Rondeau Ric

I went flying today and learned two things. Don't do aerial photography during hot humid weather - you get haze, and use a polarizing filter which I didn't have. Overall I was satisfied and I had a blast. This is Rondeau Bay with Erieau, Ontario in the foreground. We dock our pontoon boat there. To the right is Rondeau Provincial Park where we have a cottage. In the distance is Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes in North America. This is looking to the north-east. More photos later. I ran off over a 1,000 shots. Thank goodness for digital.

Sitting on top of a cone flower in the yard. Just chillin'. I suppose I should know what type of frog this is but I'm having a senior moment.

Over the marsh at Rondeau Provincial Park taken from our boat on  Lake Erie. Cirrus clouds are thin, wispy clouds that usually form above 18,000 feet. These clouds are blown by strong westerly winds aloft into streamers known as "mares' tails" Cirrus clouds generally move from west to east across the sky and usually "point" to fair weather. source USA Today.

Hey it's not my fault. Mom gave me a caterpillar. You know what happens when I eat caterpillars. We have barn swallows nesting in the peak of our roof, just under the eaves. It has been fun watching them grow. Hirundo rustica According to legend, the Barn Swallow got its forked tail because it stole fire from the gods to bring to people. An angry deity hurled a firebrand at the swallow, singeing away its middle tail feathers. The oldest known Barn Swallow in North America was 8 years, 1 month old.

I haven't looked up the type of dragonfly this is but it is probably the Happy Face Dragon. Numerous dragonflies of several types are showing up in our yard. Lighten up and smile.

This wren house is under the eaves next to our living room. We get to watch the steady routine of the adults coming in with various insects for the brood. Troglodytes aedon . For House Wren eggs, temperature inside the nest box can be critical to survival. If a sun-drenched nest box warms above about 106 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour, the eggs will begin to die. If a cold snap chills a nest below about 65 degrees Fahrenheit for more than a day it can also doom the eggs.

Came across an American Woodcock on a forest trail earlier today. Strange looking creature, even odder when it walks. Scolopax minor Young woodcocks leave the nest a few hours after hatching, but for their first week they depend on their mother for food. They start to probe in dirt at three or four days after hatching. The woodcock is also known as the timberdoodle, Labrador twister, night partridge, and bog sucker. The oldest American Woodcock on record was 11 years, 4 months old. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology