Spring Blossoms

I've been following the news reports about the Cherry Blossoms at High Park.  This year is suppose to be a very good year for viewing the blossoms.  On Friday we were told.... Saturday is the day!  Don't miss the beauty of the blossoms.

With some convincing, Ralph humoured me by agreeing to get up early and take me to see the flowers.  It was an early morning with the alarm going off at 6:00.  I didn't want to fight the crowds so we had to be there early.  The promise of breakfast at Sunset grill afterwards sounded really good so off we went.

Well...... I think we were a couple of days too early.  The flowers were just beginning.  It was pretty but mostly buds, not flowers.  We still enjoyed ourselves and spent about 1.5 hours wandering around.  There was a surprising number of people already there and by the time we left, the park was crawling with people.  I'm glad we came when we did.  I do plan on going again on Monday morning to see if they have opened up much more.

Can you imagine what the delegates from Japan would  think if they saw this carved in the cherry tree.

This afternoon, I walked across the street and had a look at the tree on the boulevard.  It wasn't blooming when we left for church but as the day progressed, the sun coaxed the flowers out.  It was beautiful.

Isn't spring beautiful!!

Family day

Today we went to visit with Jay and Laura and the family.  We wanted to see how Hailey was adjusting and to spend some time with everyone,

I decided to bring my camera along incase we saw something along the way.  Sadly it was pouring rain as we drove, so not much opportunity to photograph barns, running streams etc.  As we were nearing Laura's house, Ralph pointed out a hawk.  The rain had slowed down so we decided to turn around and see if we could capture it on camera.  We were amazed to see, not 1 hawk but 3.  Wow we both exclaimed.  Hawks are usually very territorial and to see 3 all together was quite something.  I didn't have a long zoom lens with me, but I had a 200mm.  I figured when I got home I could crop in the picture and get a better look.  Did I ever laugh when I finally looked at the picture.  These weren't hawks all all.  They were turkey vultures.  The ugliest bird ever.  It made me think of Halloween. So funny.  They were so high in the tree that even cropping in on my camera you couldn't tell what kind if a bird it was.  Oh well, we'll have to keep looking.

Later in the afternoon, we planned a trip into London.  Along the way Jay took us a an Eagles Nest.  There were babies in the nest and a female sitting in it as well,  Imagine my disappointment at not being better prepared.  Here is a photo of the nest and if you look closely you can see the head of the Eagle.

We spent a really nice day with the family.  Ralph even took his rollerblades with him and went outside with Jordan and Brody to enjoy some of the nice weather we were having.

Juniper - Hailey's new kitten

We are really happy to see how well Hailey is doing.  It's a big adjustment but she is handling it very well.

A walk in my garden

Slowly things are starting to burst forth from the cold ground and reach for the warmth of the spring sunshine.  Yesterday and today the temperatures were really nice and I enjoyed walking around with a tea in hand to admire the flowers.

This afternoon, around 2:00 p.m. we started receiving severe weather watch warnings on our phones.  Wouldn't you know it, the flowers are just starting to bloom and now we're going to get a thunderstorm with high winds and lightening.  Who knows what that will do to the flowers?  They are still so tender having just arrived.

I quickly grabbed my camera and tripod and headed outside to try to capture their beauty on film.  I really do love this time of year and hope that the storm won't do to much damage.

It was nice to see bee's in the garden.

After the storm passed, I went outside to inspect the damage.  Thankfully the storm didn't last long with more thunder than actual rain.  I think the rain lasted for about 15-20 minutes.  It's amazing how the flowers closed up and seemed to lean into each other for protection.  A few were lying on their sides but I'm sure with some sunshine they should be standing tall within a day or so.

Springtime Adventures

Yesterday, Ralph and I thought it would be nice to go out and take a photograph of the sunrise.  They were calling for nice weather and it was suppose to be warmer than it has been for the last week or so.  We set the alarm for just before 5:00 a.m. with the plan to be on the road by 5:30.  We had checked the sunrise website to see what time it would break and that showed 6:45.  We figured that we had plenty of time.  We have a spot that we usually drive to which is near Hamilton but when we got there it was totally flooded.  So we drove along the streets along the lake until we could find a little park or access to the beach along the lake.  After finding one, the sun was just about to break over the horizon so we rushed to get ourselves set up.  We laughed after it suddenly popped up as I think we had each only taken a few photos.  What now?   Since the temperature was nice (although a little chilly) we decided to drive to Balls Falls in Lincoln County to see what the impact of the spring runoff had on the water flow.

I had packed us a snack figuring that we would be out for a while so we enjoyed that before hiking to the falls.  There are two here, upper and lower falls.  We struck out to see the upper falls first.  We were initially amazed with how fast the water was rushing by.  It was really high.  There was still signs of the previous days snow all around the area and the path was icy and slippery.

As we approached a bend we could hear the loud sound of rushing water.  We were amazed at how much water was flowing over the falls.  We have never seen it like this.

Here is a picture of what the falls normally look like

We then hiked to the lower falls.  Many of the rocks were covered in moss.  It was a bright green colour and made the forest look nice and vibrant!!

It's more difficult to photograph the lower falls because of the wall and fencing that has been put up to make it more safe.  You can see the mud from the runoff in the colour of the water.  

Here is a picture of what the falls usually look like

By now it was about 11:00 a.m.  What do you want to do now?  We felt a coffee was in order so we went in search of a Starbucks where we could plan where to go next.

We decided to check out Beamers Falls in Grimsby.  This was a double fall as well.  It was a bit of a hike to get to a good spot to take pictures as there were so many tree's but we did it.  I climbed down backwards holding onto tree roots and branches as it was really slippery.  It sure wasn't graceful.  Because of the terrain, we decided we would only take one camera.  Ralph and I took turns taking the pictures.

Here is a picture of what the falls usually look like

I really enjoyed the day exploring with Ralph.  We finished it with a nice lunch.  We were a little muddy so I was thankful that we had thought to bring extra socks and shoes to at least have dry feet.