We are officially halfway through May today. Where has the time gone? It’s been 2 months since we’ve gone into some form of lockdown. Mother Nature, however, continues along her regular timeline, pandemic or not. On my creek path the apple blossoms are starting to fade. There are still quite a lot of them but they’re time is almost done.
Dying Apple Blossom
However, as one flower moves on a new one comes in. I found what I think is Ground Ivy. I hope that’s what they’re called. My plant app assures me that I’m correct, Whatever they are tiny and cute and purple.
Ground Ivy
I seem to be seeing more wildlife now. Today I’ve come across another rabbit. This one is a little smaller than the previous one but just as curious about what I’m doing. At least curious enough to not hop off too far as I take his/her photo.
Peter Cottontail
I always love when I spot something other than the regular flowers that I tend to come across on my neighbourhood walks. I forget sometimes that there is wildlife all around us. When I come across an animal It’s a very good reminder to me that we share our space with other creatures and that we must respect them.
I was out by the train tracks by the creek taking photos of the Siberian squills when I heard a rustling behind me. When I turned around I saw… a bunny!
Bunny
This rather large bunny looked at me, chewed some grass for a minute or so, and then it hopped a few feet into the bush.
Big Fluffy Bunny
From the bush, it just sat there looking over its shoulder at me. He’s probably waiting for me to leave. After taking a few more photographs, I decided to move on and leave the bunny to his foraging.
Lilacbush
At home, our Lilacbush is in full bloom. Do you notice something familiar about this photo? Could it be that the flower is purple? I found out from my friend Nigel that bees are attracted to the colour purple. I also found out in my research of bees that purple and blue flowers produce the highest amount of nectar, which explains this whole purple flower explosion we have in the spring.
It’s the last day of our trip to Algonquin but the exploring isn’t done just yet. After breakfast we head out to Big Pines Trail for what we hoped would be a snowshoe but the melting snow didn’t make for good conditions.
Enjoying the View
After our hike on the Big Pines Trail we decided to do one more hike at Spruce Bog Trail. This trail is always a good spot for spotting birds and other wildlife.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
We were not disappointed as we were greeted by a nuthatch and a couple chickadees. A red squirrel also joined us and was more than happy to pose for our photos.
Posing for photos
As is traditional we stopped one last time at the Mew Lake campground to see if we could spot the Pine Marten again and we were lucky enough to have him come out of the forest and visit us.
Who are you?
Although hesitant he was more than happy to eat the seed that people have left behind. Another great trip to Algonquin comes to an end but we look forward to future trips here.
While walking down my regular path along the creek I stopped to take a photo of some small purple flowers. As I was shooting a bee decided to buzz in and harvest some pollen.
Pollinating
It’s always amazing to me to see such a large body being propelled through the sky with what look like unsubstantial wings. I mean, really? How do they stay in the air? Especially those huge bumble bees but I digress.
Walking a little further I found a rotting basket deep in the trees near the creek edge and had to get some photos in the late daylight.
Broken Basket
I love coming across little gems like these and because this one is so close to the house it’s nice to revisit it at different times of the day to see what works best. I will be revisiting this basket again.
Discovering things in your neighbourhood can help you realize what light works best for your particular subject.
