White Baneberry - Actaea Pachypoda - Actée à Gros Pédicelles

Cette plante est toxique à manger! Ne jamais consommer, s'assurer que les enfants ne consomment pas cette plante. La tige devient rouge et le fruit devient blancs avec le point noir au bout quand mûr.

This plant is toxic! Never eat this plant and make sure that children do not eat this plant. When ripe, the stalk turns red and the fruits turn white with a black point at the end.

A. pachypoda

White baneberry is a reasonably common plant in the region where I grew up. It is a strange-looking plant, all told. 

Unripe fruit of A. pachypoda

The fruit looks like it's watching you. As I understand it it is also called Doll's Eyes, a name I find quite appropriate, especially when the fruit has ripened and turned white.

Today I'm tired.

Shoya Long Eggplants

So I just had the most delicious eggplant I have ever eaten (yes, for breakfast; breakfast eggplant is awesome). I planted a number of varieties of eggplant in the garden this year, among them the shoya long eggplant, which came highly recommended for yield and flavour. Boy is it ever delivering on both counts! The plant I have is blooming still and also has about 40 developing eggplantlings on it. Yep. So this morning the first one was ready to be picked. I picked it, and cooked it up right away.

And it was the most phenomenal eggplant experience I have ever had. It was so silky, and so richly flavoured, that I couldn't quite believe at first that I hadn't accidentally ingested a hallucinogenic eggplant. To be clear, I love eggplant. I eat it at least once a week and spend a lot of my cooking endeavours trying new ways to eat eggplant. So when I say that this eggplant was the best eggplant I've ever had, I mean it was practically a transcendental experience.

I may be exaggerating slightly.

So, without further ado, here's the eggplant, and instructions for how to cook it the way I did this morning.

Shoya long eggplant

 So I wanted to cook it in a way that would bring out the flavour of the eggplant, since I'd never had this eggplant before and wanted to know exactly what it tastes like. As a consequence, the following recipe is very simple and takes about 5-10 minutes. Also, it's in my cooking style, which means I measure exactly nothing.

 Ingredients:
-Eggplant
-Olive oil (enough to coat your pan lightly)
-Garlic (to taste)
-Basil (to taste)
-Oregano (to taste)
-Balsamic vinegar (to taste)
-Salt (to taste)

Directions:
-Cut eggplant into rounds about 1/4" thick
-Mince garlic and let air for a few minutes
-Chop basil & oregano up finely (about 1/10th as much oregano as basil)
-Heat frying pan with a dollop of olive oil; hot pan, for sautéeing
-Toss eggplant rounds into frying pan & cover
-When the rounds start to soften, toss them around a bit
-Throw on a dash of balsamic vinegar and stir it through the eggplant (be sparing at first! that stuff tastes strong and you don't want to overpower the delicious, delicious eggplant flavour)
-Pitch in the herbs and a dash of water (no more than a few Tbsp of water, just enough to deglaze the balsamic off the bottom of the pan so it can be redistributed onto the eggplant)
-Cover
-Once the eggplant is soft, remove cover, stir, and cook until the water is evaporated from the pan
-Salt to taste

End result:

The most delicious eggplant I've ever eaten

Pour les francophones:

Je vais juste remarquer que je ne mesure rien en préparant mes plâts (à l'exception de la cuisson au four), préférant plutôt de me fier au goût et à la scenteur pour ajuster les quantités. Par conséquence, je ne peux pas vous fournir des mesures de quantité dans mes recettes. Mes excuses.

Ingrédients:
-Aubergine(s)
-Huile d'olive (assez pour couvrir le fond de la poêle)
-Ail (à son goût)
-Basilic (à son goût)
-Origan (à son goût)
-Vinaigre balsamique (à son goût)
-Sel (à son goût)

Directives:
-Couper les aubergines en rondelles d'environ 1/4'' de large
-Hacher l'ail et laisser à l'air pour quelques minutes
-Hacher le basilic et l'origan (l'origan devrait représenter environ 1/10ième de la quantité du basilic)
-Rechauffer la poêle avec l'huile d'olive dedans (assez chaud pour sauter)
-Y jetter les aubergines, remuer, et couvrir
-Quand l'aubergine commence à amollir, remuer encore
-Ajouter un peu de vinaigre balsamique (faire attention! Ce vinaigre goûte très fort et on ne veut pas déguiser le goût délicieux de l'aubergine)
-Ajouter le basilic, l'origan, et l'ail avec un peu d'eau (pas plus que quelques cuillères à table, juste asser pour déglacer le vinaigre)
-Couvrir
-Quand l'aubergine est devenue molle, découvrir, remuer, et laisser cuire jusqu'à temps que l'eau a toute évaporie
-Ajouter du sel à son goût

Bon appétit! Le résultat final est présenté ci-haut.

Leafcutter bee - Megachile - Mégachile

This morning has been quite exciting for bees. We've confirmed that there are at least two bees in the B. impatiens hive (no photographs yet), and I've discovered that my bee solitary bee houses are being put to use.

I can confirm only that it's a leafcutter bee (fr: mégachile), genus Megachile. Unfortunately, I'm not able to pinpoint the exact species any more precisely, as I'm not a specialist in the leafcutter bees. Nevertheless, I can provide a photograph of a nest cell, and of the leafcutter bee. Enjoy!

 

 

Occupied Megachile nest cell, with distinctive cut leaves

As I understand it leafcutter bees favour the leaves from roses or lilacs for their nest cells. I think that the leaves here must have come from the lilac tree, which is within six feet of this nest cell (there are no roses nearby).

Megachile - leafcutter bee on mustard flower

I was very pleased to get such a clear photo of this bee. She's got the distinctive colour and stripe pattern of a leafcutter bee, as well as the distinctive outward resting position of the wings. Unfortunately I don't know encough about leafcutter bees to be able to identify what species she is. I don't know if this is the same one who built the nest cell photographed above, but I do know it's the same genus of bee, at least.

It's a beautiful day to be out in the garden.

White Pine - Pinus Strobus - Pin Blanc

While I was out for a stroll in the early morning (went looking for chanterelle mushrooms with my father), I realized I hadn't put any tree photographs on this blog. Want to remedy this. Below is a photograph of the branch tip of a white pine (fr: pin blanc), pinus strobus. It's a very common species in Quebec, and in the area where I took this photograph it is usually one of the largest; conditions are quite rough and most trees grow very slowly (the ironwood is usually around 50 years old at a 4" diametre).

The cones are just barely starting to form.

P. strobus

As I was taking my early morning meandering, I also saw a common mallard (fr: mallard), anas platyrhynchos. There was a mother and one duckling; likely she started with more and the rest have been eaten or died of other causes. I particularly like the look of the water in this photograph, with the patterns of refraction along the wave peaks. Also, I just think the fuzzy duckling is cute.

Immature a. platyrhynchos

Today I'm struggling.

Wood Frog - Rana Sylvatica - Grenouille des Bois

So this is another one spotted at Mont Cayamant. There were some stray puddles along the path (vernal pools), and they were filled to the brim with tiny little frogs and tadpoles. In the photo below, notice that the frog is sitting on a leaf. That's a pretty normal maple leaf, about four inches across or a little less. So the frog is teeny tiny. Note that wood frogs habitually breed in vernal pools, so this was by no means an unexpected finding. What I loved was their sheer number. Just as well, because they wouldn't stay still for photos! I got my feet very wet photographing this little guy.

Immature R. sylvatica

Though the light conditions were rather poor for photographing into the water, I managed to get a shot of a tadpole in its late stages of development:

R. sylvatica tadpole

It was a fun hike.

Squawroot - Conopholis Americana - Conopholis d'Amérique

Squawroot is an achlorophyllous (non-photosynthesizing) plant which grows as a parasite on the roots of oak and beech. We encountered several of these in our hike up Mont Cayamant the other day. I think it's a rather strange-looking plant. Visible in the picture below is the above-ground infructescence; at this time of the season, the flowers have been replaced with seed pods.

C. americana infructescence

Today I'm feeling impatient.

Twistedstalk - Streptopus amplexifolius - Sceau-de-Salomon

This one is comestible, but because it resembles a lot of toxic plants in the region, don't eat this plant unless you're absolutely positive about identification (somebody who knows for certain shows you, rather than just comparing to a picture). Large quantities of the fruit can give diarrhea as well, so be light on eating them once you do have a positive identification.

S. amplexifolius from below

Nous étions allés à Mont Cayamant hier. Sur la piste il y avait beaucoup à voir; j'ai pris un tas de photos. C'est un très bel endroit et du belvédère le paysage est extrèmement beau. Ne pas aller sans de bonnes chaussures ou bottes! Le chemin est ménagé, mais s'agit quand même d'une piste dans une forêt. Faire attention aux falaises.

Mallard - Anas Platyrhynchos

Of course no trip to a Canadian waterway is complete without a sighting of the mallard duck, the ubiquitous water bird. This particular group was swimming through a patch of water which was particularly interesting-looking from my angle, so I ended up being able to capture a beautiful effect in the water as well as the ducks themselves. Enjoy.

A. platyrhynchos juveniles

Today, I'm getting things in order.

Milkweed - Asclepias Syriaca - Herbe à la Ouate

Here's a common, easily recognized one: common milkweed (fr: herbe à la ouate), Asclepias syriaca. It's very attractive to butterflies and as such is wonderful to have around, but it's important to keep it out of pastures as it is toxic to a number of grazing animals.

A. syriaca on the shore

There's a hint of red clover and some grasses and hawkweed in the bottom of this image, too, but the focus is on the milkweed. Quite a dramatic plant. I like the effect of the milkweed against the backdrop of the rapids.

Ants collecting nectar from the flowers of a. syriaca

Not only does this flower appeal to bees, it also appeals to ants. I hardly ever see them blooming around here without ants crawling around on them seeking nectar. I like the umbrel shape of the milkweed inflorescence.

A. syriaca inflorescence

I love how thick the flower is. The petals are proportionately extremely thick for their size, giving this flower a stiff, chunky appearance that I find really cool and unusual in a flower. It's quite a dramatic flower even up close. There's a drop of dew visible between the two nearest petals of the flower in the centre here.

St John's Wort - Hypericum Perforatum - Millepertuis Perforé

St John's wort, hypericum perforatum (fr: millepertuis perforé) is another introduced species which now flourishes at the lake. It is a fairly well-known herbal antidepressant. It's worth noting here that herbal antidepressant just means it contains neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitors and it's an herb, not that plants are magical and better than proper pharmaceuticals. Dosage is inexact with herbs (as opposed to pill-form SSRIs, which have dosage controlled) so I wouldn't recommend that everybody go running out to make St John's wort tinctures. At least in Canada, measured doses of St John's wort extract are available over the counter anyway, so if you want to try it go try that. Disclaimer: talk to your doctor, St John's wort interacts with a number of common medications (eg oral contraceptives) in ways that can be extremely bad for you. Self-medication is dangerous, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about this option.

H. perforatum inflorescence

This flower isn't always easy to spot; it tends to grow close to goldenrod at the lake, and the two have a very similar colour while goldenrod is generally taller, making it a tough spot at the lake. The plant itself is very easy to identify, however; I've never seen anything else that looks like it growing at the lake, so if it looks like this it's probably St John's wort.

H. perforatum inflorescence up close

I love the form of the filaments & anthers on this flower. It's like a koosh ball cut in half. It's a very wibbly (I swear that's a word) sort of flower. Pretty and delicate, with the perfect rich golden colour that I'm glad has come out here very well. It's not a very large flower, at least at the lake; usually 1-2 cm across.

I'm making big changes to my life right now. My anthem right now is Chris Hadfield's rendition of Space Oddity because to me this is an incredible symbol of the triumph of the human spirit and human innovation. Decades ago, this song was sung looking up at the stars from Earth; now Chris Hadfield has sung it back to Earth from the stars. That's so incredible I have a hard time believing it sometimes. Also, I've never gotten over the childhood hero-worship I had for astronauts. Astronauts are incredible people; if my eyes didn't suck I would have tried to become one myself (but you need to be not totally useless in an emergency if you can't find your glasses, and my eyes suck without some form of intervention; I discovered the hard truth at 12 years old and I still wish I were eligible for laser eye surgery). Anyway, this song makes me think of just how incredible humanity can be. Steels the guts for hard work.

Snapper - Chelydra Serpentina - Tortue Serpentine

Sur la rivière où j'étais durant la fin de semaine au chalet de mon amie, il y avait une crique où se trouvaient de diverses insectes et animaux. En entrant, j'ai surpris un héron qui s'est envolé avant que je puisse sortir ma camera, et un castor qui a frappé l'eau avec sa queue avant de disparaître sous la surface. J'ai vu aussi une tortue serpentine.

La tortue serpentine est très commune, mais le monde a souvent des idées incorrectes par rapport aux habitudes de cette espèce et mon amie me disait que, il y a 50 ans, le monde ont fait l'éffort pour éradiquer les tortues serpentines dans la rivière, étant peur de se faire mordre en nageant. La tortue serpentine, chelydra serpentina, est extrèmement non-agressive dans l'eau et même sur terre où elle est plus vulnérable n'attaquera pas sans provocation. En tout cas, cette espèce est vieille, ayant pré-éxisté les dinosaurs dans la forme que  nous reconnaissons aujourd'hui. Pour moi, rencontrer une tortue serpentine, particulièrement une grosse, c'est comme recontrer un dinosaur. Ce sont des créatures fascinantes. J'ai été chanceuse durant la fin de semaine; cette tortue voulait prendre un petit peut de soleil et a donc sorti un petit peut de la boue, juste assez que j'ai pu la voir.

Celle là est grosse pour son espèce mais pas la plus grosse que j'ai jamais vue (cela est une autre histoire, une que je ne compte qu'au monde qui adore aussi la nature). J'estime 12-15 pousses dans la carapace, qui représente une tortue dans la cinquantaine ou plus. Ci-dessous est une photo de la tortue, qui était bien cachée dans la boue.

C. serpentina

Above is a photo I took of a snapper (common snapping turtle), chelydra serpentina. This is a very common acquatic animal in North America. Unfortunately, people have some strange ideas about snappers which make them more nervous and aggressive about snappers than need be. Snappers are very peaceable creatures and shy in the water, preferring to flee than to confront when met with humans. On land, they are only aggressive if provoked -- and that's because they have no alternatives; they can't run and this variety of turtle can't hide in its shell for safety. If you see one on land it's probably a female looking for a place to lay her eggs. Leave her be and she'll leave you be.

This one was very well-hidden in the silt at the bottom, taking a bit of sun but trying to be more or less invisible. It's a reasonably large one for its species; I estimate 12-15 inches in the shell, which is quite respectable and means it's probably about 50 years old or a bit older. The inlet where I spotted this turtle is full of silt, where my friend says the snappers like to hibernate in the winter, buried in the silt. And no wonder; I tested the depth with my paddle; my paddle sank all the way down without touching the bottom, so all I can say for certain is that the silt is deeper than 5 feet. Plenty of room for turtles to bury themselves in! Mind you, it does mean that it's a good thing I didn't hop out of the kayak in this seemingly shallow water; the moral of the story is to check your surface before hopping out of your boat, in case the bottom isn't what it seems.

This is the type of sighting that happens by being quiet; take a kayak or a canoe, no motors! Paddleboats are pretty noisy, too. This turtle would've been gone long before I arrived if I'd been in a noisy boat.

Today, I'm making changes.

Dragonflies - Odonata - Libellules

So when I was at my friend's cottage, I went out kayaking on the river. There was a small inlet not far downstream of us, where I found an unbelievable variety of dragonflies, many of which I had never seen before. The two most abundant types were a red one I have finally been able to identify as the calico pennant, Celithemis elisa.  The second is a black one with ice-blue markings, which I believe is the chalk-fronted corporal, Ladona julia. There were also quite a lot of monstrously huge dragonflies with ultra blue abdomens and dark green thoraxes which I didn't get a chance to photograph; they never seemed to land anywhere. I will say tentatively that they were probably common green darner dragonflies.

These dragonflies were incredibly difficult to photograph but I'm glad I succeeded in getting even these few shots.

C. elisa lateral view

I found this particular dragonfly to be a stunningly beautiful creature. I like this shot a great deal because it shows just how vibrantly red it is.

C. elisa top view

My kayak was unfortunately drifting, and you can see from the shadows of my hands that I was already reaching a point where I could simply not reach with my right hand anymore when I took this shot. I was so disappointed to see that I had clipped the wings on one side in this photo, which is otherwise perfect. I suppose I'll just have to try again sometime. At least in this photo the wing patterns are very clear. Aside from the lower wing near the thorax, the spots are not quite red, looking more muted and brownish to me.

 L. julia

I think at this moment I really must give my thanks to the folks over at Discover Life, who regularly make it possible for me to identify fauna that I wouldn't be able to without their excellent searching tool. Super cool resource, very usable. It's my go-to resource for identifying interesting insects.

Blue Flag Iris - Iris versicolor - Clajeux

J'ai été au chalet d'une amie durant la fin de semaine, sur une rivière près de Lac Simon. La rivière diffère beaucoups du lac où je reste d'habitude, particulièrement du côté faune et flore. La diversité d'espèces de libellule, par exemple, était absolument extraordinaire. J'ai pris beaucoups de soleil en sortant sur la rivière en kayak et je suis devenue très bronze. C'est chanceux que je ne brûle pas facilement! Ci-dessous se trouvent des photos de l'iris versicolore (autrement: clajeux), Iris versicolor. Ceci est la fleure-emblème du Québec. Pour moi, qui passe mon temps au Québec sur les lacs et les rivières, cette fleure est associée à la beauté du Québec et à ses eaux claires et vertes.

I. versicolor inflorescence, lateral view

I went to a friend's cottage on a river near Lac Simon (Quebec). I found it to be a gorgeous place. One of the most wonderful things about the river, as compared with the lake where I usually conduct my explorations, as the diversity of flora and fauna. The variety of dragonfly types was particularly stunning. Above is the blue flag iris, iris versicolor, which I associate with Quebec's beautiful waters. This was a particularly fine specimen, glistening with dew and richly coloured.

I. versicolor inflorescence, top view

Here's a blue flag iris from above. In the photograph below, the path toward the nectaries between the lower and upper portions is visible.

Iris versicolor

Indeed, if we look at the next photograph the place where the nectar is, as well as the pistil (the hard ridge curving over the top of the opening), is visible. The pollen gets spread over the surface leading down to the nectar, which would of course ensure that any pollinators seeking nectar at this flower would pick up plenty of pollen as well. A good system. I like that the dew on the petals is visible and sparkling in this shot.

I. versicolor pistil (centre)

 And, just because this flower is incredibly beautiful, here's a shot of it from below:

I. versicolor inflorescence, bottom view

I got particularly damp and muddy taking this shot, as the blue flag iris likes to grow in marshy areas. Lying down under one (they're not very tall, either) therefore meant getting quite mucky.

I'm gathering my courage today.

Flowering Raspberry - Rubus Odoratus - Ronce Odorante

R. odoratus influorescence

The flowering raspberry (fr. ronce odorante), rubus odoratus, is one of my favourite edibles at the lake. Though it's called flowering raspberry, it doesn't have the same flavour or texture. It's produces a deep red, opaque, slightly velvety fruit. My brothers and I used to call them thumberries as children because the fruit fit onto our thumbs neatly, like little red caps. They're a bit dry in comparison with the wild raspberry, but delicious. The seeds are less present vs the wild raspberry, too, so there's an advantage in that sense. I love the chiffon-like appearance of the petals of this flower. Also, it's quite sticky and hairy on the back; as a kid I used to pluck the flower off the stem and stick it to my shirt, like a pin. Now, before you go thinking I must have been a sweet, pretty kid, I also did that with empty dragonfly nymph shells (actually, I liked those better because they were cool).

Today, I'm dreaming...

Oxeye Daisy - Leucanthemum Vulgare - Marguerite

L. vulgare inflorescence

Lovely flower, isn't it? I love the double spiral pattern in the heart (spirals in both directions). This species is invasive and is considered problematic in may parts of North America.

I'm remembering and nurturing childhood dreams today.

Cinqfoil - Potentilla Recta - Potentille

This is another introduced species - I'm starting to feel like most of the wildflowers I like seeing at the lake are introduced species, actually. Anyway, cinqfoil (fr: potentille), potentilla recta, is a rather unassuming and undramatic flower at least where I've seen it, likely because growing conditions are very harsh at the lake.

P. recta inflorescence

For perspective, this flower is less than 1cm across. Tiny thing, really. They don't bloom or grow particularly profusely at the lake, either, so they're rather easy to miss. The fun of this flower is getting closer to it and starting to see the small details, like the wedge shape of the petals and the way they don't touch each other, forming a sort of inverse star, an asterisk of negative space. And the shaky-looking dots of the anthers on the near-invisible filaments, or the slightly fuzzy-looking pistil. I like the base five form of this plant a lot.

P. recta inflorescence after pollination

The petals have fallen off of this blossom, likely because it's been pollinated. The base five shape is still very much in evidence, with the base five sepals (leaves under the petals) visible. The anthers are more clearly visible here against a greener background. I like the subtle gradation of yellow to green from the centre of the flower outward along the sepals. The rather spiky appearance of p. recta's leaves is visible in this shot. I really like the foliage of this plant; angular and slightly aggressive but still lacy and delicate.

I find myself daydreaming about childhood today...

Bumblebees - B. impatiens - Bourdons

So I suppose it's about time I talked about the garden a bit. This year, E and I are trying something new. Back in a post on July 5, 2012 (Pollination Station), I illustrated my method for ensuring pollination of some of the plants for which pollination is necessary for production. It involved running around with a brush, a decidedly inefficient and inelegant state of affairs. The garden I maintain is on three levels: ground level, second floor, and third floor. Pollinators are unfortunately quite rare on the third floor, presumably because bees well-laden with nectar and pollen don't have any interest in flying up two stories to look for more.

So this year we're trying something new. E is doing some bee research at a lab at the university, under the supervision of a researcher who has been invaluable in her assistance to get us started. Basically, we're raising a bumblebee colony. Bad. Ass.

... The process is surprisingly sensitive. We ran around with nets and pill bottles early in the season, capturing bumblebees (bombus impatiens), because early in the spring all the bumblebees are queens; the queen comes out of hibernation and flies around collecting pollen and nectar and looking for a suitable nest site, then eventually starts laying eggs. Actually, there's a rather low success rate for b. impatiens colonies, so it was necessary to capture multiple queens in hopes that one would reproduce, so I should say that only some of them eventually start laying eggs.

So. We caught some bees. Watched and waited. Finally, one of them appears to be incubating eggs. The rest have been released, and Gardenia (that's the name we gave the successful queen) has been moved outside and we've opened up the incubator for her in case she wants to forage. We've supplied her with nectar and pollen, as well as cotton to use in forming the initial nest, so she doesn't actually have to leave. Eventually her workers will leave the hive to forage. And then they will pollinate our garden goodies and I won't have to run around with a paintbrush anymore.

Peeking into the nest

 You'll notice right away while looking at the above shot that b. impatiens doesn't make the organized honeycomb that people generally expect when thinking of bees.

The incubator

 This is the exterior of the incubator. The closer portion is where the nest is; the further portion is where we're putting a capful of nectar for Gardenia, which prevents the need for her to venture outside in order to support the colony (the pollen we've provided her with is visible in the photo of the nest).

Location of the incubator

We've tucked the incubator into a quiet corner of the deck for now, with the exit facing directly into the planters where I've put some of the flowers I planted this year in order to supply the colony. We are anticipating the possibility that we'll have to provide them with nectar or pollen as the season wears on, but we'll be monitoring the colony closely.

We'll be moving the nest into its proper box soon so that the hive has the chance to grow and spread.

But of course, social bees aren't the only bees who pollinate the garden. Far from it; solitary bees (bees who do not form colonies, but rather forage & reproduce individually) are extremely common and also very important for pollination. Fortunately, keeping solitary bees is considerably less time-consuming and difficult than trying to establish a colony. Solitary bees just need to be provided with a suitable nest site, and they'll move right on in!

This is where my dad kicks ass. I was doing some research on solitary bees (I'm less familiar with them), and found out exactly how to set up for solitary bees. My father, once I explained the process to him, pulled out his drill bits and got some wood and helped me set up some solitary bee space.

I'm not really expecting to get any solitary bees this year (it's a little late for nesting), but at the very least we should get some next year. Since we have an apple tree in the back yard, that's to the good.

Close-up of part of the bee house

 Solitary bees are of varying sizes, so need tunnels of varying sizes to accommodate them. My dad drilled some holes of varying sizes on two sides of two of our fenceposts (total of four sides drilled). Solitary bees look for tunnels of the right size to nest in; holes in wood are appealing enough, so that's what we've put up here.

One of the bee houses from a distance

My dad then sheltered the bee houses, to keep the rain out (wetness prevents the bees from prospering).

So there we have it.  My dad rocks. So do bees.

Of course, this blog just wouldn't be what I've always envisioned it to be if I didn't take a moment to also share a photo of something I thought was particularly beautiful today. Enjoy.

Browallia speciosa

Calibrachoa

Bladder Campion - Silène Enflé - Silene Vulgaris

Le silène enflé (silene vulgaris), ci-dessous, est comestible (les feuilles). On peut les mettre dans une salade ou les sauter. Moi, je les manges crus cueuillis directement du sol, parce que je m'amuse à goûter aux plantes comestibles quand je me promène dans les bois. Un très bon goût jeune, devient amer quand mature.

S. vulgaris inflorescence

The bladder campion, silene vulgaris, is edible. The young shoots are tender and sweetish, but it gets bitter as the plant matures. A rather tasty plant early in the season, though I don't sample it more than two or three times in the season. It's quite a peculiar-looking flower, with its large bulbous shape topped by those delicate, almost frilly petals. But when you get close you can see that it has some beautiful, subtle colour gradation in the filaments and anthers, giving this light hint of purple colour. The central flower in this photograph has been damaged (missing stamens), but because of that you can clearly see the purple tips on the bulbous part of the flower. The bulb itself surrounds the part that, once fertilized, develops into a seed. I like it's stained-glass appearance. The bladder campion is usually considered a weed in North America (it's native to Europe), but I quite like it regardless.

This evening I'm going to unwind a bit in the garden. I have to thin my radishes a bit and the tomatoes need to be pruned and trained; they're developing suckers that need to be removed. My eggplants are suffering; the weather has been unseasonably cold and it just hasn't been good for them. Ditto the peppers. I'm hoping for some better weather. I bought some endive seeds to replace my lettuces once it got too hot to grow them, but so far that hasn't happened at all. I suppose one can't dictate the weather. At least the brussels sprouts are happy.

Hawkweed - Hieracium

Orange hawkweed (H. aurentiacum) blossom

 I took this photo of orange hawkweed (hieracium aurentiacum) at the lake. From a distance, it's a rather small and unassuming plant. It's only when you get closer that its drama becomes more evident. Where this photo was taken orange hawkweed is rather rare, so this was a nice find.

Yellow Hawkweed (H. pratense) flower buds

Yellow hawkweed (hieracium pratense) is more common in the area than orange hawkweed. It's a reasonably frequent find in the area. What I like about the closed ones is the visibility of the spikes on the flower buds. All those spines make it look quite forbidding up close.

I'm snuggling with my Molly cat on the couch with a pot of bee balm tea while I try to plan out my day. E is going to be working out of town for the next two months, so we'll only be able to see each other on weekends until I start my vacation mid-August. Since we will essentially no longer be living together for a bit, I'm trying to figure out how to organize household management around the gap. It's slightly depressing work, especially since E will be taking Molly with him starting next week (after she gets her rabies shot). Still, it isn't all bad; we'll still see each other on weekends, and I enjoy having the run of the household, too. We'll manage.

Happy Canada Day! -- Joyeuse Fête du Canada!

Joyeuse Fête du Canada! C'est une journée plutôt froide pour le premier juillet. Mais au moins c'est bon pour les épinards et les laitues! J'irai voir les feux d'artifices ce soir.

L. latifolius inflorescence

Here we have a shot of a wild sweet pea (fr. pois vivace), lathyrus latifolius inflorescence (flower stalk). I managed to get the sun in the middle there, causing some beautiful visual artifacts from the brightness of the light.

L. latifolius inflorescence

Here I got the sun behind the petals of one of the flowers. It makes the flower glow, doesn't it? The colour and shape of the flower is particularly clear here, as are the darker veins in the petals. The translucency of the petals is also clear here. My favourite shot of the week.

It's unseasonably cold for Canada Day (July 1st), but of course this whole season has been unusually cold. I hope that we start getting somewhat more summery weather in the coming months, or my eggplants and peppers simply won't prosper this year.