Nature is Exciting and Wonderful

     "Nature is our prayer and our celebration, our sacrament and our unkempt affection, our most single-minded examinations and our most wide-open wandering gaze."

Thmoas Lowe Fleischner

     Forays into nature are part of my daily experience, so here are a few glimpses into what I have been seeing lately, in no order, without regard to taxonomy or hierarchy, date or location, or even for quality of the image for that matter.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

     This is one of our most common plants in southern Ontario, growing in many locations, even along roadsides and in waste areas, and it is among my favourites. It survives, thrives and brings me joy.

     Its roots, sliced and ground, are familiar to many as a coffee substitute. In France its leaves are highly esteemed as barbe-de-capucin in salads, and possibly are used here too, particularly by the immigrant community.

     Nectar is yielded by the Chicory flowers only between 07h:00 to around noon, and bees and other pollinators time their visits accordingly.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

     A very familiar bird in wetlands of every type, and even in field and pasture where some individuals have specialized in capturing rodents and other terrestrial prey.

     This individual was patiently working one side of a creek and secured a fine dinner!

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

     How often is Common Milkweed found in profusion on our walks, yet seldom noticed, less frequently remarked on, and generally ignored?

      This humble, tenacious plant, (along with other species of milkweed) is critical to the life cycle of the Monarch (Danaus plexippus). The butterfly lays its eggs on the leaves so that the black-and-green caterpillars feed on them, accumulating bitter and toxic glucosides, rendering them distasteful to predators, especially birds. The glucosides are retained during and after pupation.

      I have been told that the plant had a wide range of medicinal uses for Indigenous peoples, although I don't know how they were able to neutralize the toxins. Commonly cited applications are wart removal, and use as both a laxative and a contraceptive.

Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)

     I am confident in saying that this Lilliputian woodpecker is well known to even the most casual observer, and is much loved.

     The picture above shows a male with his jaunty red cap.

     It is a resident species at our latitude and enlivens our surroundings even on the coldest winter's day. Drumming, to a woodpecker, is what song is to other species, and may be heard throughout the year to establish territory, attract a mate and communicate location.

     Downy Woodpecker is a keystone species; it's discarded nest holes are used by many other species, bird and mammal alike. Without cavities made by woodpeckers birds such as Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) would be without a home.

White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum)

      The various species of Meadowhawks are often difficult to differentiate one from another, but I am fairly sure this is White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum).

     The female oviposits in tandem, or alone with the male standing guard. 

     In our region of southern Ontario, meadowhawks are common, even abundant in some locations, from the end of summer through fall.

Four-toothed Mason Wasp (Monubia quadridens)

     This impressive wasp was new to me, but I am pretty sure it is a Four-toothed Mason Wasp (Monubia quadridens), a species of solitary Potter Wasp.

      It feeds on caterpillars and pollen and has two generations per year; one generation overwinters as pupae.

      It is not aggressive to humans and its sting is not especially painful. Only the female stings, but uniquely the male is capable of delivering a painful "pinprick" without venom and the pain is transitory. 

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

     We are almost always alerted to its presence by its distinctive nasal call, making it easy to find this delightful, acrobatic character.

     It stays with us all year, so is in my estimation a true Canadian, tough, hardy, resourceful, ready to tackle whatever life throws at it.

    I am very fond of this delightful little bird.

Maples (genus Acer)

     What would fall in Ontario be without the blaze of maples?

     I hope never to find out.