04-MAY-2010
Hawthorn (Cratageus sp.)
Hawthorns are flowering now and attract numerous insects, as do the wild plum and the crabapple trees.
04-MAY-2010
Mallard pair
These mallards have been hanging around the pond for quite some time, but no signs that they are nesting.
04-MAY-2010
Crab spider on Dandelion
Here is a perfect example of camouflage! This yellow crab spider is sitting on a dandelion and blending right in. She knows that flies, bees, beetles all like to nectar on these flowers and so all she has to do is wait!
04-MAY-2010
Raccoon
I always check a particular spot at FWG to see if there is a raccoon there. Often there isn't, but occasionally there is, and so it was today. This one is quite large and looks like he has been around awhile. Hope he continues wary.
04-MAY-2010
American goldfinch.jpg
Back at the FWG this morning to find it very busy, more so with humans than with birds. Renate, one of our volunteers, had a group of students doing some work there. A few more students, this time from Carleton University were searching for Syrphids for research purposes. And lots of people walking through the garden (fewer dog walkers, more non-doggy types).
The birds noticed were the same as yesterday, except no towhee and with the addition of a gorgeous brown thrasher!
03-MAY-2010
Yellow dung fly on forget-me-not
These pretty golden flies have an unfortunate name! They are pretty common right now and I've found them on fruit trees, maples and of course, Forget-me-not. Indeed, this plant is attracting an abundance of insects including syrphid flies, sweat bees and nomada bees, in addition to this fly.
03-MAY-2010
Toothwort (Dentaria diphylla)
A native wildflower species growing in the Ash woods. We are not sure how it got there as nobody remembers planting it. Every year it comes up and expands little by little. A very pretty white flower for a wooded setting.
03-MAY-2010
Mitrewort (Mitella diphylla)
Another native species, also known as Bishop's Cap. Along with Foamflower (Tiarella), and many other familiar plants, it is a memeber of the Saxifrage family. Grows in shaded areas.
03-MAY-2010
Crabapple (Malus sp.)
Ornamental crabapples abound at the FWG. All were planted before we took over management of the site, although some of the saplings have been kindly planted by birds and squirrels! You can tell from that, that many feed wildlife, although there are some that remain untouched no matter how little food is around otherwise.
03-MAY-2010
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
The Ash woods are at their best right now for the abundance of newly leafing out shrubs and trees and the variety of wildflowers, including this one. Here you can see the "Jack", the spadix, from which the plant gets its name: Jack in his pulpit!
03-MAY-2010
Camperdown elm
Visitors to the garden will know this tree well. It sits at the junction of the service roads that cut through the garden, on the north west side of the Ash woods. It has a contorted shape, with wide flaring branches that encourage people to climb up and sit on them. It is not a native shrub, but a grafted tree of two different species, and was there long before we took over.
03-MAY-2010
Solomon's seal (Polygonatum)
This plant is just beginning to flower and one of the most graceful of woodland plants, with its stem curving downward and the small greenish white flower clusters pointing down.
