Daredevil Turkeys

Back in October we visited relatives in southern Ontario for Thanksgiving. You would think that on Thanksgiving, the wild fowls would be laying low. But no, here goes mama turkey right through the suburbs with her brood of young ones. We stopped to let them cross, as did the truck you see coming towards us. They took so long we had plenty of time for photos. Apparently people around here get their turkeys from the grocery store, and this hen can bring up a whole nest of young!

The Fall of the Merlin Tree

High winds are not kind to tall trees. We came home the other day to find no power to the house, and a man walking on the garage roof. A wind gust (or a series of them) had broken off one of the three tall shoots of spruce. Down it came, and the power line with it. The tip embedded itself in the back yard, and the base leaned gently against the side of the house, missing everything breakable on the way, other than the powerline.

We consulted an arborist, who decided the other two leaders were at risk of coming down soon. A crack had formed between them, opening wider with each gust. So, down it came. The tree people took away most of the rubble, but left us the main trunks for firewood. Not sure if we can bear to burn it!

We lost about half the height of the tree - it is no longer taller than the house. The lower branches still shade the back yard, so we kept it for now. It opens up the yard to more sun. (This is me trying to see the bright side of disaster!)

We will definitely have no more Merlins now.

Wayside flower

A Lady's Slipper I found alongside the highway on my way into the city.

I was heading into the city to make an airport run on a beautiful July afternoon. This patch of pink blooms always catches the corner of my eye, and I just have to pull over to take a closer look. The dog was very patient with me while I burrowed around in the ditch getting a good angle. It was windy so it took a few tries to get the flowers to stand still. I noticed the poison ivy after it was already too late...

I love the delicate shading on the petals - just the merest hint of yellow at the centre and the stronger pink of the lip. A few stands of flowers were nearly past already, but this one was still emerging.