Skies in on front of my window...

 

Guildwood Village in spring ...

 

 A perfect and beautiful day in May to visit our local park - the Guild Park .
Here are my pictures....

 

 

 

 

 

We walked for Wildlife on May 4, 2013...

Thank you to all of you!!

I expected many more more people to participate in my walk but too many events where scheduled in Toronto at the same day.

We enjoyed our walk from Grey Abbey Park to East Point Park. 

 Friends and family members made this day a very memorable day for me.

Walk for Wildlife on May 4, 2013

 

Toronto Field Naturalist Walk (TFN)

TFN Toronto Field Naturalists

Last Saturday,

on a beautiful and warm spring day I walked 

with members of the Toronto Field Naturalists 

from the Guild Inn in Guildwood  in Scarborough

along the shoreline of Lake Ontario to East Point Park, Grey Abbey 

and back to the Guild Inn. I hope that everyone had a great time during

our walk and I was able to show our group the natural beauty of the Bluffs.

Here are my pictures...  

 

 

To name a few of the birds and plants, we noticed during our walk:
Red-tailed hawk
Coopers hawk
Sharp skinned hawk
Red breasted Merganser
Muted swans
Cormorans
Cardinals
Kingfisher
Song sparrows
Bank swallows
Red-winged blackbirds
Blue Jays
Cardinals
***************
Jelly mushrooms
Trout Lily and Coltsfoots
Garlic Mustard
Wild garlic (Allium ursinum)

 

 

 

Earthday 2013

The wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and biodiversity… 

that’s all there is. That’s the whole economy. 

That’s where all the economic activity and jobs come from. 

These biological systems are the sustaining wealth of the world.

*********************

Der Reichtum der Nation ist ihre Luft, Wasser, Böden, Wälder, Mineralien, Flüsse, Seen, Meere, landschaftlicher Schönheit, Artenvielfalt und Lebensräume von Wildtieren ... das ist alles. Das ist die ganze Wirtschaft. 

Das ist, wo die wirtschaftliche Tätigkeit und Arbeitsplätze herkommen.  

Diese biologischen Systeme erhalten den Reichtum der Welt.

-- Gaylord Nelson

I am very hungry...

 

View over Lake Ontario from Grey Abbey Park

 

Lake Ontario -

What a beautiful sight...

"If there is magic on the planet, 
it is contained in the water." 
- Loren Eisley

Beautiful sunrise, strong winds and crushing waves

After this beautiful sunrise I went to East Point Park for my morning walk.  Strong winds and crushing waves along the beach  made it very difficult to walk for a longer distance.  The forecast for our area calls  for  about 2 to 5 cm of snow later in the day, temperatures near freezing 
could mean rain or freezing rain.  
 Hopefully warmer spring like weather arrives soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sky pictures for Tina...

http://tinaspicstory.blogspot.ca/search/label/ein-stuck-himmel

Hairy woodpeckers (Picoides villosus) and Emerald Ash-borer

My pictures show Emerald Ash-borer adult, larvae and
Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) and damaged ash trees in
our Guildwood- Grey Abbey Trail area.
Please visit this link from: 
Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
Fletcher Wildlife Garden in Ottawa 
to read this excellent article about:

Hairy woodpeckers (Picoides villosus) scaling bark from trees

http://fletcherwildlifegarden.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/hairy-woodpeckers-picoides-villosus-scaling-bark-from-trees/

 

 

What a surprise another blast of winter...

What a surprise another blast of winter
and people are waking up to another morning of slushy roads
 on February 28, 2013. 

Winter skies - ein Stück Himmel for Tina

Looking out of my window I am dreaming of blue skies:)
A major weather system, which has paralyzed parts of the U.S. Midwest for the second time in a week,  arrived in Toronto overnight and we received a heavy dose of rain and snow.
*********
Wenn ich aus meinem Fenster schaue, träume ich von einem blauen Himmel:) Ein großer Wintersturm, der den Mittleren-Westen der USA, zum zweitem Mal in einer Woche gelähmt hat, ist während der Nacht in Toronto angekommen und brachte eine Menge Regen und Schnee.

Sky pictures for Tina...

http://tinaspicstory.blogspot.ca/search/label/ein-stuck-himmel

Restoring Great Lakes to Protect Ontario's Future?

The New Ontario Government 

Makes Great Lakes Protection a Priority

Ontario is re-introducing legislation today that, if passed,

would ensure cleaner and healthier Great Lakes that are protected for future generations.

The proposed Great Lakes Protection Act would provide new tools to restore and protect the lakes and create a council to identify priorities and recommend actions to address them.

Protecting and restoring the Great Lakes is part of the new Ontario government's plan to enhance quality of life for Ontario families and ensure a strong, green economy for future generations.

• More than 80 per cent of Ontarian's get their drinking water from the Great Lakes.
• Ontario’s Great Lakes basin is home to 40 per cent of Canada’s economic activity.
• More than 95 per cent of Ontario's agricultural land is in the Great Lakes basin.
• "The new Ontario government is acting today to ensure our ...

"Great Lakes remain drinkable, swimmable and fishable. 

We will continue to seek advice from people around the lakes as we finalize this proposed act."

— Jim Bradley, Minister of the Environment 

 Please contact me!!

The provincial government imposed a moratorium on off-shore  wind turbines two years (2011) ago this month. 

Which raises the question: 

The moratorium is still in effect; where’s the research? 

And did it give off-shore wind farms a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down? 

I believe if a community project does not overwhelmingly 

benefit the whole community. 

This project should not proceed.

 What is the impact on our nature?  

Do we have to destroy our nature to save the environment? 

- guild-rez 10/2009

(Queen's Park) - Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that officials from the Ministry of Environment were aware of adverse health effects caused by wind turbines in 2009. 

These documents also show that one wind power company encouraged the Ministry to take a "consistent position" with their company to support the Green Energy. 

"These documents prove that government officials were aware that wind turbines were adversely affecting the health of residents," explained Lisa Thompson, MPP for Huron-Bruce and PC Deputy Critic for Green Energy.

 "The Liberal government has systematically silenced rural voices to advance a misguided green energy agenda."