…this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge
Thank you to Egidio from Through Brazilian Eyes https://throughbrazilianeyes.com/lens-artists-challenge-348-serenity/
Serenity for me has always been looking over lake up at my cottage or enjoying a cup of coffee with a book on the deck.
When Dad lived with us he used to love going down to the park at the end of the our street and sitting on the bench or his walker and just enjoying the view of his ‘ocean’, which was actually Lake Ontario.
…away from the bird feeder
When we had the big snow storm and over 50cm came down our back deck was impossible to walk on and I couldn’t make my way to the bird feeder so I put seed on a plate and placed it on top of the snow as far away from the door as my arms would reach. I was hoping that the birds would see it and fly onto the plate. In fact, it was the grey squirrel who found the plate first and with some difficulty made his way over the deep snow and had quite the feast.
….after I filled up the bird feeder
I sat still on the deck hoping to capture some birds at the feeder but they stayed away when they saw me sitting there. There were however, a few critters that didn’t seem bothered by my presence.
…..it’s one thing when they’re outside…. BUT INSIDE?
I haven’t been able to exercise so my husband has been going for his long walks on his own for the last few days. The weather is still pretty cool but his biggest complaint concerns the swarms of gnats that he has to walk through. On his last walk he swears that the entire walk was one massive swarm. Now he does tend to exaggerate at times but I met my neighbour on Friday coming back from her walk and she complained of the same phenomena. Gnats, everywhere!
Two nights ago I noticed a few gnats in the house but the next morning the table in the kitchen was covered in them. I checked all the windows and doors and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how they were getting in the house. When I told my husband about the infestation in the house he thought about it and came to the realization that the gnats were coming in on his black jacket after his walks. Mystery solved. Solution – shake off outerwear before entering the house.
Today is another beautiful day but windy and cool. I decided to join David Suzuki’s 30×30 Nature Challenge (here) and enjoy 30 minutes a day outside. In the spirit of the challenge my husband decided to have his coffee on the deck. He wasn’t out there more than a minute when he called me to come and see something I’ve never seen in all the years I’ve lived here. The deck was covered in gnats. I don’t know if these photos really do any justice illustrating the amount of gnats that have landed on the deck and the siding of the house but it will give you some idea. Thank goodness they don’t live very long but they do breed quickly and we need some dry weather to end that cycle. Not likely. The weatherman is calling for rain off and on this week.
Mama Cormier 