Thursday, November 12, 2020

Short - But Very Sweet

Friday 06 November 2020
RIM Park, Waterloo, ON

     Friday is Lily and Heather day for us and we all met up together at 09h:00 to go for a walk. The weather was delightful to say the least, as it has been for most of November. Given that November can often be one of the most miserable months of the year, with shorter days and grey skies, and the first snow of the season, we have been very fortunate.
     Lily had a brand new toy to amuse her and she seemed quite taken with it.


     She has no teeth to clean yet, but she figured out where the brush is supposed to go!


     We took along a chickadee for her which has an absolutely faithful rendition of the bird's song when squeezed. First of all she didn't quite know what to make of it, but soon she was grabbing for it eagerly.



     The number of birds in the park was very low. It appears that most of the migrants have departed but many of the winter residents have not yet occupied their space.
     We spotted a small group of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) who eyed us cautiously but seemed unperturbed.



     No doubt Homo sapiens is a familiar species to them, and in the safety of the park not of the hunting subspecies, so we aroused little concern on their part.


      The trees of November seem stark against the sky, devoid of leaves, but already holding the promise of spring.


     Lily is always as good as gold on our walks, but she is especially happy when Heather decides to "wear" her. It's not hard to understand that nothing could be much better than being snuggled up close to mom, perhaps able to detect that familiar heartbeat.



      And if you can have a chew on a strap too, so much the better!


     We have doubtless walked past this nest of a paper wasp several times, never noticing it before.


     We all agreed that we had not previously seen an American Crow (Corvus brachyrynchos) feeding on the fruit of Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina), but this individual seemed to be attacking it with relish.



     We had a good long walk, chatted, laughed, exercised, and revelled in the simple joy of being together.
     And Lily keeping us company made the whole experience even better.



     See you next Friday Heather and Lily!


David M. Gascoigne,
David M. Gascoigne,

I'm a life long birder. My interests are birds, nature, reading, books, outdoors, travel, food and wine.

46 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    Such a delight to see for aching souls... YAM xx

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  2. This post has a lot of sweetness, rendered by Lily and the deer. Even the American Crow feeding upon the fruit of Sumac, has something sweet about him.
    The fine weather greatly contributes to the success of the Friday walk in the park.

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  3. Yes she is very cute, David! Lily is a very pretty flower :)

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  4. A happy child. Camouflaged deer have strong details. Beautiful by their innocence.

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  5. Hello,

    Adorable captures of Lily! The deer are pretty too, great photos. Take care, enjoy your day!

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  6. Elle profite bien des balades en nature et a toujours des cheveux de rêve!
    Jolis les cerfs, hier je bricolais une clôture dans mon bois et j'ai éviter un sanglier énorme qui a eu peur de ma chienne qui a aboyé.
    Bonne soirée

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  7. What a wonderful, wonderful day. For you all.

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  8. How wonderful to visit with all of you!
    We have one of those birds, but ours is a wood thrush!
    Love the deer, too!

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  9. Wonderful! I hope that your Fridays continue to be filled with sunshine on all fronts.

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  10. I love her hair! She looks to be growing well.

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  11. She is adorable, I can see you are all smitten. Long may this type of Friday last for you all.

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  12. Lily is so cute. Glad you all had another fine outing.

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  13. So sute. The deer in the grass too.

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  14. A joy filled day with wonderful weather, everso cute Lily and cautious deer. Such lovely images of all.

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  15. A delightful walk with such a precious child. Perfect!

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  16. Sweet lass and mum is so lucky to have her and to be able to take her on these trips into the bush...the deer, lovely creatures.

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  17. That child has so many beautiful sweaters. Hurrah the knitteres.

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  18. What a joy to see these wonderful pictures.

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  19. David - at that age, everything goes in the mouth! And I am talking about Lily, not the raven! Gorgeous girl!

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    Replies
    1. It's true. Soon it will perhaps help with the stress of teething. Heather still has that to deal with!

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  20. Hi David - she is delightful and your tufted chickadee is an excellent choice of prezzie for Lily. Gorgeous. Loved the crow with the sumac, and the paper wasp nest ... I hadn't known about them until I was on Vancouver Island ... when I found some tiny ones - wonderful size that one. So pleased you have these regular meetings with Lily and her Mama, Heather ... have a lovely weekend - Hilary

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  21. Awww...Lily is so cute. The deer is cute too.

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  22. Buenos días amigo David, como siempre Lily es toda una bella mujercita, pronto empezará con la boca y sus dientes que calmará con llevarse a la boca cualquier cosa que pueda morder para aliviar el dolor. Preciosas las instantáneos con esos pelos tiesos que me hacen mucha gracia y que me encantan.
    Disfrutar de ella queridos amigos es sumamente fotogénica.
    Un fuerte abrazo para todos incluida la mama de la bella Lily, querido amigo y compadre David.

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  23. Hi David.

    You have made a beautiful walk.
    How nice the deer.
    I have loved Lily.

    Greetings from Patricia.

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  24. These are wonderful images -- but then look at that sweet subject! The deer are fabulous. I haven't seen many lately -- probably laying low for the hunters. I noticed yesterday on my walk that there were few birds singing, though I did see a robin and a cardinal. I hadn't thought about the transition but that makes sense.

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  25. Lily will not have any problem brushing her teeth later on :)
    Love the shots of the deer. They look lovely in the grass. Perfect colormatch for them to be hidden. Unless a skilled eye catch them :) Re your remark on my post I would say this is art :)

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  26. It's always a delight to have a baby in the family.... or even a borrowed baby just on Fridays!

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  27. A smitten grandfather - I know it when I see one:) And rightfully so, your grand daughter is gorgeous! Deer were part of the neighborhood gang, so I miss seeing them. Beautiful capture of the bird. Miss seeing you at All Seasons - don't forget-any experience is okay, like meeting up with family, so hope to see you there soon:)

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  28. How lovely to see the white-tailed Deer with the big ears!
    Lily is cute !
    Happy weekend!
    Maria

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  29. I was just so pleased to be able to share this lovely day with you.
    Fabulous photographs.
    A big hug for Lily.

    All the best Jan

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  30. The first photo of Lily is so cute, she is certainly growing fast. I think it is great that you can all get together like this on a regular basis :)

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  31. Hello. You had a lovely walk together. Thank you for sharing.
    Have a wonderful weekend.

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  32. Hello,

    Adorable photos of Lily! She will love the outdoors, the birds and critters. Pretty captures of the deer! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day. Have a great weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  33. Hi David :) Lily is cute, I always thought that everything seems delicious to babies...I love the little chickadee! What beautiful photos of the deer! :)

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  34. Loved your photos of the cattle egret...amazing. I surprised a bird on the pond one early morning; it was large like a large goose, white with black on it. Took flight instantly. New to me and I wondered if it was from the north and on its way south.
    Meanwhile, we can see Lily is growing! A little beauty and the best thing in the world for her is such a walk in fresh air.

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  35. Encantadora Lily, está preciosa. Abrazos.

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  36. Beautiful Lily is stealing the spotlight again. : ))

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  37. Está encantadora Lily!
    Mil besos.

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  38. Lily is a wonderful, very happy child.
    I admire deer are my beloved animals that come to my meadow. One of the deer fell into a trap in February and has a severed leg. I am worried because this leg is thicker and shorter by about 15 cm, making it difficult for her to walk. I was looking for a clinic for her, but it is difficult to find her in my country.
    Greetings.

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  39. How nice to see how Lily is growing and how little she goes out into nature with her mother. The deer in the photos look beautiful with their heads hidden poking out of the grass.

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  40. Oh dear!!!
    What a huge head of hair your granddaughter has.
    Nice and wild hahahahahaha ....... also seeing the white tail threads are great! So I never see that in my life hihi ...
    Lovely blog with a lot of love from the children ;-)
    With kind regards,
    Helma

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  41. Hi David,

    Lily is so cute and she (and her hair) is growing really fast. It looks like she's intelligent, she allready knows how to use the toothbrush, even without teeth! I love the toy chickadee :-).
    The crow feeding on the sumac is nice. I do have this tree in the garden and lots of birds like to feed on it.
    Nice that the weather is still good, same here and I'm also happy about that but do also miss some migration birds.

    Big hugs to you all,
    Marianne

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