Hello,

I am in Chatham, close to Windsor and Sarnia, listening to some sparrows building a nest at the corner of my window. I was woken by the 6.30 am train hooting as it trundled through perhaps 50 meters away and now have the excited tweets of the birdies.

I have been in the birding capital of Canada, seeing Point Pelee and all the little winged friends. At first, driving down the No. 77 through Comber and to Leamington I wondered where on earth I was going. Rows upon rows as far as the eye could see of covered greenhouses - it reminded me of one of the X-files movies. And then, going through the heart of Leamington, it all came into focus - Heinz has a massive factory there - so that's probably all the tomatoes being grown in the area for your tomato ketchup.

Point Pelee is a funny place. It is swampy, sandy, marshy, and there is a cacophony of both crashing waves and bird song. I wandered around quite happily for a few hours. Now, this is where I should have checked my bird books before writing this... but anyway, there were some strange warblers (!!) and a couple of brilliantly scarlet cardinals (I am presuming). There were red-wing blackbirds everywhere. As for anything else, there really wasn't the mass number I expected of migrating birds, but the forest was alive. It was a little eirie. The squirrels and raccoons are MASSIVE and I saw a muskrat swimming in the reeds at the marsh.

Ok, so for the botanists... what type of orchid is this? At least, I think it is an orchid. It has a gruesome face if you look carefully...

The forest floor was littered with them.

Prior to that little jaunt, I drove through Toronto yesterday morning - a white knuckle drive, with lanes here there and everywhere.

And, prior to that I drove down from Ottawa to Whitby via the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence. I was too early in the season for a boat ride, so instead drove slowly.

I stayed in Ottawa one extra night because I had the opportunity of sleeping in a haunted youth hostel! Just behind the hotel I had been staying in was an old jail house converted into sleeping accommodation for the poor... and so I booked a room in a cell. Didn't see any sign of ghosts, but it was quite fun. I forgot to take a photo. But, on a walk around the back of the parliament buildings, along the Ottawa river, I found these too lovebirds... mallards... enjoying the added vitamins provided in the scummy water! Yummy!

Oh, and I visited Eden Mills yesterday - the place that is going Carbon Neutral - and found that really it isn't as carbon neutral as I thought it would be. I had a lovely chat with a lady who was out doing her gardening, and then gave me coffee and a tour of the little village. That was Margaret Kennedy, for anyone who thinks they might know her.... yeah right! Anyway, if you ever go there, try to find her. Very nice lady. So, not much to report on innovations - seems like we are doing just as much if not more already in Powell River.

You know, the more I see what others are doing, with the exception of more of a concentration on recycling waste in parks, etc., I think we are doing pretty well - but there is always lots of room for improvement.

I am driving north today up the eastern edge of Lake Huron - I'm off in hunt of the underground tomato-growing network...