Caroline's Visit

     Recently my daughter, Caroline, drove down from Ottawa for a long weekend's visit, and it was a pleasure to see her for the first time since we went to Algonquin Provincial Park together in March, just before the full impact of Covid-19 steamrolled over all of us.
     Lots went on while she was here, so I will break down my blog coverage into a couple of posts, so that they don't become unreasonably long.
     Just before I get into that, let me show you a basket of strawberries I bought from a local farmer a few days before Caroline arrived.

     They were delicious, juicy and quite reasonably priced. 
     I had arranged with our good friend, John Pries, for us to visit RiverSong on the morning of Caroline's first day with us, and the resident Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was there to bid her welcome.

     John has made innumerable improvements to RiverSong since acquiring the property several years ago, including the restoration of this wonderful old waterwheel. 

     The view of the Conestogo River from this little Shangri-La is nothing short of spectacular.

     John had been chatting to us about the behaviour of a pair of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) he had been observing along the river and pointed us in the general direction. Far off, perched in a tree where John believes the nest is located, was a sentinel.

     Beavers (Castor canadensis) are a marvelous component of our ecosystem, but when their landscape-altering dams and lodges are built too close to humans, conflicts can arise. One's admiration for the creature is sometimes strained to the limit when land and buildings are flooded. John has coped well with his local residents.

     We saw this odd growth on the leaves of several trees. What it is exactly I am not sure, so if anyone knows be sure to let me know.

     What do you do with an old picnic table no longer in use? Susan, John's wife, is quick to come up with ideas which John is ready to execute. Voilà! A bench!

     What better companion could one have on a walk around River Song on a hot, steamy day (a three-shirt day as John described it!) than an American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)? We were very happy to share a few minutes with this handsome individual.

     Many turtles come up from the river to lay their eggs in sandy areas and John was showing Caroline where both Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) and Midland Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) had already completed their task for the year.

     An Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) had found a great perch from which to capture passing insects.

     As one meanders around RiverSong one is struck by whimsy everywhere, always tasteful, always appealing. And photogenic too!

     We had decided that we would leave for a while and return for lunch, and on the way out Caroline posed for a picture at the water wheel.

     As we left the parking area, the two young Ospreys, now almost as big as their parents, looked over the nest to say "See you soon."

     We went down Three Bridges Road to the section of the Conestogo River where there is a weir in St. Jacobs, a beautiful spot.

     The first bird we saw was a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) followed in short order by a Green Heron (Butorides virescens).

     A Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) posed for us very nicely.

     Wildflowers are abundant in early summer, beautiful and fragrant, with the hum of pollinators a constant background noise.
     Chicory (Cichorium intybus) seems to dominate every roadside verge and abandoned field.

     It is hard to know whether it, or Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus corota) is more common.

     We returned to RiverSong to enjoy lunch, being greeted by the now familiar Ospreys, adult and young alike.

     It had been a wonderful start to Caroline's visit.