Thursday, June 7, 2012

Hiking The Cross Country Ski Trail Of The Vermilon River. A Post To SWF

 This is a trail that I don't normally use, but new trails are always fun. The ski trail is 10 km long and runs on the west side of the River in a northly direction. I would estimate that I completed half of it, about 5 km. But I would have hiked at least another km to get to the trail. So in total I hiked about 6 km,say 3.6 miles in total, not bad after sitting on my duff during three days of rain. CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.
 The weather is sunny and warm with a fairly stiff breeze which keeps the bugs down, but of course doesn't help with the photography. The River is wide here, and split into a main and a slow channel by a small island. The slow channel is mostly wetland. The slow channel is on the far side of the River.
The town and the RR line were originally on this side of the River,connected to the main land by a swing bridge. The abutement and cables still exist. The trail, of course, is the old railway line and excellent for hiking. In addition there are several clear areas, too rocky for trees, on the River which are comfortable for rests.
I had identified the Red-eyed Vireo in a previous post. But the earlier photos did not have close ups of the the best ID indicator, the red eyes. These do, and so confirm the ID.
Red-eyed Vireo.

Same showing the distinctive eye markings.

This Black-capped Chickadee series show a pair actively mining a standing rotten birch tree. I don't know if its their nest or they're after insects.
See the debris in its beak.

They're incredibly active.

Chestnut-sided Warbler.

This is the same Robin who perches in the most precarious areas.
Northern Flicker.

Cedar Waxwings, probably waiting for the berries to ripen.

Female Green-winged Teal

Male Green-winged Teal.

Monarch Butterfly.

Monarch Butterfly.

Silver-bordered Frittary

Silver-bordered Frittary.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail.

I'm uncertain whether these two guys are Question Marks or Eastern Commas. ANSWER: Texwisgirl gave an easy ID method. The open wing has a dash over the dot, see photos one, so it is a Question Mark.
Question Mark or Eastern Comma.

Wood Satyr


Unknown.
Both of these ones are unknowns.
All the next series are Dame's Rocket which come in whites, and a pinkish purple colour.


Yellow Lily
Devil's Paintbrush.
Goat's Beard. All the yellow wildflowers are related to the Dandelion.
High Bush Cranberries. These are just about finished blooming, and will soon produce berries.
Purple Flowering raspberries, which are related to roses. They're about finished now and soon will bear fruit, which is small but delicious.
In the sunny areas the wild blueberries are out, but not yet ripe.
Wild Chives. I have these in my garden and regularly harvest them.
Wild Daisy.
Buttercups.
Coltsfoot.
Tansy.
This is Lily of the Valley. There is a difference between Wild Lily of the Valley, and Lily of the Valley. See an earlier post for Wild Lily of the Valley which is more abundant. Can you believe how hard this is?
Canada Nettle, and yes the leaves have a fiber that stings. Below Tansy again. A Post to SWFCamera Critters, and Scenic Sunday

58 comments:

  1. So nice! I always love your walks and the pictures you capture. The water and butterflies are especially beautiful this time. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. questionmarks. their open wings have a dot with a dash over it whereas the commas don't have the dash (learned that from another blogger recently!)

    love the devil's paintbrush! nice shots, gary.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful spring time! You sure live in a paradise!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fantastic photo series, very beautiful nature shots, you've made ​​very good...
    Best regards, Karin

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hyvä Sarja.
    Kesää olet esittänyt monipuolisesti.
    Kiitos vierailusta...
    Eko
    Suomi/Lapland/Kuusamo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fantastic photos for SWF!Thank you for sharing and have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your world is surely beautiful these days, Gary! Lovely skies that make a perfect backdrop for your lovely birds and butterflies and flowers! Hope you and Boom have a great weekend -- with lots of sunshine!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lovely! I think those nettle flowers are my favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful birds, butterflies and flowers from your hike, and the blue sky and water too!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Another great set of shots from a fun-sounding hike. I sometimes wish there was a river near us.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your chickadee photos make me homesick for the northeast! I haven't seen one of those little critters for nearly two decades. Lovely shots!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great series of photos! Spring looks beautiful in your part of the world. Love the bird shots....marvelous light.

    ReplyDelete
  13. A lovely trail for hiking, I love the butterflies and the pretty flowers. Great shots. Have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  14. A great post! Lovely to see this serie of photos!

    ReplyDelete
  15. You have such beautiful trails to walk on. So many different birds, butterflies and flowers and of course the landscapes are wonderful too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh, that first shot is amazing. What a beautiful spot. Love your wildflowers.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hey, Boom and Gary. Another incredible gallery of nature's finest moments in your awesome country. All the best!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great pictures, very nice catch. Today my favorites are the Butterfly. Saludos.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Gary

    Lovely flowers and Butterflies, you have been getting great closeups.

    Guy

    ReplyDelete
  20. As always som beautiful pictures.
    And I agree with Leovi.
    The butterflies are my favorites too.
    Have a nice Friday

    http://www.starbear.no/mormor/2012/06/07/trippel-fra-mormor/

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a beautiful series of pictures, - something for all enthusiasts.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Så fantastisk vacker natur, vackra blommor, fina fåglar och ljuvliga fjärilar!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh, I enjoyed them all, but what i really, really liked...all of those wonderful butterflies...beautiful~

    ReplyDelete
  24. I like the way we can post things on our blogs and say "I have no idea what this is - any ideas?" and then get an answer.

    Nice post.

    Stewart M - Australia

    ReplyDelete
  25. ❤♡ Olá!
    Passei para admirar suas fotografias.
    As borboletas estão belíssimas.
    Bom fim de semana!
    Beijinhos.
    Brasil
    •.¸¸✿⊱╮¸¸.•

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love this post it inspires me to walk in the trail and see the wilderness. Most of the wild flowers I have some in our backyard. Devils paintbrush is right now thriving in front of our yard I wonder what happen to the dandelion hehe. ^_^ Thanks for sharing.

    Kim,USA

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wonderful series. Your spring seems to be bright and clear. I specially love all those colourful butterflies.

    ReplyDelete
  28. You "know" your butterflies and flowers! I just take the pictures and can't identify a good share of what I take (need to work on that). Great post, as usual. Have a nice weekend. Mickie :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. A wonderful world dressed in summer colours. Glorious.

    ReplyDelete
  30. lots of good stuff in this post! Red-eyed Vireos are impossible to to get photos of! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Wonderful photos!!! must have been one interesting trek!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Beautiful pictures of birds, butterflies and the sky!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I tried leaving a comment before but not sure it went. Such beautiful pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Marvelous butterfly photos. We have blueberries on the ranch and some Monarchs, too. Gary, yours seem larger and unique to the habitat. As always, thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  35. You are so energetic, thanks for taking us along on your hike, and explaining what we are looking at.

    ReplyDelete
  36. A trek brings us so many interesting things. And you captured them so beautifully.

    Nisha - Le Monde-A Poetic Travail

    ReplyDelete
  37. Feel like I have been on the trek with you both, great set of pictures. Moths are difficult to ID, so many similar ones, and you did a good job on everything else.

    ReplyDelete
  38. wow! I'm so empress with your photos..really great...

    thanks for visiting my blogsite:-)

    ReplyDelete
  39. Stunning photos!

    Thanks for stopping by!

    My SWF

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thank you for sharing another beautiful walk with us! I love the photos of the butterflies and flowers :o)

    ReplyDelete
  41. I always enjoyed visiting here. You take good pictures always.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Lovely post with lovely pictures ..... love the pictures of butterflies. Wishing you a good weekend. Hanne Bente

    ReplyDelete
  43. Beautiful scenic place with lovely butterflies.

    ReplyDelete
  44. aha, a change of tac here in this post Gary - great lesson in the flora at the end, sometimes we all walk through the meadows and such like without knowing the differing species, its good to learn

    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  45. Beautiful! Scenery, birds, flowers, butterflies!!!!! WOW!

    ReplyDelete
  46. beautiful shots, especially liked the butterflies and wildflowers.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Peeking again from Camera Critters this time.

    My Critter post. Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  48. your photos made me wish I was there seeing these gorgeous scenes of nature.
    i like how you put everything in perspective and take some macro shots as well.
    i must admit that i;m a city girl, but now, i think i'm having 2nd thoughts. ^0^

    ReplyDelete
  49. I'm also a city girl but always love your fantastic photographs, especially the butterflies in this post.
    My Dame's Rockets are just about finished for this season.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Landscape, flowers, birds, butterflies.... your photos are ctacking good. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Hi Gary,
    Just another wonderful post that included everything in nature! All your photos are just fantastic and beautiful.

    (Shsss..but I still don't see the dash over the dot on the wing of that butterfly!I'm going blind trying to look for it..)

    ReplyDelete
  52. My late visit from SWF. Thanks for dropping by.

    There are various beauties you've shared here from your great walk adventure and I enjoy them all.

    www.womenandperspectives.com

    ReplyDelete
  53. Just spent about 20 minutes scrolling through your blog. Your photos are so delightful!

    ReplyDelete