Thursday, June 30, 2016

Moose















Moose
 
Today I took my grandkids to the Salmonier Nature Park and was as excited as they were to see a baby moose and that was exploring its surroundings alone.  There was a large female in the enclosure that I assume was its mother. 
 
In all my years of living in the woods, I have never seen a moose this young  and I was glad to have my camera with me. 

 
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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly











Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
 
Tiger swallowtails are common around my home in Holyrood.  This morning I photographed a tiger swallowtail butterfly ( it may be the eastern tiger swallowtail)  feeding on the lilacs in my yard.  I used my 70-300 mm lens to get close views without approaching too closely and scaring it away.
 

If you look closely at the top left of the first image you can see an out-of-focus hummingbird moth. To be honest, I didn’t even notice that rare (at least around here) insect when I was making photos of the butterfly.   I hope to photograph one of these in the next few days.  They seem to enjoy the lilacs so I should get a chance before the blooms are gone.

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Monday, June 27, 2016

Spring 5






Spring 5
 
When I was a kid growing up in Grand Falls, my grandmother had black currant, red currant and gooseberry bushes and I remember picking (and eating) the fruit in the late summer.  Here in Holyrood, I have one of each of those berry bushes. 
 

Today, I am sharing photos of the flowers on each plant.  The first two are gooseberry, the second two are red current, and the last two are the gooseberry.  As you can see, the flowers are fairly small and not very colourful, however, if it is anything like last year, I will be getting lots of fruit in a few weeks.

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Sunday, June 26, 2016

Spring 4





Spring 4
 
Today I thought I would show you a new flower garden I built this year.  It is located near the back of my house just behind my healthy gooseberry shrub.  Last summer, the gooseberry was being crowded out by wild plants (buttercups, meadowsweet, wild roses and others) so I decided to weed it thoroughly.  I know there was an old stump there because my brother-in-law cut it down 5 or 6 years ago.  I thought it would be rotted enough to remove, however when I had everything weeded, I realized the roots of the mountain ash tree were growing all around the old stump. 
 
Rather than ignore and let all the weeds grow back, I decided to convert the whole thing to a flower garden.  Then I needed quite a bit of soil to fill it so I started digging around the roots of an old deadfall across my brook and into the woods  around 100 feet (30 m)  from my back door.  Unfortunately the trail isn’t suitable for a wheelbarrow so I shovelled the soil into buckets and carried them to the new garden 2 at a time.  After around 60 bucket loads, I decided to sift the soil so the top layer would be free of rocks. 
 
I left it all fall and winter and in April I added 4 wheelbarrows of sifted compost and mixed it before transplanting a hosta from another part of the yard.  Then I decided to move my rhubarb to the new garden.  A friend gave me a piece of root 3 years ago and it had struggled where it was originally planted.  However, it seems to like its new location

 
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Saturday, June 25, 2016

Spring 3







Spring 3
 
Even though the weather in June has been cool and wet, plants have been growing as usual.  There haven’t been many insects around so I am not sure that the plants have been pollinated.  Dandelion seeds were too wet to be spread by the wind so I expect many more dandelions around my yard next yard.  It is sunny and warm today so thinks may get a chance to grow in the warm sun.
 

In mid-May I planted 4 beds of potatoes and all the seeds have sprouted and look healthy.  Last week I planted another 4 beds of potatoes as well as carrots, red onions  and cucumber.  Sam, my grandson planted carrots, cucumber and potatoes in a garden I built for him and Ann, my granddaughter planted variety of  flowers in her garden.  Hopefully all will grow for them since it is the first time they planted anything themselves.

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Friday, June 24, 2016

Spring 2







Spring 2
 
When  returned from Florida at the end of March, I noticed that there was a lot of dried grass in my birdhouse but didn’t notice any birds coming or going.  Then on June 7 I noticed a squirrel coming out of the entrance with a baby squirrel in its mouth.  It carried the baby down the tree and into the woods.  I didn’t have my camera and by the time I got my phone ready, it was over.
 
Throughout the day, I watched and waited but didn’t see it until later when our grandchildren were here.  Despite the kids, the squirrel took another baby out of the house but, again, by the time I got my camera it was over.  The photos show the adult squirrel keeping an eye on me from the house, and one of a baby with eyes barely open looking out of the entrance.
 

I was looking forward to the swallows returning to this house, however, I guess it was occupied if they returned.  I’ve seen swallows flying around here so I guess they may have found another home this year. 

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