Urban Arbres

This is a photo of part of the acre of land I own in New York State. (It, and the house that sits on it, are for sale, anyone?)

I love all those trees. Regal white pines and many other varieties shelter an array of wildlife. I regularly saw deer, great blue herons, woodpeckers (including twice a pileated woodpecker), ground hogs, squirrels (mostly of the flying variety), finches, blue jays, cardinals, turkeys, turkey vultures, bats, and of course, mice and crows.

The trees also sheltered the human and feline residents of said acre (that would be Bo and Chico and me) by providing a curtain of foliage between us, the road, and the neighbors. Such privacy...I was spoiled by it and able to walk around in whatever I pleased! Chico was in his birthday suit all the time! I had no curtains on any of the windows.

When I moved to the city, I figured that was all over. Curtains on every window, I thought!

What a pleasant surprise that Bo and I were able to find an apartment that is almost equally sheltered by trees all around! I haven't seen nearly as much wildlife though; only some alley cats, kids and your average city-dweller (montrealeris appartementocratus). (Surpisingly no link was available for this species. Stay tuned to further blog postings. I may spot one and capture it with my digital lens.)

Here is a shot from our back balcony:
A white birch tree and a sort of willow that provide a curtain between us and all of our neighbors on the right side of the alley (including one neighbor's above-ground pool). As you can see from the left side of the alley, we do actually have the need for some curtains...). This picture was taken in July, but the leaves today are still just as green and full (not for long I'm sure!).

The photos that follow were all taken from our front balcony (yes, we have two balconies!):




The last one is a look at our bedroom window. The trees in the front are ash trees and have almost completely lost their leaves. Soon the tourists in the tower of the Olympic Stadium will be able to put a quarter in one of those alien looking binocular things and monitor our every move.

In the first photo taken from the front balcony, notice the staircases...they will be the subject of a future posting.

The weather has slowly turned towards crisp and the sound of my feet rustling in the ash leaves as I head out curtain shopping tells me that fall is finally here. Enjoy the season!