On the Path -- December 7th, 2011

This time of year I find that there's less in nature to photograph but if you're a nature lover you always find something. And, as always, nature holds surprises any time of year. Not always something of note, but something that attracts your eye just the same and makes you want to linger a little.

And in the fall, with the leaves gone and the heavy growth of summer shriveled and shrunken, things appear that otherwise were lost in the crowd. This is their time to be noticed.

I took my camera along today, just planning to record the march of the seasons really, but I found a couple gems... though I realize they wouldn't be considered gems to everyone.

Almost all leaves are on the ground now, with only the odd one or two clinging on stubbornly to a tree branch or shrub.


The green along the path is Garlic Mustard preparing for the year ahead.

The woods have filled up with leaves, soon to fill up with snow as Robert Frost put so well.

One of natures tangles.

 

It's always the odd man that stands out, this being the only tree that has lost all of its bark, all 40 ft or so of it. Seems odd.

Maybe I should have taken a wider shot to show more dramatically that these were the only leaves in this part of the woods that were still on a bush and still had strong colors.  

Another of nature's tangles. What's pleasing to the eye doesn't always make for an interesting image. But even if it's just a record shot, it still tells a story and it brings back the moment that you enjoyed.

Being December, red & green always brings Christmas to mind for me.

Another hanger-on.

I'm wondering if this is the fall display of New England Asters. This time of year you seldom see masses of any color so these jump out at you.

Bull Thistles' thorns sure are obvious now, even looking a bit threatening. In the summer they're lost amongst the thistle's greenery.

It was a real treat for me to find these so close to home. There are only two plants amongst the 100s of others so I didn't see them in the summer, at least not knowingly.

I'm not sure what they are but this time of year they have hard, white seed casings on them, only about 1 mm in diameter, like tiny pearls. I've only seen them once before, near Port Hope. The ones there were about the size of a pea.

 

There's nothing like a walk in nature to revive your love for life, in all its forms, if we truly see what we look at. Nature really is good for the soul.

- fini -

2nd Marsh -- December 4th, 2011

I can't believe it! I hadn't been to the marsh since November 1st. What with rainy days and a dragged out bout with the flu or whatever it was, and busy getting other things done in between, I was definitely getting antsy to get back for a visit.

Even today was drizzly but on the way to do another errand I dropped by the marsh anyway. I judged from the sky (especially out over the lake which is where the marsh is after all) that the rain was pretty much over so I figured I didn't need an umbrella or a jacket with a hood... wrong again.

The marsh is showing us various shades of December brown now, with touches of green or yellow here and there. Some of the green that's still there is brilliant. This looks like next year's crop of Garlic Mustard.

Light brown, dark brown, medium brown...

A resident pair of White-Breasted Nuthatches came out to say hi today and to see if I had any seed for them. I happened to have s few sunflower seeds in my jacket pocket so they followed me for a couple 100 yards.

A pair of Downy Woodpeckers joined the three of us but they weren't interested in sunflower seeds, preferring to dig in the tree bark for something tastier. 

I only noticed when I looked at this picture the lack of symmetry on the female's back... didn't notice when I took the picture. It doesn't look like it's because she has her wings folded differently or anything obvious. Maybe she's missing some outer feathers.

Farewell Creek from the bridge.

I was about as far from the car as I got for the day and the rain started. It was light, but enough that I just tucked my camera under my jacket and headed back to the car at a pretty brisk pace, not being sure if the rain would get heavier or not. Luckily it didn't.

Even with the rain it was good to finally get back to the marsh for a look at things, though it turned out to be a quick visit.

The Friends of Second Marsh web site... 

http://secondmarsh.science.uoit.ca/

A direct link to a map of the paths/trails in the marsh...

http://secondmarsh.science.uoit.ca/Recreation_Map.html

A link to a page that has my past posts re the marsh, in one place rather than scattered throughout this blog...

http://rgbell.ca/2/

- fini -