Month: August 2014

Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis At Tommy Thompson Park

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monarch butterfly chrysalis at tommy thompson park - ontario 7

One summer, Bob and I made for Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  We were certain, given the large number of Monarch Butterfly larvae that we had seen before, that we would be able to find a chrysalis on one of the many Milkweed plants.  Our memory served us well as to the locations of a good share of the well-advanced larvae, but it took us two days to actually locate a Monarch’s chrysalis amid the fields of stately Milkweed plants.  Our persistence had paid off! Read more

A Young Porcupine Near Dwight, Ontario

A Young Porcupine Near Dwight, Ontario

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Bob and I had put in a very full day in Algonquin Provincial Park on the last day of our visit to that wilderness area so were heading home to Toronto late in the afternoon.  We had no reason to stop again until we got home…that is until we spotted a young Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) hobbling across the pavement of the South Portage Road near Dwight,  Ontario. Read more

A Moose cow and calf in Algonquin Park

A Moose cow and calf in Algonquin Park

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Bob and I were visiting my parents at Oxtongue Lake near Algonquin Provincial Park one summer, and we decided to take a drive into the park to check on the progress of the wild blueberry crop.  At one of the beaver ponds along Highway 60 where moose are known to frequent, we spotted this big Moose cow and calf beside the roadway. Read more

Monarch Butterflies Mating At Lower Reesor Pond In Toronto

Monarch Butterflies Mating At Lower Reesor Pond In Toronto

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What a sad summer it was here in Toronto, Ontario in 2014, because Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) were conspicuous by their absence.  Bob and I had been monitoring sightings posted by nature lovers on Facebook, and websites such as The Insects and Arachnids of Ontario, The Weather Network, and Butterflies and Moths of North America.  We were not the only people discouraged by the poor showing of these beautiful insects so far this year. Read more

Sunchokes growing wild at Lower Reesor Pond in Toronto

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sunchokes, lower reesor pond, rouge national urban park, toronto

How beautiful is a sprawling drift of Sunchokes fading into the distance!  That is just what we found when Bob and I visited Lower Reesor Pond in northeast Toronto.  This native species of sunflower goes by many different names including Sunchokes, Sunroot or Earth Apple. Read more

Cedar Waxwings capture Insects at Milliken Park

Cedar Waxwings capture Insects at Milliken Park

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Bob and I take regular walks to Milliken Park, in Toronto because we find that the variety of habitats found there encourages an assortment of birds and animals at any given time of the year.  Based on a tip from my sister, we hit the pavement in hopes of seeing some Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), and we were stunned by the numbers around the south pond. Read more

Red Lily beetles plague my Toronto Tiger Lilies



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Red Lily beetles plague my Toronto Tiger Lilies

Red lily beetle in toronto garden 4

For the past several years, starting each spring and into the summer months,  I have been pestered by Red Lily Beetles (Lilioceris lilii) on my Tiger Lilies .  It is actually the beetles’ shiny, hard forewings that are red.  These pretty little beetles stand out quite well on green plants, but they are a trick to catch and squash.  I declare that I think they see me coming because, often, as I move in on their position, they drop to the earth below and essentially disappear in the shadows.  It doesn’t help that, this year, I spread red cedar chips in all my gardens, so imagine trying to find a red bug on that red surface. Read more

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