June 24th, 2014

Saturday, June 21, was the first day of summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere.  I spent the weekend on the Bruce Peninsula, poking around in the fields and along the shoreline for things of interest – I wasn’t disappointed.  One of the highlights was spotting a fisher sprinting across the road – this is a large member of the weasel family that prey on small mammals, birds and porcupines!!  Small pets left outdoors may also disappear 🙁

This great blue heron was feeding in a little wetland beside the road we call Turtle Pond.  There were lots of dragonflies – and mosquitoes –  but no turtles.

Click on any of the photos to see a full-size image in a new window…

If you find a patch of daisies, look closely, you may find a crab spider!  They are well camouflaged, changing colour from white to yellow depending on the host plant. You’ll find them on  shrubby cinquefoil (yellow) which is flowering now,  and goldenrod in fall.

This is my favourite photo of the weekend.  I love blue-eyed grass, and there was lots of it in flower, but it is sometimes difficult to photograph.  I also love this butterfly, the summer azure, which is a striking blue colour on the upperside of the wings.  So to find them together in an “uncluttered” setting was a real bonus!

Turns out there just wasn’t enough time to go in search of showy lady’s slippers, so I’ll have to back next weekend  🙂