Taking a quick break

Since returning from Algonquin, I have been quite busy and don't have much time to go out and take photos even when it is nice out.

Got a photo of the Supermoon on Sunday after dinner.

Today, after working all morning and afternoon, I decided to go check out a spot near where I live that I think may have some opportunities for photography.  And I turned out to be correct!  The place is a man-made pond with ongoing construction all around it for more housings.  The trail is short (less than 100 m) and planted with many introduced species.  But they still attracted an interesting variety of insects.  I also heard Green frogs calling from the pond.

Field course day 5 - Coon Lake Bog

The first week of field course concluded at Coon Lake Bog and with the students being tested on their plant identification skills at a "secret" site.

In the morning, we first went to the Ecology Park in the city.

Lupine flowers in the park.

Field course day 4 - Carden Plains & Clearwing hummingbird moth!

On the fourth day of the field course, we were at Carden Plains showing the students the unique alvar habitats and the flora associated with it.

Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum) in the Liliaceae family is the provincial flower of Saskatchewan.

Field course day 3 - Black Oak Savanna in Alderville

We went to Alderville Black Oak Savanna on the third day of the field course.  The different habitats (tall grass prairie, savanna, and woodland) support various types of flora and fauna.  Furthermore, the practices of prescribed burn and research on Karner Blue Butterfly and Wild Lupines offered the students different perspectives on the applications of their learned knowledge, such as ecological restoration, conservation, and pollination studies.

There were many Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa) dragonflies flying around us.

Field course day 2 - Bancroft & Eels Creek

On the second day of the field course (two weeks ago), we drove to Eagle's Nest Trail in Bancroft and then Eels Creek near Stoney Lake.  The weather was more of less overcast throughout the day.

At the lookout where we had our lunch.

Critters found in Trent Ward Garden

I am back!  Well, I was actually back from Algonquin on Saturday, but there are more important priorities than blogging at the moment.  As I mentioned before, I have a lot of photos and new knowledge about plants to share, but I'll probably be sharing just a piece at a time.

Let's start with the Sunday (June 16th) before the field course actually started, when I went to Trent Ward Garden to take some photos and identify some plants.

Bumblebee visiting Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum) flowers.

Photos from last Saturday - Pollinators, Waxwings, and Groundhog

A week of field course has gone by and left me with a new appreciation for plants and tons of photos.  Another week will start tomorrow at Algonquin Provincial Park and I will be away from technology during that time.

I have not yet sorted out my photos from this past week, and I only just finished the ones from last Saturday (June 8th).  Here they are.

I went over to Trent's Ward Garden last week to test myself on plant identification using the field guide.

Came across a wasp on the stairs with many red mites crawling all over the rocky surface (one is to the left of the wasp).

"Botanizing" for the last few days - Part 2

Part 1 here.

Tuesday morning, we went to Trent Nature Areas, as a potential new site for the class, and then we went to Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park (which I never been before) in the afternoon.

Dame's-rocket (Hesperis matronalis) in the Mustard (Brassicaceae) family.  The fragrance of the flowers is most evident at nighttime, where the origin of the genus name hesperos comes from, i.e. 'evening'.

"Botanizing" for the last few days - Part 1

This week, we visited several sites from past years so that we know the current flowering species, as well as what species to expect flowering.  This year's abnormal Spring had messed up the phenology of the flowering plants leading to many species flowering at the same time when they shouldn't.  I also observed the similar trend in other organisms too, such as frogs and insects.

On Monday, we visited the site closest to Trent University - Lady Eaton Drumlin.

King-devil (Hieracium caepitosum) in the Aster (Asteraceae) family.  The genus name, Hieracium, means hawk (hierax, Greek).  The orange-coloured flower cluster belong to a different species H. aurantiacum (Orange hawkweed or Devil's-paintbrush).

Wildflowers of Carden Plains

Despite me living so close to where I worked in 2010 (i.e., Carden Plains), I did not have the means to revisit the place.  Thanks to the field course I am assisting this month, I am now back to where it all began for me here in Ontario.

View from the Carden Rec Centre looking at Dalrymple Lake.

Good start to June - flowers, insects, and birds.

Came to school today to do some work.  Along the way, I saw this single yellow iris among the grasses next to the Otonabee River.  Strange place for a garden plant to be.

Very pretty nonetheless.