Time Travelling Rocks

August 23rd: This picture takes a bit of explanation. The slab of rock on the shore has a bubbly surface. They are actually ancient ripple marks that run right to left, top to bottom. They were made when this rock was mud, at the bottom of a warm sea, 450 million years ago. The water beside this rock is Toronto's Mimico Creek, which is constantly eroding these time travelling rocks. 

Today in Nature: A Tern in Flight

August 10th: This is a common tern, the better-looking member of the gull family. He/she was flying around, getting ready to pluck a fish out of the water at Toronto's Tommy Thompson Park today. The park is a wonderful place to go bird watching, easily the best in the city. During my trip there, I saw Great Blue Herons, a green heron, Cedar Waxwings, American Goldfinches, thousands of cormorants, and much more. For more information on the park, please visit http://www.torontonature.com/tommythompsonpark.php


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Today in Nature: How Lightning Strikes

A tree hit by lightning

August 11th: A tree in High Park that looks like it was felled by lightning some years ago. Lightning causes any moisture in the tree to boil along the vertical path of the bolt. The result is often explosive, drawing a straight line down one side of the tree, and blowing off the bark. That opening is often fatal to the tree, as bark is like skin - it keeps out parasites, as well as water that can freeze and thaw, weakening the tree. This tree was at the highest point in this part of the park.

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Today in Nature: A Young Night Heron fishes in the morning

A junior night heron

August 12th: This is a young Black-Crowned Night Heron looking for fish this morning. These herons are much smaller than Great Blue Herons, and usually don't do much fishing when it is bright outside. Perhaps the false promise of a cloudy day brought him out. They have also been known to indulge in a bit of cannibalism when young. There are more details and pictures on my website,http://www.torontonature.com/nightherons.php.


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Today in Nature: Wasps and Lady Bugs clean up the forest.

Nature's wisdom at work

August 14th: Here's an example of how nature works through interdependence. The leaf on the left has holes in it, signs that bugs have been feeding here. The ladybug isn't the guilty party, though - it has come to the rescue to eat the hungry insects. Over on the right, a wasp has also come to find bugs that could be harming this flower. Wasps also inadvertently pollinate flowers this way, helping them to reproduce.


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Finding Ancient Wisdom in a River

The Tao of Rivers

August 15th: This scene from Toronto's Humber River reminded me of a quote by the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu: "Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful."

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Today in Nature: The stories acorns tell

These humble acorns have an amazing story to tell

August 16th: These acorns tell a story. First, they reveal the age of the tree: most oaks don't produce acorns until they are at least 20 years old, most wait until they are 50. Squirrels depend on acorns for their winter diet, but most oaktrees don't produce acorns every year. So squirrel populations rise and fall with the rhythm of acorn production - so far, it looks like this year will be a good one. Squirrels have already eaten some of these acorns, the ones with their tops missing. The rest will get buried - one squirrel can bury up to two thousand nuts in a season, helping the oak tree to spread its seeds elsewhere in the forest. Quite a system!


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