Welcome to The Wrong Side of 40

Meki and Quen from The Wrong Side of 40 waving to visitors interested in exploring Ontario.

We are Jeremy and Becci, and we have decided it’s time to share our adventures in life now that we are in our 40’s. With our love to explore and enjoy all nature we are ready to set out. So here we go…we are exploring Ontario!

Backyard Birding

We did not realize how many birds we could attract to our yard with feeders. We have frequent visitors sometimes up to eight Blue Jays at one time, Cardinals, House Sparrows, House Finch, American Goldfinch to name a few. Now in the winter we are seeing some of our migratory friends like the Dark-eyed Juncos. I sit in my window and watch for as long as possible of these wonderful creatures live.

Watch our backyard bird feeders live through our feeder cam:

Why are we exploring Ontario?

Looking back and considering how we got here, I cannot point to one thing. A series of events led us to drive around exploring different parks and shore lines in the Falls looking for ducks. Traveling from Welland to Chippawa to Niagara Falls and sometimes adventuring out to Niagara on the Lake on the hunt for our webbed-footed friends.

After searching we found the Merlin app, and because of this we were invited to be Backyard birders by Cornell University and count what birds came into our yard.

There was a woman we met at Dufferin Islands who gave us a bit of reality and the seriousness with which we record the species and with that, she let us know that being half sure isn’t helpful. As a result of this encounter, I did not record the Tufted Titmouse.

Off to the interwebs as I go to read about birding and where is a good place to see them. Quickly I learn about Point Pelee and the Spring Migration. We book a hotel then explore for a few days and the need sets in.

I found being outside in nature is the best place I could be, I feel awake and alive. The weight I feel on my couch is not the same as on the trail, park, or side street. Now, is the hard part, how to make it feasible to continue exploring Ontario. Thankfully, I have a partner that is willing to do just about anything I mention.

And as such, I give you… The Wrong Side of 40, why not join us for the ride?

Ampersand

We truly dislike limiting ourselves if we can find the time or think of something interesting. It happens. We prefer to colour outside the lines and keep the creative juices flowing, there are few things that we cannot accomplish should we set our minds to it and with that, I give you Ampersand.

It is a variety of the little things in life that bring us joy and shape our free time with fascinating and unique ideas. When our son was home, we spent many a night making with Pearler beads, rainbow looms, stop motion, Legos, puzzles and every year my family makes Christmas gifts. This has been an on-going process for more than twenty years and we’ve created gifts from popsicle sticks, macaroni noodles, beads, paper mache, mason jars, etcetera. One year each household made a music video based on the lip-sync battle. I promise you, there is nothing better that you can receive and when you come across these items in their homes it is a wonderfully exceptional memory as you try to remember why it looks familiar.