Tuesday, September 25, 2007

They're Baaack!


I got out for paddle #30 early yesterday. As I was carrying my boat out of the boathouse, a flock of Canada geese went honking past the dock a few meters off the calm water. They're back from spending the summer in the far north. It's a mixed blessing. While we all love to see their flying wedge formations in the sky, they can be a nuisense as well.


Monarch butterflies have enjoyed a great year from all accounts. I was speaking with my aunt who lives in London, Ontario (on the banks of the Thames!). She had been down to Lake Erie and seen trees full of the butterflies. I suppose they were massing for the flight across the lake and like all good kayakers, see safety in numbers...

Meanwhile nearer to home, my wife has been feeding a monarch caterpillar for the last few days. This morning it seems to have decided to change gears and build its chrysalis, but what a strange site to choose! It crawled along the kitchen counter and attached itself to a tin pie plate. I guess we won't be having apple pie out of that plate for a while!

Finally, Alison Dyer and friends went on an unforgettable paddle the other day in Newfoundland. Make your day by visiting her blog and then follow her links over to Kayak-the-Rock and to Stan's blog. You'll understand why some people live in Paradise while the rest of us have to die to get there!

31/100

1 comment:

bonnie said...

There were monarchs everywhere on that 3-day trip I just got back from, that was just one of the neat things about the trip. I actually got a nice picture of a couple of them on the 3rd day - there was a kind of bush on the beach where we landed for lunch that was incredibly attractive to all sorts of pollen collectors & nectar sippers & that was the one place I saw where the butterflies would actually sit still long enough to take a picture.