Very early Friday morning I set out on my first outing in about ten days’ time, eager for Joyspotting, full of happy exuberance and anticipation.   ‘Though the sun had technically already risen, it was very low in the sky so I did see most of the sunrise over Lake Erie.

“…and I thought
how the sun
blazes
for everyone just
so joyfully
as it rises”*

This is my first Joyspotting post on Zenfolio and, in case you’re new to this delightful concept, the premise of The Joyspotter’s Guide is “Joy is all around you.  You just need to look for it.”**. Using The Joyspotter’s Guide always ignites my imagination, sharpens my focus and brightens my adventure.  

#1 Look Up:

Most outings begin very early because Cam and his crew typically have first tee-times.  Friday was no different.  My first stop was Sugar Creek at Wheatley Provincial Park where I’ve taken to having my breakfast.  The sun hadn’t yet risen above the tree line so the creek was not illuminated, but when I looked up, this:

Z1 Look Up 1  

During my outings, whenever I’m driving I always have the four windows and sunroof open, better to hear and smell.  On Friday, whilst driving from the park to the Port of Wheatley I could hear a loud bird chorus overhead, I looked up, and this:

Z1 Look Up 2

#2 Look Down:

On my way from the port to Hillman Marsh Conservation Area, I cross a narrow bridge on Mersea Road 2.  On either side there are large ponds that are habitats for many species of wildlife so, every time I pass, I park, hop out and take stock of which species are showing off.  Looking down off the bridge on Friday was Joyspotting perfection — hundreds of Swallows were dipping and swooping and diving for the myriad insects hovering over the water.  Such a sweet interlude:

Z1 Look Down 3  

From the Caldwell First Nations’ elevated boardwalk, one can look down on Sturgeon Creek to see amphibians and reptiles and even, on Friday’s Joyspotting outing, a brilliant green Grasshopper:

Z1 Look Down 1  

Calling all Joyspotters - can you see four turtles?

Z1 Look Down 2

#3 Keep An Eye Out For Colour:

Here in Essex County, Mother Nature’s garden is a joyful blaze of yellows at this time of year - Goldenrod, Evening Primrose, Great Mullein, and Wild Parsnip.  Not to be overlooked, Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) which symbolises a warm welcome:

Z1 Keep An Eye Out For Colour 2

Also Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) and a bee:

Z1 Keep An Eye Out For Colour 1  

Then, almost going unnoticed, a Monarch sunning herself in the long grass, Osiers and wildflowers:

Z1 Keep An Eye Out For Colour 3

#4 Follow The Curve:

Z1 Follow The Curve 1 Z1 Follow The Curve 2 Z1 Follow The Curve 3

#5 Go Where The Wild Things Are:

Whist I was having my brekkie at Sugar Creek, these two were fishing for theirs (see the juvenile duck watching them?):

Z1 Go Where The Wild Things Are 1

At the Port of Wheatley, an unusual sight (we usually see gulls and Cormorants and ducks and geese and waders):

Z1 Go Where The Wild Things Are 2

And, completely off the adorable scale, three besties napping together:

Z1 Go Where The Wild Things Are 3

#6 Seek Out Symmetry:

Beyond barns and silos, there isn’t anything more quintessentially agricultural than the five bar gate, used to complete livestock enclosures.  Some hang at wonky angles, some are painted interesting colours, some are padlocked but they all represent security and safety for the animals and that never fails to make me smile — as did the symmetry of this pair:

Z1 Seek Out Symmetry

#7 Search For Signs of Abundance:

Abundance in farm country is never a difficult find.  On Friday’s Joyspotting outing I passed this crop of lush, spectacularly healthy soy bean plants, grown from Pioneer Seed distributed by Corteva Agriscience in Chatham:

Z1 Search For Signs of Abundance 1 Next sign of abundance is the corn stalks which, in this area, have reached eight feet tall.  No exaggeration, promise!  I began with this shot, where I’m standing and shooting straight-on, but it lacks anything to give scale.  Then I took the second shot which perfectly illustrates the abundance of food grown in our county.

Z1 Search For Signs of Abundance 2

Z1 Search For Signs of Abundance 3

Not all abundance relates to food, though.  One of my new favourite wildflowers is the American Lotus - a pale yellow waterlily that grows tall out of the water.  The first time I encountered these was last summer when we moved to this beautiful county.  On Friday’s Joyspotting outing, the abundance of American Lotus blossoms at Hillman Marsh was a joy to behold:

Z1 Search For Signs of Abundance 4

#8 Watch for Weirdness:

Not much in nature strikes me as weird.  Interesting and surprising sometimes, but not often weird so for this exercise I always have to stretch.  This collection at the bank of Lebo Creek seemed slightly out of the ordinary:

Z1 Watch For Weirdness 1

Tent Caterpillars have always freaked me out a little and these I do, very definitely, consider weird.  Point Pelee National Park always plays host to a vast number of these critters, and that’s where I found this mass:

Z1 Watch For Weirdness 2  

#9 Zoom In:

A new venue for birders and nature enthusiasts this year is the Caldwell First Nations’ Boardwalk and it has fast become a favourite of mine.  There are wildflowers galore, snakes, frogs, turtles, waders, geese, ducks and a good number of bird species.

Cup-Plant (Silphium perfoliatum) is an herbaceous perennial of the Aster Family.  It produces pretty, yellow daisy-like blossoms that are favourites of bees and Monarchs alike (and Friday, a caterpillar):

Z1 Zoom In 1

This is Jebediah.  I’ve seen him sunning himself on this same rock three times now.  I’m sure-ish its the same chap each time because there is a vibrant green patch of ? on his left shoulder.  Jeb is an adult Painted who may indeed be a female:

Z1 Zoom In 2

#10 Notice The Invisible:

The call of the Bullfrog has been described as a hoarse croaking and a raspy chirping but believe-you-me, at Sanctuary Pond in Point Pelee National Park, their song sounds a lot like a foghorn.  It is loud enough to make unsuspecting tourists jump - I’ve seen that happen more than once.  Apparently the early European settlers thought the call of the American Bullfrog resembled the noises made by bulls during pre-rut which is how the word bull was added to its name.  Me?  I love the sound and, ‘though a couple of these fellows were very near to me, the marsh vegetation hid them effectively so I didn’t actually see one on Friday but still, there is definite joy in hearing their bugling blast

Z1 Notice The Invisible

#11 Take The Scenic Route:

No matter your favourite scenery, it is easy as pie to find a scenic route in beautiful Essex County:

Z1 Take The Scenic Route 1    Z1 Take The Scenic Route 2 Even (especially?) in a boat, it’s easy to take the scenic route:

Z1 Take The Scenic Route 3

#12 Use All Your Senses:

Smell:

The northernmost boundary of Point Pelee National Park is a very, very narrow road named Mersea Road East.  On the south side is the park (Sanctuary Pond, a marsh and a narrow canal that runs to Lake Erie).  On the north side are some farms and some residences.  The farmland is low and wet (very similar to Holland Marsh) - perfect for growing vegetables.  

Yesterday on Mersea Road East, whilst trying (in vain) to get a decent shot of this Cardinal, all I could smell was garlic from the marsh farms.  Even in the morning, that oh-so-tantalising aroma always makes my mouth water, my tummy rumble and the craving for a bowl of pasta gnaws at my brain.  Pathetic, non?  Still, in using all my senses yesterday, joy was definitely in the scent of the garlic.

Z1 Use All Your Senses 1

Hearing:

Black Willow is my favourite beach at Point Pelee NP because it is seldom used.  I am almost always alone when I spend time there, and this was true on Friday.  I enjoyed a nice walk along the edge of the water looking, as always, for sea glass, accompanied by the sound of the waves landing on the beach.  I love that sound - could listen to it all the day long.  Definitely Joyspotting!

Z1 Use All Your Senses 2

The moments captured on Friday during my Joyspotting adventure are joyful because neither then, nor now, do they seem fleeting.  My outing was pure joy, start to finish.  I hope that one day very soon, you’ll grant yourself time for a walk in nature, that you’ll take along a copy of The Joyspotter’s Guide (link below) and in using it, find yourself astonished and delighted and, wherever you walk or hike, do it joyfully!

’Til next time, y’all…

Joyspotting Z1

*Mary Oliver, “Sunrise”, page 74 from her anthology Dream Work.
**Ingrid Fetell Lee, website:  Aesthetics of Joy. Download your free copy here:  The Joyspotter’s Guide - a great companion to any short walk or long hike you take with your partner, your family or - and especially - all by yourself.