With the abnormally advanced spring, many wildflowers are ahead of their normal blooming time. A prime example is this Showy Orchid. Usually it would not be in flower until about the end of the third week in May, but here it is in prime condition about two weeks earlier.
Lots of things have been steadily appearing, although with the very warm weather similar to mid-July temperatures, many species do not last long. What follows is an array of things that have caught my eye and camera.
Violets can sometimes be quite dominant on the forest floor, such as this Eastern Canada Violet.
The flowers are mostly white....
...with the back of the petals showing a purplish tinge.
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Common Blue Violet
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Long-spurred Violet
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| Mayapple |
This next one is rather rare, and restricted to southwestern Ontario. It is Pawpaw, a small tree, and the flowers are often open before or just as the leaves are unfurling.
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Blue Phlox
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Shagbark Hickory is not common, but widely scattered. Its bark is distinctive...
...and as the leaves first emerge, they almost look like flowers.
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White Baneberry
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Red Columbine
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Wood Anemone
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Many of the sloughs of Rondeau are full of yellow flowers. Leaves are not all that visible, as they are at or under the water surface. It is the Yellow Water Crowfoot.
When one is wandering the trails looking for flowers, other things pop into view. This first one is also a plant, a fungus known as Dryad's Saddle
There have been lots of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails flitting about!
This Northern Brown Snake was right on the path, and seemed reluctant to move off, as it was enjoying the sun.
These Six-spotted Tiger Beetles had other things on their mind!
There are always a multitude of things to see and enjoy in the natural world!
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