Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows – Helen Keller
If you are in Fort Myers, exploring the city, no doubt you will hear about Sanibel Island. Reputed to be one of the most charming islands in Florida, Sanibel is frequently visited by tourists, and locals alike.
This year, the spring arrived stealthily in Ontario, and suddenly I realized it was gone already.
From March to May, Mother Nature put on her new appearances, and we watched the flowers blooming, as we eagerly awaited them for so long. We enjoyed the sun and the clear skies, the birds and their songs.
The summer is long gone now, but the sweet memories of my little visitors are still vivid in my mind. The delight of having a garden is that you are never getting alone. Beside the gardening itself, you can always enjoy the little visitors, especially the birds. All you need is to plant certain flowers, and hang a couple of birdfeeders. Very easy!
The pictures don’t do justice to the exuberance and the joyfulness of the little ones, so I decided to make a little video. You can see what were the most successful flowers from my backyard this summer. Hope you’ll enjoy it!
p.s. Safe distance was observed, birds were not disturbed😊
Happy Birdwatching!
How to Peru in 2 weeks – Day #12: Mirador Lagunillas – Reserva Nacional de Salinas y Aguada Blanca – Chinitos Patahuasi – Tocra swamps – Mirador de los Andes – Chivay – Yanque
Shortly after we exit the busy streets of Juliaca, we see again the landscape we got so accustomed few days before, along the Route of the Sun.
The bushes become dwindling bundles; the grass turns into thistle clusters. Hundreds of shades of brown mixed with shades of grey. When we see a green patch of land, we know a little spring or a pond is trying to give some life to these parched lands at 4,000+ m altitude. Otherwise, most land looks arid, and dreary. The barren land looks dried and frail, sad in its majesty, generous in its magnificence.
April was a month with many changes in Ontario, amid the worldwide changes.
A month of many seasons, with clouds, sun, snow, winds, hail, and rain. And many sunny days.
How to Peru in 2 weeks, Day #2 – Lima district – Palm Sunday
Second morning in Lima found us asking the street vendors for some change near the Ricardo Palma station in Miraflores, where we had to take the Metropolitan bus to Lima district. Taking another public transportation was out of discussion, as we couldn’t manage to deal with the chaotic system of private (mini)buses. Since this was The Palm Sunday, grabbing a cab was also out of discussion because Arequipa Ave is closed as every other Sunday, which left us to the only rapid and easy solution to take the Metro, a rapid bus that runs from Barranco district up to Lima district in North. Purchasing a card for a ride would double the cost of it, but the need of more change was more of an issue, since we had to have the exact amount of money for the vending machine located at the entrance of the platform. Since no street vendor was willing to spare their change, we decided to ask a local to swipe their prepaid card and let us enter one by one. Offering an extra sol, and using the international sign language, we kindly asked a lady with her son to help us enter the gate while showing her the 6 soles for both of us. Glad we could resolve so easy the issue of getting in, we headed to the front of the bus to have a full view of the route. In about half an hour we arrived in Lima district, not before acknowledging the fact that we would never dare to drive a car in Lima, after watching the drivers’ attitude and recklessness on the streets.
With our newest adventure from Sulina still fresh in our mind and heart, we arrived in Mahmudia at a slower pace, making plans for a relaxing time while visiting the surroundings.
Mahmudia, a village located on the southern branch of Danube River, was our base for 2 days of exploring the vicinity. The main plan was to rent a boat and visit the wetland that has been recently restored from an old agricultural land, right across the river.
Getting stuck in the middle of Danube Delta, on one of the thousand little channels, seemed no fun once I realized there is no way of moving forward, neither backward, while dozens of mosquitoes were buzzing around, smelling fresh blood in their neighbourhood. Watching the snake rolling away on the floating moss, and the green frog smiling at me, I started to rewind in my mind how that happened. I was wondering if my desire to watch the birds was proportionally equal with the quantity of blood we are going to donate to the hungry mosquitoes from this shady channel, and the nearby swamp. Because you wouldn’t need a second glance to realize there is no passage, and the mosquitoes were not fed for ages. Continue reading
The winter might not be over yet in Ontario, but the last couple of days have been sunny, letting us hope the spring is around of corner. Canadians are pretty much used with harsh weather, but this winter especially was generous in snow, freezing rain, ice pellets, etc. But that is over, and who wants to remember tough moments, when the birds are out, chirping, and calling out for spring time?
I was overjoyed this morning when I could hear the birds in the whole neighbourhood, even though the snow sits generously on the sides of the street, waiting for higher temperatures to melt away. I couldn’t see the birds, but I could hear them singing on different voices from different directions. Pure bliss! Continue reading
1000 Places and Memories 