I love to drive the rugged back roads of Renfrew County. We have more than our fair share of bush-lots, brush, undergrowth, swamps, forests, lakes, streams and rivers, all of which are exceptionally beautiful in their own way. We also have an abundance of wildlife - always a joy to discover on an early morning or late afternoon outing.

On a recent trip along what starts out as Mill Street in Eganville and ends up at Highway 60 just east of Kelly’s Corners on the road to Douglas, I came across this magnificent Heron. He let me get quite close to him - I think he really thought he was invisible in his marvelously overgrown swamp. He was quite happy to pose and very pleased when I told him I would post his picture on the Internet. Heron’s can be quite vain, you know!

Now I’m off to see if I can capture a picture of a pelican. A white pelican was sighted on one of our local waterways this past week. He is quite a handsome fellow and seems to be content and well-fed in his ‘off the beaten path’ newfound home.

Chris Michener of Golden Lake, and Mike MacDonald of the Pembroke Area Field Naturalists Club were on hand to verify the sighting this morning. Their verdict: It’s a pelican, for sure! I found this quite reassuring as I was wondering if perhaps I might be seeing things. Getting to that age, you know!

Check back soon to see if I can sneak up on this wayward lad to get a good picture of him!

I have been a bit negligent in posting spring pictures as the weather has been a bit dreary and photo-ops, few. We had miserable weather for the May 24th weekend, which was actually celebrated early this year on May 16th.

However, my forsythia has finished blooming and stepped aside so the lilacs can have their turn. I’m rushing the season a bit, as this is last year’s picture and the lilacs are still hard at work producing leaves. However, I can’t wait another minute for spring to come into full bloom, so here’s last year’s picture of the lilac bloom with a pretty butterfly that I’m guessing is a Tiger Swallowtail. Can anyone positively confirm the identify of this lovely creature for me?

If you are interested in butterflies and moths, you can view some nice pictures on the Enchanted Learning website at: Butterfly Species

You can print out a coloring page here: Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Coloring Page

Last year at this time we had so much snow it seemed like winter would never loosen it’s grip on Eastern Ontario. I had 28 deer checking in for handouts every day. This year, the snow is almost all gone and only a few deer drop by each day to see if there are any handouts forthcoming. There aren’t!

We don’t have as many wild turkeys this year, either. Last year we had 32 strutting their stuff in our back yard. There were two toms and the rest were hens - some big old bossy mammas and some smaller yearling females. The turkeys and deer do a good job cleaning up leftovers from the bird feeders.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has some excellent information on their website about ‘Living with Wildlife.’ And in the ‘wilds of Renfrew County’ we certainly do ‘live with wildlife!’

It’s been a good year for the birds in Renfrew County this year. The recent thaw opened up hidden stores of food for both deer and birds alike. And today, Monday March 9, 2009, marked the arrival of the first red wing blackbird at our feeders. The blackbirds are wonderful harbingers of spring; with their raucous arrival you just know that better weather is on its way - always a wonderful thing in this cold and snowy part of the world.

With the arrival of warm weather, a lot of our snow has already melted. However, we had a light dusting last night and for most of the morning. The charming couple on this folk-art birdhouse smiled cheerfully through it all!

If you are getting a bit crabby and feeling the effects of cabin fever, so prevalent in this area at this time of year, why not get together with some friends and take a drive to Gerber’s Nursery in Golden Lake. There are lots of flowers already in bloom and it’s warm and inviting in the Greenhouse.