Another load of tansy joined the rest of the outcasts on the pile today:




This just in: leafcutter bees like sumac too.





The results of the after-storm cleanup across from Todmorden:

Have I mentioned that the goldenrod is covered in bees?

It rained this morning, but what an afternoon! I baked in the sun as I dealt with more knotweed and the odd Manitoba maple and tree of heaven. A swarm of tadpoles caught my eye:







Here's some white turtlehead:





One nice thing about being at Beechwood on a summer afternoon is the variety of dragonflies. This is a common whitetail:





A couple of blue ones:





Ooh, a red one!





On the way to Beechwood I found some goldfinches enjoying a patch of bull thistles:









The roses are turning themselves into rose hips:






Some plants put their energy into developing various burrs and stickers that attach themselves to me anywhere they can. This is how my gloves looked when I was finished today:





Can you stand looking at more bugs? I can't resist the goldenrod full of busy bees:

And one more spider:

Normally I'm not the type to get excited over footwear, but I think these are pretty spiffy:

They allowed me to get over to the little islet (which I think I'll name the Islet of Langerhans) and clear out the purple loosestrife lurking there. The boots could stand to be a bit taller, but as long as I squelched fairly quickly and didn't linger in one spot, I was fine. I'll just confine my pond incursions to dry spells when the water level is lower.

(Boots made in Canada and bought at Canadian Tire.)

The loosestrife joined more knotweed on the pile:

Some other things I saw around the pond:

I can't quite figure out those tracks. The smaller ones look like raccoon prints, but there were a couple of really large, deep ones that puzzled me. I didn't see any others in the area. Perhaps a large creature swung down on a bungee cord, snatched a raccoon, and pushed off again. (It's really not hard to solve these little mysteries if you just think it through.)

Seed pods formed by a ... plant of some kind:

It was a day of strange fruit. First, on the bike path:

I can just hear the local ants: "This is fantastic! What is this?!" Then, in the pond, a nice example of Rondus wimbledonii:

Finally, a few more bugs to admire:

Don't get close to the pointy part on this one:

This is a beetle pretending to be a scary wasp:

Today was a repeat of yesterday, but without the mink. I cut a lot of knotweed and yanked out a few other bits and pieces around the edges of the pond. I found more turtlehead and more buttonbush, more water plantain and lots of sedges to admire, and freed up some space for things like maple trees:

Some butter-and-eggs and thistles had cleverly moved off-shore in an attempt to evade me, but my jurisdiction reaches that far and I was able to pull them out by the roots:

Two black-crowned night herons, one adult and one juvenile, were watching over the pond when a great blue heron arrived with a mighty croak. (Scared me half to death.) The adult night heron wisely moved over and made room in the big dead tree:

Here's the young'un:

The goldenrod is really coming on strong now:

The cup plants are still holding their own:

I found another cicada. (Or the same one? Hard to tell.)

There are elderberries ripening:

I must admit I've never seen the appeal of elderberries, but I know people who love a nice elderberry pie. Another fruit I don't enjoy is blackberries, which I've realized is probably what we have growing at Beechwood, even if I thought they might be dewberries. (I've never encountered blackberries growing before so I wasn't expecting them, although it seems pretty obvious now.) I tasted one this morning and it fit with my very limited experience of eating blackberries: they don't taste like much of anything. I just don't get the point.

More artwork, this time created by some kind of leaf miner:

There was a welcome coolness in the air this morning, although the dampness remains, and I got a lot of work done before it got too hot. I cut down a bunch of Japanese knotweed and pulled some of the usual tansy, Queen Anne's lace, and thistles. The knotweed's showy flowers are helpful in giving away its location:

It was too early, cool and damp for this bumblebee to be up and about -- I had to give him a few minutes to collect his thoughts and move on before I cut down the knotweed he'd been resting on:

More insect life:

Here's a funnel web spider in its complex home:

(Aha, researching funnel web spiders has just given me the name of the Unnecessarily Long spiders I saw the other day: they're really called running crab spiders.)

Bugs are interesting but my favourite sighting today was a mink running across the path as I arrived at Beechwood. That's the second time I've seen one there -- they must like hunting in the pond.

I was afraid all our turtlehead had disappeared, but no, here it comes!

I love that flower. We have it in that lavender colour and also in white. I'm also finding more great blue lobelia around the site. It's very encouraging to see these things doing well.

I keep heading for purple thistles to pull them up, only to discover they're really purple asters starting to bloom:

I'll be darned, these dewberries are actually ripening into a dark purple/black as promised:

Stay tuned for a taste test soon.

Parts of Ontario were hit with severe storms last night, causing a lot of damage and killing at least one person. It was certainly stormy right here in mid-Toronto but I don't see much damage in my immediate neighbourhood or around Beechwood. The willows across from Todmorden Mills took a hit, but that happens all the time. Willows are beautiful, flimsy things.

I encountered a creature with striking markings. Can you guess what this is?



Time's up! It's a giant garden slug:

With keys to show size:

Blech!

A black-crowned night heron studying the Don River:

The storm, little birdie feet and a yellow heart-shaped leaf created some artwork beside the river:

The mini heatwave is over and I got back to business at Beechwood this morning. I cut down some Japanese knotweed around the pond, pausing to admire the nice healthy cattails:

And these Siamese cattails:

And then it all went horribly wrong:

This is water plantain growing at the edge of the pond:

I'm not familiar with these, but I've decided they're dewberries:

Perhaps swamp dewberries? Whatever they are, they're doing well this year.

If you've lost your phone, check under the big sign at Todmorden Mills:

Now, if you're squeamish about bugs at all, you're done reading right here. Have a nice day! The rest of you, come with me and check out the big gross creepy things I found today.

There were some Unnecessarily Long Spiders lurking in reeds beside the pond. They'd move around to hide from me (the way a squirrel moves around a tree trunk), then stretch out long and pretend to be reeds:

(I suspect Unnecessarily Long Spiders may not be the correct name here, but hey, my bug, my rules.)

I transported the knotweed stems I'd cut in an old sheet as usual. After dumping them on the reject pile I found I'd also been carrying this:

It's probably not called the Soda Cracker Spider.

The next insect wins in the size category, as well as Most Docile. Oh what the heck, I'll give it Best in Show. Here's a cicada that allowed me to uproot its plant and carry it over to the equipment box for better light and posing. (Yes, it was alive.)

I set out early to beat the heat, and admired the morning sun breaking through the mist:

When it's hot I just wander around stupidly, looking at things but not accomplishing much. I did notice some Japanese knotweed coming into flower; I think I'll make cutting it back my focus this week.

I spent some time gazing over the pond, which has come to life with little ... somethings ... breaking the surface:

The great blue heron was there too, but he flopped off as I approached. There's a tiny island in the pond:




Uh-oh, what's that in the middle?

Purple loosestrife. Perhaps it's time for me to buy a pair of rubber boots and wade over there.

I saw another one of these guys, identified by a friend as Japanese beetles and reported to be "Veryveryvery bad" (for damaging plants):

Doesn't this tree have interesting bark? I've decided it's an American sycamore (American plane-tree, buttonwood, buttonball-tree):

Here's its leaf:

More spiderweb effects:

Hard to see? Have a closer look at the twin webs:

Mandatory cup plant shot:

I'm back on my feet, just in time for a week of actual summer weather. This summer has been very good for me so far, never getting too hot for me to go outside and play, but now the temperature is creeping up and the humidity is closing in. Early mornings are still pleasant, though, and I headed to Beechwood for the first time in five days.

The heron was right where I left him on Sunday:

Still preening:

Still scratching:

Throwing in a little yoga for good measure:

Even the fence looked good in the morning light:

I walked right to the far end of the site, where I don't often visit. It has issues, including a large section of common reed as well as the usual suspects. Dog-strangling vine is flowing down the hill like lava, threatening all in its path:

I noticed a bit of DSV near Pottery Road that had been nibbled by some kind of bug, but I don't think this amount of damage will have much effect:

The goldenrod is beginning to flower:

A plant, a bug:

Sumac details:

'Tis the season of giant spiders in giant webs strung between the trees. If you're lucky you notice them before you walk through them. If not, it's the spiderweb dance for you!

Two reasons not to go to Beechwood:

1. getting over a bout of food poisoning

2.

Another day, another earth-shaking thunderstorm, ho-hum. In the late afternoon, encouraged by a deceptively cool breeze, I went to Beechwood. The heat wasn't bad but the humidity, whew. I might as well have been at the bottom of the pond. I pulled a small amount of tansy and QAL, but welcomed the chance to quit when a great blue heron croaked and flapped to the top of the dead tree.

Herons know they're cool:

Look at that bill! Yikes! The bird settled in for a lengthy grooming session ...

... punctuated by bouts of scratching. Scratch, scratch, scratch:

I took advantage of another fine morning to remove purple loosestrife and soapwort, then returned to the everlasting tansy. There's no way I'll clear it all out, but I had one of those days where I look around and realize that things are in pretty good shape overall, so I'm happy.

Tansy in full bloom at one edge of the Beechwood site:

I saw some downy woodpeckers and a rabbit today, and the flock of cedar waxwings that's been busy around the pond lately was still swooping from perch to perch. I haven't had one run into me yet, but sometimes they come close.

Apples are ripening and I'm starting to see Vs of geese. Summer is fleeting!

There's spotted jewelweed growing elsewhere in the valley. Hm, I have a feeling that some seeds may accidentally fall into my pocket and end up at Beechwood.

The heap of ousted plants just sits there across the bike path from Beechwood, composting away. I hope it's not cooking up some kind of mutation in there, resulting in an unbeatable garlic mustard/tansy/thistle hybrid.

It's another beautiful summer day at Beechwood. Time to kill some stuff! I made my way to Marnie's Point through a thick tangle of goldenrod and vines. It's hard to hurry anywhere on the site at this time of year. First up was the purple loosestrife:



That was heavy! There's another clump waiting for me at the south end of the pond, and I'm seeing more and more along the riverbank.

Then I cut down some Japanese knotweed. It wasn't as bad as I'd feared. Maybe there's hope that we'll really get rid of it some day? It can hardly find room to grow now amongst all the healthy native plants.





(Actually, I didn't quite get all the knotweed growing out over the pond -- no boots! I got the worst of it.)

The grapevine swarming over the dead tree is producing lots of grapes:



I had to get tough with some butter-and-eggs too. It's starting to get ideas. The soapwort is also making a move, so I'll deal with that soon (unless the bugs get it all).




Across the path is a strip of cup plants and sumacs that we worked hard to plant a couple of autumns ago. This is meant to act as a buffer between Beechwood and the rest of the invasives-filled valley. I spent many days there this spring, clearing out garlic mustard and Dame's Rocket. It's looking really good now. The sumacs were chewed down by deer again over the winter, but they've bounced back and some are taller than I am. It's wonderful what plants can do if you give them a chance.

We had another of our usual thunderstorms with heavy rain yesterday, but the sun returned today to dry up the puddles. I decided it was a good day to cut down some burdock and Japanese knotweed. But wait!

Somebody beat me to it. This stand of knotweed across the path has been cut down, probably by city workers. Or is there another guerrilla steward at large?

After pausing to admire some evening primrose ...

... I slaughtered a load of burdock and a bit more knotweed. I'm going to let things dry out for another day before I head over to Marnie's Point to cut the knotweed there, and to dig up the loosestrife that's trying to get established.

This helpful grapevine is doing its part to conquer the alien invaders:

A nice little fungus on an old log:

I finished by removing some of the ubiquitous tansy, then headed for home. Near the weir north of Pottery Road I ran into an old friend:

And what's that movement in the bushes? Ah yes, you never find just one deer:

It was good to see them again. I was beginning to wonder if I'd hurt their feelings. I wonder if these are the first two I saw in the spring? Hard to say, but they act the same: the big bold male with his smaller, timid sidekick.

Nomnomnom ...

Some video:

I sure hope y'all like cup plants.

I've been working on clearing a variety of the lesser pests around Beechwood: Queen Anne's Lace and a few thistles still, as well as armloads of crown vetch. Where did all that crown vetch come from?! Things sneak up on you if you're not watchful. I've also found a bit more purple loosestrife to deal with, and I see that the burdock I cut back earlier has re-sprouted great quantities of burrs. I'm planning a trimming day to deal with those and to tame some of the Japanese knotweed that's looming large.

The Canada anemone has formed seedheads too:

When I was clearing garlic mustard from Marnie's Point in the spring I kept finding what seemed to be tiny spruce trees. This one's coming along nicely:

Legend tells of a secret patch of Great Blue Lobelia hidden somewhere in the heart of the Beechwood wetland:

Joe Pye Weed (pink) and boneset (white) beside the pond:

Across the pond I saw a mama raccoon with three (or more?) little ones, dabbling in the water:

I've seen squashed snakes on the path before, but I think this is my first live snake sighting at Beechwood:




I have no quarrel with small, well-mannered, harmless snakes like this little garter snake. (The frogs may disagree about the "harmless" part.) I didn't expect to find one two feet off the ground in a dogwood, but what do I know?

Oh no, Mr. Bill!