Birds and Blooms
This lovely park is a popular spot for bird watching
Cheam Lake Wetlands is a regional park located on a plot of land just east of Chilliwack, B.C. The area was originally used as a marl limestone mine until the 1980s, and later became a regional park in 1990. There is a grassy area with picnic tables as well as a chained-off area displaying mining buckets that were used in mining the marl.
The park consists of forest, marsh and the lake, including a beaver pond. There are two loops of trail about one kilometre each in length, and a shorter trail that leads to a lookout point with a view of the lake. The trails are relatively flat, making it an easy walk. Alongside the trails there is quite a bit of vegetation in the form of tall grasses and reeds.
One early spring day, I was strolling in the park and had walked past this goose when I glanced back and saw her hidden in the reeds. She was sitting quietly, apparently untroubled by the people walking by. I did notice, however, that she kept her eye on me the whole time I walked along the trail. I made my way to the lookout point, spent several minutes looking at the lake, and when I returned she was still sitting in the same spot, as quietly watchful as before. She seemed to be posing for me, so I obliged by snapping her photo.
FRIENDLY FLORA
“I wouldn’t say that gardening is my passion, but it is certainly an agreeable pastime,” writes Maryse Tremblay of Dollard-des-ormeaux, Que. “I find it relaxing working in my garden, whether it’s planting flowers in the spring or raking leaves in the fall. My small city garden is not lush and overflowing with flowers due to poor and mostly clay soil, so what does manage to grow is hardy. I find that the hosta (right) is easy to grow, forgiving and reliable.”
DEW-KISSED
“I snapped this dewcovered flower (left) early one morning in my neighbour’s backyard,” shares Jason Soltys of Selkirk, Man.