Back in 1955 I was given a tutoring on nature by a senior gentleman Hespeler neighbor Mr Williams. He had a small orchard with several different fruit bearing trees from cherry, plum, bartlett pear, mac, spye apple and mulberry trees that attracted lots of different birds. Many times my dad would send me across Forbes Street with a mason jar full of soup to give to the elderly couple. In turn we would get to share some of the fruits as they ripened. Mom would preserve some and would also share her canned fruits and applesauce she made from their property trees. I liked them lots and sometimes I would sit and listen to Mr. and Mrs. Williams tell me about the birds and trees on their property. It was what got me first started on recognizing the different species. Not only by site but how they sounded. There calls and songs. Mr Williams could mimic whistle quite a few groups from finches, starlings, grossebeaks, robins and sparrows. Soon I was good at doing the same. I once bugged him to many times asking what tree was this and what was that tree. So on my 7th birthday he gave me these two publications of recognizing trees, leaves and area birds. I took these books with me most everywhere as a kid growing up in Hespeler. I was fascinated by birds and their habits and also soon new my ash from a birch. Its funny how such simple treasures like these two books hold so many good memories. Now being back cruising on road trips seeing the huge tracks of hardwood bushes and trees that surround us here in Woodstock and trying to guess is hard without a refresher image to spark the old grey cells. Birds to are so many more species here than in BC it was time to get out these two books and use them again. Small scribbled notes and seeing them took me back in time. Now I'm confident on what I'm looking at will be named properly and seeing birds from Oxford county will be able to get refreshed on their identities.
Back in 1955 I was given a tutoring on nature by a senior gentleman Hespeler neighbor Mr Williams. He had a small orchard with several different fruit bearing trees from cherry, plum, bartlett pear, mac, spye apple and mulberry trees that attracted lots of different birds. Many times my dad would send me across Forbes Street with a mason jar full of soup to give to the elderly couple. In turn we would get to share some of the fruits as they ripened. Mom would preserve some and would also share her canned fruits and applesauce she made from their property trees. I liked them lots and sometimes I would sit and listen to Mr. and Mrs. Williams tell me about the birds and trees on their property. It was what got me first started on recognizing the different species. Not only by site but how they sounded. There calls and songs. Mr Williams could mimic whistle quite a few groups from finches, starlings, grossebeaks, robins and sparrows. Soon I was good at doing the same.
I once bugged him to many times asking what tree was this and what was that tree. So on my 7th birthday he gave me these two publications of recognizing trees, leaves and area birds. I took these books with me most everywhere as a kid growing up in Hespeler. I was fascinated by birds and their habits and also soon new my ash from a birch.
Its funny how such simple treasures like these two books hold so many good memories. Now being back cruising on road trips seeing the huge tracks of hardwood bushes and trees that surround us here in Woodstock and trying to guess is hard without a refresher image to spark the old grey cells. Birds to are so many more species here than in BC it was time to get out these two books and use them again. Small scribbled notes and seeing them took me back in time. Now I'm confident on what I'm looking at will be named properly and seeing birds from Oxford county will be able to get refreshed on their identities.