"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods..."

There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.

from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, by George Gordon, Lord Byron.

Late Autumn Sun

"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do."
Galileo

"Wayfarers All"

Into The Wild Wood

Last of the Summer Hollyhocks

Apples Anyone?

Old Growth

New Growth

Which Way to the Enchanted Forest?

A Sleepy Hollow

A Carpet Below

A Tangle of Tree Tops

October Woods

Our Patient Heron

Autumn Walks

Mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine are like a siren song come October. With so few really pleasant days remaining before the weather turns nasty, the great outdoors is far too appealing and time too precious to waste staring at a computer. Instead of words, I'm just going to post some pictures that were taken during the month of October.

Just before Thanksgiving, the Great Blue Heron paid the pond a visit. Thanksgiving Day, we took advantage of the fine weather and strolled through the woods.

Our Fabulous Trees – An Update

“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of the air, that emanation from the old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.”– from Essays of Travel, Robert Louis Stevenson

Kettle Creek Conservation Authority dropped in last month to do their Survival Assessment on the 1200+ native species trees that were planted on the property on May 17, 2010. Happily, we can report that KCCA was very, very pleased with the site's progress overall. The trees are doing well, with very few failing to thrive. This is great news. We are absolutely thrilled with our Carolinian “plantation.” Pictured above, one of the little tulip trees.

As for the for the quote above, I couldn’t resist “re-cycling” it from a recent Nature Conservancy Canada e-newsletter regarding Gillies Grove. Gillies Grove is a fine example of one of Ontario’s remaining old-growth forests. Part of a Parks Canada national historic site, Gillies Grove contains some of southern Ontario’s tallest White Pine trees and supports species like the Red-shouldered Hawk and Pileated Woodpecker. Recognized as a natural treasure for its old-growth trees, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, along with the Land Preservation Society of the Ottawa Valley, purchased and protected Gillies Grove in 2001.

So, tree lovers, please visit the Nature Conservancy of Canada to learn more about NCC’s contribution to conservation in our nation!