Through the Window

Lots of activity among the zinnias yesterday. My little Canon Point'n'shoot camera takes much better pictures than my rather ancient phone, especially through the window. 

I've had Ruby Throated Hummingbirds at my feeder all summer, and they are particularly active right now, preparing for a long migration flight to their wintering areas in Central and South America. This female was sampling the zinnia nectar. The wings can beat up to 53 times per second, so no wonder it's such a blur.

And not only hummingbirds among the zinnias, there were two of these green birds hanging onto the flower stems and sampling the seeds. Can anyone tell me what these birds are?

Dry

 Did someone pull out the plug on the big bath tub? Gurgle gurgle....

It's time for the seasonal scrub-a-dub-dub and fall maintenance of the local pool. It will be full of water and swimmers in a couple of weeks.

Co-operation Please!

I would have appreciated a bit more co-operation from this rather tatty Red Admiral butterfly. She (or he?) was happily flitting around the zinnia patch, enjoying the sunshine, and nibbling on the juicy nectar in the middle of the flowers. 

But she kept flapping her wings and fluttering about, and couldn't quite decide which flower was the tastiest, and I wasn't able to persuade her to stay still long enough for me to get a good photo. Perhaps she was camera shy.

I tried talking to her but she wasn't listening. When she landed on a flower, I crossed my fingers that she would show me her wings, and I told her how pretty she was but she ignored me, and kept her wings closed. Or with the occasional flap which was too fast for me.

Finally she landed on this blossom and opened her wings. She didn't stay long. She had places to go and things to do as I'm sure she is aware that it will be migration time very soon.

Thanks for visiting Ms. (or Mr.) Red Admiral.

Millie

 She's so darn cute!

Downtown Lion King

 Last week I realized that The Lion King musical that had been showing at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto was closing at the end of August.  It opened in November 2024, and it's been advertised on TV, in the papers, on the internet, on the buses and the subway, everywhere and I really wanted to see it. And everyone who has seen it, loved it.

But tickets were expensive and so it just didn't happen. But I found a last minute ticket on a single seat so off I went.

First, drive and park at the nearby GO station. (GO is Government of Ontario.) Then the GO train to downtown. Then the subway to the stop near the theatre. Then a 6 minute walk.

I had a great seat, 3rd row of dress circle, right in the middle. The Lion King is a breathtaking experience with stunning visuals, innovative puppets that are actually worn by the actors. The animals are so real! Elaborate costumes and wonderful special effects.

The opening number "The Circle of Life" was so emotional I found tears running down my face. I had to have a quick look around just in case anyone saw me being so silly.... but I think everyone reacted in the same way.

The story is fairly simple, and has a theme of identity and responsibility. Of course there are the good guys and the bad guy, and some very funny comedic parts.  Wonderful music, powerful performances, colourful visuals, I'm so glad I went, I would not have missed it for the world!

The Lion King was absolutely the best show I have EVER seen in a theatre!

A couple of shots of King Street... where the theatre is. I don't very often get downtown so I got a bit excited with all the big buildings!

 

Sunny

Do those sunny faces make you feel happy? Artist group gathering, drawing and painting the sunflowers. We had big smiles on our faces as we wandered through the fields, clippers in hand, looking for the perfect flowers to take home. 

Yes that's me, wading through those huge plants looking for the perfect bloom. Wow, those blossoms are heavy! And tough and scratchy. 

St Lawrence II

Grandson Callum is on an amazing maritime adventure.... cruising the Great Lakes while sail training on board the brigantine St Lawrence II. No phone, no TV, no comfy bed, just lots of hard work and exposed to whatever the weather throws at him for two weeks on board ship. The cruise started on August 17 in the port of  Midland on Georgian Bay, then through Lake Huron to Sarnia and Port Huron.  From there along the St Clair River, across Lake St Clair, then the Detroit River past the City of Detroit.

The ship has been caught on various web cams along the route.

From there into Lake Erie, and a stop at Erie, Pennsylvania, to take part in the Erie Tall Ships Festival August 22 -24.  Then with a flotilla of the other tall ships to Port Colborne and through the Welland Canal to Lake Ontario. 

There will be a stop at Harbourfront in Toronto and I'm hoping to be able to meet with Callum and sing a few sea shanties! Not sure what day that will be though. 

From Toronto it will be sailing the waters of Lake Ontario to the port of Kingston where the cruise will end on August 31. And then it's back to school!

St Lawrence II was built by Kingston Shipyards in 1953 to a design by the legendary Francis MacLachlan & Mike Eames. The ship is designed to create teamwork, community, and cooperative effort between participants; to connect people with the natural world through tactile experiences, to deliver an understanding of both the power and fragility of nature; and to foster the creation of lasting friendships.