These photos were taken on Riverside Rd & Boucher’s Quarry Rd. over the last couple of days.

Long Dash Skipper  common small, nectaring close to ground usually on vetch.  I often see it competing with European Skippers for vetch nectar.

All of the skippers (that I am starting to learn about) are small, flit quickly and nectar for about 20 seconds max.  So I have to be quick with the camera to photograph them.  A good challenge.

The hoverfly on the Daisy is about to have a visitor.

“I’ll nectar this side.  You can have the bottom half, since I am bigger than you.”

Another hoverfly from the poster at the above link.  This time on Canada Anemone:

Yet another kind, this time on a Common Yarrow.

A month  ago (May 20th) I photographed some blossoms on a scrubby little tree on Boucher’s Quarry Rd.  I thought that it was a hawthorn.  Wrong.  I then corrected and suspected some wild apple.  Wrong again.  It is now obviously a wild Prunus Prunus spp.  of some sort.  I hope that I can beat the birdies, bears, and others to taste these when they ripen a bit more.  Now about the size of a small prune.

And here is one of my favourite plants, a good insect attractor and later a fruit that makes a great jelly.  Just don’t plan in staying in your kitchen after making the jelly.  It will stink of rotting hockey socks!!!

Notice the signalling blooms on the perimeter …

And the tri-lobed leaves, very different from another viburnum, the Northern Wild Raisin leaf, eh?  Viburnum trilobum.

Finally, another butterfly, this time a migrant.  Vanessa virginiensis  or American Painted Lady.   Those two heavily mascara’d eyes are a dead give away.

I got a bit behind with  this blog.  I was busy trying to ID various critters.  That takes a lot of time when one is very non-expert.  Although I  remember some of my high school Biology with Mr Marshall, I am very lacking in the systematics.   So you might want to scroll down to see if you’ve missed any jewels of photography / prattle below.

Mary Holland sent emails about the Northern Pitcher Plant … probably soon to bloom around here.  I remember seeing some about a mile into the bush where I used to live.  I’ll have to see if I can find someone to wander there with me.

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