OUT AND ABOUT OVER THE LAST WEEK OR SO

With warmer weather arriving we were out and about several days over the last week or so

A picnic table out on the beach

Whoa..........it will be fun digging it out of the sand

Of course Gwennie had to have a quick dip in the lake

Nice to be wearing a jacket instead of the big bulky down coat

Melting snow brings big puddles

Poor ol' Susie

Every day we think this is her last day but she keeps surprising us

We keep saying she is 20 

Ipperwash Beach

Cars drive out on the beach

Must be packed during the summer months

Getting some exercise!!!!!!!!!

She is weighing in at 59 lbs

Bing is soooo wanting to go outside

Last Saturday we took him to the cottage for the day

Kitty stayed away for a few days

Happy to see her again

My friend Kathy named her 'Camper"

She isn't as jittery now

and 

Will let me walk by her without running away

For some reason or another Bing started to check Gwennie out

and.........

Gwennie tolerated him!

We tell her every day how beautiful she is

We hitched a ride over to the island with  neighbours/friends

Ray and Diana

Not very much ice in the river

on that particular day

WOW

What do we have here???

When we left in September the boat 'roof' had not been built

Showing off Ray's handy work

Well done Ray!!!!

Ah...............

We'll soon be here to stay 

We hope!!

When we left we did not get to see the sunflower in full bloom

I'm sure the birds had a good feed

Diana and I went for a walk around the island

Had to dodge snowdrifts from time to time

Waiting to go back outdoors

A good view of the new boat roof

It is amazing

We will be able to sit out on the dock

Will enjoy the cool river breezes without the sun beating down on us

A pair of loons stopping by on their way north

On our way to Chatham for a haircut

Don't know why but this horse caught my eye????

Maybe it is the nice red coat!

Camper had a friend come to visit

Looks like they  might be related?

OH..............

This 'mean' guy came for a visit too

Lots of noise

Lots of fur flying.........white fur

We shooed him away

Maybe he is the King of the castle??

Back to the island last Friday

First boat load of the season

The Captain of the boat

It looks soooo bare

Lots of leaves sticks and branches went into

 the fire pit

Homemade vegetable soup made by Ray

Lunch on the deck on a nice warm sunny April day

One of our few canals that has water

When we were on our walk this past Friday I saw these spring flowers that were completely covered with oak leaves

I brushed them off

Ha....today they will wish I had not done that!

Our first sighting of deer

THIS MORNING

APRIL 15

This was to be our last day at the campground

However

We decided to sit another day and wait out this lovely storm

We are heading to Connecticut tomorrow to visit with Joe's sister Alice and family

Surely the island will be open 

'for business'

when we return home

TUNDRA SWANS

The Tundra Swan
Weight  7 kg.  (15 lbs.)
Top Air Speed:  55 mph.
Mates for life
Life expectancy :  15 years
Formally known as the whistling swan
The most widespread swan in North America
Is entirely white with black bill, legs and feet
Today these impressive birds are protected from hunters during their long migration

In early spring the tundra swans leave their wintering grounds on Chesapeake Bay along the east coast of the United States and begin their 6500 km (4000 mile) journey to their breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic
Along the route they stop at staging areas - wetlands and fields where they can feed and rest.  The Thedford Bog is one of the staging areas along this vast migration route.

Over the past week or so Joe and I have made 4 trips to the 'Bog"

Because of the cold weather and icy fields the swans have been late arriving

Last Sunday morning we checked on the swans

You can see where the swans are nesting on the ice One swan had broken through and was having a hard time getting back up on top of the ice

Across the road swans were nesting in another field

They were 'sleeping' on top of the ice

Tuesday morning we went to see if there was any action

This was our best day yet!!!!!!!

Interesting to the 'eye' to see the different colour combinations of the bird's 'bodies' against the sky

The swans were flying from field to field with the road separating the fields

This is where I got  the overhead photos

I stood on the other side of the truck so they would not see me

As soon as there was any movement on my part they would immediately fly further away

Swans joined by Canada Geese

Starting their decent

Neat how the camera caught the position of their wings

This pair were in sequence

They have taken off

There can be two

There can be three

or

There can be many who take off together

I must say..........

It was quite the morning

I was like a child in a candy store

Fascinating

Simply fascinating