Golden days of summer

When the drab winter colours of the goldfinch brighten, I welcome the foretelling of warmer months to come. These beautiful boys at my sunflowers nested later than most, waiting until June or July for the seeds of the thistles and milkweed to abound, and  to be incorporated into their nests. Later, when their eggs have hatched, they will feed thistle, sunflower, and milkweed seeds to their young. Goldfinches, strict vegetarians that they are, may have brown headed cowbirds lay eggs in their nest but the cowbird chicks die because they can’t survive on the all-seed fare that goldfinches thrive on.

Go to Miller's Bay. Cut your engine and drift

James D. Paruk, Department of Biological Sciences Idaho State University, concluded  that the gathering of loons in the morning and afternoon may serve many purposes. In his paper, “Testing Hypothesis of Social Gatherings of Common Loons", Hydrobiologia 2006 567: 237-245 that the gatherings may serve for  information sharing, social skills development, co-operation, flock foraging and territorial stability to name but a few. To witness a raft of loons displaying calling, racing across the water upright is to have any day made perfect. Such was this day when my brother said, “The boat is at the dock. Get out on the lake!”

With an impending thunderstorm I decided to play it safe and not venture far. One of my favourite haunts is Miller’s Bay as many of you know, and, I concluded, that it was time to check on the osprey.

As my mother would say

"The gardens are quieter now”. The spring sprint to stardom in the rose bed is over: The winners have made their speeches. Now it is the distance runners that carry us through: Abraham Darby,  Cinco de Mayo, Double Delight. Other parts of the garden have comment, but never as eloquent as the oration of roses.
Day Lilies , Lilies, and Holly Hock bloom now, as  do Clematis, self seeding Pink Carnations, and Red Runner Beans. Ants forage in Clematis flowers  and flies of all description check all blooms. Monarda wears its feathery head dress and makes me think of Inca Kings, but when I savour the Calla’s I think of my dear friend Michelle who loves them so.
These flowers, these moments of joy, shared colour, scent, and moments in the sun.  Leave us too suddenly.


Abraham Darby

Cinco de Mayo

Double Delight

Spider Daylily

Unnamed Yellow Daylily

Unnamed Daylily

Lilies

Holly Hock

Clematis

Carnation

Red Runner Bean

Monarda

Calla

Remembering Peter Brass

Leaving Highway 15 at Crosby, travel back roads that stitch together the crazy quilt- like pieces of lakes and rivers of the Rideau Waterway flowing south. Those back roads will take you through California, past Jones Falls, up Battersea Road and down Burnt Hills Road whose wooden bridge crosses Cranberry Lake at Brass Point. After crossing the bridge you will once again arrive at highway 15 south of Seeley’s Bay to complete the loop. Through your course you might stop at Sand Lake boat launch to hear loons and see the invasive yet beautiful flowering rush. Settlers introduced this lovely plant from Europe in the early 1800’s. 

Before you contemplate the tragic story of Peter Brass, a Red Tailed Hawk, a male Pileated Woodpecker, and Crows make the back road journey to Brass Point worth every lingering moment.

Peter Brass was a British soldier with a flawless career. He was granted all the lands around Brass Point. Having constructed himself a log shanty he determined to build himself a home. This would require a loan, and he approached the wealthy Sir Henry Smith. Smith wanted the Brass land, and he contrived to have Peter Brass leave his land to him in his will, as collateral for the loan. The Convery’s were neighbours, and Joe Cameron joined the framing of Peter Brass. Peter was in the woods when he came upon Ruth Convery crying. She tore her blouse, yanked her hair and screamed loudly.  The well paid off Joe Cameron and William Convery pulled guns on Brass. 

The trial was swift. The Convery’s and Cameron testified against Brass. He was hanged in Market Square in Kingston. As he stood on the scaffold he calmly spoke of his innocence and foretold the demise of the three who committed perjury.  The rope around his neck broke twice before the hanging was complete.

Brass foretold that Cameron would die where a child would live. Mr. Convery was to die a long excruciatingly painful death, and his daughter would die by fire.

Never sober after the trial, well compensated for his lies, and needing not to work a day, Cameron fell in a drunken stupor in a rut in the road. He could not get up, and drowned in a few inches of water. Mr. Convery contracted what many believed was leprosy and spent years in bed wracked with pain. His daughter Ruth cared for him. One night there was an explosion in the house and a passerby was able to rescue Ruth but unable to reach William. Ruth died one hour after her rescue but not before confessing to the plot that had Peter Brass hanged.

Red Tailed Hawk

Male Pileated Woodpecker

Crows

Flowering Rush

Brass Point

Full Dress Required

Little moves in the heat of the July noon-day sun, save Turkey Vultures on the rising thermal, Deer Flies and Dragon Flies on the wing, in their never ending pursuit of food. If you are exceptionally lucky you will see a family of Partridge scuttle across the road: One adult on point, youngsters in the middle, and the other adult rear guard. It is the rear guard that I captured today and I am grateful for it. Alanagh, Molly, and I had finished our errands late, and we agreed that seeing this young family was an unexpected treat at this time of day.

Now is the time of Toadflax, Queen Anne’s Lace, Pinks, and Yarrow. I have often puzzled why spring wild flowers are called thus, while summer wild flowers are called weeds. They are glorious this time of year; Queen Anne’s Lace practically shimmered against blackened granite. Its feathery leaves so closely resemble Poison Hemlock amateurs must be careful not to confuse it with its course, larger, and deadly relative. If you are confident and really hungry you can eat the large, pale, woody, finger- thin roots. These should be harvested from first year plants. The leaves and flowers are edible too, and its seed can be used to flavour soup. Having said that, early Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s Lace, and Romans ate it as a vegetable. The root is second only (amongst vegetables) to beetroot for sugar content. Irish, Hindus, and Jewish people all called upon it to sweeten puddings and other foods. It’s name, however comes from the English legend that Queen Anne of England (1665-1714) pricked her finger and a drop of blood fell the lace she was sewing.

When I was a child, I used to open the Toadflax flowers by pinching lightly at their “jaw”. The mouth of the flower is snapped so tightly that it admits only large bees that can open it to reach their long tongues to the nectar within the spur.  Its orange palate attracts its pollinator, and when landed on, falls a little, showing the interior “pocket" of the flower. On the floor of this pocket are two ridges of downy hairs with a track between them that leads straight to the mouth of the long, hollow spur. The bee pushes into the pocket and retrieves the nectar using its proboscis. Meanwhile, the feasting bee is being lavishly coated with pollen from the stamens on the roof of the flower.

Delicate “Pinks” grow where few dare to try but Yarrow is a beautiful foil for them, or is it the other way around?

Ah ….Summer in full dress.

Queen Anne’s Lace

Toadflax with White Clover

Pinks

Go slowly the Parish Road

Go slowly the Parish Road to see vultures spread wings in the sun, or rest on a limb before flight in the thermals.

Watch the muskrat glide to you pushing water to glistening ridges.

See the medicinal ones: St. John’s Wort, and Mullein. 

St. John’s Wort extract is used to treat major depression and in Germany it is frequently prescribed for moderate depression especially for children and adolescents.

Stately Mullein has a plethora of  uses. Hummingbirds sometimes use the soft leaves to line their nests. Bumble bees and honey bees gather it’s nectar. It is used by humans treat phthis (any disease that causes wasting of the body, esp. pulmonary tuberculosis). It allays coughs and mullein poultices remove the pain of haemorrhoids. In Europe a sweetened infusion of the flowers eases mild catarrhs and colic.There are many many more uses but I shall leave you with these.

Finally, enjoy the profusion of colours where common vetch lofts it’s purple garlands in summer’s wild .

Turkey Vulture

Muskrat

St. John’s Wort Common Vetch in the background

Mullein

Common Vetch and White Alfalfa