Way Too Early

Way Too Early, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

Before today, the earliest I had ever seen this plant blooming was September 18. It's the native shrub, Witch Hazel (Hamamélis de Virginie) which usually blooms in the fall. During the last few years I have found it blooming as late in the winter as February. I wonder what this year will bring after this early start.

August 27, 2008 Sunrise

August 27, 2008 Sunrise at Home, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

Happy Birthday to my sister in Kansas!

Before Sunrise

Before Sunrise, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

I was at the Fauquier bridge that crosses the Groundhog River in the Cochrane District of northern Ontario before sunrise on August 19th in fog and this truck came roaring through

Natural Art?

Natural Art?, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

The walls of the Smooth Rock Falls Mill, down near the Mattagami River, show signs of chemicals. They are probably both natural and man made chemicals but the design is all natural.

Having . . .

Having . . ., originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

. . . gove over the Smooth Rock Falls, the waters are still very turbulent.

Photo from the bottom of the Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario dam.

Eglantine (i.e. Fleur-Ange) grew up near these falls and her grandfather, father, brother, and many cousins had worked at the Smooth Rock Falls pulp and paper mill before it closed down a few years ago.

Sunrise in the City

Sunrise in the City, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

Quick photo from the car last week . . . We left early on our road trip to northern Ontario to visit Eglantine's old home town.

Mushroom Fire

Mushroom Fire, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

It's hard to believe that a mushroom could be so bright. I almost needed sunglasses to photograph this one. I believe it is a Waxcap (Hygrocybe of some sort. I am thinking it is Hygrocybe punicea. Scarlet Waxy Cap is one of the English common names for this mushroom. I found this mushroom on one of our cut trails that we have on our property in Southern Ontario near Brantford, Ontario.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

Interesting mushrooms at the base of a Yellow Birch. ID anybody? It's a very damp area and a very damp summer so we have all kinds of mushrooms sprouting up in Southern Ontario.

Just a Sunset Cloud Showing Off

Just a Sunset Cloud Showing Off, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

We have had some nice sunsets after our rains.

Tall

Tall, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

Ontario Wanderer shows his dog, Calla, the tallest Queen Anne's Lace that he has ever found. It is 213 cm (7 ft.) tall. The field guide says it is normally 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 ft.) tall. Lots of plants have grown to record heights with all the rain this year.

Skunk Cabbage February to August

Skunk Cabbage February to August, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

I have been following the Skunk Cabbage all year this year. Here are some of the photos that I have taken since the plant appeared above the snow in February.

Part of the Web

Part of the Web, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

Indian Pipe is a strange plant that appears to be more like a mushroom than a flowering plant. It gets it nourishment from fungi underground which in turn gets nourishment from trees. It has a variety of common names including Ice Plant, Corpse Plant and Fairy-smoke. For lots more information scroll down to the lower part of this site:
http://www.mykoweb.com/articles/Mycorrhizas_5.html

The plant is fairly rare and i don't find it every year but I have found several this year.

Outstanding In The Woods Today

Outstanding In The Woods Today, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

I am not too good at mushroom ID but I am fairly sure that this one is Amanita muscaria or Fly Agaric. It is one of the more poisonous mushrooms in our area. We have them on our property but I found this one beside one of the trails in the Royal Botanical Gardens Arboretum.

Bird Totem

Bird Totem, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

I am enjoying the outdoor sculptures in the Royal Botanical Gardens this summer. There are so many that I need to go back a time or two to see all of them.

Journey Walker 3

Journey Walker 3, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

Sculpture in the Royal Botanical Garden's Rose Garden by Laura Hollick. She has a $8,000.00 price tag on it. This is the final result of the "Work in Progress" that I put up a few days ago. She also has two other Journey Walkers and a Dragon in the series at the park.

Sunset Night-Heron

Sunset Night-Heron, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

This Black-crowned Night-heron was sitting on the fishway at Cootes Paradise in Hamilton, Ontario. The fishway is a place where the canal between Lake Ontario and the Cootes Paradise marsh is fenced off with an underwater fence to stop carp from getting into the marsh area.