• Wish I knew bird types better. We watched this little guy for several minutes as it briefly picked away at the seeds in the cone and then flew off, coming back again and again.

    small bird eating from a fir cone

  • While in NL, we have come across many different bird species, including this Ruffed Grouse. There were 3 others with this one and we were able to watch them dust themselves for a few minutes.

    ruffed grouse on a log, hidden in vegetation

  • August 26, 2021 Cobourg ON to Drummondville QC

    I apologize for the layout of this post. One of my goals on this trip is to learn how to use three pieces of software: MarsEdit for writing this blog, Photoshop Elements for editing photos and Photoshop Premiere for editing videos. While I greatly enjoy new challenges, the learning curve can be steep and I like to take things one bite at a time. I will get better! S

    The heat wave continued with a high of 34C but it started to cool after supper. The forecast indicates it will start getting cooler and we will be experiencing single digit temperatures overnight by the time we get into Labrador.

    highway 401 with little traffic in the direction of travel and a few vehicles in the oncoming lanes

    We felt the traffic was much lighter than usual on the 401 and at the service centres and there was a surprising dearth of recreation vehicles. Perhaps people are more comfortable staying close to home for now. However, we did see a few out of province licence plates, including all of the western provinces and a couple of Nova Scotia plates. Massachusetts, Florida and Michigan we also represented. Surprisingly, despite paralleling the border with New York, we didn't spot any vehicles from that state.

    Highway map of the Montreal area

    Navigating past Montreal used to be a significant problem. There was always construction on A20 or A40 and one was never too sure whether the exit would be on the left or right side. The bridges and tunnels also presented their own challenges... Fortunately, A30 opened in 2008 providing a relatively easy path across the St. Lawrence River. We gladly dropped $3.60 for the priviledge of crossing it. I probably should have pushed the accelerator a little harder when we climbed the bridge as the trucks all flew past. I'll get the hang of the little diesel engine soon.

    toll bridge with vehicles in several lanes

    After driving over 500 km, we were both tired and called it a day in Drummondville at Camping des Voltigeurs, a SEPAQ campground with large trees and big sites. Drummondville is also home to Girardin Blue Bird where many school buses are assembled. As we passed their depot, we couldn’t help but wonder how many children would travel to school on those vehicles.

    drivers hands on the steering as the vehicle passes a parking lot full of school buses

    We ended our day with a delicious Montreal style pizza.

    cheesy pizza inside a pizza box

  • A pair of Pine Grosbeak visited today. Sure is a great time of year for bird watching.

    pine grosbeak facing the camera, sitting in a fruit tree

  • Today, I started tapping my maple trees by drilling an 8mm hole into the tree, near a previous hole. A spout is inserted and connected to blue tubing for sap transport. The speed of old holes healing reflects the health of the tree. The centre circle surrounds a well-healed hole.

    three holes in a tree trunk are circled. the centre hole is shallow. a clear spout is attached to blue tubing. there is snow on the ground

  • All of this deep snow is hard on animals and only the strongest will survive. However, the tracks and tunnels around our bird feeding station tell us that much wildlife is alive around here.

  • This little guy posed perfectly this morning for a close up. As much as I don’t like watching them steal birdseed, they are kind of cute.

    small red squirrel sottonh on snow in the sunshine

  • Sure glad we have stained glass birds on our windows. Otherwise, I don’t know how we’d see many birds today. Lots of blowing snow.

    window covered in snow with a stained glass, red cardinal and a ruby-throated hummingbird hanging on them

  • A blue jay contemplates diving down to the feeder. Birds are very active at our feeders, making it very hard to concentrate on anything else.

    a blue jay sitting in a tree with another bird partially hidden behind

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