This classic wagon looks like its been repurposed as a garden planter. In 1930, the owner of Radio Steel & Manufacturing named the wagon Radio Flyer to honour the era’s advances in communication and aviation. Over the years, a lot of kids have played with or been pulled along in these little wagons.
A part of town has gardens full of sunflowers. I wanted to get there before the season was over. Many had begun to fade but this flower really stood out. I have never captured the disc of a sunflower at quite this angle before, it appeared almost three dimensional.
I love buttercups but they can be tricky to photograph with their glossy petals. I imagine a lot of you will remember the “chin game” we played as kids with buttercups!
I really like Queen Annes’s Lace and feature it here throughout the summer. We’re entering the final leg of summer though when goldenroad begins to appear (the yellow flower in the background).
Another coneflower, I think I might have found my new favourite, the Sombrero Adobe Orange. Until this summer I wasn’t aware of this variety 😊.
I stopped to chat with a neighbour the other day and asked her if she had seen many bees in her garden. Not too many, she said but plenty of rabbits. On our walk today we came across this young cottontail who seemed to be enjoying the flowers. I wished it had turned in my direction but it still gave me some good photo opportunities.
It’s the time for coneflowers now, they really do dazzle.
The front porch was still in deep shade but the sun caught a bit of the plant as it made its way across the sky. (My title was borrowed from the mailbox 😏 .)
In the past you rarely saw ravens in the city but they’re here now, an hospitable environment for these birds. You often hear their deep “gronk” call as you walk along, both summer and winter. Although considered aggressive they are often mobbed by smaller birds protecting their nests.
A little fun with spot metering.
Queen Anne’s Lace is one of my favourite wildflowers. We were walking beside a vacant lot that had hundreds of these flowers in different stages of development. Here are two examples.
I featured this chick and an adult chipping sparrow on a post a few days ago. Here are a few more photos.
The fiery orange of the day lilies mirrors the current temperatures.
On the otherhand, cosmos are the lily’s cooler cousin.
When the robin landed on the car mirror I expected it to turn around and catch its own reflection. It didn’t, at least not while I was watching. I’m glad it wasn’t my car as birds can make quite a mess perched like this.
I wasn’t the only one to take an interest in these plants. They were growing on the side of the road and not getting munched on in someone’s garden 😏.
This is the first of several photos I took of a chipping sparrow. The star of the show is this very young bird who appears to be taking his first walk with Dad; actually he hopped 😊. You never know what you’ll see on a walk in the neighbourhood!
It’s a hot day in the nation’s capital. Happy Canada Day!
Daisies are such cheerful looking flowers. I caught these swaying in the breeze.
The chipmunk found a quiet spot to have a snack. It was aware of me but didn’t seem to mind and just kept on eating.
While crossing the street the other day, I saw a blurred shape run by on the nearby sidewalk. Luckily for me the cottontail stopped for a minute on the grass and then quickly took off again. I managed to get these two photographs.
A quick walk around the block provided a nice colourful garden mix and even a glimpse of a stork (at least the nearest I’ll get to one around here 😏).
We’re lucky to see and hear a lot of cardinals in our neighbourhood. Although we still live in the city, it’s greener and quieter than where we used to live and it’s rare not to hear bird song early morning and throughout the day.
These seed heads could have easily featured in a classic science fiction movie 😊. I believe they are the seed heads of the Pasqueflower and a member of the buttercup family.
A good part of the garden was still in the shade but not this poppy that appeared to be basking in the sunshine.
We’ve seen a good number of grackles this year. I enjoy watching them, they’re always striding around looking busy and a bit put out 😏
Birds can be pretty funny. In this family unit the adult starling might just be “taking a time out” from the kids 😏
Another common name for bleeding heart is lyre flower, a name I much prefer.
Looking out the window the other day, I spotted this goldfinch looking in my direction. I didn’t have a chance to change my camera lens, I just took the shot. In this case the bird was an attractive element to the overall landscape.
I took this photo about a week ago, just before the Lillies of the valley came into bloom. This one dandylion caught my eye as it stood out among the sttetch of emerging flowers.
European Starlings were introduced to North America in the late 19th century and are considerd invasive. They compete for nesting sites and can cause extensive agricultural damage. This individual though was content to search the grass for something to eat and only snagged a dandelion.
On a recent walk, we turned down a laneway we had never noticed before. Some of the back gardens were fenced off but these two weren’t. The first scene had an expectant air; a flower basket ready to be hung and a child’s toy, on the right, waiting to be ridden. The stone figure below is a watchful presence.
After a long winter when we’re craving colour, nature really shines.
It looks like I might have taken this photo last Fall but this Red Maple is wearing its new Spring colours.
The lawn daisy has become naturalized here and is considerd a weed. Pretty though and pollinators like them. I think they resemble pincushions.
These wild violets are among my favourite early spring flowers. They appear unexpectedly among the dry leaves like little gems.
Walking along a neighbourhood path we heard a lot of birdsong. When I looked up I saw this. If the bird had been smaller I could almost believe it was someone’s pet in a cage.
We’ve had a colder than normal start to spring but things are headed in the right direction.
I saw this glass collection in a basement apartment window. It must cheer up their view, it sure did mine.
We’ve had a couple of beautiful spring days in a row. The trees are budding, the lawns have turned emerald green and are hosting these lovely scillia everywhere you look.
I enjoy the patina of wooden fences as well as the plant life that usually springs up wherever they do. They are a lot more attractive looking than other enclosures.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 