I looked across the Hamilton Harbour just as Defasco put up a lot of smoke and steam at the steel mill.
I am still annoyed with myself for not doing the tour in the days when they were still doing them. Too many safety regulations these days to allow the public in. (I expect gyms to be closed soon for the same reason.)
A week ago I went with RBG staff and people from Guelph University to look for the Rose Moss (Rhodobryum roseum). It was to be used for research by a researcher in Spain. This moss is rare in Ontario but found in several places in our area. As you can see, we found it!
It's been a while since I spent time with my watercolours. This was the second of my attempts in class at a wet-on-wet painting and the first painting that I finished this term. I have several others in various states of being "almost finished." This one too could probably benefit from more work but it seems safer to leave well enough alone for now.
Last year on Nov. 22 we had almost 2 cm of snow on the ground with temperatures between - 11 C and - 4 C. This year I found this snake not far from a wild strawberry and a thyme-leaved speedwell that were blooming. The temperature is currently + 9 C and the sun is going down in the late afternoon.
This Musk Mallow (Malva moschata) was blooming on November 20 next to the Hamilton Harbour just off the Waterfront Trail. I saw several other Musk Mallow plants but only this one was blooming.
Dipsacus fullonum ssp.sylvestris is the Latin name. I did not find any blooms but the seed heads are just as interesting. People often spray paint them for flower arrangements but I like them as they are much better.
This small flower is a kind of wild geranium and was still blooming, in a protected, sunny spot on November 20th. (I also found about 50 other species on my wild flower hunt today.)
The people of Cuba seem to like pastel colours for their buildings. I am reminded of other places on the water in Newfoundland and Italy. Buildings in Cuba tended to be very clean and freshly painted or in poor states of repair with not many in-between states. (Photo from March of 2009)
Another mixed media piece that I found quite intriguing in the small gallery in downtown Cienfuegos, Cuba last March. If I remember correctly it was paper mache and acrylic paint.
Easy 10 k run this morning so I had enough energy to cut and haul wood this afternoon. I was cleaning up some old fallen trees in the area behind the barn where the donkey and goats spend their time.
Looking for late mosquitoes . . . (I found a winter mosquito last year in December.)
Found at the Hamilton, Ontario waterfront on November 13, 2009. It was one of fifty-seven species that I saw in bloom today in the same area. Also included in the fifty-seven were three species that I had never seen before in November. My list of wild flowers found blooming in November is now up to 201 species seen in the last 11 years.
Walked out to the road for a slightly different perspective on the sunrise for this photo.
Sorry, Romeo, it's just our barn but the goats and donkey would be glad to see you. Bring treats!
Calla and I were doing our morning, pre-dawn walk through the fog in the east field this morning when I saw this view of our barn through the trees in early light. These days, the animals eat before we do.
In 1981 I led my first Naturalists' Club walk looking for wild flowers in late October. Today Eglantine and I will lead another late fall wild flower hike. This is number 28 for me. If you are in the Hamilton area, meet us at 1:30 p.m. at the large parking lot at Princess Point to see what flowers are still blooming. You do not have to be in the club to come walk.
Even when the fields look brown, there are still flowers blooming if one looks closely. There are several species of goldenrod and aster blooming in our brown looking fields at present.
