I went to a music festival last weekend. It was held at a conservation area in southern Ontario, Canada.
I camped for 4 nights. Crickets sang me to sleep and cawing crows were my alarm clock in the morning. It's so nice to get away from walls for a few days.
I took a walk Sunday morning.
Duckweed (Lemna sp.) grows in a pretty little swamp. The plant is an important source of food for waterfowl. (Click to enlarge.)
Springwater Forest is 150 hectares (370 acres) of Carolinian forest (the Canadian equivalent of America's eastern deciduous forest). Trails wind through the park.
It's been a wet summer and the forest floor is rich with Skunk Cabbage and jewelweed.
Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
Hummingbirds love the flowers and the stems' sap soothes poison ivy and insect bites. The seed pods that form contain spring-loaded seeds that burst and fly with the slightest touch when ripe.
Enormous Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), I couldn't see the top.
A coral mushroom
Plumed Solomon's Seal berries (Smilacina racemosa)
Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra)
White Baneberry, also known as Doll's Eyes (Actaea pachypoda)
Both baneberries are reportedly quite toxic to humans.
Autumn colour is just beginning on Springwater Lake.
Plants are happy to grow wherever their seeds fall.
Canadian Great Blue Herons are more cooperative about being photographed than American ones. Canadians are like that.
It's hard to look at water lilies without thinking of Monet's paintings.
Wetland with cattails (Typha sp.)
The humidity is evident from the background haze. Whew, it was a hot one.
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Back at home (sweet home), things are dry with all the heat. Buckeye leaves are starting to turn and fall. What little grass we have is crunchy and plants are droopy. I'll be happy to get our view back in a few weeks.
Opossum saw not-one-but-two! mature Bald Eagles round the bend this weekend. Just passing through? A breeding pair? Two adults vying for new territory? Stay tuned!
13 comments:
Sounds (and looks) like a perfect getaway!
It isn't all that dry here, so it's still green and jungly…the most lush summer I can remember.
Loved several of your shots…and glad to see you finally managed to find a heron who allowed you to sneak close for a photo. :-)
(Still envy your eagles, though.)
Scribe, it's been downright soggy all summer but we're in a dry stretch at the moment. I thought of your camera-lovin' herons as I was shooting mine -- I was pretty tickled to have gotten one.
That trip must have been balm for the soul! It all looks so beautiful. Awesome pictures. Especially the coral mushroom and spottet jewelweed. I like al impatiens, their flowers are so pretty. And of course I love the Great blue heron picture :) Never saw one of those, though their gray cousin is like vermin here. There are dozens fishing the ponds and canals in my city. Not shy at all, great for picture taking. But no bald eagles here, I would give anything to see them in the wild!
I must admit the pictures are stunning and the idea of camping out are really neat but the humidity does me in quick.
Thanks, Jenny! Herons as "vermin," ha ha ha! When O saw the eagles through the trees the other day, he first thought they were herons. It wasn't until he saw their white heads that he identified them. Perhaps they'll be vermin here, too, one day!
Abe, I'm no fan of humidity and can't believe I spent so much time OUTDOORS in August! Beer, music, and friends (not necessarily in that order) are a huge draw.
Thanks for your kind words about my pics, I appreciate it.
Hi Jain
this is a lovely series of pics. The Springwater lake and forest look like a great place to walk...
We have herons or blue cranes about this size that love to sit on the edge of my river or along the rocky ocean coastline.
The doll's eyes are a bit spooky...
Happy days
Beautiful photos. Looks like such a lovely little trip to me. The woodland trail photo looks just like a trail I walk often.
I love early morning walks too.
What a good time you must have had Jain...music, camping, and nature walks. Your photos of the lake are beautiful.
Thank you, Delwyn. It is a lovely place for a hike; I wish I could get there more often. I agree with you about the doll's eyes!
Rita, it's nice that we can find familiarity in uncommon places. Parts of the trail could have been in southern Ohio, and others in northern Michigan.
Thank you, Wanda! It is a great event in a beautiful spot.
Nice experience. Glad that you shared. http://rd3.ca
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