Local ducks and geese are growing quickly…

Remember these (end of May)?

Here they are two months later:

(along with that clutch of “ducklings”)

Third instar?

Unknown butterfly  (Hairstreak?)

Joe Pyeweed are blossoming

As are the broad leaved meadowsweet:  (latifolia)

The invasive purple loosestrife

And another wild spirea … Steeple bush.

A few years ago I sent a photo to EPOD (Earth Picture of the Day).  It was recently revived and some of my friends noticed it.

Here is is again:  Wind Storm on Georgian Bay

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Over the years I posted some stuff to my Galleries on Digital Photography Review.

The easiest way to look at those images is to use the slideshow feature of that site and click “Play” and “Full Screen”.

There are lots of images there  (including some interesting winter shots) so best to brew a cup of tea to keep awake!

We visited Ann and Stefan at Board’s Honey Farm on Friday.  As usual, it was very informative and enjoyable.

Along the way we had to stop to take a few pix…

Pickerel Weed:

Big swamp between Hwy 524 and Restoule:

On Saturday we checked the maturity of the milkweed patch,

and found a huge crop of Milkweed Tussock Caterpillars skeletonizing the leaves of a single milkweed plant:

About 4 hours later, the top was gone and the colony had descended to the bottommost leaves of the same plant.

On a nearby Ash tree I saw this chrysalis of some sort of moth/butterfly.  We’ll keep an eye on it.

Although we’ve checked that site for Monarch chrysalises many times, we’ve yet to see one.  I wonder how far those Monarch caterpillars travel before attaching to something.

We stopped to watch a Wood Duck on the Forest Access Road late Wednesday afternoon.

Here she is:

I looked for ducklings but saw none.  Perhaps the loss of her leg indicates that she escaped from a snapper but not her brood.  I will keep an eye on that pond for ducklings.   She could be one of this year’s brood but it seems early to see her so mature.

Yesterday in bright sunshine we went to Parry Sound via Shebeshekong and Skerryvore Community Road.  Most of the time it was  quite windy, making up-close photography difficult, so we widened our gaze a bit to recapture these scenes:

On the way back we took the long way, via Orange Valley Road, the Nippissing Trail, and Highway 124.

This former residence on Orange Valley Road is gradually returning to earth.

An uncommon sight around here.  Monotropa uniflora

All of the streams are flowing at minimum.  A lot of cottagers in the area so the stop logs are probably in place.

I think that this is some species of Rush.   Hopefully someone can ID it.  About 30 cm high.

We went for a drive along the Jamot Lumber Road to the Bailey Bridge over the very low Pickerel River.  Along the way we saw some birdies, some nice waterlilies, ripe raspberries, green blackberries, moths, butterflies, and some other nice sights.

This looks like a house finch to me.

Monarch Caterpillar.  Fourth Instar?

Nice waterlilies on a calm day…

Breeze came up to reveal the underside structure of a leaf…. with an arrowhead leaf in the foreground.

Froggie behind arrowhead leaf

Broad leafed arrowhead with last blossom of the season.

Rudbeckia hirta with visitor …

Ripe!

These will be ripe in a week or so …

White Admiral on dogbane …  with a curled proboscis.

Two visitors to Solidago, the much maligned goldenrod which takes the rap for Hayfever, usually caused by ragweed.

Aha!  Viper’s Bugloss can be added to the list of nectar producers visited by clearwing hummingbird moths.

Nice hardwood forest, now a part of the Great Lakes Coast Heritage sites.

This might be a Northern Blue.   I didn’t get a chance to see its upper surface.

Always something new!

Back home we had some rain and a day later, some interesting clouds.

A pair of Joe Pye Weeds hugging:

Evening Primrose in the morning rain:

Blue Vervain is starting to bloom:

One of the three fox kits … a little nervous.

Daylilies are blooming along the roadsides.

Bumblebee harvesting nectar…

Along with a great spangled fritillary …

Great Blue Heron sees  me and flushes …

Honeysuckle

Common Fireweed

The carnivorous Common Bladderwort:

Sunset time (about 9 PM) on Big Lake:

Back at Byng Inlet (From the acid dock):

Field across the road from the Dream Inn.  (Jupiter has moved a long ways, relative to Venus and Moon, over the last couple of weeks.

Time to get the Floatboat II into the water and take some pix of the high water in Georgian Bay…. next week.

Doggies and I went to visit kin on Lake Manitou on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Here are some pix of the outbound and return trip:

La Cloche quartzite at Willisville:

Highway cut to the right of the Lawson Quarry, where quartzite is mined to be used as a flux at Vale’s Smelter operations  in Sudbury.  A few years ago Vale made a terrific contribution to the area.

These were taken at sunrise from Green Bay Road:

This Sandhill Crane from Irish Line very early in the morning:

The following were all taken on the return trip later on Wednesday morning:

Natural recovery:

Wild carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) at the Strawberry Island Viewpoint donated by Bob Brailey’s family.  I knew Bob when he was at Falconbridge.  He was a very valuable member of the Cambrian College BoG and left this world much too early.

Common knapweed and harebell blooming at the boat launch to Dreamer’s Rock.

Great sign on an old garage in Whitefish Falls:

You might have to click on this to enlarge the signs.   I don’t know the significance of the bell.  Perhaps storage for an old firewagon??

Doe leaving a lawn in Whitefish Falls:

And then Sudbury and home without much excitement.   Good way to keep it when on the road!

After a (too) short visit with G and W, I went for a short drive down Hwy 529 to see these sights:

First blueberries of the summer!

Dragonflies were out … eating blackflies.  We need some critters to prey on the bumper crop of deer flies this year.

Yes, the much maligned Mississauga Rattlesnake.

Pickerel weeds are blooming profusely:

We enjoyed a very short but pleasant visit with L and her friend Dexter.  Dexter entertained us with his prowess fetching his ball from the Inlet at St Amants:

Outbound:

Inbound:

Soft mouth (until arrival on land, where the ball gets “massaged”).

“My ball”.

A while later we saw an American Bittern hunting along the shore.   I missed getting a picture of it catching a dragonfly out of the air.

Classic “tall” pose.

Hunting ….

Posing…

Swallowing.  It was  eating some little black spheres, size of a pea, that it found in the water.

Stalking with outstretched (very long!!) foot.

Stretching a wing

That was a nice opportunity to watch the birdie in action.

Then on to the milkweed patch …

Bumble Bees were active

As were the Monarchs.

Great spangled fritillary

I photographed this birdie at the top of a dead jackpine, against the sun.    Long ways away and difficult exposure.  My only shot before it flew away.  I have never seen such a birdie before.  Perhaps it is a Black-throated Green Warbler?

Similar difficult shooting situation.  At first I though it was one of the family of Broad Winged Hawks in the area.

But then I noticed the tail.  It might be a Juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk, but I think not.

8:58 PM EDT, Big Lake:

A nice day, topped by my niece’s visit.

UT

We awoke to a reddish sun rising in the east and enjoyed a warm day with a cool breeze off of The Bay.  Here are some flowers, of sorts.  We end with watching the Earth rotate our surface away from the Sun.

Seed head of the much despised Curled Dock.

Nice daylilies along Old Legion Road..

The wild spirea  (Meadow-sweets) are starting to blossom.

And the V. trilobum are filling out.

A thalictrum at the “frilly” stage.  Always difficult to photograph!

End of the day.  Colour thanks to our friends in N. Saskatchewan.