Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Ghostly Leaves


Ghostly pale beeches,

Leaves like skeletal remains

Scritching in spring's gusts




Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Not too Tardy

On this special day, Earth day, it's important to consider ALL our living creatures, even those we cannot see. I'm talking about tardigrades, which are amazing microscopic creatures living in our soils, resilient enough to be able to survive radiation. They're micro-animals also known as water bears, though bears they are not. They're chubby little critters with telescoping legs that look as if they might have inspired sci-fi and fantasy monsters.

Popular Science Science Photo Library/Getty Images

This 0.02 inch creature (about the size of the period at the end of this sentence) lives in mosses, lichens, as well as soil and leaf litter as a nutrient recycler. They can suspend their metabolism, so are not affected by extremes. I've never seen one, but there can be "as many as 300,000 per square metre" in soil, or "over 2 million per square metre" on mossy substrates! Wikipedia


We have to stop destroying them willy-nilly with our thoughtless land use upheaval practices - their capabilities to handle extremes may help us save our planet one day. They are already helping us learn how to counter the effects of radiation treatments. Though they are practically indestructible, they have one weakness - hot water, which can kill them.

On this Earth Day, resolve to give nature and all living things more than a passing thought on a regular basis.






Monday, April 21, 2025

Strange Things Revealed

The solution to yesterday's puzzle pic: droplets of squeezed lime juice that have my kitchen light reflected in them. I have to say, they looked like beautiful pearls on the indents in my glass juicer, so I thought I had to capture them. It's no wonder it takes me so long to prepare meals!


Sunday, April 20, 2025

Strange Things

What on earth could these strange objects be? This is a difficult one ...

Any suggestions?


Answer will be posted tomorrow ...


Saturday, April 19, 2025

Compact Buds

Maple buds abound

Packed for future hereafters

Compactly bundled 


Friday, April 18, 2025

Scumble

I love learning new words, and scumble is a new one for me. I'm finding it hard to put into my own words, but I think the phrase "a scumble of storm clouds" makes most sense to me.


Scumbling is an art technique that can be used to highlight layering, achieved through applying paint thinly on top of the underlying layer so that the colors of the preceding layer can show through. Layers of clouds is a perfect example.

Merriam-Webster defines it thus:

1
a
to make (something, such as color or a painting) less brilliant by covering with a thin coat of opaque or semiopaque color applied with a nearly dry brush
b
to apply (a color) in this manner

2
to soften the lines or colors of (a drawing) by rubbing lightly
I hope by including it here, I will remember it ... we shall see ...

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Directions

 Where are we headed? So much uncertainty and upheaval in this world ...




Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Winter Rewinds Again

What a major contrast in 3 days!

From this gorgeously vibrant and colorful scene on April 9

to this monochromatic prettiness on April 12


It's almost unbelievable!


Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Stories as Webs

I loved these lines from Nnedi Okorafor's "Death of the Author" a book of metafiction that was very intriguing, despite sci-fi not being my thing:

"Author, art and audience all adore one another. They create a tissue, a web, a network. No death is required for this form of life.

Creation flows both ways."


Oooh, makes me think of "Entangled Life," about fungi and reciprocity, and connectedness and exchange ...

Okorafor also wrote, "Stories are what holds all things together. They make things matter, they make all things be, exist."



Monday, April 14, 2025

Icy Crust

For gosh sakes! On April 10 we developed an icy crust on some parts of our cove before the sun spread some warmth. While it made for some beautiful, patterns, it wasn't appropriate for this time of year, in my opinion!


It was pretty though ... it was a combination of feathery, crystalline, curved and wavy! Quite a sight!

Sunday, April 13, 2025

A Bud

Woohoo, my first flower bud for 2025 ... a tiny bluet. At first I thought it might be an ice crystal


 since I could hear snow pellets (graupel) falling all around me



I went back later to get a better photo, and couldn't find the bud again! I've been combing my lawn for it for a few days since, with no luck.

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Wacky Brain

I had to do a double take when I saw the URL on this sign - my brain interpreted it as boobstransit! What a funny thing the brain is ...


Friday, April 11, 2025

More Curlicues

This decorative curl, probably a vole pathway under the snow, looks a lot like a question mark.

This dry leaf coil happens to be 'upstaged' by the perfectly manufactured one in the background. 


Thursday, April 10, 2025

Winter Firefly

We found this firefly whilst having our first campfire in early April. This unique 'lightning bug' does not have the ability to light up! It's known as the winter firefly and is active during the day.

Photo: D Schultz

Ellychnia corrusca is regarded as a pest in the maple syrup industry because it is their natural inclination to feed on maple sap, and when we tap it and collect it in buckets, it's easy fodder - can't say I blame them!



Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Sculpted Beauty

 


Squirrels have been sharpening their teeth on this bone we hung from a tree, leaving deep indents, angles and stripes to create a beautiful sculpture. It's been there for at least 5 years.



Monday, April 7, 2025

Brave New World

(Hat tip to Aldous Huxley for the title)

Brave little hatchlings,

Insects-to-be in new worlds

Treacherous, unknown.


Sunday, April 6, 2025

Eerie Light

An eerie light settled in after a recent snowfall - there's a yellow-sepia tinge to everything that is quite compelling to indulge in.

Amidst it all is this beautiful snow covered tree stump mimicking a snowflake or star. 


But really, nature, I'm getting to the end of my rope with these games you play with my mind about spring coming ... please stop the teasing! Yes, this week's hall of thunder was impressive, but ENOUGH. I'm already thoroughly impressed, now can we move on?



Friday, April 4, 2025

Shadows and Cracks

Look at how similar these crack patterns in the ice are to tree shadows


Dendritic patterns recur in nature at various scales and scenarios





Thursday, April 3, 2025

Curlicues

 Snow curlicues - how elegant!


I'm amazed at how little connection is required to keep the droplets suspended as part of the structure.




Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Web Décor

I don't know whether to call this a window decoration or web décor, quite frankly. It's the remains of prey in a spiderweb that I can see through my window.


I think I saw it referred to as 'post mortem manipulation'


Tuesday, April 1, 2025

The Return of Monochromy

Just as I was gloating over a return to a varied color palette, I was greeted again by this vision. It was expected, so not too shocking, but dang, I want to see more green settle in.

We've had a crowd of wood ducks (or is it a lumberyard, Dale suggests) and ring-neck ducks enjoying the seclusion and habitat our cove and breakwater offers. 

This is so picturesque! 


Monday, March 31, 2025

Treasure Revealed

The close up pic from yesterday is a beautiful fringed rosette lichen (Physcia stellaris) - magnificent! The intricate beauty and varied surface is stunning.


It's a common species found in North America, usually on bark or rocks. Those dark discs are its fruiting bodies that produce spores. Now, even more amazing, is that this particular little piece of perfection that I found is less than an inch across. Here it is next to my thumbnail for reference: 


Lichens are composites of fungi and algae (or bacteria) - they combine their individual capabilities to function as one. The book Ways of Enlichenment invites us to view lichens in an open-minded way - as fungal greenhouses, algal farmsteads, ecosystems, organisms or as emergent property.

 I hope you are happy to have been enlichened.




Sunday, March 30, 2025

Treasure

I found this treasure lying on our driveway, and I was enthralled:


Of course, I've shown a detailed close-up to throw you off the trail, but in my mind it still looks pretty obvious ... probably way too easy! Answer tomorrow ...


Saturday, March 29, 2025

Dimples

I love the look of these dimples (or blotches) in the changing ice - it's the imperfections that make it interesting.

Some look crusty, like scabs


or scars




Friday, March 28, 2025

Picture Perfect

What a difference a day makes!


Color returned to our world after a day of monochromy. Quite a stunning transformation.



Thursday, March 27, 2025

Grapefern Joy

This unusual native plant, the cutleaf grapefern (Sceptridium obliquum form, I believe) is sometimes referred to as an fern ally, not a true fern though it is fern-like. It's related to the more widespread rattlesnake fern, and grows underground for 8 years, establishing a network with mycorrhizal fungi in the soil before producing a frond above ground, one each year. 

It is extremely beneficial to plants like this that we not destroy soil structure by digging and turning. Having an underground developmental time of 8 years before coming to the surface puts these organisms at risk of being destroyed when we disturb soils. I have had 2 occur in my yard since living here! So pleasing! Look at the beautiful glossy leaves.

Like orchids, their growing conditions are highly dependent on specific mycorrhizal networks, and are well nigh impossible to propagate artificially - leave them where they are and enjoy them.



Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Spring Powder

An icy coating


Of drifting, crystalline flakes


Transforms the landscape


Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Spring's Sting

After my recent reveling in the snow melt, spring gave in to winter's pressure and presented us with this dramatic monochromatic lake scene (complete with a cruising loon).

Thankfully, we were expecting this event, so it seemed more acceptable - a last hurrah, possibly? This is how it looked most of the day.

It was about 4 inches, but it fell on clear ground and liquid water, so it shouldn't hang around too long.