End of November

Southern Ontario, near Hamilton and Toronto, is having very strange weather for the end of November. Yesterday the Spring Peeper frogs were singing and we found a Forsythia bush in bloom. The record high temperature for Hamilton on November 29 was 15.1 C. Yesterday, the temperature reached 15.3 C.



Above is a photo of one of 42 wild flowers that I found last week still in bloom. It is the Heath Aster (Aster ericoides). It is still blooming in our east meadow.

Frosty Morning

When the sun finally came up yesterday, we had a frost show.



Here is a closer look at raspberry leaves.



Even the tops of fence posts looked good this morning.

Mushroom Find

We found these mushrooms growing on a walnut branch on the ground. Any ID information would be appreciated.

Waterfront Trail Walk

While I was out on Friday looking for wild flowers still in bloom, I could not help but stop for some late fall colour. The willows, shown here, as well as oaks and beeches still have leaves hanging on to the twigs. The colours and the reflections in the water caught my eye.



As I walked a bit further along the trail some rustling in the leaves at the side of the trail caught my attention and . . .

November Wild Flowers

I thought there might be one or two people interested in what the Hamilton Naturalists' Club members and I found on a November wild flower walk that I led last Saturday, November 4. (Actually, I added a few others that I found on November 1,2, & 3 in other Hamilton locations.) Altogether we found 71 species in bloom. The names are below with an * beside the names of plants that are NOT native to our area but have naturalized nevertheless.

Alyssum, Hoary *
Aster, Arrow-Leaved
Aster, Calico (Starved Aster)
Aster, Frost
Aster, Heath
Aster, New England
Aster, Panicled
Avens, Wood *
Beggar Tick
Beggar Tick, Tall
Bittercress, Hairy *
Black-Eyed Susan
Bugleweed, Rough
Bugloss, Viper's *
Butter-And-Eggs *
Catnip *
Chickweed, Common *
Chicory *
Cinquefoil, Rough
Cinquefoil, Rough-Fruited *
Cinquefoil, Silvery *
Clover, White Sweet *
Coneflower, Tall
Daisy, Oxeye *
Dandelion, Common *
Dead-Nettle, Spotted *
Dogwood, Red-Osier
Evening Primrose, Common
Fleabane, Daisy
Galinsoga, Small-Flowered
Goldenrod, Blue-Stemmed
Goldenrod, Canada
Goldenrod, Lance-Leaved
Goldenrod, Tall
Goldenrod, Zigzag
Groundsel, Common *
Harebell
Horehound, Black
Horseweed
Knapweed, Blackish (Tyrol Knapweed)
Knotgrass, Common *
Knotweed, Japanese *
Knotweed, Pink
Mallow, Common (Cheeses) *
Mayweed *
Medick, Black *
Motherwort *
Orach
Pennycress, Field *
Peppergrass, Wild
Periwinkle *
Pokeweed
Queen Anne's Lace *
Ragweed, Common
Rocket, Dame's *
Saint Johnswort, Common *
Scorpion-Grass, Blue *
Silverweed
Smartweed, Water
Sow Thistle, Common *
Sow Thistle, Field *
Sow Thistle, Spiny-Leaved *
Spurge, Petty *
Storksbill *
Teasel *
Touch-Me-Not, Spotted
Vetch, Cow *
Vetch, Crown *
Wallrocket
Witch Hazel
Wood Sorrel, Yellow

If there is any interest in getting Latin names for the flowers, have a look at my wild flower web site.

Ants View

If you've read the sidebar of this blog, you know that Églantine and I both post photos on a web site called Flickr. Within Flickr, there are lots of photo pools and one that I belong to is called Utata. This pool often puts up challenges for photos and this past weekend's challenge was to make a photo from an ant's view. Following are my contributions:

First, and I think my best, is an ants view of a Milkweed seed that just landed on a Mullein leaf.



Second is an ants view of Solomon Seal leaves and a stem.



And lastly was an ants view looking skyward towards a Mullein and a Queen Anne's Lace.

Dundas Valley Walk

Had problems with Blogger yesterday and could not upload the photos so this a a day late.
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On October 31 I had the opportunity to walk in the nearby Dundas Valley for almost an hour. I thought some of you might be interested in what I saw.



My first sighting was a White-tailed Deer. I believe that it was fairly young and had never heard of a hunting season, or knew that it was in a protected conservation area, as it did not immediately run away.



Not only did it not run away, it did not walk very fast either. During the next half hour, I was able to get closer to it than I have been to a grown deer. (I've managed to touch a fawn twice in my life by just being in the right place at the right time, but I did not have a camera with me either time.)



Just a bit further along the trail I found this beautiful tree shaded pond in the valley.



And not far from the pond, this Herb Robert was still blooming and putting on seeds.
All together during the last seven days of October, I found 62 wild flower species in bloom. See the full list and a couple more photos at my wild flower web site.