At Home

For two days now we've had some late afternoon thunderstorm activity, together with wind and lots of rain. It doesn't last long, but it means having to shut down my computer for a bit.

The other night the thunder claps were right overhead which made me jump out of my skin more than once. Our poor, frightened dog kept very close to us the whole time.

Yesterday we checked on things outside -

• rain gauge read 12mm (about 1/2in.)
• garden looking a little soggy and flattened but all right
• puddles here and there

These are some pictures I took when I went for a walk down the road -

At the first corner I heard the Pileated Woodpecker
hammering away on this power pole. I haven't
seen him for awhile.

There are lots of wildflowers in bloom,
spots of colour everywhere I look.

My little companion among the daisies.

By the Lake

On a recent visit to one of my favourite places in this region of British Columbia I came across several interesting plants that were growing along the lake shore. The first one was the Cottonwood tree with all the lovely fruits hanging from it. It looked tropical, growing as it did, all but in the water. The next one was the Artemisia or Wormwood, common to this particular area. I have seen this plant before at the historic site here and wondered then if Europeans had brought it over and planted it in their gardens. I almost walked by the third plant barely glancing at it because of its similarity to the dandelion. But there was something different about it that caught my inexpert eye, and I came back to have a closer look.

Stuart Lake, Fort St. James
Green Grapes?

No, it's the fruit
of the Cottonwood tree.

Stuart Lake, Fort St. James

Wormwood, a non-native species

It has a camphor-like scent and has been used
to repel fleas and moths.

Stuart Lake, Fort St. James

Western Salsify
Tragopogon dubius
Aster Family

Other common names are
Western Goat's Beard and Wild Oysterplant.
It was introduced from Europe.

This roadside plant with its distinctive flower
(notice the bracts which are a feature of all Salsify species)

is found in every Canadian province
except Newfoundland and the territories.
Considered an invasive plant in some areas.

Spring Flowers and Willow Fuzz

I looked high and low and could not find any pink wildflowers to illustrate the poem I chose for today's entry. The wild rose blossoms are still tightly packed in their buds and won't make an appearance until sometime this month. The flower colour which stands out the most at this time is the sun colour - yellow. Everywhere I turn, some shape or shade of yellow draws my attention. The lilacs aren't woodland plants, but they happily grow beside them, and this past week the serviceberry shrubs burst into bloom, the flowers, from a distance, looking very much like snowy dollops attached to the branches. If I follow a narrow path where many willows grow near the water, willow fuzz lightly floats and is carried by the late spring breeze. Please enjoy the flowers and the poem by Han Yu.

Oregon Grape

Lilacs, opening

Serviceberry Shrub

Every plant and tree knows Spring will soon be gone

A hundred pinks and purples

Compete with their bouquets

Willow fuzz and elm pods lack such clever means

They only know how to fill the sky with snow.

~Han Yu (768-824)

Woodland Flowers

"Flowers are beautiful hieroglyphics of nature,
with which she indicates how much she loves us."

~Wolfgang von Goethe

Arnica in the sun by the roadside.

In between rain showers, the sun came out, and
this solitary Bumble Bee was seen foraging
for nectar and pollen.

The Bumble Bee is considered a generalist
and goes to a wide variety of flowers.

She gathers nectar
with a long, tube like tongue
and stores it in her crop.

Wild Clematis Vine
growing in the forest,

Flowers opening soon

to their fullest glory.

"Flowers have a mysterious and subtle
influence upon the feelings,
not unlike some strains of music."
~Henry Ward Beecher

((((( )))))

Delightful Days

Good morning, Sun. Thank you
for giving me light and life.

Cottonwood

Birch

Saskatoon

Arnica

Rufous

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