Water Lily

Here is a waterlily from a water garden in Gowganda.

A few plants out now

Here are a few pics of plants from some trips along the road.  The first one Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) which is quite poisonous to animals and humans. The second a Wild Rose and a newer one Pink Pyrola (Pyrola asarifolia).

Cloud burst

Another before and after from the garden

Before

After a Poppy

The Mayfly season is upon us

 From this that crawled out of the water and shed its skin

to this

 

for more info visit Mayfly

Just about the end of the Lupins for this year

Here are some along highway 560 in town.

Out early this AM

Revisited the Osprey this AM, both parents still flying around with nest material although they didn't land back in the nest as often as last time, I didn't stay too long.

After leaving there I visited the beaver pond and caught him snacking on some birch.  He soon got back in the water and gave me the tail slap,  I guess he was telling me enough already.

Edith Lake today

Another HDR picture this time from Edith Lake.

Couple of flowers in HDR

Here are a couple of flowers in HDR (High Dynamic Range) where 3 or more pictures are taken at different shutter speeds and then combined.  The first is Wild Lily of the Valley.

The second a close up of the Moccasin flower head

Transit of Venus

Good day for grass cutting today, bit of a breeze off the lake to keep away the bugs.  Towards the afternoon the black clouds a bit of rain and thunder started time to pack it in for the day. Today is the day that Venus is between the earth and the sun, and  is visible as a black dot crossing the sun.  It was cloudy but around 7:30 pm and the sun popped out in a hole in the clouds, ran out and got the welding mask and after squinting and staring looking I finally saw a black dot at about 1:00 o'clock on the sun.  I can't wait to see it again in 2117 the next time it's visible. Didn't get any pics of it but it is all over the news.
Here is pic from a couple of days ago of a Starflower (Trientalis borealis).

Rain, and more rain

Damp weather the last couple of days, badly needed to put out the forest fires that have been threatening towns and cities.  Most fires in the NE are under control.  A total of 42,540 ha.  or 164 sq. miles were burnt in the Timmins, Kirkland Lake and the one north of Elk Lake. The one north of Elk Lake has deep hot spots that crews are still actively working on.

On another note here are some Bunchberry from today.

Back to the lilacs

The last time I was taking pics of the lilacs I saw what I thought were hummingbirds but smaller.  Long story short they were Clear winged Hummingbird Moths (Hemaris thyspe) which I had never before.  There were several flying around their wing beats were just like a hummingbird and hovered at the flowers to feed.  I took some pics but they were just moving to fast but finally I enlarged one of my pics to see this crop. This one would be about 35mm.

Swallowtail butterfly

The lilacs this year were just covered with bumblebees, wasps, moths and butterflys especially the Swallowtail butterfly as you see here

Fires still burning

Perfect weather for fires, very hot, a low humidity, dry forest and wind.  Another fire has now started south of Gogama.  Kirkland Lake is waiting for the call to evacuate if the fire gets any closer.  Rain may start next Sunday a long way off.

Here are some blueberry blossoms I seen coming back from the Osprey nest.

Great weather today

Yesterday afternoon we had quite a thunderstorm and shower.  Most of the water was just sucked into the ground it is so dry.  To the northeast there is a large fire threatening Kirkland Lake and out to the west near Gogama the fire stretches 45 km north to south (21,000 ha.) the largest in the province.  Lightning strikes from yesterday will start to show in a couple of days, with no rain in sight for the week.  Hopefully none around here.

Out this AM taking some pics of the Osprey nest I found a couple of weeks ago, they may have an egg  but are still building the nest.  Here's one with a branch for the nest.

Butterfly feeding on lilacs

The butterfly is upside down and feeding on the pollen below.  Look close and you will see the feeding tube.

Sitting around listening to the frogs

Near Foot Lake

First run with the boat this year

Testing the motor the other day so it will be ready for fishing .  Headed down to the falls at the south end of the lake.  Took the camera for a few pics too.

Supermoon tonight

Today is the day the moon is 26,000 km closer to the earth making it look 14% bigger.  This was taken tonight just after moonrise.

 This is about 45min later as it got further up in the sky and finally disappeared behind the cloud cover.

HDR of Marsh Marigold

Marsh Marigold