was about 20 feet to the nearest over hanging branch. If you look at it in large and you can just make out the thread. Uploaded by ricmcarthur

When I was a kid we didn't have any fancy starting set up. We just found a hill and we were off. Now a days there is a racing circut for the derby.This was the final , two brothers racing for the championship. I wonder if it Is as much fun as we had racing down hills with no adults. Just kids having fun. The one on the right won by 3/100 of a second. I think we had more fun building our own from what ever we could beg, borrow, or steal. The wheels might fall off half way down the hill, or the steering would fail and we would hit a tree but we weren't coddled and we learned to be independent. Lose the protectionist adults and bring on the fun!