The Salmon Are Here - By Artist Julie Deans

Photo courtesy of Mel who joined the little dog, child, and I on day one.

I finally did it! I made it to Lowville Park in time for the salmon run ... so very proud of myself. Yes, I suppose that's kind of sad, but small things amuse ... well, you know. Be warned, this post is picture heavy, so I won't bore you with too many words, just visions of salmon spawning (love is in the air, or water actually) and fall images taken over the course of two days. Enjoy!

Little dog and child who joined me on day two.

The salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

The inevitable death after the spawn - what an odd way to live.

One of a few mysterious Lowville Woods Teepees.

Mourn the trees...

Brandy in nature - Burns Creek Conservation Area

Perhaps I'm sentimental, just a regular nature lover, or plain crazy (could be all of the above, though I think I've been called crazy the most), but it really bothers me to see someone uproot and discard of a perfectly healthy plant, especially a tree.

Trees do so much for our environment and health, really they do, and to see them killed for no other reason than because they are in the way, not the right colour, or some other useless reason, well, it makes me sick. 

Which brings me to the reason why I have not gone near my "recently old" house. I can't do it. Our gorgeous weeping pea and Japanese maple in the front garden were thoughtlessly ripped out. Why? You ask, why?  I really have no idea. The trees were extraordinarily healthy, well looked after and thriving. Both rescue trees I might add, which just makes their deaths worse.

So I put together a little collection of just a small portion of my nature photos that I've taken over the past few years ... to make me feel better. Sentimental? ... yup, I guess so ... crazy? sure why not.

Poor babies, these are the guys that got ripped out - how could you?

Valens Conservation Area - Fall

Valens Conservation Area - Fall

Chameleon in the weeping pea - out front of our old house

Wild flowers one year in our back garden

Fall maple leaves - Lowville

Marigold (yikes I'm really not sure now) in the front garden of our old house

To see more of my photography (canines for now) visit: www.juliesillustration.com/photography

A Monday Off

After spending 45 minutes in a line-up at Best Buy for a price match on Monday, I decided I needed some time in the woods. I will mention that the 45 minutes was well worth it, $62 returned, a $22 gift card, and $5 back that they short changed me on Saturday. Hey, I'll give it to Best Buy, they dun good by me. And, smart me for being early, by the time I got to the customer service desk the wait in the line up was over two hours! I'm patient, but not that patient to wait 2 hours in a line, especially when I'm being herded through a make-shift chute, like a cow going to the slaughter house, with lots of other cows hanging around, waiting to embark upon the same fate. Slaughter house ... customer service, sometimes could be the same thing, worked out well for me though (and believe me, I don't envy those that have to work in the customer service industry over the holidays - no thanks, not for me).

So anyway, back to the woods. Makes me feel somewhat sane again after spending too much time in a crowded area, with lots of people just standing around waiting. So off to Lowville Park I went, with dogs in tow. I had debated a more remote area, but then stupidly, before I left, I read about an overabundance of bold coyotes this year, so decided upon a bit more of a civilized area. Be they coyotes or wild chickens, as has happened previously in my wooded adventures, I wasn't in the mood to run into either, so Lowville seemed like the safest bet.

Perhaps not the brightest choice though, as I can't even count the number of times I almost killed myself on the slick paths. A wee bit icy on the hills, inclines and even just the flat paths (it's a real challenge to walk up a steep hill when the path is covered in random, large ice patches under a thin, but disguising layer of snow). The wind and blowing ice/snow pellets really didn't add to the appeal either, but the fresh air was good and the dogs enjoyed it (they told me so). Hands down, it beats standing in a line-up for 45 minutes at a Best Buy out of town.

Hunting Dogs

I have no doubt in my mind about the hunt and prey drive that my little dog possesses. I have never really given her the chance to strut her stuff, but every now and then she finds something of interest in the surface of the earth below her, so I let her have at it.

No going down holes, mind you, as a typical hunting JRT would do (I am no terrierman) - I fear for her safety. But on the other hand, I love to see her natural instincts at work. So, we surface hunt, then we dig. I shouldn't say we, she's the only one who does the digging, and if it's not my property, I get the job of filling the hole back in. She's a great excavator, and can open up a foot wide hole in a matter of minutes.

I haven't a clue what interests her so much below the dirt, as she's yet to actually catch anything, but she seems to enjoy the process, and her concentration in the hole is quite something (I do know of a JRT that hunts worms, so perhaps this is what she's after - thank God she hasn't found any).

She is a highly visual little dog as well, so she takes pleasure in scouting out rabbits in the parks. I don't let her have at those because the roads are far too close for comfort and when we're out and about in the woods, there is just too many cliffs to topple over - so leash it is.

These are from the Lowville photo-shoot. Dug to roots, then pulled her off. It was too windy and cool for me to stand there and wait for her to finish.

Below is 4D Prickles. My friend out west, Colleen Hoffman, owns this little spit-fire who actually catches what she's hunting for. Photos courtesy of Sue Hawes. I have to add that I'm ecstatic that I don't live in Alberta right now. October and this much snow? No thanks!

Lowville

Lowville - A little village down Guelph Line between Campbellville and Burlington is one of my favorite places to go and get "photographic". Normally, at this time of year, the trees are in full fall foliage, instead I suppose, due to the rather odd weather we've been experiencing, there is still a lot of green growth especially through the underside of the forests.


A brisk Sunday, with a cold wind blowing and no salmon running yet (will this be the third year in a row that I miss them?!) turned out to be a great day for photos. The little dog played along, and I brought my personal photographer with me. Well, once again, she's not really mine but she does accompany me quite a bit on my photo excursions, so I figure I can say she's mine while I have her here - what else are little sisters for?

Some results of the day are posted below. And once again, HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING everyone!

I guess everywhere we go grass tastes good. She's not picky.