Here are some of the beauties we saw the last couple of days:

Wild Lily of the Valley or Canada Mayflower (and many other common names):

Two Striped Grasshopper, a very sexually active beast.

Blueberries are still blooming …

Arctic Skippers are skipping from plant to plant …

So are the Fiery Skippers …( The R.O.M. Field Guide to Butterflies of Ontario says this, “Prior to the early 1990s this was a fairly rare migrant to Ontario, with most records occurring in the fall and restricted to Southwestern Ontario.  Since then it has gradually been extending its range in the province and typically arrives earlier in the season.  In 2012, several localized colonies were observed in Prince Edward County and Ottawa.“)

When I first tried to ID this butterfly I was put off by the various statements that indicated that we were too far north for this critter.  Perhaps it is adapting and/or the winters are getting milder.

The farmers’ and gardeners’ hero(ine) the Ladybug ….

These two images are of Anja’s flowers …

A few days ago I posted an image of these two adults on their nest at Big Lake.  Here they are taking their brood for an outing on the rocks near the pond.

Better image of  Lambskill or Sheepskill Laurel than the previous.   They are not easy to get close to unless the photog uses waders (or Rooper Poots, as my Finnish friends call them).

Whiteface atop a flag …

More mature fleur … Iris versicolor …

and its close cousin … B. E. G.

Chalk fronted Corporal is having a rest ..

I had never seen a Blandings Turtle (Threatened in Ontario) in the water before.  The spots suggested a Spotted Turtle but the yellow chin and size (about a 20 cm carapace) confirmed it as a Blandings.  This one moved quickly from the side of the road to a ditch along Station Roads.

Lupin in a field off of Station Road….

The grey body enveloped by the white fluff is a Wooly aphid, unpopular with gardeners and horticulturists.

And, finally…. a colourful Yellow Pond Lily or Spatterdock  blossom, photographed last evening — just as the sun was going down.

I suspect that springtime is when we see the maximum power of the biodiversity in our natural surroundings.