"Out & About" Photo Blog

2nd Marsh -- March 4th, 2012

2012-03-04T22:45:00.000-05:00

It had been over 2 weeks since I was at the marsh so it was calling me. I can only ignore the call for so long... then I have to go, even if there isn't anything new to be seen. My curiosity gets the better of me.

There's lots of moss now to add some green to the browns that are dominant this time of year. Botanists tell us there are over 12,000 species of moss. Nature loves variety. Mosses are non-vascular plants as the botanists call them. ie. They don't absorb water through their roots and transport it to their leaves, they get the water directly through their leaves.

That's why they are so drought-tolerant. Sprinkle some water on them after a long drought and they come back to life, while the vascular plants may have died.

Unlike the ones above, this one is only a fraction of an inch high, rather boring compared to the others.

It's only at this time of year that you can see how much water & ice there is to form the vernal pools that we'll soon see.

Farewell Creek from the bridge.

I'm not sure this beaver knows what he's doing. He doesn't appear to be very good at taking down trees. But their teeth never stop growing so maybe he's just keeping them from becoming fangs.

A beautifully colored fungus.

Moss, fungus and lichens. This is their time of year to get some attention, not having to compete with all the green growth and wildflowers that follow. The Lichen "cups" are intriguing.

This is also the only time of year you can see the channels in the Beaver Pond, though even now you can't see much.

This is the surface of a large salt & pepper rock that's near the path. Is the black volcanic? Probably not in this part of the world.

Be different and stand out in a crowd.

I didn't see anything out of the ordinary today, but you don't know whether you will or not sitting at home.

- fini -

Lynde Shores Conservation Area -- March 1st, 2012

2012-03-02T20:34:00.008-05:00

I went to Lynde Shores yesterday, just after the snowfall, looking for some snow shots... something different than those from the path the other day. It's like chasing rainbows. By the time I was there, most of the snow was off the trees. Maybe next year.

But there were a bunch of Mallards there and they were courting. The females were nod-swimming (lower their heads to the water), and the males were carrying on too.

I guess the males are practicing; the females aren't paying any attention.

Interesting ripples in the water.

The females were definitely outnumbered... and into nod-swimming constantly.

For those that are interested...

Mallard Mating Rituals

Mallards perform in the fall and winter as well as the spring. Their displays are subtle and brief. Males swimming in the presence of females may be seen shaking their heads (head-shake display) and tails (tail-shake), often doing the head-shake with their breasts held clear of the water and their necks outstretched.

They also raise their wingtips, heads and tails briefly and then swim with their necks outstretched and held close to the water (head-up-tail-up). Groups of four to five males may swim around females, arching their necks, whistling, then lowering their bills below the water surface and jerking their bills up to their breasts while spurting water toward the preferred female (water-flick or grunt-whistle). The water-flick may take only a fraction of a second to complete. The drakes in male groups give short, nasal "raeb-raeb" (two-syllable) calls, and short high-pitched whistles.

Female Mallards and other female ducks often demonstrate and call to provoke males to attack other males or females. In some circumstances these displays may allow the female to observe the performance of males and to evaluate them as potential mates.

To elicit displays from a group of males, a female Mallard may swim with her neck outstretched and her head just above the water (nod-swimming). When a strange male approaches a female Mallard, she often will do an inciting display, swimming after her preferred mate while producing a rapid staccato series of quacks and flicking her beak back and downward to the side. As pairs are formed, both sexes may be observed lifting a wing, spreading the feathers to expose the speculum (the patch of bright color at the trailing edge of the wing), and placing the beak behind the raised wing as if preening. Then just before copulation, the male and female typically float face-to-face and pump their heads up and down.

The great complexity of duck courtship displays probably has evolved because ducks tend to concentrate in small areas to breed, and closely related species often give their displays in plain view of each other (and of human observers, which makes them a joy to study). This has created considerable evolutionary pressure for each species to develop distinctive displays, so that hybridization among different species displaying together will be minimized. Thus, for example, the displays of Barrow's Goldeneyes are very different from those of Common Goldeneyes until the precopulatory stage is reached. In spite of this, some hybrids between Barrow's and Common Goldeneyes occur, but with nowhere near the frequency of hybrids between Mallards and Black Ducks, which have very similar displays.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Duck_Displays.html

Lots of nod-swimming going on...

They encourage people to feed the Chickadees. The kids love it of course... most adults do too. Lots of school groups come here for nature outings. There were a couple bunches there today.

Off into the unknown...

A Squirrel sub-division...

Not much of a shot, so I turned it upside down... the next image.

A bit odd, but different.

No snow shots but I do find the Mallards mating antics interesting.

-fini -

On the Path -- February 29th, 2012

2012-02-29T19:15:00.006-05:00

Snow. I timed it right today. With our here-today, gone-tomorrow snowfalls this year I didn't think I was going to get any decent snow shots at all this year.

It snowed an inch or two today, but by the time I went for my walk it had changed to sleet. At least it wasn't raining as it is now. And with the warm temperatures predicted for the next couple days, the snow will be long gone soon.

I just had my shirt-pocket point & shoot with me today. This may have been a day I should've taken one of the big guys... "coulda, woulda, shoulda". But the P&S does a pretty good job.

On the way up... I finally got some snow sticking to the trees that I like so much.

In the woods at the top of the path...

And on the way home...

- fini -

On the Path -- February 28th, 2012

2012-02-28T19:05:00.011-05:00

I've decided to take my point & shoot on my walks on the path every time now, even if I don't see anything to shoot. It's so small, I don't feel the weight of it at all.

Today was interesting in that I didn't shoot anything until the last 200 yards on the way back. Some grass caught my eye and then one thing led to another, as I find it often does in nature. Nothing exciting but I enjoy the ordinary too.

This shot is from yesterday. There was almost no snow left today.

This was the grass that caught my eye. It was all lumpy & bumpy for about 50 yards. It loses a lot of the effect in an image when you can only capture a small part of it. It's Tussock Sedge... Thanks John.

Fallen Asters... Thanks John.

My "Mini-Pearl" plant. There's a lot more of it than I was able to find when all the growth was surrounding it all. These are Asters too. Thanks for the ID John. I've wondered for a long time what these were. I never would've guessed Asters.

Tar Spot as it looks this time of year.

Black Locusts across the street. 1000s of seed pods are still on the trees but 1000s are on the ground too.

I looked up Black Locust on the Web, which led to some interesting stuff.

Black Locust... A less frequently used common name is False Acacia… the bark and leaves are toxic. Flavonoids in the heartwood allow the wood to last over 100 years in soil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_locust

Black Locust is a major honey plant in eastern USA, and, having been taken and planted in France, is the source of the renowned Acacia Monofloral Honey from France.

With its specific delicate aroma, flavor and very slow crystallizing, Acacia Honey is one of the most preferred. Acacia Honey is recommended for insomnia, gastro - intestinal, biliary problems and in all cases where you want to eat honey. http://www.troyamed.bg/en/acacia_honey.html

More about the honey... http://www.honeytraveler.com/single-flower-honey/black-locust-acacia-honey/

I have to find some of that honey to try it! ...Then I found a couple interesting comments from people that knew of Black Locust first hand.

“I am a wood flooring contractor and have installed a couple Black Locust floors. Not only is it tough (second only to Osage Orange as the toughest native wood) and resistant to moisture (much better than White Oak) and rot (way better than Cedar), it is gorgeous! If you haven't seen it, picture the grain of Oak and color it with gold and add a glow that shifts in the light.

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Black_locust_uses.html

"Black Locust can last well in excess of 70 years in the ground without painting or chemical treatment. It looks great, in part due to its fluorescent grain.

I was wandering in the back room of a wood supplier and found a piece that glowed with a golden magic I've only seen in lightly flamed bamboo. The small grains are light and the meat is a brassy golden color. It was Black Locust. I bought enough to do an experiment. Wow - you should see it in the sunlight."

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Black_locust_uses.html

I find ice patterns intriguing... the shapes & delicate edges. When I put this one up on the screen I saw an alligator, a person, Woody Woodpecker and a bird's head... none of which I noticed when I took the picture... kinda like "Find Waldo".

And in this one I saw a Jurassic (Triassic?) dinosaur chasing some other creature and a Scotty dog. I didn't notice these when I took the picture either.

Each stone or pine needle that can catch the sun, warms enough to melt its own little "nest".

I think this bud is on an escapee from a neighbor's garden that is at the start of the path. Sure looks strong & healthy. It's a Horse Chestnut... Thanks John.

If you follow my blog you know I like fungi... these are just across the street where I start my walk.

Turkey Tail... Thanks John.

Spring is in the air...

- fini -

The Brickworks -- Toronto -- February 18th, 2012

2012-02-23T13:25:00.001-05:00

A few of us from the Oshawa Camera Club went to the Don Valley Brickworks (now Evergreen Brickworks) on Saturday. The weather wasn't the best but there were a couple 100 visitors there... lots of families with their kids. They have activities for the kids.

Last time I was there things were a lot different. There's a small market now (just on weekends someone said), a nice cafe, and a dozen or so vendors with food or crafts & gifts. Some of the old buildings are still standing. Entry is allowed in the old brick-manufacturing building.

32!

Sometimes it's the things "on the side" that grab your attention. That's the case here. This is the first electric car I've seen in the wild... plugged in and charging. It's a Mitsubishi. It's in keeping with Evergreen's green policy.

Turns out there was a second one on the other side of the lot. This is a Nissan. I wonder how long it'll be before they're common. And what about the chargers? How many and where will they be? I guess hybrids make more sense. Maybe these are both hybrids, I'm not sure.

The kilns used for making the bricks.

I can't imagine it. Huge callouses I guess. How many bruised & broken fingers & thumbs?

There's lots of boring graffiti everywhere these days, but this one impressed me... haunting.

Another green vehicle... a mini-truck, about the size of a van.

It was a good shoot. Also picked up a couple toys for our grandson in the market building, and one for me too. :-)

- fini -

On the Path -- February 20th, 2012

2012-02-20T21:17:00.014-05:00

This is a milestone of sorts for me. It's my 100th posting on my blog. When I started the blog I wasn't sure if I'd keep using it for more than a few weeks. It was an experiment on my part to see what blogs were all about. Since then it's almost taken on a life of its own.

Many of you have emailed me, or told me in person that you enjoy the blog. I truly appreciate your kind comments. Thank you again.

=============================================

There's still a fair bit of snow on the ground from our snowfall the other day... about as much as we've had at any point this winter, so I took my shirt-pocket point & shoot along with me today.

Snow clinging to the trees is always a beautiful sight. I haven't seen it like that on the path yet... other than out the front window a couple times. But then it was gone before I went on my walk.

Nature has her own "tree huggers".

The woods is a favorite spot for people to take a stroll or walk their dogs.

Yellow Birch look gorgeous in the sunshine.

The trees on the path catching the late afternoon sun are a pretty sight too.

What a great surprise this was... an early sign of Spring! The Pussy Willows are breaking out of their buds.

From the web...

Reference 1:

The Pussy Willow, as all willows, provides a compound called 'salicin' which is similar to the active ingredient in most over-the-counter painkillers. Native North Americans have extracted it from the bark and roots for a painkiller and anti-fever medication.

http://www.borealforest.org/shrubs/shrub44.htm

Reference 2:

Willow bark is full of salicin, which is a key ingredient in acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Its medicinal properties were recognised by ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks and Native North Americans. Willow is not the only plant which contains salicin, though, and the best-known modern use of the medicine, in Bayer Aspirin, originally came from spirea. In fact, the "-spir-" in Aspirin comes from spirea.
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=959653

Can Coltsfoot be far behind?

- fini -

2nd Marsh -- February 16th, 2012

2012-02-17T11:08:00.006-05:00

A dreary day. Go to the marsh? It'd been a while. A quick check of the weather forecast said tomorrow will be sunny. Maybe tomorrow would be better... get some blue skies in the shots. Just go for my exercise walk on the path instead? But I didn't feel like the walk today, so the marsh beckoned... do my walking there.

Am I ever glad I chose the marsh. Deer! I saw deer! 6 or 7 of them! It doesn't get much better than that for me at the marsh. As our 2 year old grandson would say, "Wooow!"

Before I even got to my usual parking spot I saw a flock of about 40 Robins on Colonel Sam Drive, across the road from the marsh. There had been two earlier reports of 360 and 75 Robins at the marsh so I'm guessing that it's probably the same huge flock that is slowly breaking up.

Humans get the "February blues", nature gets the "February browns"... at least in our neck of the woods. Still, with the various shades, they have a beauty of their own, and with no snow they stand out more than ever.

In all my visits to the marsh I don't think I've ever had so many Chickadees come begging for seeds. It was a constant stream today.

Which one should I pick?

There's two left... one for each of us. Who's going first?

What's left of a Birch log... the colors caught my eye.

Moss isn't the only green in the marsh now, but it's the most brilliant shade of green to be seen, so it grabs your attention.

An interesting ice puddle pattern...

I'm a little surprised how much fungi is still around.

What will soon be a vernal pool. I like the way they stretch off into the back woods.

It always amazes me how Woodpeckers can rip apart a healthy looking tree.

A Nuthatch... and it's usual upside-down view of the world.

I thought the moss makes for a nice border.

I get a kick out of squirrels. As you get closer, they play peek-a-boo for a bit, then they slip around the back of the tree out of sight.

I blew out the cap to get the detail of the underside.

Beavers have been hard at work, very recently judging by the freshness of the cuts. Their lodge must be in need of repair.

Black Knot, common on certain shrubs, is ugly looking stuff. If you're curious to learn more about it, here's a link...
http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/diseases/fac48s00.html

As time goes by, some trees fall down, others need to be cut down for our safety. The number of downed trees (or cut-up pieces of them) that we see in nature areas everywhere is a reminder that everything has it's time on stage.

The third of the trio. You can usually count on seeing Chickadees, Nuthatches & Downy Woodpeckers at some point along the boardwalk.

I was about to see what was easily the highlight of my day. Ever since I saw my first deer in the marsh I'm always on the lookout for them. I saw a vole skitter across the boardwalk earlier and thought... I guess that's my animal for the day.

Then, almost back at the car, when I figured the day was done, I saw 6 or 7 bright flashes of white bounding off into the woods. If I had been more attentive, I'm pretty sure I would have been able to get a shot of them all, since when I saw them leaving they were less than 100 yards away. They must have been only 50 or 60 yards in front of me at first.

By the time I had my camera up to my eye, they'd vanished... or so I thought at first. It turned out that two of them only went 50 yards or so and stopped to browse, keeping their eyes & ears turned my way.

It was late in the day and the light was poor so I had to use manual focus with the lens I was using. Even in good light I would probably have needed to use manual focus, with all the branches in the way. The results aren't very good but at least I got something.

Since males don't start growing antlers for another month or so, I assume this small herd was a mix of bucks & does.

Sniffing the wind and listening...

They saw, smelled, heard something. It turned out it was some idiot with a pair of hounds. He didn't even have them on a leash. He obviously ignored the signs that say dogs aren't allowed. Jerk.

They quickly left. I was surprised how large the combined white patch on their rumps and tail is... it seemed huge. I don't remember it being as large with other Whitetails I've seen, but I guess it probably was.

Terrible results but a good view of the white tails & rumps.

What a wonderful day at the marsh! One day I hope to get some great images of the deer, rather than the so-so ones I have to date.

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 -

On the Path -- February 14th, 2012

2012-02-14T18:34:00.007-05:00

A few of my friends have commented that I'm not doing much blogging these days. I've definitely slowed down from the time I was posting like there's no tomorrow, for a couple reasons.

The main one is that I don't find as much to shoot this time of year, unless there are beautiful snowfalls or I go some place in particular, like the ROM last week. To get any decent snowfall shots this year you had to be out with the camera within an hour or two of the snowfall or the snow was disappearing already, but in most cases there just wasn't enough snow to bother trying for good winter shots. A drive further afield may have yielded some good results but I felt it was too much of a gamble for me to bother.

So today I decided to take a camera along on my walk, not expecting to see much, but I thought I'd see what I could come up with.

Squirrels are active all year long. They're much easier to spot when there are no leaves.

Even in winter, Birch trees stand out from the crowd.

A pair of Mourning Doves doing what they do best... nothing. They just love to sit and watch the world go by. It's Valentine's Day today so maybe they're reminiscing about their younger days.
(A weak lens, cropped severely, lousy result, but it's Valentine's Day so I wanted to include them.)

The buds on the Silver maples are getting larger. They're the first trees to flower in Spring so they're only weeks away from showing their color.

Dog-Strangling Vine is very obvious this time of year. Long stands of it stand out against other growth and lots of it is still clinging to shrubs & trees. The seeds in this pod will no doubt survive 'til spring and add to the profusion.

The woods at the top of the path are inviting any time of year. There are lots of Hemlock trees, so they keep the snow off much of the leaf fall.

Whereas the mature Beech, Oak & Maples in the woods lose their leaves so the forest floor has more snow, albeit not much this year.

Young Birch trees are an exception. They hold some of their leaves all winter. They're just not big enough to stop the snow.

No matter what color the leaves are when they fall in Autumn, they all end up pretty much the same shade of copper. There are Oak, Maple & Birch here.

The following was an appropriate find in the woods for Valentine's Day! I hadn't noticed this before. It looks like some young lovers (an assumption on my part) left their mark for posterity.

It looks like it would harm the tree but it doesn't really. As I learned a while back, the only part of a tree that is alive is an extremely thin layer (cambium) beneath the bark, so unless the damage girdles the tree completely, it'll heal around the wound and do just fine. That's why we find "hollowed out" trees that are still alive and going strong.

When the leaves are gone, we get to see just how many squirrel nests are in the neighborhood... there's lots. This pair seemed to think a plastic bag would improve the decor of their home.

I don't get to see much fungus this time of year. This looks quite healthy.

I end with another popular subject of mine... Poison Ivy. Even at this time of year it makes its presence known.

Not an exciting day on the path, but like the pros keep telling us, there's always something to shoot.

- fini -

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) & Street Photography

2012-01-31T00:04:00.003-05:00

The Northumberland Photography Club had an outing to the ROM in Toronto on Sunday. It had been forever since I had been there so I jumped at the chance to join in.

I hadn't seen the radical update to the architecture of the building... and radical it is. It looks like a modern building fell into/onto the old one, but it does make for interesting reflections.

The old amongst the new... Church of the Redeemer... just across from the ROM.

I headed straight for the Dinosaurs. I always try to imagine these giants walking around the countryside of today's world.

The displays are set up for viewing, not for photography, so it's hard to get clear shots of many of them.

I Photoshopped out some of the lines. It's just too much bother for most shots though.

Quite the headplate.

Talk about ragged teeth.

Emotion in stone.

In the African display... coffins from Ghana. If you're a fisherman you can be buried in a fish.

Do you drive a Mercedes? Why not get buried in one then.

I love street photography. Ordinary people doing ordinary things. I shot more on the street than I did in the ROM... or in some cases, I shot street scenes from inside the ROM.

Depending on the image, I sometimes prefer color, sometimes B&W. Some I crop, some I don't. How much to include in the shot is always a decision you have to make.

It was a cold day and a McDonald's & a coffee shop were across the street from the ROM so many a passerby had coffee in their hands.

Color? B&W? Include the bikes?

Crop even tighter? Clone out the lettering? Lots of choices.

Pick your own private window or join the bunch on the ledge.

The view from beside the ROM.

Mannequins without faces look strange.

The trip home on the 401. It wasn't as bad as the telephoto lens makes it look.

The ROM is like all large museums. You'd need days or weeks to check it all out. As fascinating as museums are to me, I quickly become tired and bored. I do enjoy them but I can only take them in relatively small doses. That's probably why I ended up doing so much street photography.

- fini -

2nd Marsh - Farewell Creek Through the Seasons

2012-01-21T17:30:00.011-05:00

I've been thinking of doing this for quite a while... and now I finally have enough images to do it. This is a series of images of Farewell Creek from the foot bridge over it.

They show the view through the seasons. All except the last one are fairly recent shots. The last winter one was from a few years back so the creek bank has changed a little since then.

The Spring run-off often causes flooding that plays havoc with some of the boardwalk and temporarily closes part of it to visitors.

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 -

Bond Head -- January 18th, 2012

2012-01-18T23:08:00.002-05:00

My trigger finger was getting a little itchy, so I went to Bond Head (Newcastle Harbour) today to shoot some Canada Geese. At times there aren't any geese there but usually you do see a few dozen. Today there were 100s-- along the pier, on shore in the picnic area, and a few 100 in the water.

Flying in to join the party...

The "Conductor"...

Scootin'...

Angelic Wings...

"So, are we leaving or not?"

"There goes George, he always leaves first."

"I'm joining George!"

"We all are!"

This pair decided on a stroll on the shore. They're in perfect step.

It looks like the left goose is on ice, but it's water. I just happened to catch him as his feet were about to touch the water.

Jane thought these three looked like a time-lapse of one goose taking off (I agree)... but it's actually three geese in different 'poses' of the lift-off.

One of what must be 100s of creeks that flow into Lake Ontario.

Ice always makes for some interesting patterns.

Looking like some sort of sea-life, these are just pebbles & stones encased in ice.

The Newcastle Marina from the other side of the bay.

It was good to get out to somewhere I hadn't been for a while.

- fini -

2nd Marsh -- January 13th, 2012

2012-01-18T12:16:00.004-05:00

We woke up to a light snowfall on the 13th. I debated whether it was enough to make a quick visit to the marsh or not. In the end I decided to go down, but just to take a few shots around the bridge over Farewell Creek, to see if I got one worth adding to my "collection" of shots of the creek from the bridge.

The snow is pretty much gone again. I'm starting to wonder if we'll get a "real" snowfall at all this year. But it's only mid-January, too soon to be thinking that way I guess.

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 -

2nd Marsh -- January 10th, 2012

2012-01-10T22:40:00.011-05:00

It had been a while but I was back at the marsh today. With our unusual weather there is no snow, only some thin ice in the channel and in what will be vernal pools in the Spring.

With all the growth gone, things feel very open and barren, and with no snow at all, a bid odd for January 10th.

There's lots of moss on fallen logs to add some green to all the brown.

With their strong stalks, Cattails stand tall all year long. These are at the Beaver Pond. No wonder it's so seldom you can spot a beaver, there's very little open water any time of year.

There's very little healthy fungus this time of year but this species seems to survive quite well. There's quite a bit of a pure white species too.

What will turn into vernal pools in a couple months. They're always found by a few pairs of Mallards.

Farewell Creek from the bridge over it. I always think of my snow-filled shot of this scene from a few years back (the next image). At the rate we're going this year, who knows if I'll even get a snow shot of it... but it's way too early to count winter out isn't it. Will we get a 2 or 3 ft dump of snow in the weeks ahead?

The same view from February 7th, 2008. I have no idea what it looked like on January 10th of any other year, so who knows, maybe it'll look like this again this year.

Wild Cucumber pods... another thing we see throughout the winter.

The channel along the berm is frozen over. The Herons, Cormorants & Turtles are long gone now.

I met a guy with one of the new small cameras that take long lenses. Not much camera to hold onto. You'd definitely be holding the lens. Looks weird.

Though the resident Chickadees, Nuthatches and one of the Downy Woodpeckers came for seeds on the boardwalk, I didn't get any decent shots of any of them. Several flocks of geese went over that were much easier to get a shot of, at a distance though.

A bit of color from the Dogwoods.

And from some Highbush Cranberry.

From the GM viewing platform... Canada Geese gather at the only open water in the marsh, with Lake Ontario beyond the barrier beach.

Not much to see today. I think I'll wait for a snowfall before I go back to the marsh. We are going to get snow aren't we?

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 -

On the Path -- December 31st, 2011

2012-01-01T20:24:00.009-05:00

It's been a few weeks since I posted anything... and I don't have much for today either. What with having a miserable cold off & on for weeks now, and with the busy holiday season, I just haven't been out much with the camera. I'm waiting for a good snowfall too, in the hope of getting some nice snowscapes.

But I did take a camera on my walk yesterday. We had our first real snowfall, though not a lot, on Boxing Day, so there was snow on the ground for a few days at least. But only a few as it turned out. It rained a fair bit today (January 1st) so most of the snow has gone already.

Though there wasn't a lot of snow, it was a contrast to the post before this one, from December 7th.

At one point, the wind, or maybe squirrels, had shaken some Ash keys onto the snow. Will any of these sprout next year? They were on the path so I doubt it. But maybe one will get blown or kicked to the side and a new tree will join its brethren. Maybe.

The Hemlocks in the woods kept the snow from covering some of the fallen leaves. There couldn't have been any wind to speak of when it snowed, or things wouldn't look like this.

The winding creek in the woods always offers some calming winter images. As the waterflow erodes the sides of the creek, more & more trees fall into it.

And on the way back up... the 1000s of leaves on the forest floor are almost covered. This is almost the same shot as one from a few posts back, before the snow.

Yellow Birch stand out any time of year, but especially in winter.

I plan on a visit to the marsh this coming week. A fresh snowfall would add to the pics I think, but will have to wait and see what I get.

- fini -

On the Path -- December 7th, 2011

2011-12-07T17:17:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-04T20:04:00.005-05:00

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 -

France 5 -- Tours to Paris -- October 2011

2011-11-21T01:44:00.040-05:00

Tours --> Orleans --> Chartres --> Paris

After seeing a few sights around Tours, we headed out on the last leg, back to Paris.

This was a fascinating stop... the Caves of Monmousseau near Tours. The caves were the result of mining the limestone for the royal castles/chateaus of the Loire Valley. These caves were 15 km long -- about 5 km on each of three levels. They maintain a temperature of 12°C, perfect for wine-making we were told.

There are about 4 million bottles of wine in the caves. We toured the first few 100 meters and had a wine-tasting after of course. Not being a wine connoisseur, it didn't taste any better or worse than dozens of wines I've tasted before.

Wine-making is a pretty involved process. These are shakers... to eliminate sedimentation.

Also near Tours is Chenonceaux Chateau, home of Katherine de Medici and other nobility & royalty.

This is the obligatory treed, few hundred meter walkway/carriage-way to the chateau.

How can you not call this thing a castle?

It stretches back over the Cher River. In fact it acted as a bridge over the Cher. A couple interesting facts from the web...

This bridge is also the reason why the chateau exists today as it was set to be destroyed during the French Revolution, but the owner convinced the Revolutionary Guard that is was essential to commerce being the only bridge crossing the River Cher for miles.

The bridge at Chateau de Chenonceau also served a major purpose during WWII as it created a way for the French to flee the Nazi occupied side of the river to the free "Vichy" side of the river. The chateau also served as a hospital for wounded military during WWII.

Katherine's gardens.

You can't have a castle without a Great Hall.

In the kitchen... today at least.

Katherine's bedroom. Three of her sons were kings of France.

I just liked the lines.

More gardens.

Orleans was key in the history of Joan of Arc.

... from Wikipedia

The Siege of Orléans (1428–1429) marked a turning point in the 100 Years' War between France and England. This was Joan of Arc's first major military victory and the first major French success to follow the crushing defeat at Agincourt in 1415. The consensus among contemporaries was that the English regent, John Plantagenet, would succeed in realizing Henry V's dream of conquering all of France if Orléans fell. For half a year the English appeared to be winning, but the siege collapsed nine days after Joan's arrival.

Jane's playful side again.

Orleans...

Cathedral in Orleans.

The odd couple...

Cathedral in Chartres...

When we arrived back in Paris we had the rest of that day and the next, since we booked an extra night after the tour. We wanted to rest up after the tour and discover or rediscover some more Paris.

This is Pont des Arts over the Seine, now also known as Lovers Bridge since people have started to put "love locks" on it. It's not unique to Paris but it sure has caught on.

In 2010 the city fathers had the locks removed (so if you had one there you better go back to put on a new one).

I like the handcuffs... did they keep the other half? Did they break up and one of them cut off the other half?

Walks along the Seine are something special. The hubbub of the city is steps away but it almost feels like you're on your own.

Pick your color.

These caught my eye.

They brought to mind these ones from an earlier trip.

Bring a car along just in case.

Les Bouquinistes (book stalls)... I'm not sure if they're unique to Paris but they're definitely popular. They line the Seine for 100s of yards near Notre Dame. At night you just see a bunch of locked green boxes against the low concrete walls along the Seine.

This was near the Pantheon. The city fathers (and Rousseau's descendants) wouldn't be amused but all us passersby were. Everyone was snapping a shot.

Paint it grey and it might have a certain appeal.

One of the things we like so much about Paris is the gardens you can relax in. They're full of flowers and two of the largest ones have individual metal chairs instead of only benches. Move them where you want... in the sun, shade, beside some flowers.

We grabbed a baguette sandwich and a dessert and had a relaxing lunch here in Tuileries Gardens by the Louvre, a favourite of ours.

Just a catchy shop name that caught my eye.

We walk a lot in Paris. It's the best way to soak it all in. This is Luxembourg Gardens, another beautiful spot to relax-- a former playground of kings & queens.

And more chairs to put where you want them.

There are over a 100 statues on the grounds.

Statues and sculptures everywhere.

The locals aren't bothered by the tourists... or at least they don't seem to be. It's good to see them with their families and friends, just enjoying what we have to take a trip to see.

First time I've seen this but I'm sure it won't be the last. It looks like she's checking herself in a mirror, but she's taking a picture with her tablet computer.

Jane's figuring out the route to our next stop so I can wander around taking pics.

Is he shy or does he even see her?

In the Luxembourg Gardens.

It's interesting to see what other countries do. This is in a Health Park near one of our hotels in Paris. Exercising outdoors... what a great idea! Could we ever expect to see something like this here?

In the same park...

You can't pass all the pastry shops so we weakened and went into this one.

We were down by the Arch waiting for a parade of Veterans. This family was having a great time. I don't think the roller-blader had his skates for long, he was unsure of himself.

The veterans were singing... without a band or any musical instruments. They sounded great.

Deep in shadows but easy to see it's Churchill.

More evidence of how the French put flowers everywhere... here, on the steps of I forget what. They're in the process of removing them at this point.

20 or so cyclists stopped for a drink.

I guess we hadn't seen enough cathedrals, since we went into two more churches on our wanderings through Paris. We were glad we did. In this case, the exterior was much simpler than the cathedrals but the interior was a wonderful surprise, a real departure from the cathedrals.

An eye-catcher.

This was under a bridge near our hotel in La Defense. I didn't take a shot the first few times I saw it (a tinge of guilt) but in the end I did. It looks like a homeless person's "home" but then again it doesn't. There's a couch, shoes & slippers just laying there (???), a BBQ. But what's with all the pails, etc., and laid out the way they are?

It just occurred to me, maybe it was something to do with a protest or a plea for the homeless. That doesn't seem right to me either though. Very odd.

I guess you don't look for a title here, but rather for a "surprise".

A final walk up towards the "modern arch".

We walked for miles, and rested often.

I'll end with "small town France". This happened to be one we went through on the way to somewhere. Not the best shots. I snapped them out the back window of the bus.

It was a wonderful trip. We had great tour-mates and we saw and did lots.

And once again we found the French to be friendly, kind and helpful. We've often heard complaints about the French but this was our fourth time in France and we've never met anyone that wasn't friendly, kind & helpful.

- fini -

Nuke Plant Nature Area -- November 6th, 2011

2011-11-15T21:38:00.002-05:00

This was from almost a couple weeks ago. It was a bright sunny day, a good day just to be out & about, but I didn't expect to see much. There were a few dozen Mallards on the pond but nothing unusual.

Then I noticed a female Mallard swimming in circles around a male with her head touching the water. It looked weird. The male didn't seem particularly interested in her display.

I remembered reading about courtship displays of Mallards but I thought this was the wrong time of year for courtship. Apparently not. A bit of research explained that Mallards do their courtship and mating in October-November typically, but the young aren't born until the next spring.

And the head-down swimming the female was doing is known as nod-swimming. Males do it too. The nod-swimming was followed by some head-bobbing of both male & female and then they mated.

He did say something to her here.

Here's a link to a short video that shows the nod-swimming, head-bobbing & mating. It's from the BBC.

http://www.arkive.org/mallard/anas-platyrhynchos/video-09b.html

There were 10 or so Bufflehead Ducks on the pond too. They were just enjoying the day though.

Nice light on a barn on the way home.

- fini -

A link to my previous posts (non-2nd Marsh):
http://rgbell.ca/3

A link to my previous posts of 2nd Marsh:
http://rgbell.ca/2

France 4 -- St. Malo to Tours

2011-11-11T16:08:00.012-05:00

St. Malo --> Rennes --> Tours --> Amboise

After Mont St. Michel, our next stop was St. Malo, and our last view of the English Channel. St. Malo still has some of its ancient walls and fortifications.

Some interesting tidbits from the Web...

From 1490–1493, Saint-Malo declared itself to be an independent republic, taking the motto "not French, not Breton, but Malouins".

Saint-Malo became notorious as the home of French privateers ('state-authorized' pirates), forcing English ships passing up the Channel to pay tribute.

Jacques Cartier, credited as the discoverer of Canada, lived in and sailed from Saint-Malo.

An older part of town...

Time to call a roofer... but then I wouldn't have taken this picture if they had.

Let's go get 'em guys.

I couldn't pass the Funky Munky without taking a shot.

Artists at work... art class I'm guessing.

The main square and time for lunch.

On to ~~Rennes~~ Bayeux (Thanks, Patsy) and another cathedral. I've got things screwed up here. I'll sort it out soon. :-)

Imagine anyone even thinking of building a church today like any of the famous cathedrals. Would it not be 'acceptable' today or is it just the money, or both?

The streets of Rennes (not sure now) with typical French architecture.

Leaving town (?), we headed to Tours in the Loire Valley for a two-night stay.

City Hall

There are dozens of caves in the area. They remain from the extraction of 1000s of tons of limestone that were used in the construction of about 300 chateaus, hunting lodges & castles in the Loire Valley by the kings & rich of previous centuries.

We went to a restaurant that was in one of the caves. The walls were the original limestone.

Some of the sights in Tours...

Our tour director posing with a 'gorilla'.

As anywhere, you have a choice of restaurants.

Just another window shot...

The French love flowers & they show it. I wish we did too. They add so much to street views and to the homes & buildings themselves.

They're everywhere!

With our two night stay in Tours, we had time to visit two of the more than 300 chateaux in the Loire Valley. This was one of them-- Chateau d' Amboise in the town of Amboise... home of the French King Louis XI.

The larger round tower to the left was a spiral roadway for carriages from the road below.

Befitting a king, the chateau dominated the town.

King Louis asked Leonardo de Vinci to come to Amboise and paint for him. Hard to refuse a king I suppose, so Leonardo arrived with three of his paintings, one being the Mona Lisa.

This was the mansion (Clos Lucé) that Louis gave to de Vinci. De Vinci died here in 1519... three years after he arrived. It was half a kilometer from the castle, connected by an underground tunnel.

Our local guide here was very knowledgeable but she had the personality of a fence post.

The Gothic chapel where Leonardo is buried... on the grounds of the chateau.

Even the chapel has intricate exterior detail.

This section seemed to be of a bit lower quality but still impressive. Maybe it just didn't weather as well.

My guess from the chateaus/castles I've seen in different countries is that they must have 50+ rooms, lots of marble, tiles where appropriate, fine wood furniture, poster beds, dozens of sculptures & paintings & tapestries, one or two long, spacious hallways and a few spiral staircases. Chateau Amboise was no exception.

This room almost looks too modern, one a commoner could afford even. Maybe the restorers got it wrong. I didn't take many pictures inside.

The town of Amboise taken from the grounds of the chateau.

Homes with character...

To be expected when there's a chateau/castle nearby... try to sell the tourists a suit of armour for a hallway back home. Or maybe a tapestry?

Chateau? Castle? Got me thinking, what's the difference? So of course I Googled it...

from Wikipedia...

===========================================================

A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions. Where clarification is needed, a fortified château (that is, a castle) is called a château fort, such as Château fort de Roquetaillade.

Care should be taken when translating the word château into English. It is not used in the same way as "castle", and most châteaux are described in English as "palaces" or "country houses" rather than "castles". For example, the Château de Versailles is so called because it was located in the countryside when it was built, but it does not bear any resemblance to a castle, so it is usually known in English as the Palace of Versailles.

The urban counterpart of château is palais, which in French is applied only to grand houses in a city. This usage is again different from that of the term "palace" in English, where there is no requirement that a palace must be in a city, but the word is rarely used for buildings other than the grandest royal residences.

===========================================================

Am I any wiser? Sounds confusing to me...

Ain't these cute... and more affordable & easier to pack than a suit of armour.

The Loire River in Amboise.

Another example (in Amboise this time) of a parking lot that blends into the layout of the town.

Chateau #2 coming soon...

- fini -

A link to my previous posts (non-2nd Marsh):
http://rgbell.ca/3

A link to my previous posts of 2nd Marsh:
http://rgbell.ca/2

France 3 -- Deauville to Mont St. Michel

2011-11-05T14:01:00.008-04:00

Our first stop out of Deauville was an American War Cemetery on the Channel.

This looks like an ordinary beach today but try to imagine what it looked like on D-Day, 1944. This was Omaha Beach, where the Americans landed.

As November 11th approaches, we're reminded again of how incredibly lucky we all are to be alive & free, thanks to so many.

A few of the graves had been visited recently.

Monument at the cemetery.

A German gun emplacement on a Normandy beach.

This is Gold Beach, at Arromanches, where the British landed on D-Day.

Remains of a Mulberry Harbour that the British built and towed over to France to use as a port since the waters were too shallow for large ships.

They're huge.

These were strange. There were 100s on the beach... "sand worms". But they're not worms at all, just sand. I couldn't find an explanation on Google. I think it might be a worm like sea animal that ingests the sand to get nutrients and excretes the sand afterward... I vaguely remember seeing something like that on TV.

Granville, our last stop on the Channel... the view from our hotel.

Jane found a local to chat with.

The casino we dropped some Euros at... too many, too quickly.

My favourite shot of Jane from the trip. I smile every time I look at it. She loves the sea like no one I've known.

As a prairie boy, I'm fascinated by what to many are simple things on ocean beaches. The bulbous part of this seaweed was surprisingly strong & buoyant. No wonder it can float "forever" on the water.

Mont St. Michel was a highlight of the trip. I'd seen lots of pictures of it over the years and was always fascinated by it. It didn't disappoint. The weather could have been better (it rained for the first half-hour or so), and was overcast, but that hardly hampered the experience.

From Wikipedia:

Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre (just over half a mile) off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The population of the island is 41, as of 2006. The island has been a strategic point holding fortifications since ancient times, and since the 8th century AD it became the seat of the Saint-Michel monastery, from which it draws the name.

We were there at low tide but I found a couple shots on the web to see what it would look like at high tide.

The causeway to the island is going to be removed. It's caused silting over the years so it was decided to return it to it's more natural state. Visitors will be taken on a shuttle and over a foot bridge if I understand the plan.

View from afar.

From the same spot but a telephoto view.

There's only one street for the tourists to drop some Euros.

We bought some cookies.

It's a bit of a climb up to the abbey. Jane's pink umbrella was easy to spot if I lagged behind.

Old stone & bricks, worn & colored over the years... they have a warm feel to them.

The abbey.

The cloisters.

More weathered walls.

The ramparts... and the mudflats of low tide.

Apparently there have been a few cases of people not moving their vehicles in time when the tide came in... they do announce it over loudspeakers though. Those on the causeway itself are ok, but where the buses are and all the vehicles on the left would be under water.

The view as we left. It's a special place.

- fini -

A link to my previous posts (non-2nd Marsh):
http://rgbell.ca/3

A link to my previous posts of 2nd Marsh:
http://rgbell.ca/2

On the Path -- October 25th - 31st, 2011

2011-11-04T13:52:00.003-04:00

These were taken over a few days.

Walnut leaves add a light glow to the otherwise darker green on the path.

The woods are aglow too.

... and the leaf-carpet thickens.

Beech leaves tend to be a rust or copper color.

Silver Maples don't have the brighter colors of the Sugar Maple. The underside of its leaves that gives Silver Maple its name are still silver.

A colorful variety of Sugar Maple leaves. The orange one in the top-left of the shot looks pretty close to the one that's on our flag.

Sugar Maples in the area have been hit with a severe case of Tar Spot fungus this year. I've noticed lots of it around the city too.

Theory has it that it's pretty much harmless to the trees but it sure is ugly.

This shot is interesting because these are Wild Grapes, yet there isn't a single grape leaf in the image... well, maybe one on the right. The grape vine has crept over the Red-Osier Dogwood (I think), but it's lost all its leaves.

- fini -

2nd Marsh -- November 1st, 2011

2011-11-01T23:10:00.003-04:00

It had been a week since I was at the marsh. Changes seem to be slower now but I doubt that will last. Change is unpredictable.

The merging of Harmony & Farewell Creeks just north of the main entrance to the marsh. This is one of a few spots I try to shoot every season. After I get winter's view, I plan to post a series of "4 Season" shots of the marsh.

The path at the main entrance that goes to the lake is paved, which is one reason I seldom go this way. This grasshopper was soaking up some warmth from the pavement. It has the appropriate name, Red-legged Grasshopper.

These Red Oak leaves almost challenge the brilliance of Sugar Maple.

Farewell Creek from the bridge.

Back to my usual route... the boardwalk in Ghost Road bush.

Anything green stands out at this time of year, like the bush along the treeline at the Beaver Pond.

I have no idea what these are. Maybe I recognized them in an earlier stage but I sure don't now. They kind of look like huge bottle-brush creepy-crawlers.

I bypassed several fungi today but this one caught my eye with the pattern on the edges. These are Shaggy Scalecaps... Thanks Gerry.

I never tire of shooting Turkey Tails... different light, different patterns, different backgrounds.

A surprise. This Great Blue was in the channel leading to the bay... none were in the bay. For whatever reason I didn't spook him. He kept an eye on me but he didn't take off. My guess is that with the reeds dying off, he could see me rather than just hear me so as long as he thought I was far enough away he didn't much care.

After our staring match, he sauntered down a side-channel.

Some of my"Northern Pampas Grass" (Common Reed Grass) awash in late afternoon light.

I took this shot to check my exposure at the time, but I liked it enough to keep it.

On the way back from the bay, my buddy was back in plain view so we had another staring match. He won. I left and he was still there. The light was changing quickly.

Back on the boardwalk... the light on the trees near the Beaver Pond was filtering through the trees of Ghost Road Bush. Though I couldn't imagine going to the marsh without my camera, even if you don't have a camera you're treated to some beautiful views, especially when the light is right.

I'm guessing the Chickadees & Nuthatches are finding food a little scarcer... they're following me again at the "usual spots" in Ghost Road Bush & at the Beaver Pond. Up to about a week or so ago they could care less it seemed.

When I'm by myself I find it harder to get good shots. You attract them with the seeds, then they're gone. I was lucky with the Nuthatches today but didn't get any decent shots of the Chickadees.

Red berries... you can't miss 'em. Someone must have thrown the branch into the Beaver Pond. The Duckweed in the pond made for a 'Christmasy' look.

Gold and green... a good color combo.

Tamarack (aka Larch)... our only conifer that loses its needles every year. Tamarack comes from an Algonquin Indian word meaning "wood used for snowshoes", according to Wikipedia & others.

I do love 2nd Marsh!

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 -

2nd Marsh -- October 23rd, 2011

2011-10-30T12:34:00.008-04:00

These are from a week ago. Fall marches on. I haven't been lucky enough to capture any birds or animals for quite a while but the Chickadees are back to eating out of your hand (after pretty much ignoring people for the summer) so maybe I'll try for them on my next visit.

Today turned out to be a fungus day... lots of them.

Turkey Tails are very common in our part of the world.

I don't know the names of many of them. There are just too many.

There are always some geese at the marsh.

The trees at the marsh have lost most of their leaves. I assume it's the lake-effect since the marsh borders Lake Ontario. The trees closer to home still have lots of leaves.

The boardwalk in Ghost Road bush.

The bees don't have many wildflowers to visit now.

More Turkey Tails.

These almost look like berries.

This was a surprise to me. I saw a few Monarchs. They may have waited too long I think to leave for Mexico.

I've seen this fungus in a couple spots this year.

A red berry has found a snug home in this one.

The tiniest fungus I've come across... the top is about the size of a pea.

Gold is gorgeous, especially in bunches like this.

These have to be the last of the Himalayan Balsam at the marsh.

Moss on a jet-black log, along with some black fungus, that I've noticed is common on fallen Birch trees.

You have to look closely to spot any green at the Beaver Pond.

The Wild Cucumber seed pods are back, complete with curlicues.

Yet more fungi... but they do have a certain appeal don't you think?

I don't remember seeing this type of bee before but have noticed quite a few of them at the marsh this year.

Notice the little green guy peeking over the top edge of the blossom, as though he's checking out the bee's attitude before he ventures further. The "bee" on the left blossom is a Bee Mimic, the one on the right blossom is a Micro Bee. Thanks John.

Fall is my favourite season. I only wish it lasted longer.

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 -