It was a rainy morning, but the Don Valley Parkway was closed for a charity bike ride, and I hate to miss a chance to enjoy the Beechwood area without the constant noise from the highway.

There were a thousand tiny spiderlings on the side of the equipment box:

And more young'uns in the river:

(Aww. I count an even dozen goslings.)

I spent some time cutting Japanese knotweed on Marnie's Point:

Note the sophisticated invasive-plant-removal technology: gloves, pruners, and an old bedsheet. You can't cram all that stuff into a garbage bag, and it's very wet and anty to gather up in your arms. I don't want to just leave it on the ground to smother all the good plants I'm trying to make room for, so I haul it away in a sheet and dump it across the path in No-Man's Land. There's also some tansy in there, along with the odd wisp of thistle and even a tree of heaven (betrayed by its peanut butter scent).

Cutting the Japanese knotweed doesn't discourage it in the least, I'm afraid. I've been cutting that stuff for years now, and the city keeps coming in to treat it with napalm or something, and still it grows, and grows, and grows. I came across a sobering picture of some knotweed growing through the pavement in Boston. (That's a cool blog, actually -- check it out.)

A purple-flowering raspberry shows how it got its name:

Also getting ready to flower is the staghorn sumac:

Here's what happens if nobody pulls up the Dame's Rocket ...

... and the garlic mustard ...

Each of those prongs is packed with seeds to continue this plant's takeover attempts.

One of the cow parsnips is now exactly my height, 5'4", but I don't expect it's done growing yet.

A closeup look at the flowers: