We’ve had sun and rain. Although there have been some very hot days, we are now enjoying cool temperatures in the low 20s Celcius.
On clear nights, we have been following the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in the western sky. Jupiter passed by Venus, moving from above to below its sister planet through early June. Venus is said to be 7.5 times brighter than Jupiter. In the photo on the left below, the moon, Jupiter and Venus are visible. The photo on the right was taken with a telescope and shows two of the moons of Jupiter.
Hawk Cliff Woods
Hawk Cliff Woods is a nature reserve stewarded by Thames Talbot Land Trust. The 300-acre property overlooks Lake Erie and encompasses a maple-beech forest and several meadows.
The cliffs along the lake are home to nesting Bank Swallows. The swallows were constantly overhead, flying acrobatically to harvest insects to feed their young.
Bald Eagles also nest in the area and we usually see one overhead. This time, it was a third-year bird, still a year or two away from adult plumage.
As always, we heard more birds than we could see. Some birds were busy singing, others were quietly feeding young.
Northern Cardinal (m), Northern Yellow Warbler (m), Gray Catbird, Red-winged Blackbird (f), Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo.
We encounted a pair of Indigo Buntings busily foraging on the ground and in the trees.
Native Plants
Wild Geranium
Philadelphia Fleabane, Eastern/Virgina Waterleaf, Wild Strawberry
Mayapple in bloom. The “apples” develop once the blossoms are fertilized by bumblebees and other long-tongued native bees.
Solomon’s Plume and Star-flowered Lily-of-the-Valley (aka Star-flowered False Solomon’s Seal)
Sweet Cicely, Jack-in-the-Pulpit – leaves and berries develping from the base of the missing pulpit.
Beautiful, but introduced and potentially invasive:
Common Star-of-Bethlehem and Dame’s Rocket
Pollinators (awaiting identification) and Chipmunk
Osprey Update
The chicks are growing under the care and feeding and watchful eyes of their parents. On Wednesday, the alarm chirps of the adults alerted us to two Osprey intruders. The male took flight to chase them far beyond the baseball stadium. He later added a new stick to the nest, something that is a fairly regular occurance.
Friday, June 19, 7 a.m., the air was clear and there was little wind to shake the telescope. The young have figured out that they can feed themselves but still take whatever the mom offers. In the second half of the video, the older offspring helps mom to repostion the fish away from the younger.
Wandering Bee Flowers
We Love Sleep
All of these videos made me smile. Louis Armstrong charmed audiences around the world. “Sleepy Time Down South” often opened his shows.
There are two versions of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, the first is joyous while the second is calming.
