We were out at the camp on the weekend, a spontaneous visit.
It was sunny and warm. The leaves are just bursting from bud. In Ontario, this is a sure sign that black flies are going to make hay while the sun shine. They weren’t too thick, we could eat our picnic without getting them in our mouths, or breathing them in. We ignored them. They did not ignore us. By the time we packed up and left I had quite a few bites, crusted with blood. The bites will heal, no harm done.
There were five Bluejays calling and racing through the treetops. They are my favourite bird. When I was growing up on the farm my sister and I had a bedroom with a window looking out into the bush. Dawn was always slightly preceded by bird calls, and the Bluejays were my favourite.
I even spotted one beautiful dragonfly.
The water level in the swamp was quite high. Attila raked debris from the drainage channel to release some of the water. The water level went down two inches.
I spent most of my time admiring wildflowers, listening to the birds, and collecting windfall branches. A little walk by the swamp was fun, every time I took a step there was a PLOP, as a small frog jumped into the water. I startled them, they startled me.
A section of the clearing had been “rooted”. It might have been wild pigs, but I think it more likely to be skunks.
Not a favourite task for either one of us, so I was very, very grateful that Attila took it on!
There were a few gypsy moth egg sacs on the trees, high enough that could not reach them. We are hoping that this means we won’t experience the terrible infestation we saw in our bush last summer. They stripped all the leaves from the trees, including the needles on the pine trees. It looks like almost all of the trees survived, only a few of the smaller ones had died.
We enjoyed our day, the sun the breeze, the birds, the flowers.
All was in good order.
Worldly
Weather
Updated on Sun, May 8, 9:45 PM
14°C
FEELS LIKE 13
Clear
Wind 9 E km/h
Humidity 36 %
Visibility 28 km
Sunrise 5:48 AM
Wind gust 14 km/h
Pressure 102 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 8:20 PM
Quote
“Ah, this is obviously some strange usage of the word ‘safe’ that I wasn’t previously aware of.”
Douglas Adams
1952 – 2001
I’ve always loved this particular little quote. Once again it is apt, in relation to seeking health care!
Glad you were able to spend some time at your camp! 🙂 Happy Mother’s Day, Maggie!
After the long winter you have just experienced a day out in the ‘wilderness’ sounds like just the thing to keep to keep you active and interested in life. And it looks like nature is telling you that Spring has now begun in earnest.
Just by chance recently courtesy of an early evening quiz show I discovered that in some parts of the world dragonflies go by the name of the Devil’s Darning Needle. I never knew that before.
Take care
Cathy
Thank you Eileen, I hope you had a lovely weekend! It waa a tonic to be at the camp.
Cathy, our visit to the camp was a toinic!
On this visit to the camp we were struck by how fortunate we are to be able to spend time in the “wilderness”, it was so quiet we could hear the breeze coming through the trees long before it reached where we sat in the sun. There were no radios, lawn mowers, car engines… just the barking dogs in the distance, it seems no matter where you are southern Ontario there are barking dogs.
I never knew that either, that dragonflies can go by the name Devil’s Darning Needle. You inspired me to look for more information, and I enjoyed this little essay on the dragonfly: https://www.metrofieldguide.com/folklore-nature-dragonflies/
What a beautiful retreat you have out ib the Camp! It must be wonderful to be surrounded by nature, especially in Spring!
I’m glad you had a lovely day (despite the bugs!)
Happy day after Mother’s day, too!
Sandy, we feel incredibly lucky to have the camp. At the time we bought it, it was a deserted,unkempt lot, where people had been dumping their garbage for years and years. It took a lot of work, which we enjoyed and pursued at our own pace, to make it comfortable, and now it is a balm to the soul.
Thanks Joan, it was a very happy Mother’s Day.
Our trip to the camp was lovely, so lucky to have the opportunity to spend time there. Black flies are one of the banes of the bush, along with deer and horse flies, and more unfortunately mosquitoes and ticks. So far we haven’t found ticks, but Attila keeps the area well mowed which really helps. Mosquitoes, well, the permethrin sprayed clothing really goes a long way to making the bearable, lol.
When it comes to black flies you are most definitely a better woman than I. There’s no way I could put up with being bitten like that, let alone being swarmed. Black fly season sounds like an excellent time to invest in a little gazebo with netting
Glad y9u had a good time.I know nothing makes me feel better than being out in nature. Well, as long as it’s not trying to eat me! Lol!
Teri, lol, yes, when nature tries to eat you it puts a damper on the experience! The blackflies were not that bad, only a dozen or so circling our heads at any one time, a few crawling into our clothing at neck and wrist. Blackflies crawl into your clothes, nasty that way, but to their credit, when you go indoors whey head for the windows. Mosquitoes don’t crawl in your clothes, but they don’t leave you alone inside the house either.
So far at home I’ve only seen a dozen or so over a period of weeks, and already a mosquito. I was bitten by a black fly two weeks ago. The netted gazebo sounds like a good idea for May and June here, when the mosquitoes will be at their worst!