Spotted Touch-Me Not

Today, Hugh and I wanted to have a look down the east side of Lynde Shores Conservation Area.  We had been told by friends, that when walking their dog, they saw a snake and a turtle.  So we set off today to see what we could find.  The children were most relecutant to come out with us.  The path was a paved one, we were not expecting it to be so developed.  There seemed to be no access to Lynde Shores from the east side, in fact most of it was fenced off.  We did see a frog or toad jump through the grass but we were unable to catch it.  We think it was a Leopard frog

We walked along and down to the lake by the Ontario Shores Hospital.  There are very large rectangular cement blocks for stopping shore erosion and big boulders.  The boys had a great time walking along.  They dragged Hugh out to see a cave they found.

We found a spot with some picnic tables.  I spotted this little flower growing amongst these boulders.  On closer inspection I realised it was an orchid.  It was very tiny and very orange.  I did pick one flower so that I could look it up in my book when I came home.  Of course after I found it in my wild flower book, it said to never pick!  Well now I know.

It is called a Spotted Touch-Me Not or the Orange Jewelweed.  The latin name is Impatiens capensis.  This plant is found near poison ivy and the juice from it's crushed stems can soothe the itching.  We didn't find much else, at least not today. Note: I didn't take these pictures, I will have to go back during the week to get some pictures

Frogs!! And Toads

This is from last week, Donovan and his sister caught a Leopard Frog down at the pond in the park.  He was very excited about the frog.  We took the frog back to the pond later that day.  Here are a couple of pictures.

The children are off to camp for two weeks.  The first thing Donovan did was check the little mud pond for frogs.  He found some!!  I was informed that they are Green frogs.












I shouldn't forget the toad that hopped into the church picnic on last weekend of June.  It was an American Toad.  We were just finishing the watermelon eating contest when the toad hopped into our midst.  I really think it made Donovan's day.

Getting Ready for the Big Party

We are putting things together now.  Hugh took the day off and we went shopping for more candy, toys, party snacks and a few assorted things.  I am so glad he was available, I don't think I could have done all this by myself.

I made the pinata last weekend, in the shape of a snake.  It is painted and today Hugh helped me put the tissue paper on.  But first I filled it with lots of toy reptiles - snakes, lizards, turtles, alligators and candy, of course.  The pinata is not any particular snake, Hugh thinks it looks like a hairy caterpillar.  I think it looks great, quite the masterpiece but the glue is going to take a while to dry.  The tissue side is actually the bottom as that is how the pinata will look when it is hanging up.


Meanwhile Hugh was also mixing up the cakes.  We made two chocolate bundt cakes.  Once they were cooled we cut them in half and fit them together like a snake.  Hugh trimmed the head and tail.  The cake is delicious, I suggested we add some chocolate chips for that extra chocolate taste.  Then I iced the cake with chocolate icing,it didn't look much like a snake at this point if you know what I mean.  But I got out the smarties and small ju-jubes and started decorating.  It is a ju-jube diamond back snake cake.  It looks great with the candies on it.  Hugh put together this really big box so we could put it away in a safe spot, ready for tomorrow.

Zoo Visit

Today Donovan and I went to Toronto Zoo.  Miles had some buddies overnight and I think Donovan needed some distraction.  Donovan wanted to join in with the older boys and they didn't want him.  So the two of us headed off to the zoo.  The weather seemed poor so I brought along rain ponchos.

The zoo had the new carousel running so Donovan wanted to give it a try.  Of course he had to sit on a reptile.  The snake seat was a bit boring so he chose an iguana.  It is really beautiful, quite a work of art.  I can see that is something we are going to have to try everytime we go to the zoo.  We had a visit to Stingray Bay, where not only touched the stingrays but the sharks also.  The sharks have very rough skin.  Then it was off to the Australasia Pavilion to see the reptiles.  We took the zoomobile and had the grand tour of the zoo.  Of course Donovan had convinced me to buy him some reptile toys so we were playing with them while we waited for the zoomobile to set off.  The rain had still

not given up at this point and was drizziling.  We toured around the pavilion looking at the reptiles and other animals.  From there we headed towards the Caribou Cafe and grabbed some lunch.

We walked towards the Americas Pavilion.  On the way there was an opening of a new garden celebrating Aboriginal beliefs.  Donovan didn't want to stick around so we continued to walk.  We had a great time looking at all the snakes, other reptiles and amphibians.  We saw a sign for the snake keeper to be onsite at 2:30 so Donovan and I decided to hang around.  We had about 30 minutes to wait.  By now the sun was beating down and it was very hot.  The snake keeper did not turn up at 2:30 so after waiting we decided to head out.  I was a little ahead of Donovan and all of sudden he came running after me that someone was coming with a box with bags in it that were moving so back we went.

Well it really was worth the wait.  The snake keeper brought out a Guyanese Red-tailed Boa Constrictor.  It had a beautiful red tail.  The keeper let a member of the audience hold him and all the children swarmed around him to touch it.  Then she brought out a Eastern Fox Snake.  This snake is native to Ontario, it is a constrictor snake.  She let Donovan hold this snake first.  He was very pleased, it is quite a big snake.  Then other people had a turn to hold on to the snake.  After a bit she asked if Donovan would like to hold on to the other snake, the Guyanese red-tailed boa constrictor.  The snake had been in his bag for a while and she was concerned about him getting too hot.  So Donovan was the only other person allowed to hold on to this snake.


The keeper didn't want may people holding or touching this snake as he was new to being on display.  Donovan was very pleased.  I held him for a bit also.  The keeper didn't want to be carrying two snakes so she let Donovan take the Eastern Fox Snake to hold.  He helped the keeper put the Eastern Fox Snake in his bag.

As we were talking to the keeper, Michelle, I mentioned that we were probably going to buy a corn snake for Donovan.  She said that she owned two corn snakes.  Michelle invited us back to the Americas kitchen and gave Donovan a snake shedding from the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake, Patrick.  It is big, much bigger than any of the other sheddings he has.  We also were given a bunch of porcupine needles.


It was a great afternoon, one that I don't think Donovan will forget too quickly.

The Great Frog Rescue

Today, Detta and I were to have pedicures and Detta a facial.  Well the place I booked, I thought was today but as it turns out it was for next week.  So I knew of this other nail place so Detta and I drove over there.  As we were walking in the shop, there were little frogs everywhere.  Anyways Detta and I had our luxury pedicures with fancy designs on our toes.  As I finished my coffee from Tims, I said to Detta, wouldn't Donovan love to see these frogs?  Detta said yes but you aren't going to catch them?  Oh yes I was.  I caught two of the tiny frogs in my Tims cup.  We headed home and showed our frogs to Donovan and Hugh.  They were suitablely impressed. I released them in my front garden.  A few frogs would be great in the garden.

Then we decided to go to Party Packagers to look for party invitations for Donovan's Birthday Party.  We are having the Sciensational Sssnakes!! come to his party.  We didn't find any invitations but we had to go home so on route we stopped and gathered up a whole pile of tiny frogs.  Detta was very upset with us.  But I wanted to put them somewhere where they would be safe.  The parking lot was not a safe place.  

We had to drop Detta off for the school's group performance by the SASS (School Alliance of Student Songwriters) so on the way we stopped at a conservation area, Lynde Shores and released our little frogs.  This would at least give some of them a better chance of survival.  After dropping Detta off, Donovan and I decided we would go back and collect some more frogs!!!  This time we gathered up lots

more.  We dropped by home to show Hugh and the boys.  One of the little boys came with us and we went to Rotary Park to release the rest of them.  Originally I was going to go to the boat launch but we were beaten there by some Canadian Geese and their babies.  We choose several other spots and let them go.

After dinner, Hugh, Donovan and Miles have gone again to collect some more.  I am not sure where they are going to release this bunch but I have asked them to save 10.  We will take them to church tomorrow to show everyone.  And then release up there.

Cookie Exchange

Well I made 6 dozen German Biscuits for a cookie exchange. This was a first time for everyone taking part. Of course, I left making my cookies to the day before. I popped out to the grocery store to buy plum jam but there wasn't any!!! I ended up going to three different grocery stores and none of them had plum jam. I did know of a European deli/shop near where I used to live in Toronto so away I went. They had lots of plum jam!! So I headed home and started making cookies.

Hugh and I made two batches at the same time. There is so much butter in these cookies. We ended up with a assembly line of cookies. Hugh was rolling and cutting out, I was putting the plum jam between the cookies and Detta & her friend were doing the icing and cherries. Detta & her friend ended up helping with rolling and cutting out also. They had lots of fun. Did anyone notice the yellow bowl? I bought a set of those old pyrex bowls in the different colours. My Mum had a set.


We all needed a much earned break after all this so we went off to Lynde Shores Conservation Area with some bird seed. We did a short walk on the bird trail. We put seeds in our hands and the little birds would come and take some seeds. Detta's friend had never done this before and she really enjoyed it. But it was freezing!!! If you click on the picture, you can see the birds in Detta & her friends hands. Everyone had a bird in their hand at one time or another. If anyone can help identify the birds, please let me know.

Zoo

We went to the Toronto Metro Zoo today. The tundra section has reopened so we had to visit the polar bears. Anne and Al met us at the front entrance. Then we went to see the polar bears. The zoo has changed the entrance to the polar bear section. Now the arctic wolves are there also so it makes quite an impression when you first walk into the section. Then you walk on to the bears. The two polar bears were play(?) fighting in the water. Unfortunately you couldn't see them in the underwater viewing. I wasn't really impressed with the new polar bear section at this point. Then we started to wander around. Once you get around the side there is another pool where there was another polar bear lounging. Then all of a sudden the other two polar bears came racing over and jumped into the pool. It was like a hot tub for polar bears but cold, of course.

The zoo has added all sorts of interest points, plus tepees. They are also going to have a section for arctic foxes but that isn't quite complete yet. In the end, I was impressed. I am looking forward to visiting during the winter.

Since Al hasn't been to the zoo before, I know, can you believe it! We toured the Americas Pavilion. I like this pavilion. The otters were swimming about and unbelievably the beavers were out also. They were trying to eat through the door to escape.

We walked around the Africa section also. By this time the children were all moaning about sore feet and being so tired. But once we got near the big stones, they were all running around and hiding on Hugh! It was a great day out.

Mushrooms

There recently was an interesting article in the Globe and Mail - DIY fungi. Now this is something I would love to try. Not that I am particularly a big fan of shitake or oyster mushrooms but I certainly would give it a go. My backyard is not that glamorous so a log would probably be a great focus point.

I recently borrowed a book from the library call the Knopf Mushroom Book. It was very interesting. I didn't realise that there were so many poisonous mushrooms. Not that I pick wild mushrooms, well I would pick morels. Maybe next spring I will organise an outing and find a location to pick some.

Lavenders

Well I had to finally get those lavenders I bought planted. They only cost $1.00 each. In fact, Hugh had to pop out to the grocery store so I had him buy 6 more. So in total, my front bed has 15 lavender plants in it. They are all French Lavender but 3 different varieties: Mulberry Ruffles, BoysenBerry Ruffles and Blueberry Ruffles. They look very nice. I just hope they all last being planted so late in the year. When I saw the lavenders on sale, it reminded me of when I was in England and Detta and I were visiting Ham House. The lavender gardens there were beautiful.

Well I haven't heard about the Environment Canada job. But I have an interview with Clarington Public Library. This position is only a part-time 16 hours a week but with 20 hours at Seneca, it may just be perfect.

Anne arrives home tomorrow. She has been in Italy for the past 2 weeks, touring around with a bunch of her girlfriends. Sounds like they had lots of fun. Kath and her husband are in New Zealand until December. They seem to have been having lots of rain and 2 tsunami warnings but then it is spring. Check out her blog - Kath's Blog.

I am off this weekend to camp with the Pathfinders. We are sleeping indoors, thank goodness. I am supposed to have set up some games, but this past two weeks have been crazy and I am not going to get around to it. I haven't even started to pack, well I guess that's what I am going to head off and do now. I still have to finish painting Detta's room. Just the last coat of the orange but that may have to wait till next week, I am running out of time.

Thunder Showers

What about that thunder storm on Sunday? What a light show! I have posted a link to a website that has some great shots of the storm:

BlogTO

Toronto Star

The Babies are gone - flown the coop

That is the pigeon babies are gone. The mum has been around off and on but she was too big to sit in the nest with the two babies. One of the babies hopped up on to the ledge and then after about an hour it flew to the window ledge. And when I checked last both of them are gone. I wonder if they will come back, I mean today!

But then we had workmen around today to fix the water leak out the front of our house. They all had to come and have a look at the birds.

It was very interesting because they dug a big hole and put this big tube in the hole. Then one of the workmen went in the hole to make the repairs. It didn't take them long to fix it. At least the front end of our garden is well watered now.

Penny the Pigeon

We finally saw the new baby pigeons. There are two of them and they are so big. I must admit they are 'pretty' ugly. I am sure they will be flying soon as they are nearly as large as the mum. I don't know how she managed to sit on them for so long.

New Office & Pigeon

The office is nearly there. We have two desks set up. All the other furniture is out. Andrew popped by on Tuesday evening and helped move the furniture into the basement. They had to take the table out the front door and around the back of the house. It couldn't fit down the stairs.

Anne and I went out for breakfast at Scrambles on Tuesday morning. We then went shopping at Reitmans. She bought some blouses, a skirt and some capris for me. Now I am all set up for my trip to England. Anne also had been shopping at Old Navy and bought Detta some very nice shirts. We stopped by Best Buy where Anne needed to buy a PC for work. I bought the monitor that went with the PC. Hugh is using it for the moment till his work provides him with one.

Here is also a picture of the pigeons baby. I wonder how long before it flies and leaves the nest.

New Office

We are nearly finished setting up the office for Hugh. The computer desk is out and the table is nearly cleared. The book shelves are nearly full of reference material. Hugh took down the chandler and put up the new fan. The new fan looks good and moves the air around really nicely. I went back to Canadian Tire to buy another one for our bedroom but the sale is over so now I must wait.

On Saturday, I decided to rip out the baby layette that I had started. I didn't like the green, it just didn't seem to work very well. I have started knitting another one, which has a simpler look. This time I have used the aqua colour with the variegated and yellow. It is looking good. I have also finished the two big blocks for the baby blanket. Now I only need to sew them together and then knit some more along the long edge.

I finally got around to some gardening. If I wasn't feeling well, then it was raining. Though on Sunday, it was very windy. I have all my new plants finally in the ground except one. The last one Hugh will have to help me with. I want to dig out some other shrubs which I need Hughs help with. I am sure it is that same tree I had in England because I saw a bunch of new shots coming from it. Anyways I dislike. Plus there are some weedy looking shrubs which I am sure are being choked by that other shrub. I still have ferns but I may end up moving that to the back yard. My garden in the back, needs a major overhaul. The beds are full of grass and the weeds in the grass are terrible. I want to plant some more of those lilies from the front to the back but I am sure there is still some carpet in back beds. Lots of work but it will take me years to get sorted out. The lilac has more flowers on it this year except they are on the neighbours side. Well maybe next year it will have more, this is only the second time I have seen it bloom. The plant Joan gave me, the yellow flowers, is blooming like crazy this year. It is so pretty.

The pigeon is still with us, or Penny as the children have named her. I am sure her eggs have hatched. I hear a cheeping and one day when she flew off I ran back from the car to have a look and there was one chick.