We have been seeing some nice phenomena over the last few weeks.  Here are some samples.  Some are worth clicking on to get full screen & full impact.

Full moon rising behind my house on August 17th…

Twin Rivers under a threatening sky, before the storm…

Rainclouds over Big Lake …

Fishers out in the rainstorm…

Still River reflecting some skylight through morning mist …

Across from the Legion …

Hamlet of Byng Inlet across Byng Inlet from Britt ….

Cottage on Byng Inlet …

My former waterfront fixed up with a nice little bridge over the stream…

Murdock River at Hwy 607 Bridge …

Michelle and Paul’s Willow…

Looking west from North Road, Loring…

Lily Pads on Hwy 522 …

A few minutes before sunrise on the Still River …

Rising sunlight on the hamlet of Byng Inlet …

Another sunrise on my former location …

Nice country that we live in, eh?

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We got behind with keeping the blog up to date with lots of other pressing things —- like making some photos.  Here are the results of a leisurely trip up Hwy 529 a week ago, with minimal text.  I want to get these up on the blog, mainly as a record of what is seen in mid-August around here.

This critter had been eating the Evening Primrose petal —

—- and is in the process of launching for another foray … or perhaps heading home with a full belly!

A beetle on milkweed …

And a ladybug on milkweed …

Bald-faced hornet on milkweed …

Unidentified wasp, not even in this wonderful resource:

http://www.scorpionfly.ca/plants/wildlifegarden/Beneficial%20wasps.html

This looks like a Great Black Wasp:

First time I’ve noticed the interesting hooks on the reproductive structures of Goatsbeard.

Fireweed with visitor …

Wild Sarsaparilla with its (apparently) sweet, spicy seeds…

Dragonfly, stopping to chew its food …

Banquet at the Joe Pyeweed patch….

Another dragonfly, this time hanging on to a milkweed leaf…

I suspect that the above female are laying the eggs for the last generation of Monarchs to hatch before they head south.   Mary Holland has a very nice article on the subject of the last generation.

https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/eggs-of-migrating-generation-of-monarchs-hatching/

We went to Roxy’s in Port Loring for a taco salad lunch.  I should’ve made a photo of the plate as it was a home-made taco in the shape of a bowl filled with a very nice Mexican salad: tomatoes, olives, onions, lettuce, cheeses, chilies, refried beans, sauces and served with a generous dollop of sour cream.

Along the way we stopped to make some photos of the scenery along Hwy 522.

The light westerly wind aloft was gently lifting the moist air evaporating off of Georgian Bay to form very nice Cumulus clouds.

The swamp/lake just west of the Lost Channel Road.

Across from Young’s Road.

Lucky to see some joy-riding at the Ess Narrows Bridge!

Last week’s rain has had a great greening effect on the streambanks…

And it has refloated this patch of waterlilies:

Looking West from the North Road outside of Loring.

Now looking east, further north along the North Road …

After lunch we stopped to investigate this Model T Ford being loaded by cable boom crane:

Aha!  No driver.  A roadside attraction concocted by a local farmer.

What a windshield design!  Before the days of air-conditioned truck cabs.

A  little further along Hwy 522, westbound, we see a stormcloud building up over Brooks quaint little acre.

This reminds me of How Green was my Valley (before the coming of coal):

Ess Narrows again, this time looking south.

And, finally, late in the day, the wind has died down and blue sky returns from the west.

All of the above were taken with the FZ1000 camera, giving the long lens (and the bugs) a rest.

Earlier today I came across this wonder World Wildlife Fund Sequence:

https://vimeo.com/50672419

I think you’ll enjoy it, especially the cute ending!

We attended to some neglected dental issues in Parry Sound, and on the way back we took our mind off of some discomfort by stopping to view some scenes,  some close-up and some further away.

Thistles attract a wide variety of bugs — in addition to Goldfinches when the seeds are mature.

A hoverfly is leaving this Chicory blossom just as the shutter clicked …

This very small dragonfly posed for several minutes before resuming its foraging for flies.

Yellow Pond Lily or Spatterdock has been blooming for at least 6 weeks and continues to provide food and habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, including these beasties:

This might be a bald faced hornet:

Tamarack cones are maturing and will soon release their seeds to the wind.

(Laricina is Latin for larch-like. Tamarack comes from an Algonquin word, akemantak, meaning “wood used for snowshoes.”)

The berries of the northern wild raisin are ripening, good food for ruffed grouse especially.   Last year with the loss of the blueberry and chokecherry crops these berries were eaten by bears very early in their cycle.

After another day of gentle rain the fungi and lichens, including these complex British Soldiers were fruiting.

And, finally, two scenes along Skerryvore Road, off of Shebeshekong Road.

Mary Holland just wrote an interesting article about Great Spangled (and other) Fritillary Butterflies.  Violets, eh?   Every plant has its relationships.

We had a day of much needed gentle rain.  So we got the camera out to see what we could see.  Some samples from along the side of Riverside Drive:

Lone drop on this Goldenrod showing the rock outcrop behind …

The base of the stem indicates a Chokecherry.  If the base were more like an eggplant it would be a Blackcherry.

A pair of hollyhock blossoms …

Red pine needles are very firm, hold up under the drops.  White pine needles behave quite differently…

Highbush cranberries are ripening.   This photo shows the origin of the botanical name for this plant, Viburnum trilobum   (three lobed leaf)

My sister put me onto this exceptional photographer of birds in flight:  (Click on the images to see more, especially the hummingbirds:)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8269306/Birds-in-mid-flight-photographed-by-Roy-Hancliff.html

And a friend sent this link along.  More exceptional photography:

http://www.wired.com/2016/08/xavi-bou-ornitographies/

Click on the little arrows to see a nice variety of bird flight patterns.

We haven’t been out much in the hot winds of mid summer.  But we did take some short drives to see some interesting beasties over the last few days.  What we saw:

A potter wasp on milkweed leaf …

Female monarch taking nectar, possibly before laying eggs on the milkweed leaves.

Little bee picks up the shaft of sunlight illuminating part of the butterfly’s left wing.

Sand digger wasp taking nectar from milkweed blossoms —- along with two little friends!

One of the many Duskywings (Columbine?)commonly seen in Ontario.

Yes, we have curious pigeons in Britt also.

And lots of grasshoppers in the hot dry weather ….

Hoverfly?

Chokecherries are ripening now, much to the delight of wild critters.

Hollyhock near fisherman Eddie’s place …

Riper chokecherries, ready for making jelly (or wine).

Highbush cranberries, ready for stinking up a kitchen in a few weeks.

Virgin’s bower …

…. with the beautiful “granulations” in the petals …

First time that I’ve ever seen a flock (about 20) of these birdies.

Rictal hairs …. a giveaway to an insectivore used to catching prey in the air…  An Eastern Kingbird.

The first time I’ve ever seen a Goldfinch taking a larva possible to stock up on protein, as they have a very late breeding season.

All as this old crow eyes the photographer warily…

We need some rain to see these Ghosts of August!