Day 19.196: Stumped

The stump of the red oak tree we had taken down earlier this year was demonstrating its thirst for life but today we tidied it up again. 

While we were doing that, I had a go at counting the rings. If my reckoning is correct (and it may well not be), it seems to have been about 80 years old but between the ages of 10 and 50 or so, it seems to have grown very slowly.

The house was built around 30 years ago, so I suspect its access to light got much better around then when the surrounding trees were removed and it was able to grow much faster for the years since then. 

Day 19.195: Weekend; chicory

It’s the weekend. Here’s a chicory flower:

And - as a bonus - the silvery leaves of autumn olive:

Day 19.194: More marsh birds

Some other sightings from the marsh on Saturday morning starting with a belted kingfisher:

Great egret

House sparrow

Snowy egret

Snowy egret

Saltmarsh or Nelson’s sparrow

Saltmarsh or Nelson’s sparrow

Double-crested cormorant 

Song sparrow

Glossy ibis

Day 19.193: Breakfast with waxwings

Our second stop on Saturday morning was where the Eastern Trail crosses Scarborough Marsh. At one point our group paused to admire and sample the ripe fruit of a shadbush by the trail. We were soon joined by some cedar waxwings with a similar idea.

Day 19.192: Mystery heron (solved)

Well, it was a mystery when I first saw it on my way back to work after lunch.

Best I could do with my phone

I worked out it must be an immature great blue heron.

Day 19.191: Saturday morning birding (part 1)

Our nature group outing on Saturday morning had three elements. Two outdoor locations followed by brunch. Our first stop was at Dunstan Landing in Scarborough. A first visit to this spot for me. 

Great egret

Eastern phoebe

Saltmarsh sparrow

There were likely Nelson’s sparrows around too, but as far as i can tell, all the photos I got as these birds flew and disappeared into the marsh grasses were of saltmarsh sparrows 

Glossy ibis

Peekaboo northern yellow warbler

Double-crested cormorant

Song sparrow

Red-bellied woodpecker

Ruby-throated hummingbird 

The white pine by the tree parking area had some impressive new cones

Day 19.190: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #560

Exile #2 writes...

We have grown accustomed to sporting events being so much more than a sporting event. During our time in the country we have witnessed t-shirt cannons, and people dressed as hotdogs racing around a baseball diamond, we have seen fireworks rivaling any Guy Fawkes night, and people scrambling for a diamond engagement ring in front of home plate. We are now used to the commercials and spectacle of the Super Bowl, so it was a thing of delight to watch some BBC coverage of the World Cup Final half-time show and hear the gamut of responses - all the way from "I kind of liked it" to Wayne Rooney’s total and utter dismay.

The game itself could have been a little more entertaining, but at the end of the match, at least justice had prevailed. We had felt very ambivalent about the tournament when it began because, well, FIFA but once the football started it was hard not to be swept along because, well, football.