From the Earth to the Sky

 It has been a hot summer, with extended heat waves and dry conditions.  Before we start complaining about the cold, I thought I'd write about our remarkable dragons, damsels, butterflies and moths.  Lambton County is home to several species of these winged wonders. Summer 2025 I have wandered Blackwell trails, Wawanosh and Canatara park, as well as farther out into the county at Sydenham River Nature Reserve, Marthaville Management Area, Discovery Park and Pinery P.P. as well as my home garden.  I have seen more than these species, but was unable to get decent photos, so here is a sampling of my summer. Red Spotted Purple (Admiral) Limentis arthemis astyanax at Marthaville Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes  at Wawanosh Wetlands 8 spotted Forestors Moth Alypia octomaculata at home garden, Wyoming Cabbage White butterfly Pieri rapae on Aster at home Eastern Giant Swallowtail Heraclides cresphontes  in Wyoming Great Spangled Fritillary Argynnis cybele...

 I have always had a keen interest in botany.  Since I was a young child, I have been interested in growing things and being in nature.  For the past 30 years I have tried to include as many native perennials, trees and shrubs to my garden as possible.  When I lived in a house in Newmarket, I belonged to the North American Native Plant Society and would attend and volunteer at many plant sales and field trips.  When we moved here to Lambton county we had quite a bit of land, 1/3 of and acre, and I had a medicine wheel garden as well as many sunny border gardens.  I had a bog garden in an old clawfoot bath tub and a woodland garden around the mature trees. Life happened and I find myself happy in a 2 bedroom townhouse with a 6' x 12' front garden.  I have always been drawn to meadow so I have included many grassland species.   One of my favourite pollinator plants is the Virginia Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum virginianum.  It's delicate whit...

Lovely friendly Willow Flycatcher!  I call him Will! Every morning on my way to work, at least twice a week, I bird a country byline that is bound by a woodlot on one side, a field of soybeans on the other and a gravel pit with heavy construction as well.  It is extremely birdy in all seasons and one of the best places to just sit and watch is this dead tree.  It is a morning perch for several species, but there is always this lovely male Willow Flycatcher Empidonax taillii serenading me with its unique sneezy fitz-bew.  He was even there the day I went when it was raining.  Most birds take shelter in the rain, but he was out there letting everyone know of his presence! I know I will miss him dearly when he leaves for his wintering grounds, not too far off in the future. The tree towers over a wet willow thicket and is multi-branched.    I have walked this kilometre long country road, but this area seems to be the best for viewing birds.  It is a...

Butterfly Gardening I created this powerpoint presentation years ago to present at local libraries and horticultural societies.  it was very popular and went over well, especially as usually I would present during the winter.  I thought my blog followers may like it!  Enjoy! You will be redirected to an Adobe site, please be patient!  I must warn you though, the presentation is very long. This gorgeous female Monarch butterfly laying an egg on my Swamp Milkweed this morning!

 The Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas is a project between Birds Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ministry of Natural Resources Government of Ontario , Ontario Field Ornithologists and Ontario Nature.  The project uses volunteer birders to input data to determine the breeding birds of Ontario.  It started Jan. 1, 2021, but I just started participating this year for the breeding season the end of May til mid July.  It is the final of the 5 years and as I participated in the previous one, I volunteered to help out at the tail end.   I was given a square that was quite rural, on the south edge of Lambton county.  I went out for 7 to 9am  most weekends and did several point counts (determining the number of birds seen and heard in a 5 minute period at a predetermined area).  Male Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis on territory It was fun and interesting, and a lot of work!  I learned a great deal about birds, about their breeding habits, an...