Sunny Days: drives,: water, rivers, and ice

What a lovely day. Hubby pointed out that the week ahead was going to be snowy. We hopped in the car to look for birds. I have been singularly unlucky lately. The good weather, or something...
First: Feb. 3rd
Friday, Feb. 5th, we headed to Smiths Falls, donated some books for sale at a local charity, then off to Merrickville for a wonderful lunch.
This is where we like to look at the water. Code Rd., with a dam.
  

Off we went... along into the Marlborough Forest. I love the dark, cold blue of the water in the river.

Another house that burned down in 2015:

Sunset caught on the dashcam. The final photo shows the deer that crossed our path.

Marlborough Forest in Montague

A lovely place for a walk when the snow melts!
I bet there were people who snowshoed here in winter.
There is a lovely walk around Roger's Pond.

A warm spring day, the water rushes along the rivers. We were on a morning drive to see which birds had returned to Ontario. In the Harris government's grand scheme, they amalgamated many cities and towns. On the edge of Ottawa, miles from the 'city' per se, we went into the Marlborough Forest.
It's part of Cedar Grove Trail (PDF). We have so many wonderful places to walk and view nature.

We didn't see any animals. They know to keep away from cars!

This forest has many interesting plants, according to a 1986 study, all sleeping, of course. 

• Mountain Blue Moss or Club Moss (Lycopodium selago)
• Whorled Milkwort (Polygala verticillata)
• Ginseng - (rare in Ontario) (Panax quinquefolium)
• Speedwell (Veronica catenata)
• Heath Aster  (Aster ericoides)

Over the past few years 60 deer have been captured in Marlborough Forest and fitted with a
mixture of GPS and radio tracking collars. Using the collars, information on deer
movements, daily activity and cause of death is being collected. (Read more here, PDF)
Keith Munro (@thedeerproject) has just finished his trapping and tagging for the winter. His last traps are pulled.

Twitter / thedeerproject: Deer can get used to anything. ...

"The goal of this project is to learn how the actions of hunters, predators and landowners affect

deer behaviour. This information will be used to explore management practices that influence deer behaviour to reduce negative deer-human interactions."
I say, just slow the heck down on our roads! The road kill is extraordinary and unnecessary in many cases. Speed kills!

An old homestead

Cedar forest, shallow soil

This area was settled after 1816

Downstream A river runs through it

If you like the sound of rushing water, I made a video!


Is there anything better than listening to the rushing of a stream or river in spring?

Just before we got there, we spotted a strange flag. It is a Confederate flag, with a skull and crossbones on it. (?)