Bark Brake

Parting Clouds

Falls

A Smile

Window

Pearly Everlasting

Orange Hawkweed

"The Hawkweed got its name from the ancient Roman naturalist Pliny who believed that hawks ate the flower to gain strength [specifically to strengthen their eyesight]. Early New England farmers called it the Devil's Paintbrush possibly from the reddish orange colour. The 'weed' caused havoc in their fields. Whatever the name, it is a beautiful wildflower!"
Griffin Lodge, Muskoka

"Gaius Plinius Secundus, (23 CE to August 24, 79 CE), better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author, natural philosopher and naval and military commander of some importance who wrote Naturalis Historia...

Before 35 AD...Pliny's father took him to Rome, where he was educated under his father's friend, the poet and military commander, Publius Pomponius Secundus, who inspired him with a lifelong love of learning...

He...completed his great work, the Naturalis Historia, an encyclopedia into which Pliny collected much of the knowledge of his time...

His only writings to have survived to modern times is the Naturalis historia. It was used as an authority over the following centuries by countless scholars, for natural history literally but also in its relation to ancient medicine. In his treatment of plants, he was able to compound medicinal herbal remedies and put them to use ..."
Wikipedia

Winged Loosestrife

Earth Laughs in Flowers - Emerson

"The stem is 4-angled, very slightly winged between the leaves, stiffly branching and erect. The species name actually refers to the 12 wings at the base of each flower, where the petals and sepals fuse, but neither 'winged' feature is very prominent."
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

"Lysimachia is Greek for 'ending strife,' hence our common name loosestrife."
University of Vermont

"The name, 'Loosestrife' comes from the ancient practice of draping these plants over the necks of yoked oxen to 'loosen the strife' between the animals.
East Tennessee Wildflowers

"Its common name of Loosestrife is a very old one, and refers to the belief that the plant would quieten savage beasts, and that in particular it had a special virtue 'in appeasing the strife and unruliness which falleth out among oxen at the plough, if it be put about their yokes.' The plant appears to be obnoxious to gnats and flies, and so, no doubt, placing it under the yoke, relieved the beasts of their tormentors, thus making them quiet and tractable. For the same reason, the dried herb used to be burnt in houses, so that the smoke might drive away gnats and flies. It was particularly valuable in marshy districts. Snakes and serpents were said to disappear immediately the fumes of the burning herb came near them."
Mrs. M. Grieve

Bird's Foot Trefoil

"The name Birdsfoot Trefoil for this plant is because the group of seed pods can resemble a birds foot. Although the flowers occur in groups of about 7, not all develop seed pods and there are frequently three slender pods joined at their base, resembling a bird's foot, with three long toes."
Dave's Garden

The trefoil part of the name refers to the leaves (foil - feuilles) which are each comprised of three (tre) leaflets at the tip and two below, on each leaf stalk. I guess they should actually be called cinquefoil, but maybe whoever named it didn't notice the other two leaflets???!!

Morning Glory

This is an exquisitely beautiful flower. It's called Morning Glory because it blooms in the morning and apparently, each bloom dies at the end of the day.
How Stuff Works

It is very prolific and there are many species of it, growing both in the wild and cultivated in gardens.

As with many flowers, it has several common names. The other name which intrigued me, is Field Bindweed. I thought - how sad for such a beautiful flower to be called a weed.

However, the reason is that when the plant grows on farms, its tough, vinelike stems interfere with the machinery, binding it up and causing a great deal of difficulty for the farmers.
University of Nebraska

Sun Bleached

"When a tree dies its life is only partly over. As wood decays it continues to play an essential role in many different ecosystems – in forests, in streams, in estuaries and in the ocean. As they decay, fallen trees, broken branches, slabs of bark and upturned roots:
• provide food
• provide shelter
• create growing sites for plants and fungi
• enrich and stabilize soils
• contribute to stream ecosystems
Downed wood is also a biological legacy – a link between present and future forests."
Rotten Luck: The Role of Downed Wood in Ecosystems

Tree Mushroom

Fungus will grow on trees when any wood has been exposed, by, for example, small animals or birds hunting for bugs, and especially where moisture can accumulate. It could mean that the tree might die, but not necessarily. If the tree is strong and healthy enough, it can resist the effects of the exposure and fungal growth and minimize the damage to itself.

Autumn Leaf

Green leaves of summer turn red in the fall
To brown and to yellow they fade.
And then they have to die, trapped within
the circle time parade of changes.

- Phil Ochs, Changes

The Fruit of their Labour

Do trees work?

Leaves of Summer

"At the doctor's office, after the drops are put in Morag's eyes, the entire world swims and flounders in front of her. She gets only as far as the second line of letters on the chart. After that, blur all the way. The new glasses are hideous. Round. Metal-framed. Morag now looks like a tall skinny owl... In front of the mirror she rages and curses... Morag goes upstairs to her room. She looks out the window at the maple tree... LEAVES! She can see the leaves. Individually, one at a time, clearly. She has not known before this that you are supposed to be able to see the leaves on a tree, not just green fuzz."

- Margaret Laurence, The Diviners

Pine Flowers

I was surprised because the tree looked like a red pine. I grew up with red pines, have been around them all my life, and I didn't remember ever having seen such "flowers" on them before. They look like tiny pine cones, but they're soft and colourful - I guess they are the beginnings of pine cones.



I was about to pull out of a parking lot in a conservation area when my eye was caught by a pine tree with what looked like red flowers on it. The sunbeams just happened to be lighting on them at that moment, or I probably wouldn't have noticed them.

So of course I checked in my tree book when I got home. It says that it is called a Slash Pine. Its range is "Coastal Plain from S. South Carolina to S. Florida, and west to SE. Louisiana..."

I wondered how it had gotten way up here until I read that "Slash Pine is extensively grown in forest plantations both in its natural range and farther north. Its beauty makes it popular as a shade and ornamental tree."
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees, Eastern Region

I assume that someone at the conservation authority planted it there. Though when I think about it, if a tree like this can grow somewhere so far away from its original habitat, could it have spread here naturally?

Cool Beauty

"...to sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure,
is the most perfect refreshment."

- Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814

View

from the Niagara Escarpment
on a misty day

Greater Celandine

Truth

is hard as adamant...

...and tender as a blossom.

- Gandhi

Wild Columbine

"Other common names include: American Columbine, Canada Columbine, Eastern Columbine, Meetinghouses, Rock Bells, Honeysuckle, Rock Lily, Cluckies, Jack-in-Trousers, Wild Honeysuckle, Granny's Bonnets, Dancing Fairies, Ancolie du Canada..."
Flora, Fauna, Earth and Sky

This is one of the natural hummingbird feeders.

I think this flower is far lovelier than any of the altered varieties that we see in gardens.

Normally, I prefer to take pictures in the natural light, but sometimes the light levels are so low, the automatic flash on the camera fires. And I often get some great effects, accidentally. This time the flash bounced off my hat (upper right corner) - not sure where the red glow comes from...could it be from the flower?

Solomon's Seal

"In the winter when the leaf stalk dies back and becomes completely removed from the rhizome, a scar remains which is said to resemble the Seal of King Solomon, who reined [sic] as King of Israel from 961 - 931 BC. The seal is a hexagram composed of two overlapping triangles to create a six pointed star, commonly called the Star of David after King David, father of Solomon."
Wild Flowers and Plants of North Carolina

"The legend of King Solomon's Seal, of the wondrous signet ring which he received from heaven, is common to Judaism, to Christianity and to Islam. King Solomon's Seal, whose base is on the ground and whose tip reaches heaven, symbolizes a harmony of opposites, whose significance is manifold as much as it is multi-cultural. It reflects the cosmic order, the skies, the movement of the stars in their spheres, and the perpetual flow between heaven and earth, between the elements of air and fire. The Seal, therefore, symbolizes super-human wisdom and rule by divine grace."
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs


WeHug

Comfort

This reminds me of Henry Moore's sculptures.

"At his home in Much Hadham, Moore built up a collection of natural objects; skulls, driftwood, pebbles and shells, which he would use to provide inspiration for organic forms."
Wikipedia

We tend to think of "organic" as anything living and "inorganic" as anything that isn't or never was alive. "The original definition of "organic" chemistry came from the misperception that ... compounds [consisting primarily of carbon and hydrogen] were always related to life processes, but it has been shown that this is not the case... Moreover, it is known that life also depends heavily on inorganic chemistry..."
Wikipedia

Using the terminology incorrectly, this is an organic-looking form formed from inorganic material.

Mossy Rock

This formation looks as if it was created by a huge, heavy object dropping on the middle of it and splintering it. It's what a piece of glass would look like if a rock were to fall on it.

However, according to the way I understand rock is formed, it's more likely that it used to be a mound of compacted mud which sank and split as the water seeped out and evaporated from it. It looks like it's sitting in a shallow well.

Moss can grow on rock because it doesn't have any actual roots. It has filament-like rhizomes which can just spread out on top of the rock and absorb moisture from its surface.

Water Images

The Effects of:

Water on Rock

- thousands of years

Rocks on Water
- a fraction of a second

Light on Water

Wind on Water

Colour on Water

Dusk on Water

Cold on Water

Heat on Water

Gravity on Water

Water Haiku

Moving water
Running smoothly
Over stone




Clouds in water
Still as air
Fluffy glass

Water in Literature

The Mirror of Galadriel

"With water from the stream, Galadriel filled the basin to the brim, and breathed on it, and when the water was still again she spoke. ...'Many things I can command the mirror to reveal...and to some I can show what they desire to see. But the mirror will also show things unbidden,... For it shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be. But which it is that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell.'"

- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

"Morag read Pique's letter again, made coffee, and sat looking out at the river, which was moving quietly, its surface wrinkled by the breeze, each crease of water outlined by the sun."

- Margaret Laurence, The Diviners

Noisy - Quiet
Ruffled - Smooth
Solid - Liquid - Vapour
Forever changing form
Impervious to time