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.