Ptarmigan Cirque de Soleil et beaucoup de vent!

Me and the littlest took a quick late afternoon trek up to see the subalpine forest and alpine tundra.  Other than passing a few souls on their way home, we pretty much had the whole mountain to ourselves.  The temperature when we started out was only 10 C and the wind was hard to keep your hat on insane.  I was glad that I brought rain suits and an extra sweater for the littlest, otherwise, I think we would have been cold.

The flowers were stunning - paintbrush in white, cream, 4 shades of pink and red, purple aster, yellow and white avens, arnica, saxifrage, moss campion, Saussurea densa, fireweed, vetch, alpine forget-me-not, rocky mountain goldenrod, luetkea pectinata or smelowskia calycina (not sure which), shrubby cinquefoil, stonecrop, and I think my hard to identify thick-rooted spring beauty plant found way up in a gravelly, shaded crevice.  If anyone has a different identification, let me know, I struggled with this one.Today, even at a much lower altitude there is fresh snow on the mountain top.  

To think last week we were melting in the heat an today, I'm wishing I had a warmer sweater on, inside...!!!

  

White and Yellow Mountain Avens    

Moss Campion

Thick rooted spring beauty - Claytonia Megarrhiza????

Paintbrush     

      

 

Inspired by the wild

Obviously, I've been lucky enough to spend a bit of time hiking about in my favourite garden - nature. Above, another shot from Awenda Provincial Park, a bunch of hepatica has burst from the cover of dead leaves in a cheery bouquet. I'm getting ready to plant my own garden - largely perrenials at this point - including a woodland shade garden. I've tried to pick native plants as much as possible - although there are a few hard to resist plants that have come from afar. I've got bunchberry, jacob's ladder, ostrich fern, maiden fern, periwinkle, veronica, woodruff, violets, geum, ajuga, bleeding heart, lily-of-the-valley, echinaecea, and quite a few others. I'm pretty excited. I'll be posting pictures soon as one of my goals is to photo document my garden (with instructions for my parents for next year). I'm still toying with ideas to includes some rocks (mainly for a spot to stand so I can water the plants) and what kind of border or paths I want. In the mean time, I've been working hard in the daylight hours I've been free to do so to reseed the patches of lawn that need it (i.e. the entire back yard and a good chunk of the sides in the front.) and work 3 jobs. Funny, I'm actually loving being busy. Cheers, JP

Warped Trilliums

I wonder what is wrong with them... They were the only ones that we saw that looked like this.

Dutchman's Breeches

I haven't seen any of these yet on the Bruce Trail - but there were plenty at awenda.

Catching another trout (lily)

Trout lilies are fickle to photograph - either they are blurry or cool - rarely in between.

Awenda's flowers blew me away. I really enjoyed them.

Equisetum Awendicus

Gabe and I revisited Awenda last week to check out the spring burst... here is a shot that just worked out cool...

Odd Green Trillium

I'm not sure if it is a mutation, a virus or just some strange strain. This is super-kiem trillium.

Trilliums at Kelso

Red, White and Unusual Trilliums seen while hiking with Gabe the other day. I've never seen one like the bottom trillium, although I've seen similar ones with green streaks. I'll post a nifty one from Mount Nemo next.

Fronds Unfurling

There is simply something completely amazing about the way ferns transition from frond to plant. They have an incredible grace - almost balletic (:D if that is a word) that warms the soul.

The Coltfoot Calvalry Heralds the Coming of Spring

See what a supply of photos can do for the frequency of my posts. I'm trying not to use them up too quickly - life is rapidly getting busier. There are so many things I want to do, and barely enough time for the stuff I need to do.

Coltsfoot is a cool plant and usually the very first I've seen in spring, crocuses and dafodils aside seeing as they grown in our neighbours yard. This shot is also from Inverhuron's MacIntrye Park. :D Yeah for Spring

This years first trillium picture for Lothyn

Well, its not quite open - but here it is - the first trillium of the year. Vifa nia ramma squafa, yamma nia kiem.

So after seeing all these grat wildflowers - I'm back to trying to plan my woodland garden. I'm going to pass on the spring ephemerals, but I'm hoping to plant mostly native species including some favourites like twin flower, bunch berry, solomon's seal and wood fern. All I have to do is figure out how much leaf matter to mix in with the dirt (oh yeah, and move the dirt into that corner). I'll be sharing pictures as I get around to working on it between my thesis and everything else.

Bloodroot - Mount Nemo

These are often the first spring flowers to bloom. The leaves are really cool - and this picture just worked out well. They were the first we saw on our hike, a good omen for sure!

Round Lobed Hepatica

These flowers were so intensely charming that they made my day. I'll have to learn more about them.

Trout Lily - View Pointing Skyward

Beckoning scent draws
Thriving life to drink nector
In shady haven

Dance of Delicate Trout Lily

Although I hear rumours that some of you are shovelling out of 30 cm of snow - spring has arrived at Mount Nemo (barring westward travelling snowstorms - eek!!) So I thought I'd quickly put up a few of my pictures today and hopefully if I can get a lot done today, I might be able to go hiking again later this week, by which time I expect to see the trilliums in bloom. At least some of them.

Midway Peatmoss and Cranberry

Just a fun mix of colours growing on a boggy bit of ground beside the trail.

Orange Lichen

I always loved these lichens.

Encrusted Saxifrage

This little artichoke-like plants (at least if my memory serves me correctly) are encrusted saxifrage, one of the random arctic plants that are found in and around the north shore of Lake Superior.

Proof that God is a Water Colour Painter and Possibly a Gardener

Is there any more striking a combination of flowers than purple asters set against a background of goldenroad and the browns and bronze-red of fading Spotted-Joe-Pye Weed? Perhaps the m ix of steel blue Chicory, Queen Ann's Lace and bright gold-yellow birds-foot-trefoil? Tonight I was wishing I had my camera sharply. As I headed home from my 6th Aerobics class in 7 days, the sky was amazing... I just wanted to paint it... I'm not sure I can describe it to give it justice - imagine creamy clouds a colour between pale gold and peach ranging to brighter salmon's, cranberries and purples and then superimpose a rainbow on it and then you have my sky if you have enough imagination to picture its beauty.. but alas I was was 10 min from home and stuck in traffic besides... so it'll have to be one of those skies that you remember in you mind.

I'm off to the Wilmot tomorrow - just Gabe, Me and Woody Debris (or Coarse Woody Material as Stan would have me say - but the older term has a homey forestry ring to it for me - so forgive my nostalgia... anywho... much to do and pack up.. :D

Jennith

Forgotten Photos

I was asked for some pictures for a pamplet for school and while purusing my photos I discovered this one, which I'm sure I didn't post and so I decided to remedy that with this short post (taken at the Eramosa River at Stone Road this June - and I actually don't know what the flower is)

In other news I've killed no less than 3 pairs of sandels including both my water and abuse resistant ones. Fortunately I did in the right of one pair and the left of the other.. so if you see me in the garden with mismatched sandels, it is because I don't see the point of buying a new pair with it nearly being winter. The weather is beautiful today, even though it wasn't supposed to be.

Ah well,

Jennith