Week 10: Mailboxes

Debby

My grandmother loved red birds, and created a garden that was a haven for them. When she no longer had a garden, I gave her back her cardinals, of some sort every Christmas.

I would search to find something different, that could find a place in her small space in the retirement home. There was a stained glass bird she hung in her window, then the ceramic tabletop Christmas tree with birds instead of ornaments. I found her a white sweatshirt with cardinals embroidered across the front. Then I sent her a mug, and last, a switch plate for the switch by her door.

They say, that when you see a red bird it’s a message from heaven. I like to think my grandmother is watching over me, but I also like the memories that seeing a red bird brings to mind.

When I saw this mailbox, along the side of a country road, it had to be a message from above. Miss you Baba.

Carol

I have to confess to almost causing several fender benders checking out mailboxes when I was driving around town this week. And the sad part is, it was all for nothing – most of the mailboxes I saw were basic black, with the odd brass coloured one popping up here and there.

There was an interesting looking one in my daughter’s neighbourhood, but between full time babysitting and getting ready for a trip, I just didn’t have the time to go back and get a picture. And then Debby sent me her picture early and hers was pretty much the same idea.

So I decided to go another way.

For the last couple of years there have been rumours of our door-to-door mail service being replaced by neighbourhood mail boxes. My picture is of one of these neighbourhood boxes that was set up for a small row of townhouses. I haven’t seen many more of them around town, and I have to admit I’m glad.

Week 9: Birds of a Feather

Debby

Canada geese have become a problem for many lakeside parks. I’m not sure if there is some more important environmental issue other than the green poop and slime that covers the grassy areas. The geese can be aggressive, but only if their nesting areas are disturbed.

The geese in our town became an issue of controversy a couple of years ago, during the harsh months of winter. Apparently not all geese migrate south in the fall, some stay to experience our winter for themselves. A reverse kind of ‘snow bird’ situation.

Bird lovers were feeding the geese at the edge of the lake, but the town, if I remember right, did not want the geese encouraged. This became an ongoing battle as the geese feeder was being fined, I do believe.

There was a secondary issue in that the bread being fed to the geese was actually harmful and should not be fed to them. I can’t remember exactly why. This did not deter our bird feeder who switched from bread to bird seed.

The end result were the signs posted by the town, large and obvious. This area is not really much of a beach. It is near the Marina clubhouse and the adjacent parking lot. There is a boat launch and a bit of a beach area that canoers and kayakers use. The marshy area a short distance down the shore is an ideal nesting area, so the geese love this section of the lake.

I like to sit in this area, see the birds gather. They seem to have a better understanding of the meaning of diversity. The geese live in harmony with the seagulls, the ducks and other birds. Something we humans could learn from our winged friends.

Carol

Once again I’m a victim of my own vision. When I came up with “birds of a feather” as our theme for the week I had a picture in my mind of one of the flocks of birds that congregated in our yard last summer.

Unfortunately, I stopped filling our feeder because I was fighting a losing battle with the squirrels, so despite the fact I tried to bribe them with a mound of bird seed on my patio, my feathered friends didn’t put in an appearance for me. There was a flock of grackles that showed up in the tree outside my bedroom window that squawked their fool heads off, but I wasn’t going out there at 5 a.m. just to take a picture.

So like Debby I turned to the more reliable waterfowl. Our town lies on the shore of Lake Ontario, so it’s no wonder we have an abundance of waterfowl. The yacht basin of the harbour is home to geese, cormorants, loons, swans, and of course a wide variety of ducks and gulls.

When my daughter was little, before the ban on feeding the birds, I used to take her to a small park in the west end to feed the ducks and geese. The ducks weren’t so bad, but the geese could get downright aggressive when it came to the stale bread we carried, and I recall a couple of times having to flee to the safety of the car to get away from them.

After seeing Debby’s picture, I’m glad I went with the friendlier ducks. :-)

Week 8: Moving Water

Debby

Born under the sign of Pisces, it is no wonder that I love being by the water. I find the sound of waves, the constant repetition as they beat upon the shore, to be soothing, and find myself drawn to the lake.

But, I am also mesmerized by rivers, and the meandering path they cut through the land. In the spring, the water can run fast and deep with melting snow, a constant danger with the threat of flooding.

This picture is of the Ganaraska River, well known in the area for a once devastating flood. Today it was peaceful, the sun sparkling on the water, the sound a quiet murmur as it journeys to the lake.

Carol

Like Debby, I love being near the water and I also find the sound soothing. I find the sound of the water filter in my new fish tank less soothing, however that’s a story for a different day. ;-)

I wanted to do something a little different, so my first choice for “moving water” was the water that has been seeping into the basement a lot this spring, moving towards the sump hole. But when I went downstairs to take my picture, it had pretty much dried up.

My next choice was a waterfall or fountain. I’m not even sure there are any waterfalls close by, and it’s still a little too early to get the fountains going. There are, however, three creeks that run through our town, one just around the corner from our house. So, traditional it is.

This was my neighbourhood growing up. When I was little, there was no bridge spanning this creek, just a fallen tree. This, along with the lake shore, was my playground as a kid. I used to fish for smelts in the spring here. The foaming water is from a small waterfall hidden by the bridge I’m standing on and you can see just a few feet away the water slows right down before joining with the lake. Oh, the memories!

Week 7: Flower Power

Debby

I’m going off on a tangent this week, and using a homonym. What is a homonym, you might ask. Well, a homonym is a word that is said or spelled the same way as another but with has a different meaning. “Write” and “right” is an example.

So, I am taking “flower power” and writing about “flour power”.

Did you know that during the summer, in Ontario, you can find any number of butter tart festivals? At the time I learned about these tasty day trips, I had been unaware that butter tarts were a Canadian invention. There happens to be a summer contest in my area and my granddaughter happens to work in one of the award winning bakeries...Betty’s Tarts.

In anticipation of summer, and what a beautiful day it was today, I’m submitting two photos, one of the tarts that are oh so good, and one of my granddaughter in front of the awards this bakery has won.

Just a note, the smell of a bakery can make you drool, and wasn’t it nice that there were taste testers on the counter.

Carol

I came up with the idea of “flower power” because I had just taken a class in writing alternate universes and the timeline I had chosen to change was the sixties – you know, the age of free love and flower children.

Once I was set on the idea I started thinking of the power of flowers – the explosion of flowers in the spring, how tenacious they can be, how they can appear in the most unlikely places. This is the time of year when the lawns in our neighbourhood come alive with little purple flowers or crocus so choosing a picture wasn’t that hard.

Unfortunately, I waited a little too long to take the first picture. These are the little purple flowers that tend to show up carpeting local lawns. My neighbour is trying to grow them all along the side of her house but they still tend to escape into her lawn.

The second picture shows what remains of my pond garden in the back corner of my yard. You can easily see where we had an 80 foot poplar tree taken down. Under all that sawdust is the plants that were just starting to establish themselves there. I thought I’d lost them all, but much to my surprise a patch of pennyroyals broke free at the edge of the sawdust.

I think that truly shows the power of flowers.

Week 6: Signage

Debby

When you drive along country roads, you often see signs indicating an area that is a regular wildlife place to cross the road. In our area we might see ‘deer crossing’ and in the more northern areas it might be ‘Moose Crossing’. If you’ve ever seen the damage done to a car if it hits a moose, you would heed the warning.

On one of the roads near Rice Lake there is an area where turtles cross, and I have more than once been stopped on the road, waiting. There is something to that old fable of the Turtle and the Hare.

In Florida you might see ‘alligator crossing’. So I suppose the signs change for your area.

This is a long lead in to the picture I wanted and didn’t take. Somewhere, sometime I saw a sign near a nursing home that said ‘Senior Crossing’. I thought I remembered where I’d seen it, but was wrong. So now I need another sign.

The sign I chose is on a gate that leads to a field. There is no road, no building, no crop in the field. It is overgrown and easily missed. But, it is important to keep the gate closed. Wouldn’t want to let the weeds out.



Carol

I actually had two pictures to choose from this week and I chose this one because it seemed to fit what’s going on with my life lately.

The most direct route to the place where I’ve been taking a night school course is under construction and in my search for an alternate route I’ve run into many interesting signs, but none more so than a reminder to slow down for a curve. The fact that I was in my car when I took this accounts for the poor quality.

You never know when life is going to throw you a curve. Some curves are gentle and easy to deal with, some are sharp curves that come out of nowhere. But all curves are a reminder to slow down and enjoy today, because you never know what tomorrow may bring.