Out & About in May - # 3 May 2013

It's already June but I have one more post from May.

A sure sign of spring in our area is a hillside covered in Trilliums. Maybe because it's the provincial flower, it's one that almost everyone recognizes. But if you don't get out in a forest somewhere in May, they come & go without you knowing they were ever here.

These were at a long-standing Nature Club member's property. The club has had an outing to the property every year in Spring for many years now to see the wildflowers there.

A few reds in the mix.

A shy blossom.

An interesting fungus on a tree at the property.

Bellwort

A group of us were in downtown Oshawa to capture a few shots. This is in Memorial Park. 

The expression on the soldier's face caught my eye.

There aren't many Sycamore trees in Oshawa. Their seed-baubles are easy to spot. This tree towers about 40 ft.

In a shop window.

Branch of a Ginkgo tree in front of a downtown church. The experts say that they date back to the dinosaur age. The leaves are fan-shaped and in bunches on individual pegs. Odd.

Some Garlic Mustard on the path. It's a bumper year for it. There's tons of it. Pretty, but an invasive, and it crowds out so much other growth.

Poison Ivy, short & tall.

Resin on a Spruce tree. It protects wounds on the tree. It's still used by some to seal Birchbark canoe seams apparently. And some chew it as a wholesome, sugarless 'Spruce Gum'. I'll pass.

Once the trees are in full leaf, there are 3 or 4 'tree tunnels' on the path. They're a welcome break on a hot, sunny day.

We have a Flowering Crabapple tree. When it sheds its blossoms, the front garden, lawn, driveway & car are covered... feels like you're in a floral celebration of some sort.

Still my favourite in our garden in spring... Forget-Me-Nots.

We feed the birds so the birdbath isn't just for looks. It's well used by our feathered friends. And the squirrels and chipmunks.

Tom Sawyer? Huck Finn?

The Port Hope camera club toured the St. Mary's Cement plant near Bowmanville.

In the quarry. They said they have enough limestone to last another 89 years. The guide told us they find lots of fossils. "Any dinosaurs?" I asked. "I hope not" he said, "Someone will shut us down if we did find one."

They have their own port on Lake Ontario. It's sealed off from public access because of the nuclear plant next door.

This video clip shows part of the roller mill. We saw inside a few buildings. This was one of the brighter ones, at least this part of it. Most areas were dusty and dimly lit. It was eerie in that the machines were churning and clanking away but there was no sign of any human operators.

I felt like I was in some future factory from a sci-fi movie. There were conveyor belts, these rolling mills, furnaces, etc. but no humans, just us 'tourists'. The human operators are in a clean control room in another building. Eerie for sure.

And another May bites the dust.

- fini -