Thursday, October 30, 2008

Skim


Skim, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

We had our first skim of snow yesterday, Oct. 29. It did not last long but it was nice to finally see some snow again!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Barn Scene


Barn Scene, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

I went to visit a donkey sanctuary today. There are currently 54 donkeys living there of all sizes and colours. It was a wonderful farm full of very friendly, happy donkeys plus a few mules, goats, sheep, a dog and a few humans too.

www.thedonkeysanctuary.ca/website/index.php

Monday, October 27, 2008

Puff The Not So Magic Puffball

Not as good as a dragon but easier to find. Lycoperdon pyriforme or Pear-shaped Puffball is what it looks like in my Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada book by George Barron.

They usually come in multiples of 5 to 50 or so. I found this one on its own not far from a group of 8 and a few other singles and doubles.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Spindle Tree


Spindle Tree, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

Apparently wood from this large shrub/small tree was used to make spindles in the past. It is a Euonymus closely related to our native Burning Bush but this species came from Europe. We have several growing wild on our property but this one was photographed on RBG grounds on one of the nature trails in the Hendrie Valley.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Evening Primrose


Evening Primrose, originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.

One of 88 species of wild flowers that I found blooming last week Friday. This one was near the Hamilton harbour at the west end of Lake Ontario. I suspect that the waters of the lake keep the shoreline warmer at this time of year letting some flowers continue longer than those further inland.