Tyrcuill Butterflies

Yesterday, no one would play with me.



Laura was busy at her computer all day and most of the afternoon, setting up the Raindancing Dragons blog. My Mum went out shopping and my Dad went out to shoot photographs. Then, after dinner, Laura and my Dad went outside to juice apples for their next batch of cider. Laura had said that I could help them, but then my Mum wouldn't let me. She made me come inside but then she wouldn't play with me either. She just sat down and watched television.

The only good part about yesterday was that I got to sleep lots and, when Laura brought the apple juice inside, our kitchen smelled yummy.

Our yard smelled yummy too from all of those nice apples. Some pulp got left behind on the lawn and this morning our yard was full of butterflies attracted to all of that appley goodness.

Laura and I saw a beautiful Mourning Cloak and an Eastern Comma. Then Laura and our Dad and I went back outside with our cameras. Laura saw a Red Admiral and a Painted Lady, but they didn't have time to have their photographs taken today. The Eastern Commas, however, were eager for a photo shoot. (Or perhaps just too interested in the apple pulp to bother about moving out of the way of whatever was going on around them!)







Look carefully. This is another picture of an Eastern Comma.



When their wings are folded up, they are camouflaged really well. If you blink, you may not be able to find a resting Comma again until it spreads its wings and shows you its bright topside once more.

That little silver hook-shaped mark on the underside of its wing is how the Eastern Comma gets its name.

I sat outside with my Dad for a long time and helped to watch for butterflies



but our Mourning Cloak never returned.

Childhood Haunts

Yesterday, Laura and I returned to our childhood home to visit our friend Cheryl.

I had not seen Cheryl in many years, because she had been living in British Columbia and that is too far away for even a Super Camper like me to hike! Yesterday was also my first time returning to my old home town since Ashton and my Mum and Dad and I moved away three years ago. We live pretty far away now too, but yesterday Laura had to drive our Mum and Dad to a wedding that was almost all the way there, so we decided to drive on a bit further and visit Cheryl.

When we arrived at Cheryl's house, the first thing Laura and Cheryl wanted to do was go hiking. (Laura's friends seem to do a lot of that sort of thing. Laura's friend Tracy even competed in a marathon recently. That's over 42 kilometres! Whatever has become of good, wholesome appreciation for rest and relaxation?)

Cheryl took us out to Hilton Falls, which is where she likes to hike. The forest there is pretty, but the falls weren't exactly falling while we were there. There was just a dry riverbed, then a steep drop into another dry river bed. I took the opportunity to lie down and rest while Laura and Cheryl discussed seasonal vs. long-term changes to the local water table.

After Hilton Falls, we went back to Cheryl's house for dinner. Then it was time to pick up our Mum and Dad and head on home. Laura has been at her computer all day today, busy setting up yet another blog and I have been taking the opportunity to rest up in bed. (It is hard work, sleeping in the car for such a long ride!)

More Rondeau Adventures

Last Thursday, Laura and I took my Dad to Rondeau to introduce him to all of our butterfly friends. He brought along his big camera, which can take better photographs than the little point-and-shoot Laura and I had along on our camping trip. All of the monarchs had left, however. We went right to the south point of the peninsula and only saw one monarch and one red admiral. Several white cabbages and clouded sulfers were still flitting about -- Laura even saw a bright orange clouded sulfer -- but no one would pose for a photograph.

We showed my Dad the Marsh Trail too. Still no butterflies, but Laura got some beautiful shots of the sunset.











We also took some photographs of Laura doing yoga



Laura designed a whole sequence of asanas as part of a big November project for which she is gearing up. I think she will be telling you more about that in her own blog next week.

Yep, that's correct. For all of you fans of Laura the Rainbow Dragon out there, Laura has promised to start using her very own blog and posting regularly, beginning October 1. Until then, you'll need to keep checking in with me to find out what she's been up to and the Polyphagous Dragon to find out what she's been eating.

I am a Super Camper!

My friend Laura gave me this award because I was such a Super Camper on my very first camping trip!

I had a good time camping with Laura -- especially the parts where I got to rest nice and quietly while Laura took photographs of butterflies and deer -- but I was glad to get back home again too and sleep in our nice big bed. Laura, on the other hand, is already surfing through the Ontario Parks web site, scouting out where we can go next.

Kendal's First Camping Adventure - Day 5 - Breaking Camp

I took one last luxurious roll in the grass of Willow Glade, then we headed back to Oak Grove to pack up camp.

Laura is an expert camper and can tear down camp all by herself when she needs to, but today I was there to help by doing the very important job of supervising. (I am such a super camper!)

Once everything was packed up, I enjoyed my last camp meal (yummy duck kibble - another gift from my fans at Home County) and laid down to rest while we waited for our Mum to come and take us home.

Kendal's First Camping Adventure - Day 5 - Time to Go

Today we are going home.

Today we are having a truly lazy day.
(Laura says it wouldn't be a lazy day if we had been REAL camping.)

This morning Laura and I ate a cold breakfast, then set off for a very short walk. There was a tiny piece of Manning Road and Rondeau Avenue we had not hiked yet which we needed to get in before going home. Then we went to Willow Glade to sit by the water and enjoy our last few hours of camp.



The bay is calm this morning, the sky is clear, and the geese are noisy.



Laura took some photographs of a Great Blue Heron we saw standing in the shallow water.







Here he is again, with a friend:



Then our camera said, "Change the battery pack," and turned itself off.

It must be time to go home!

Kendal's First Camping Adventure - Day 4 - Last Night

Laura made the biggest campfire of our whole trip tonight. The winds had died down so she easily got the fire going with only one match and she burned up all the rest of our wood.

"There is something about the last campfire," Laura says.

All of our other fires Laura has put out as soon as she finished cooking over them, but tonight's fire she built up good and hot. Then she cooked herself a yummy dinner of onions and sausage and garlic and potato and parsnips. Then she cleaned up and battened down camp for the night by the fire light. Then she sat down by the fire and watched it slowly die down to embers, lying back to gaze up at the stars. (It was our first cloudless night and, even with all of the lights from Lakeshore Road and the camp buildings and other campers using artificial lights in their camps, there were still far more stars out than we could ever see in London.)

Me, I went to bed straight after dinner and fell asleep to the singing of the crickets and the frogs and the calling of the geese and the occasional loon. I needed my beauty sleep after all of our camping adventures!