More Colour At The Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

We're on the River today, and you can see the green in back of the photo along the ridge. Not summer, but a beginning anyway. CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.

 This view faces southwest the direction we're heading in.

 Same direction different view.

 The Vermilon is a meandering river and this is one of its widest areas before the rapids. The red brush, below the trees,are likely pin cherries,which produce an edible fruit for wildlife of all types.

 Just a close up of the same area. I had better warn you that this post is extra long as the forest wildflowers are in bloom, not completely but some. This gives me a great opportunity to try and identify wildflowers, and make a fool of myself, but mostly to photograph them. I'll name them by caption.

Pin Cherry Blossoms

 Pin cherry Blossoms with an unidentifiable insect. Pin Cherry trees produce a red edible berry,which along with some of my friends we make into a jam. The bark on these trees is red, and the leaves turn red in the fall. We have some maple but we get our red from these trees in the fall. Fall colours here are mostly golden.

 This is a Choke Cherry bud. They're not in bloom yet. We make jam out of these red berries also. But you have to be a little more careful as the pits and bark contain prussic acid which is poisonous, especially to pets. I use the jam, both pin and choke cherry, as a filler in the tarts that I bake, so always ask if I'm in a good mood when you accept bake goods from me.

Growth

Buds

More Buds.

 All the next photos are of Woolly Violets that grow along the edge of the wetlands. They're really small but are quite hardy.

Close Up

 They grow in clumps as this photo shows.

These are, I think, Bunch Berries. They're growing in a decaying birch tree. They produce a small white flower, and red berries which are edible also.

 These are fern fronds called in eastern North America fiddle-heads. They're eaten extensively in Atlantic Canada, and the U.S seaboard states. They're a great source of omega 3 & 4. They're not cultivated , but are usually handpicked. See Wikipedia for a good discussion and how to cook.

Fiddle-heads.

 And........,of course, the ubiquitous Dandelion, the hardiest of them all.  Again it can be used in salad as greens and made into wine.

 The first series of birds are all female purple finch.

 Now the males. We seem to have a lot of purple finch this year.

 The Goldfinch, some of whom over winter here, are in their breeding plumage. The first is a female followed by males.

 The next series are Male Red-winged Blackbirds.

 This robin was in a cedar tree along the river. He's been looking for worms in the mud as shown by the mud stains on his beak.

Common Grackle.

Common White-throated Sparrow.

 This marks another edition to the Sparrow migrants. He's a White Crown Sparrow, and noticeably larger than the others.

This Raven was having a scratch, after which he decided to pose regally.

Raven

 The Red squirrels are really active, and either hard to catch, or they pose for you, after they've scolded you.

 See what I mean. A Post to SWF, Camera Critters and Scenic Sunday.