We had two days of stormy weather before the skies cleared and we could head to the Strathroy settlement ponds to see migrating waterfowl.
There was little wind and the settlement ponds were like mirrors.
We counted 21 species here including these waterfowl: Canada Goose, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, a female Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, and an American Coot.
Water birds here keep their distance making good photos a challenge. Here are some of the birds I was able to photograph.
The songbirds were not as shy. The female Red-winged Blackbirds have arrived and the males are putting on a display.
There was some excitement at the ponds because a Black-necked Stilt had been spotted. Last year, a pair of the stilts nested at the ponds and raised young, still a rare event in Ontario.
Wandering Bee brings new spring flowers to the market every Saturday.
There are spring blossoms in gardens and parks as well.
Holly-leaved Barberry and cherry blossoms.
Music Videos
Philip Balsam was a Canadian songwriter, composer, and author who composed more than 190 songs for the TV show Fraggle Rock. Lyrics for the show’s songs were written by Canadians poet and author Dennis Lee and author Tim Wynne-Jones. The show’s theme song, written by Balsam and Lee, appeared on the Top 40 chart in the U.K.
Gordon Lightfoot’s first album – “Lightfoot!”
Gordon Lightfoot, another Canadian musician and songwriter, also died recently. We saw him play at university concerts in his early days on the road and during one of his annual performances at Massey Hall in Toronto.
For a deep drive there is a website https://www.lightfoot.ca/
His first album was released in 1966. It’s incredible that on his first album, “Lightfoot!”, 11 of 14 of the songs were composed by him. Many of the songs were recorded by others and established him as an important songwriter. These include many songs that endure all these years later: “The Way I Feel”, “For Lovin’ Me”, “Early Morning Rain”, “Steel Rail Blues”, “I’m Not Sayin’”, “Ribbon of Darkness” and more.
We might include some more of his songs in later posts.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Rich Man’s Spiritual” | 2:44 | |
| 2. | “Long River” | 2:46 | |
| 3. | “The Way I Feel” | 3:43 | |
| 4. | “For Lovin’ Me” | 2:25 | |
| 5. | “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face“ | Ewan MacColl | 3:10 |
| 6. | “Changes” | Phil Ochs | 2:30 |
| 7. | “Early Morning Rain“ | 3:04 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Steel Rail Blues” | 2:48 | |
| 2. | “Sixteen Miles (To Seven Lakes)” | 2:05 | |
| 3. | “I’m Not Sayin’“ | 2:28 | |
| 4. | “Pride of Man“ | Hamilton Camp | 2:41 |
| 5. | “Ribbon of Darkness“ | 2:39 | |
| 6. | “Oh, Linda” | 3:09 | |
| 7. | “Peaceful Waters” | 2:01 |
For Loving Me
Ribbon of Darkness
Here are vintage live performances of two songs.