Garden pics

A poppy from a couple of weeks ago from Marg's garden. Today marks 4 years from Marg's passing, the boys and I visited the cemetery today to remember. She is missed by all.

My first cover page

One of the local papers were looking for pictures for the new Temiskaming area tourist guide, I sent in this picture the last day before the deadline. I found out when my brother in law Brian went in to buy gas in New Liskeard and on the counter he noticed his canoe in the pic from one of our canoe trips. I was selected for the cover page what a surprise.

Blue Flag

Right now all the Blue Flags are blooming, here's one that I photographed the other day while ATVing.

Last day of June all ready

Wow where did June go but at least its going out on a great crisp cool day. Low humidity and clear skies what more can you ask for.
Couple of pics for the end of the month another HDR image (several images stacked on one another to see all the hilites and shadows). This one shows some great sky. The other pic is Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) in bloom right now.

Daisies starting to bloom

Just a pic of a few daisies.

Twinflower on Bouche Rd.

Yesterday I went up the Bouche Rd to see if the water had gone down across the road, with all the rain it is even higher. On my way back I spotted a mossy rock covered with Twinflowers (Linnaea borealis) at this point it was pouring rain I couldn't get out of the truck for a pic. I put a larger lens on and took them thru the window and to come back today for some better shots. Today the flowers looked drowned out but I did find some with a little colour left in.

Blueberry update

Berries are starting to grow, looks as though it may be a good year again. Hopefully the rain will let up one of these days so they get some sun. I would guess the third week in July there may be some getting ripe.
Another plant the Pale Corydalis (Corydalis sempervirens) mostly on rocky or dry ground. These pics were taken south of Hedlund Marsh which is now flooded again, the beavers must have got to work.

Pine pollen

The pine trees have been pollinating everything, the lake, the ground even yourself if you get close enough to brush the branches. Great yellow mats were floating on the lake last week. This flower I gave a shake to show you how much comes out of just one. I feel sorry for those with allergies.
Another flower in bloom right now Fringed Polygala or Gaywings (Polygala paucifolia)

Edith Lake

Edith Lake mosquito heaven this AM. Forgot bug jacket and spray. I won't go in to details. Here are some very, very quick shots of Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) and Starflower (Trientalis borealis).

Moccasin Flowers

Down the Spear Lake Rd. to see if the old bridge was still there. We have had so much rain that it could have been washed away but sure enough it was intact. Beaver have built a dam right underneath it and the water is pouring over it from the run off. It looks rickety but useable. The best area is below the bridge near Spear Lake. The trail goes up a very high esker and south of that is a large sand plain. The esker is covered with Jack Pine with understory of Labrador Tea, Laurel, sphagnum and Lichens. Small plants Canada Mayflower, Clintonia, Bunchberry and Moccasin Flower or Pink Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium acaule). I have never seen so many Moccasin flowers in bloom in one place, there were thousands of them. An interesting note about the Moccasin flower is it takes 10 years from germination to the flowering stage.

Pics from last weekend

A couple of pics from last weekend when Jeremy and the boys were up. We took a ride up the Bouche Rd and found a cluster of 8 Goldeneye chicks on a small pond in the cut over. I suspect we cut them off from going into Firth Lake. After awhile the hen called them away and we moved on to let them get on with their trip.
On the way back to Gowganda we spotted this fox on the side of the road heading back to the den with its kill. It looks like a vole he is bringing home.

Checking duck box at Mosher Lake

Mosher Lake is just south of the bottom end of Duncan Lake. On the island is a duck box with no apparent takers yet.
While there I visited an open mine addit on the east side of the lake. Ed Barnstaple pointed me in the right direction. More on that in another post. At the addit a Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) growing from a rock ledge above the water and a closeup of one of the flowers.

Checking duck box in Diabase Lake

Hiked in through the bush to get a look at this one. I thought this one would be a winner but not this time. I will check it again though.
On the way back some Marsh Marigolds along the shore, and a close up of the same.

Checking duck nesting boxes on Gowganda Lake

Ed and Faye Barnstaple installed duck nesting boxes on Gowganda Lake while the ice was still in. The other day Ed asked if I would like to go out in the boat and check the 7 boxes on Gowganda Lake to see if nesting was starting. The first few didn't look as if there were any takers, finally one looked promising with a pair of Wood Ducks took flight right out from under a nestbox. Looking closely at the entrance a downy feather was sitting in the entrance (red circle). It seems as though there might be some action on one of the seven new boxes on Gowganda Lake. A follow up will be needed to check later from a safe distance.
The falls at the south end of Gowganda Lake is still flowing quite well from the run off from Hangingstone Lake drainage area to the south.

Single lake

Violets from Single Lake

Leatherleaf in Bloom

Leatherleaf in bloom compare with May 5 picture.

Blueberrys

Lots of blooms on the blueberries, I hope the frost doesn't get them. Great crop last year, best I'd seen.

Spring is starting to shape up

Finally spring is starting to happen, leaves are opening, pollen is flowing out of the balsam firs, and spring flowers are appearing. This AM a light frost and -2C. Out to Helund Marsh and Single Lake to take some pics. The first a cone on the moss and moss with fruiting bodies.
This is the first post I have done using the Firefox browser. I have been having so much trouble posting with IE 9 I couldn't stand it any longer. I hope this post works.

New forestry machine in the bush

It may not be new but the first time I have seen them. The harvesters and skidders are working on the Bouche Rd about 4km north of the highway cutting west towards Serpentine Lake. These pictures are of the skidder loader that is picking up the logs from the harvester. Fewer roads are needed as these load and carry to existing roads at this cut.

Back from trip to Huntsville, Parry Sound area

Just in time to see the Trilliums blooming east of Sprucedale. Ontario's provincial flower.

An other pic from yesterday

At the Edith Lake rapids the water is flowing very quickly, all the rocks are under water around the boat launch. I walked up the river north towards Burke Lake a short distance to take this picture. Great to put the canoe in Burke and shoot the river.

Couple more HDR pics

Up the Edith Lake Rd today, lots of water coming down the river. Water levels in Edith very high. Went down the trail towards Obushkong Lake where I took some pictures last fall. Great area with lots of forest cover and ground cover all mosses Labrador tea, and Snowberry.

Something new

Blogger had some problems and they lost the last post on me. I'm going to try and recreate it. It deals with HDR photos. This is when you take three pictures using a tripod of the same thing with different shutter speeds. One is a normal picture, the second is shot with a slower shutter speed to show whats in the shadows and the last on a higher shutter speed to develop for the hilites. Combining the three together to get a dynamic range from the shadows to hilites all exposed correctly. You will notice under the rock you can see most of whats underneath.
I have also lost all the comments on this blog too.

Out ATVing again

Up the Bouche Rd and across the trail north of Firth Lake, south down the Holwood Rd. east on highway 560 to Elkhorn Rd and south as far as the road into Margueratt lake and into the cut to the east. The bridge has been taken out where Margueratt Lake flows into Elkhorn. Lots of good birch wood slash going to waste again. Finally back up to the highway and home. Good trip even better weather. The pictures are from Firth Creek north of Firth Lake

It's official Ice Out May 8, 2011

Weather has changed a lot and fast, dandelions coming up, grass greening, mosquitoes and lots of birds have returned. The ice was declared gone yesterday from the North Arm the official sign of ice out.

Fishermen are out on the lake

Yes, fishing is going on in between the ice flows, today most of the lake south of the town has open water the bays still have ice and the North Arm is all ice. Another couple of warm days and some wind will make a big difference.
Up the Bouche Rd. to visit a swamp before the bugs get to bad. Finally found something that is starting to bud. Around most of the swamps and bogs Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata) grows like a stunted shrub and is very common. These will soon be bell-shaped white flowers hanging down in a row.

Clip of John Deere tree harvester

This is a clip of a tree harvester that does it all cuts the tree down, dlimbs it and cuts to size all with one machine and that is the end that does it all

Tonights ice

Just back from a couple of pics of tonights ice. And one from yesterday of the crack across the bay.

ATV trip on Sunday

Paul and I headed out on our first trip Sunday afternoon down winter cutting road to Stumpy Lake. The very first part of the trip is on the old existing road and from there its just carved out of the landscape. Rocky high areas and swampy low areas with rocks and trees holding the road up in the really wet spots. In some spots we made it through because the ground was still frozen. We made it down to the end but the trail ends before the lake we walked the rest of the way in to a small bay at the north end of Stumpy. The first pic is part of the trail through two outcrops and the other a sensitive part of the boreal forest.

Lake starting to break up

The ice on the lake this AM is all black, with a crack from Outlook Point to Auld Reekie with the wind blowing hard from the south you could just about paddle across the bay. High winds will start to chew up the ice now, tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warm.

Pics are from MacIntosh Creek with the creek starting to show a lot better. The tree looks like has probably been hit by a Pileated Woodpecker looking for grubs. This woodpecker is the largest in Ontario.