Little Stinkers in the Neighbourhood! 

We are occasionally greeted in the early morning by a local skunk that we believe resides 2 doors down. There must be some cute "little stinkers" somewhere in the neighbourhood!

It has been several years since I last found a Killdeer nest. The parents 

weren't far away and we quickly left the area after a brief picture.

The Mute Swan family is growing at Peers Wetland.

Each goose has his own plant to snack on!

A tiny Painted Turtle walked along a trail in the woods at Henderson Conservation Area. I'm sure he had a destination in mind so I left him alone. It was a quiet day and there was little fear of him being stepped on. I placed a ring on the ground for size comparison.

Wednesday morning I watched a Snapping Turtle digging a nest hole in a potentially busy location. Luckily it was early morning and there weren't a lot of people on the trails yet. I was very worried that a cyclist would run into her as she had chosen a hair pin turn for her nest laying activity. I had to leave for work but many thanks to Awesome Carol and Ruth who kept a distant eye on her for an hour and a half until she was done and wandered back to the wooded swamp from where she came!

This fellow was one of 3 young groundhogs we encountered on a trail.  His 

siblings were not so brave and hid in the underbrush before we could get very close.

Fungus is more often found in the fall, but recent wet weather provided good growing conditions. Two days later, this fungus had disappeared from the dry, hot conditions.

The owner of this web will dine well tonight!

I enjoy finding Spittle on plants and telling students that the bug inside is living in his own poop! They often think it is "snake spit". By digesting plant material, it creates the spittle that protects its body from the hot sun. The insect is at the larval stage and will no long require the moist protection once it reaches adulthood.