Earth Week Canada 2022 wrapped up yesterday.  Friday - Earth Day - was a beautiful day to enjoy the pleasures of Presqu’ile and I practically had the park to myself.  It was my first solo, day-long visit to Presqu’ile Provincial Park this year and it was perfect!

Pannes 2

The pannes are nicely full of water, multiple pairs of ducks were drifting across them, I heard my first frog song of 2022, midges, midges everywhere and a rabbit scampered across the road in front of me - and that was all in the first five minutes!

Pannes 1

"It is not necessary to take on the whole world at first.
Just take the three square feet of earth on which you are sitting,
paying close attention to everything that lives within that small estate.”❋
[Barbara Brown Taylor]

marsh habitat 1 Three species. One casual shot.

The three square feet of earth I chose to sit on were beside the marsh - one of my favourite spots. Marshes are incredible factories and one of the finest on our planet is in Presqu’ile Provincial Park.  Beyond plant and animal habitats, this wetland is a formidably vigorous ecosystem.

marsh habitat 3 Besides supporting myriad plant and animal species, many at risk, the marsh at Presqu’ile also serves as a giant filtration system for nutrients, improving the quality of the water draining into Presqu’ile Bay and ultimately Lake Ontario - water we both rely upon and enjoy using at its beaches.

The marsh at Presqu’ile is surrounded by and adorned with a rich diversity of plants, many of which produce beautiful blossoms:  Bur-reeds, Bulrushes, Swamp Milkweed, Swamp Rose Mallow, Northern Blue Flag, Marsh cinquefoil, Swamp Vervain, Swamp Smartweed, Arrowhead, Tufted Loosestrife and Water Lilies.

marsh habitat 2 These plants welcome migrating birds twice each year.  They host many species of birds and waterfowl (some year-round) by providing safe, protective venues to forage, nest, sleep, brood and raise their young.  In addition to the birds and water birds, manifold amphibians, reptiles, rodents and, my favourites - turtles, all make the marsh their year-round homes.

Lagoon Goose More than the wildlife, there is tremendous benefit to people from spending time in, on or around the marsh at Presqu’ile and on Earth Day, I was the recipient of those gifts.  I tuned out all the noise - mechanical, digital and human - and relaxed into the peaceful, sunny, breezy, glory.  There was bliss.  There was rejuvenation.  There was serenity.  There may even have been a touch of sunburn.

marsh It doesn’t take much for me to unwind, especially when I’m surrounded by beautiful scenery and wildlife.  There were Buffleheads galore, some Mallards, lots of geese, some brooding swans, a wild goose chase (a male swan chasing a goose away from his nest) and the raucous chorus of several hundred Red Wings.  In short. nothing out of the ordinary yet it was extraordinary in every way.

Wild Goose Chase 2 Just take the three square feet of earth on which you are sitting, paying close attention to everything that lives within that small estate and at the marsh at Presqu’ile, there is a lot to occupy one’s attention.

'Til next time, y'all...

Wildflowers of the Day:

Wildflower of the Day 2 Colt's Foot

Wildflower of the Day 1 Squill

*Barbara Brown Taylor, from her book An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith (HarperSanFrancisco, 2009) - Chapter 2, pg. 39. Barbara Brown Taylor is an American Episcopal priest, academic, and author. In 2014, Time magazine placed her in its annual Time 100 list of most influential people in the world.