From the Earth to the Sky

 I have been thinking lately about how much I enjoy birding on my way to work, from Wyoming to Sarnia.  There are a few destinations that create the foundation of my nature experience.  I realized that most of them centre around Blackwell Rd. and Blackwell Sideroad.  I have researched the history a bit and have come to learn that the road has been named after Thomas Blackwell, who arrived from England in 1857 and helped to manage the expanding Grand Trunk Railway system, and was the General Manager from 1858 to 1862.  The railway built a stop just west of Blackwell Sideroad , freight trains used this stop to load gravel from a local northern pit.  In 1877 a passing train sparked a fire that destroyed the original station building, workers later replaced it with a smaller structure.  The stop served as a flag stop for passengers until service ended in 1952.  Crews converted the old railway line into the Howard Watson Nature Trail.  Blackwell R...

  Baltimore Checkerspot Euphydras phaeton Question Mark Polygonia interrogationis Summer Azure Celastrina neglecta Appalachian Brown Lethe appalachia Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa Monarch Danaus plexippus Black Swallowtail Papillo polyxenes Common Wood Nymph Cercyonis pegala Tawny Emperor Asterocampa clyton Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papillo glaucus Common Checkered skipper Burnsius communis Red Spotted Purple Limentis arthemis puddling Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta Summer 2026 has been a pretty mediocre summer for insects in my experience.  The extreme heat, rain and poor air quality due to forest fires up north have added to the mix.  This time of year I love to get out in the heat and humidity to check out the butterflies and dragonflies as well as damselflies when I can.  I am continuing to do an ebird checklist daily, though I often refer to them as 'bugcrawls"  I participate in a few NABA butterfly counts per year, Pinery PP, Rondeau PP, Sydenham Nature r...

 As an educator we are forever being thrown new theories on how we learn.  This one has stuck with me and I have seen it over and over in myself and others.  The theory is that there are zones of learning that are more effective to be successful at learning that skill.  When something is too easy, we get bored and lose the motivation to learn, when something is too hard, we grow frustrated and give up, when something is within our reach and with the help of others , we can learn the skill, that is the sweet spot where the learning sticks.  Learning is most effective when tasks are just out of reach but achievable with guidance from a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)  This theory was developed by Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky, the theory emphasizes that learning is fundamentally a social process.  Pileated Woodpecker In creating curriculum for different age groups and levels, knowing this is very helpful.  In learning about our more than human wor...