Trees are amazing.

These Black spruce trees are tenacious!

Black Spruce reaching for the sky.

This black spruce got a twist somehow maybe 50 years ago.
Some may say this is a Culturally Modified Tree, but this is in the middle of nowhere.
I am thinking snow made this one.



 :)

2014 Arbour Day in Timmins

Saturday June 07th, 2014

10 am to 1 pm 

while supplies last.

@ Mountjoy Historical Conservation Area

and

Gillies Lake.

Forestry size WHITE SPRUCE tree seedlings locally grown at Millson Forestry Service.

This is a fund raising event for the Wintergreen Fund for Conservation and donations will be accepted.

:)

Observations this summer - What did you see?

New birds added to the 

Timmins Checklist of the birds!

Summer is done and this fall I will work on updating the Observations Naturally page and the Timmins Checklist of the Birds.

SNAKES - turns out I am not the only one to notice lots of snakes this year on the roads. It seems there was hardly a week went by that I was not avoiding a snake crossing the road. Many never even moved until I got out of the truck and went back to make sure I missed. They must be loving the heat from the sun this summer.

I was sent an interesting picture of a ruffed grouse with a snake in it's mouth. Guess it was going to work on it as it's meal for the week.

TURTLES - I did not see one this year! I did get some notes on what you saw. Highlight being another sighting of the Blanding turtle at Gillies Lake. I have also had a report of a small snapping turtle at Gillies. I still have not seen photographic evidence of the sightings.

If you see a turtle in the area I would love to know where you saw it, and I would really really like to see the pictures you took of it!

TURKEY VULTURE - Lots of conversation about the turkey vulture. Groups of them seen at the boat launch, one seen on the ground at a moose carcass on Dalton rd. Eagle seen on the carcass another time. Love to see this bird, it is so distinctive in the air.

BALD EAGLE - I know the last 2 years the Bald eagle has stayed all year, at least one at the Deloro landfill. Last week it was reported that there were at least 4 hanging around at the dump. Christmas Bird Count here in Timmins had a pair of Bald eagles reported! I even have video of the pair. see it now

Let me know what you are seeing out there. Always interested in your sightings.

Oxygen Grows On Trees

Kelowna BC, walk in the park.

One Week in Kelowna

They got Nature there too.

Swimming in Lake Okanagan

This is the GPS track file of where we walked and how we got there. The trail takes you through tunnels and over former train trestles.  The camera marker is where the yoga picture of me was taken. 1 meter behind me was a 5o meter drop, Mom was a little freaked out. "What's the worst that could happen??"  http://goo.gl/maps/i9pF0

Many of the trestles were destroyed in the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire, which happened 10 years ago. 238 homes were lost and the fire was almost 24,000 hectares. read more

We also went to a new start-up that has constructed suspension bridges and a giant sundial.

The pool has a wave ride. I was able to stand for a minute after the 10th try, I wipe out good, got a few laughs from the young ones watching.

Loved to see all the different trees!  Northern Ontario has so few species compared to the hills of Kelowna.

Ecpantheria scribonia is my guess

Black Wooly caterpiller

Ants wonder if they can turn it into their next meal?

Hey queen look what I brought home, can I keep it?

48.193557,-81.462814

Google Map of the observation location. see the map

BugGuide read more

Butterflies and Moths of North America read more

Success Arbour Day 2013

New Faces

New Tree Planters

Did not see many of the usuals this year. It was great to many new faces, people who want to be tree planters. We provided, with the support of Millson Forestry Service, over 240 White spruce tree seedlings.

Wonderful to hear where you are going to plant your tree!

Picture and story in the Timmins Daily Press read more

All the pictures I took that day are here

See you next year = hey John where were you his year? We can talk about on hiking day this Sunday.

.

Hoya carnosa, what a great smelling flower!

My Grandmother had the plant 

My Mother had a snippet of the plant 

I had a snippet of my Mommys' plant

What a great plant! This plant has been with me for well over 25 years.  It has flowered many times over the years. In one house it climbed the wall and held tightly.

[sidebar : how old is my plant? is it 25 years or over 100? Just how does that work? Time, just how does that work?]

The Moms' plant has never flowered. Well maybe once or twice. Every time mine flowers I call her "Mom, how the hell do you stop this plant from flowering?"

The smell is strong and fantastic. The perfume smell while walking past the flower is exquisite!

Guide to houseplants go
Dave's Garden go
Moll's Tropical Plants go
How stuff works go

Seeds of Diversity

Timmins Horticultural Society

This year I was asked if I could again talk about trees.
Well I guess so - that is all I really talk about anyway.
Trees and turtles and birds and orchid and trees.

Read about the event here

Kees and I discuss the importance of leaves on trees. It is the leaves that produce oxygen.

The bonsai white birch that travels with me every where is a great example of the importance of trees.

Oxygen Grows On Trees

White Birch Bonsai - Update

Healthy and Happy

Spring has come to the greenhouse.

I had not been in the greenhouse for some time. I missed the birth of the first buds bursting on the branches.

I missed all the leaves growing big and strong. Hey wait, you are suppose to be a bonsai.

Next for the tree is to have at least 50% of the leaves removed and trim the branches back to keep the shape. I started to do it but I did not have a shape enough knife or my good secateurs.

This tree went into this pot May 2009, it was 2 or 3 years old at the time. So now the tree is 6 years old. I wonder when it will get the white bark of a White birch. That is really what I am waiting for. I want to see the paper birch that makes this tree famous!

Hopefully this year.

In the bush it looks like trees get the white bark before they are 5 years old, but they are not stunted. I will leave the tree in this pot for one more year and remove it in the fall. It will go back in the same pot, but 1/3 of the roots will be removed.

 The photo history of the tree can be seen here

Past blog entries :  Jan 23, 2010      Nov 01, 2009     May 10, 2009

First Flower on the Floor of the Forest

First Bloom in the Boreal

Finally, a colour other than white snow and green trees, now the subtle pink and purple of a flower. The first flower I have seen this season in the forest.

I took a picture, as you can see, but it is not great. The camera I use, Sony DSC-W350, is not the greatest camera I have ever used, but it is the smallest camera that can come with me everywhere. It is in my pocket in the rain, the snow, the 40 below.

The camera will fit in a plastic peanut butter jar. When we go kayaking the camera is in the jar, sealed and water proof. Need to take a picture? Let me just throw it at you. Soft landing in the water, you retrieve the camera and get a wonderful picture of me with the loon in the foreground.

Nice compact camera, but one day I would like to be able to afford a digital camera similar to the SLR I used to have.

This little flower, I am not sure what it is. My guess is Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana), but if you have another suggest I am interested.

See more information at

eNature

Ontario Wildflowers

I'm looking Good!!

oxygen grows on trees Oxygen G.O.T.

Nature Deficit Disorder - have you been touched?

Are you Suffering?

Have you hugged a tree this week?

While driving into the forest the other day a story on CBC radio suggested we suffer from nature deficit disorder. We are are doing well as a species being taken out of the forests. They cited a study that proved young people did better if they were exposed to pine trees. I was driving past a Jack pine plantation with the window open at the time. Lucky me.

We are losing touch with nature, but more important we are losing contact. The smells and fell of the forest is important to human growth. The smell from the pines triggers something in our brains that just makes us more in-touch with our surroundings.

You need to plant a tree close to you, one every year. Why not plant a bonsai, then you can have a tree in your living space year-round. It is not hard. You can order a tree from Millson Forestry Service store in Timmins.

Nature Deficit Disorder links

Nature Canada - blog entry from 2008 describing the disorder
Best Health - What is nature deficit disorder?
PhD in Parenting - Cures for Nature Deficit Disorder? Help for our Planet?
Canadian Living - Quiz: Is your family suffering from nature deficit disorder?
Human Well Being and the Natural World - Just some facts
Canadian Institute of Forestry - Summer Outdoor Camps:  The best remedy for nature deficit disorder
Child and Nature Alliance - Get outside!!
Evergreen.ca -  they need contact with nature
Psychology Today - Exploring the natural world's psychological effects on human beings.
Education.com - The Critical Role of Environmental Education for your Child’s Future
An Interview with Robert Bateman - increasingly popular term among educators

Frogs are Green - definitely what the doctor ordered.

National Environment Week - Take the Nature-Deficit Disorder Survey Here

Trees we see plenty. It is green grass we do not get to see or smell for many months. So every year we grow our own grass in the house. A different container every year. When the kids were smaller we grow a big tray of grass to hide easter eggs in. It is wonderful to smell the grass after a trim with scissors. Looks like my grass is due for a trim this weekend.

Oxygen Grows On Trees

Hiking Day in Timmins

What a great day.

Great turn out too!

Hiking Day at Hersey lake Conservation Area.

The trails offer smooth walking trails and signs to make sure you do not get lost. Distance at each sign means you can plan the distance you want to walk.

Great event, hope you can come out next year.

Purple Iris

Purple Iris

This was sitting in my draft folder since the summer.

Delete or add, well here it is.

I enjoy seeing the contrast of flower colours in the swamps and forest floor.

Ontario Wildflowers

eHow information

Location Map