Oshawa 2nd Marsh July 23rd, 2014

Something I enjoy and find interesting is how the plant growth changes in the marsh from year to year. I've only been visiting it regularly for just over 3 years now but the changes are easy to spot, even to someone like me with my not-so-good memory of annual changes. 

There can be an extensive area of one type of wildflower one year and the next year it can be replaced by another. If I only visited once in a while I wouldn't notice the changes but since I make a point of going down at least once a month, even I can see the changes.

Though I'd love to see animals on each visit, sightings are few and far between and it's always a case of being in the right place at the right time. Meer seconds can make the difference. Wildflowers and  fungi on the other hand, are much more co-operative. Insects are somewhat less cooperative, but more plentiful.

This year there's much more Fringed Loosestrife than in other years.

Its blossoms tend to be upside-down.

The boardwalk over the beaver pond is surrounded by cattails and other growth, some poking its way between the boards. Same thing happens every year.

The male and female parts of the cattails are still obvious.

An Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly--the only damselfly I've learned the name of. I think it's the most common one in our area. There are 100s of them in the marsh.

Doll's Eyes (White baneberry)

Dryad's Saddle fungus--common in our area.

I don't have a clue of the names of most fungi and I have to admit I don't really care. I just like to photograph them.

Birch tree bark has interesting colors & appearance, compared to most trees that have a very uniform bark.

One has popped through the boardwalk. It looks like the other one is about to.

Ash tree seed pods are now falling. Kind of colorful. Anything in the plant world that has a golden hue catches my eye.

There's lots of Hedge Bindweed in the marsh now, with most of the blossoms fading to white.

Only a few are hanging on to their color.

Purple-flowering Raspberry. If I look too quickly, I often mistake these for Wild Roses, though if you look at the leaf, the difference is pretty obvious. The shot below this one is a Wild Rose. (Both shots were near the GM HQ)

The water is almost covered with Yellow Pond Lilies & White Water Lilies this time of year. Thanks John.

Red-wings in the cattails. Gathering in flocks already for the trip south?

Mayapples in July. Large fruits and faded leaves.

Wild Cucumber. Its distinctive leaves make it easy to identify. Plus it climbs above almost everything else around.

It can make for some interesting tangles.

I had about 2 seconds to snap this Black Swallowtail. Sometimes you get lucky.

Bull Thistle. Pretty, but be careful.

Bird's nest stage of Queen Anne's Lace. This one was huge compared to most that I see--about 4-5 inches across.

Turkey-tail fungus is one of the most colorful ones. It comes in quite a variety of colors.

A matched pair... Touch-Me-Not (Jewellweed). A few years back Jane & I timed it right and when we touched the blossoms, they lived up to their name and shot out their seeds. I check every year now but haven't timed it right since. Coming soon?

A Red Admiral, warming itself on the boardwalk. Not many butterflies around this year. What's up?

The powers-that-be decided to cut a swath along the berm this year. Not sure why but it spoils the look & feel to my way of thinking. Thousands of wildflowers are lost too.

I do like some of nature's tangles.

Joe Pye Weed...
From the web: The origin of the common name of this plant is uncertain however the most prevalent theory holds that it refers to a Native American named Joe Pye (Jopi), who used this perennial plant to cure typhus in the 1800’s

Only plants and insects this visit. Maybe something from the animal world next time. Would be nice.

The Friends of Second Marsh web site...

http://secondmarsh.ca/

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

http://secondmarsh.outdoorontario.ca/Recreation.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 -

Some Nature, some Military July 2014

While in St. Catharines, we went to a nature area south of town--St. John's CA. There's a small pond there, circled by a walking path. You can always count on seeing some geese, turtles and dragonflies this time of year.

Hanging in the water... dead man's float Jane thought.

I love its color.

Sharing a log.

Tulip trees are common in the area.

A couple young girls were trying to catch frogs or fish for their aquarium. We steered them clear of this one. I think they left empty-handed.

Lake Ontario -- The clouds and whitecaps complement each other.

Thousands of waves crashing & washing over this log wore it down and created the pattern on it.

The local regiment had a 'Tank Day Roll-Past' of vehicles last Saturday. Not many people were there for it. One thing that caught my attention was that there were a couple of women seriously involved. That's pretty rare.

Way to go girls!

Last year the roll-past was on a paved road. This year they decided to kick up some dust on a dirt track.

Some Daisies from the garden that Jane set up on the BBQ table. Jane wondered if I wanted her to arrange them better, but I like the disheveled look. 'Too pretty' can look boring to me... sometimes at least.

We're half way thru July already. Zoom, zoom.

                            - fini -