Over the years, I have discovered that the birds in my yard eat about 300 pounds of seed in twelve months.

As I don’t like a mess of sunflower seed shells under the feeder, I feed them sunflower seeds with the shells already removed:

“Crack sunflower chips” are not sold in local stores so I must travel to rural feed stores. On one occasion I drove an hour only to find that they had no sunflower chips despite having been told on the telephone that they did. Another place where I went for years is now closed.

This year, I found this place on-line and was delighted that they had 300 pounds available. I quickly hopped in the car and drove to Caledon East.

Another year of bird happiness in the garden!

En route, I stopped on a gravel road by a small wetland:

I explored and photographed in the area for about one hour. These are the only vehicles which passed:

I found two plants that I had to look up in a guide. The first is a garden escapee:

The second was Wild Garlic:

Even though it was midsummer, two plants that I associate with fall were in flower:

Other botany:

Some flyers:

Thanks to Ken Sproule for assistance in insect identification.

NATURE POETRY

O Earth, that hast no voice, confide to me a voice!
O harvest of my lands! O boundless summer growths!
O lavish, brown, parturient earth! O infinite, teeming womb!
A verse to seek, to see, to narrate thee.                                – Walt Whitman (1819–92)

Miles Hearn