Rondeau Ric

We have been inundated with migrating hummingbirds. They are so busy chasing each other that I have to wonder if any of them actually get something to eat. We have 4 hummingvird feeders going right now. We had 7 hummers circlng one feeder. It liiked like the drawing/animation of an atom. In the spirit of the olympics here are a few photos of one bird that "stuck" his landing.

run, then run some more Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur The defenition of a marathon is run until you throw up, then run some more. This was a triathalon at Rondeau Provincial Park. Swin, ride then run. To make it a real challenged the swim should be at the end. This lady was a little sore after the bike portion. I admire all the participants because I sure couldn't do what they do. The winner took about 58 minutes.

The downey hummingbird woodpecker Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Not a great photo but it was a quick shot through a window. the very rare downey hummingbird woodpecker visited one of our nectar feeders late yesterday. One of the "flowers" was off so he could get his bill all the way in to the feeder. When he was finished he gave a chirp and flew away.

Our house is a very, very fine house, with two cats in the yard Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Actually the cats are in the house, but that's as close as I could get with song lyrics. This is looking west over the dunes to our cottage. The forest starts across the road from us. Behind me is the lake. The large window is the "Willd life Window.

While cruising along the edge of the marsh we (Anne) spotted this american bittern. He stayed in the open and wasn't concerned about us. He caught a frog while we watched.

Never drive faster than.... Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Words to drive by. I like the licence plate.

BARKING MOON Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Art Supplies Pet Supplies Pet Grooming Wild Bird & Animal Supplies Jewelry Accesories Beads Unique Gifts What? No capacino?

Can you find the hummingbird? Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur He is hiding in plain sight. The morning sun is reflecting off his gorget

A Sound of Summer Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur For me, the sound of the cicada is synonymous with the late, hot, hazy days of summer. When I was young I didn’t know what made the sound and I’d be off trying to find the source. I didn’t find it but the searching would turn into a game of hide and seek or tag with the neighborhood kids. Later we would sit on someone’s porch drinking Cool Aid watching the lightning bugs. A small piece of childhood magic and wonder was lost when I found out it was an insect. Sometimes I wish I didn’t know what made the sound.

WalMart greeter training. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This gull would stand by the door and squawk at each person coming or going.

Northern thrasher Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur He hopped right up to the truck and posed for me. Taking a few days off so photos will be lower resolutions- dial up is all we can get.

Is it real or is it Memorex Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This is another of the bronze sculptures we saw on the weekend. The level of realism is exceptional and the subject matter used to be a common sight on local ponds when I was a kid.

Howling at the moon Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Another sculpture at the RBG. I almost bought this one, it tickled my sense of the absurd.

Monday mornings are ok. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This sculpture is about 15 feet tall and until October is part of an exhibit at the RBC in Hamilton Ontario. The photo can't do it justice.

Yellow headed black bird. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur We don't get to see these very often. A few wander into Ontario but they are a common bird in North Dakota.

How many legs can you count? Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Anne found what appeared to be a nest of Daddy Long Legs( I'm sure someone knows thier proper name) in the yard. You really have to look at this large to see what is going on. I can't tell how many spiders are in there but there are a lot of legs. Photo by Anne

Down the garden path Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Sunday was the local butterfly count, how many species and the numbers of each species, and some of the counters came to our yard. This counter, Kip who is 6 foot, went down our garden path and almost disappeared. The garden was planted by seed four years ago. Eventually a search party was sent in to rescue him.

Bottoms up! Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Ever been mooned by a woodpecker? Can you tell the species? Have a good weekend.

You might be a Redneck if... Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur your gun is bigger than your truck. Run Bamby run!!

Captain, I think I see land out there. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur We went for a three hour cruise looking for nesting turtles. You can see thier tracks in the sand and follow them to the nest. It doesn't seem to bother them when they are laying. No luck this night.