Out & About in May - # 2 2013

For a few days in May, if conditions are right, nature decorates some of our streets & sidewalks with her Maple blossoms.

Individual blossoms are tiny, about the size of a small pea, but en masse they're a sight to see.

I think these are all from Norway Maples (I didn't look closely enough)... the yellow ones from the green-leaved trees and the 'orangey' ones from the red leaved Norways.

I went up to Enniskillen CA to check for red Trilliums. It's a hot spot for the reds. In fact, I've only seen one white one there.

Red Trillium blossoms are generally smaller than the whites, though not always. They're also camera shy, bowing their heads more often than not. The leaves can be huge.

Because they're less common than the whites, the reds tend to get more attention from us.

Fiddleheads having a family conference.

A mass of Maple blossoms at Enniskillen. They're easy to miss, almost disappearing amongst the leaves.

It's easier to spot them on the ground.

Tiny, but beautiful.

This fox startled me, when I spotted him about 10 or 12 feet in front of me. It only took a second to realize something wasn't right. He wasn't looking at me and he was just too still, not moving at all. Turns out it's a stuffed one that someone decided to leave in the woods, just on the edge of the parking lot. Strange.

Marsh Marigolds at Enniskillen.

These Dryad's Saddle fungus were at Enniskillen too. It's a common one in the Spring in our parts. One of my favourites.

I found a few things to shoot on the path this week. This catkin is from one of the Poplars. These cottony 'necklaces' always remind me of ones that I saw as a kid in Moose Jaw.

The variety of colors on this Birch caught my eye.

I thought this was interesting... the stump from a multi-trunked tree I assume.

Colors caught my eye here too... cones on a spruce. Male & female ones at various stages I think. Mother Nature decorates in Christmas colors in May it would seem.

Manitoba Maple... blossoms have been replaced with keys. This is one maple where the leaves look nothing like other maples. Maybe that's why the Americans call the tree Box Elder. Some people think some of its leaves look like flames.

Most of the keys on this branch haven't opened yet so they look like loop-earings or chains.

A bush in the ditch on the path. From someone's garden no doubt.

Interesting, in that it's covered with 1000s of tiny blossoms, crowded together.

How many sub-divisions in Ontario are on what used to be apple orchards? Ours is. They're still some apple trees in the ditch on the path... neglected but going strong.

I have more for May but will save them for a later post. A lot happens in May in nature.

- fini for now -