Tag Archives: Tamarack

20170607 Choke cherry, vireo, pearl crescent, puddling swallowtails, orange hawkweed, pussytoes, tamarack, lily of the valley, sandcherry, blueberry, blue-eyed grass

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Choke cherry, vireo, pearl crescent, puddling swallowtails, orange hawkweed, pussytoes, tamarack, lily of the valley, sandcherry, blueberry, blue-eyed grass

“Loveliest of trees, the cherry now,

Is hung with bloom along the bough,

…..”

When I first saw this flower I thought it was a goatsbeard.  Now, I don’t think so.  We’ll have to watch it on the Old Still Road to see its progress.

This unknown birdie on the Old Still River Road might be a red eyed vireo.  It sang then flitted.

I suspect that this sparrow is bringing a protein lunch to a nearby nest, well hidden in the low thicket.  I was lucky to get a focus on the birdie!

Pearl Crescent in a driveway on Old Still River Road …

Ah!  Thanks for the profile:

In same driveway, three Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (canadensis) are either puddling or mating.

First appearance of Orange Hawkweed.  In spite of its red/orange colour, to which bees are blind, I still see lots of pollinators coming for a visit.  Pilosella aurantiaca (fox-and-cubs, orange hawkweed, tawny hawkweed, devil’s paintbrush, grim-the-collier)

Pussytoes ( Antennaria ) are progressing.   I hope to spot “antennae” sprouting soon.

Hmmm.  I don’t have this one identified yet.  Help!!

Edit:   It looks like a Harvester.

Tamarack cones are maturing … soon to turn brown.  Some pollen pods are still visible and presumably active.

The shadow caught my eye, giving a nice 3D effect…

I am pretty well convinced that this is a sandcherry (In spite of the purple stamens).

Nice warm weather but no pollinators, yet.

Nice patch of blue-eyed grass in the ditch in front of Steve’s house:

An explanation for those Bare Trees filled with Vultures – Western Movie Style.

 

20170531 Trillium, Cinquefoil, Moose, Cotton Grass, Bunchberry, Dragonfly, Starflower, Snapping turtle, Clintonia, Sheepkill, Labrador tea, Blue-eyed grass, Tamarack

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Trillium, Cinquefoil, Moose, Cotton Grass, Bunchberry, Dragonfly, Starflower, Snapping turtle, Clintonia, Sheepkill, Labrador tea, Blue-eyed grass, Tamarack

We took some detours on our way to and from Parry Sound on the last day of May and saw some nice sights ….

Including this field of maturing Trillium grandiflorum along the bank of Harris Creek along Hwy 529.

When this marsh plant shows it little purple flowers we’ll be able to positively ID it as Potentilla palustris.

New mom with calf  south of Pte au Baril  ….

Cottongrass, probably this one:

Bunchberry, Cornus canadensis, one of the three flowers competing for Canada’s National Flower. Voting closes on June 30, 2017.

Labrador Tea …  easy to identify by the rust-coloured  wooly underside of its mature leaves.

Either a solitary bee or a fly …

Thankfully the Dragonflies have arrived.   Outdoors folks are thankful because of the huge numbers of mosquitoes and black flies they consume.

Starflower:

Keeping a beady eye out for the photographer taking a close up.  Click on the photo to see it really close up…..

This article tells how to pick up a Snapping turtle, if you really need to.  I’ll let someone else do it if required.

Clintonia borealis (commonly blue-bead lily or Clintonia, also Clinton’s lily, corn Lily, cow tongue, yellow beadlily, yellow bluebeadlily, snakeberry, dogberry, and straw lily) are just starting to bloom.  It’s blossoming follows the yellow Trout Lily in deciduous forests  by a week or two.

Kalmia angustifolia contains a poison and is known as ‘lamb-kill’, ‘sheep kill’, ‘calf-kill’, ‘pig laurel’, ‘sheep-laurel’ and ‘sheep-poison’.  It is also known as narrow-leaved laurel and dwarf laurel.   It has a pretty flower and is often in association with leatherleaf, labrador tea, cottongrass, bog rosemary and a variety of sedges … often in tamarack bogs.

Blue-eyed grass holding some rainwater …

Female cone along with several male pollen “cones” along a Tamarack twig .

I just looked at Mark Berkery’s latest post Black and White – I fly.    Very interesting subject from a very interesting man who happens to also be a great photographer.

 

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