Monday Forest photo: May 29, 2012

2:00pm 33C cloudy

Wow, what a scorcher! The air is thick and thunderstorms are threatening. I hope we get lots of rain. My walk was short today because this is mad dogs and Englishmen weather and I am neither. There are still a couple more days in May, but summer is in full swing.

Orange Hawkweed

There are a few new wildflowers this week. I was particularly excited to see the Lady's Slipper. I didn't notice it last year, but it is in a unique micro habitat on a hillside beside a little seasonal spring.

Swamp Buttercup

Large Yellow Lady's Slipper 

Seneca Snakeroot

Monday Forest photo: March 19, 2012

11:00am 18C sunny

 So sorry about the missing month of Monday Forest. I did take pictures, and I'll probably post them for continuity's sake sometime. We've gone from winter to summer and it isn't even officially spring until tomorrow. I read in the paper that some expert is calling this stretch of hot weather (mid twenties in March!) a 1 in a 1000 year event. Yesterday, the record high temperature was broken by 9 degrees C and there's warmer for later on this week. In fact, the forecast low for Wednesday night is higher than the previous record high. This weather is impossible not to enjoy at this time of year (well, any time of year) but it's a little like how I imagine it feels to live the high life on stolen loot. In this case, we've stolen our kids' climate.

The forest floor is coming to life even though only yesterday there was still snow covering more than half of it. I don't know what this hairy-tongued thing is.

For comparison, this picture was taken last week, when the temperature got up to a whopping 12C. This is what kids in Canada do - on the first nice day they put on shorts, find a patch of bare ground and skype with their friends on their mom's laptop. With chickens. Just like when I was a kid. Except for the skype and laptop and chickens. More like transistor radio and book, but still.

Monday forest photo: August 15, 2011

5:30pm 24C cloudy

It's a quickie today, but summer is definitely waning, even if it is still nice and warm. The days are a little shorter and there are acorns on the ground.

The chicks are almost 7 weeks old and starting to act all grown up.

Monday forest photo: August 8, 2011

10:30am 22C mostly cloudy 

I don't know if it shows in the picture, but there are starting to be some changes in the forest as we get into late summer. Some of the plants have turned brown after our very dry last few weeks and everything is just a little less lush. We did have lots of rain yesterday, but you'd barely know it this morning. 

It was interesting to see bees "bearding" outside the entrance to their hive in the cedar tree. Apparently, this cools the hive by getting some bees outside and their fanning draws warm air out.

Monday forest photo: July 18, 2011

1:30pm 29C cloudy 

A wicked wind storm blew through last night, but there wasn't much damage in the forest this time. I thought for sure there would be trees down, but I guess the trees are pruned of their weak branches by previous storms. It's warm and sticky today, but nothing like yesterday.

A beetle, a bee and an inchworm walk into a bar...

There are some naturalized brown-eyed susans around our property, which are apparently host to all sorts of creatures. 

Monday forest photo: July 4, 2011

7:30am 19C scattered clouds

I normally walk in the woods a little later in the day, to let the mosquitoes settle down a bit, but today promises to be very warm again, and I felt like taking advantage of the cooler morning. It turned out to be a brisk walk - I've found if you keep moving at a good pace the mosquitoes don't bother you as much.  As much as if you stand still, that is. If you stand still you will quickly find yourself so anemic from blood loss that you will require a transfusion if you can make it out of the bush. A slight exaggeration, perhaps, but I didn't spend much time on the picture-taking part of the walk.

Monday forest photo: June 20, 2011

2:30pm 25C clear

Well, not a bad way to see spring out. The weather is perfect. I wish I could capture smells with my camera, because the forest smells amazing. There is the intoxicating balsam fir, a lot of different florals, some medicinal herby smells and the earthy earth. It's such a treat to walk through the woods and it's a different experience every day.

There's a cedar tree with a hole in it, that we've been watching ever since we moved here, to see what kind of creature lives in it. A couple of days ago we found out.

A very busy hive of bees lives in the hole in the cedar tree and we've been fascinated by their comings and goings. The picture fails to capture the very large number of bees and the loud hum that accompanies their activity. If the mosquitoes and deer flies weren't so persistent, I could spend all afternoon watching them.

Monday forest photo: June 14, 2011

6:55am 11C clear

This is another Tuesday picture, posted on Wednesday night and no excuse at all. This was an early(ish) morning walk while the sun was still mostly below the treetops and shining through all the leaves. I had the sensation of being immersed in green light. Lovely.

Monday forest photo: June 6, 2011

9:30am 22C partly cloudy

Glorious summer! I don't suppose the forest photo will change very much from one week to the next for a while now, now that the leaves have filled in. I can't say that I'm bothered by the thought.

I came across a couple of spider webs owned by spiders who evidently are teenagers. I don't know if this is incidental wind damage, or whether it's deliberate, but I have to say, it looks messy. They probably sleep in late on weekends, too.

Monday forest photo: May 30, 2011

3:30pm 27C sunny

Well, summer's here. After weeks of cool, rainy weather, we woke up today to sun and warmth and a forecast for lots more of both. It's quite a relief. In the woods, everything is GREEN and lush and smells like flowers. I'm kind of embarrassed that the only blogging I've done this month are the forest photos, and I will try to do better for June. Of course, now that the fine weather is here, I'm sure I'll find lots of other things to do. I am always amazed at just how much effect the weather has on my mood and energy level. I'm feeling quite revitalized today.