Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Fantastical Friday #16.
Good morning everyone on this beautiful Friday! The sky is such a nice blue color, the sun is shining so brightly, it’s warm, it’s the start of a beautiful day. Seven forest fires were declared out yesterday, and 4 new fires started, so there are now 97 fires burning, 21 are under control or being held and 76 are not under control. However, even though we have a beautiful beginning for our day, that is going to change later. Safe to say that this is our last day of summer as we move into fall. A weather system is coming in that will bring thunderstorms and lots of rain beginning later this afternoon and tonight. Then over the next week it will be showers each day, except Monday which is supposed to be a day of steady rain. So that should put an end to our forest fires which is a good thing.
It also means that fall has arrived. But fall has to come sooner or later. The birds are already migrating, leaving for their winter homes. Smart birds really. I’m hoping for another mild winter like we had last year. Then I could get some walks down to the river which would be so nice. There’s not as many picture opportunities in the winter, but there are some. And it’s fun anyway. There were a few late migrating nighthawks last evening, just flying straight south this time, and moving fast. They missed the main night for some reason and I’m sure they could sense a change in weather coming, and since they are insect eating birds they want to leave before it gets too cool. They are not the only birds heading south though, others, like many of our warblers are also on the move.
It takes longer for the warbler migration however, since some species are able to tolerate cooler temps better than others. Sir George and Lady Pearl were here this morning, so was Ricky. I have only seen 3 chipmunks so far, but I haven’t spent as much time outside today, so I may have missed some. However, the food is not disappearing fast, so that’s a good indication that not all the chipmunks are here yet. Strange that they are showing up so late these days. I wonder how long it will be before they head to their little homes and stay there for the winter? Usually it can be any time from mid September to early October. That’s not far away. Oh well, summer is short, we need to enjoy it while it’s here. Have a fantastic Friday everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin. (the top picture is an end of summer look at a nice pond)
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve And Muffin’s Wildflowers #66
Hello everyone and welcome back on this Friday morning! Today’s wildflower is the “Bog Laurel”, also called “Pale Laurel” and “Swamp Laurel”. This beautiful flower is a woody stemmed shrub really and grows in bogs, acidic lakeshores and muskeg. Although it grows in wet places, it doesn’t tolerate being flooded. It is often found with “Labrador Tea”, the white flowers in the picture. The leaves of this plant are evergreen. Each individual flower is about 1/2 inch (12.5mm) across and will form loose clusters of up to a dozen or so flowers. The very center of the flower is green. It will grow in both sun and partial shade and blooms from May to June. It is a native wildflower and grows up to 30 inches (75cm) tall. In Canada it can be found right across the country except in B.C., in the US it can be found from Minnesota to Pennsylvania and up to Maine. Thank you for reading. Beginning next week our wildflower series will be one day per week, probably on Wednesday. Our bird series will return, but I’m not sure which day yet, and there will be something different for each of the other 3 days as well. Have a fantastic Friday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 