Enchanting Essex

Tag: poetry

  • Carolinian Cutie

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    Gosh, did we ever have a lovely visitor this evening! We knew immediately that this wee guy was a fledgling by his teeny-tiny peeps — that were constant:  Mum, Mum, Mum, I need food!  His mum and dad are sure to be close-by keeping an eye on their kiddo and foraging for insects for him. …

  • Forest Jewels

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    Violets are native, herbaceous perennials that are their own family within the plant kingdom.  The most common species in Ontario is the Wooly Blue (sometimes Common blue).  It prefers damp woodlands and forest floors — exactly the environment behind our home where, unsurprisingly, several species of Violet flourish.   Fun Fact:  Violets use their local…

  • Sunday Stills:  The Odonates Redux* — Gargantuan Green

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    A vibrant knight in sparkling vest,He chose my bricks to pause and rest.A three-inch giant, fierce and blue,A flash of wild that journeyed through. ‘Though all my photography buddies have many pictures of Green Darners, the species has been my white whale.  Until this afternoon.  Until five hours (5!!!) after I posted my insects for…

  • Sunday Stills:  The Odonates of Essex County

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    For Sunday Stills, Terri writes, this week I challenge you to share images of insects.  Ohmigosh!  I was beaming from ear to ear when I read that line.  This is, at last, a prompt/challenge for which my photography catalogue is very well-equipped.  Terri started us off with Hart’s “Dog and Butterfly” — I ask you,…

  • Waltz of the Flowers

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    Cosmos are an herbaceous, annual, wildflower that is native to Mexico.  ‘Though most Cosmos in Ontario are cultivars, there are increasing numbers of re-wilded Cosmos.  Interestingly, the seeds are informally known as hitchhikers — they have tiny hooks that can catch on animal fur and the animals (squirrels mostly, in our area) carry them to…

  • Lens-Artists Challenge #410 – My Editing Exercises

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    The beautiful cow took a leap from the bridge,And sailed past a swan on a mountain-side ridge.He landed right onto a flower by the barn,And laughed as he knitted this frivolous yarn. “The Cow” I “met” this young lad the week he was born.  The farmer and his wife were over the moon to have…

  • The Meadow Bell

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    Tall Bellflower is an herbaceous, native, biennial that is an excellent self-seeder.  These gems flourish in the meadows at Point Pelee National Park.   Fun Fact:  One of my all-time favourite plant facts is that Tall Bellflower is a botanical misfit.  The Latin “Campanula” translates to “little bell” but, if you look closely at a…

  • Ethereal Dancers of Sanctuary Pond

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    Water Willow (Decodon verticillatus), also known as Swamp Loosestrife — not to be confused with Purple Loosestrife — is a native Ontario shrubby perennial that plays a healthy role in our wetland ecosystems. This beauty is growing on the edge of Sanctuary Pond at Point Pelee National Park in Ontario. Ethereal Dancers of Sanctuary Pond…

  • Sage is the Bee

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    Sage is the Bee A chubby bee hums in the sun,To find the sweetest purple prize.She lands upon a velvet leaf,And hugs the sage in glad surprise. She tickles every fragrant bloom,While dancing “The Bumblebee Jive”Then whispers to her purple friend,Before she flies home to her hive. ‘Til next time, y’all…

  • Happiest Faces

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    Primroses (or Primulas, in the English vernacular) are an herbaceous, non-native, cultivar, perennial.  They’re a hugely popular species of low-growing plants, because of their resiliency and their wide variety of vibrantly colourful blossoms.  Their scientific name (Primula) comes from the Latin primus, meaning “first,” because they are among the very first flowers to bloom in…

  • The Flower Hour #44 M, N, O — Quaint Quadrilles

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    Wild and Free Soft grass bends beneath our feet.Milkweed smells so cool and sweet.Thistles form like little drums.Bees fly past with gentle hums. Trees stretch high to catch the sun.Silver brooks gurgle and run.Asters wear their sapphire ring.Bumblebees begin to sing. Petals brush our wandering knees.Oxeyes flutter in the breeze.We are wild and we are…

  • Green Lace

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    Green Lace Goldenrod tips begin to curve,Holding their pollen in reserve.Wispy tendrils reach for the skiesTo wait for bees and butterflies. Not yet a bright and yellow flame,But they’re whispering autumn’s name.The little buds are packed in tight,Preparing for their golden light. Bees and wasps and hornets will meet,To taste its pollen gold and sweet.But…

  • Classic and Moody

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    My three favourite photographers — Dad, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams — all worked with black and white film and all three achieved spectacular results and created impressive bodies of fine art photography.  True that, when these gents began shooting, colour film was either a thing of the future or a very unreliable medium.  Even…

  • Sunday Stills: Hope

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    Hope is the thing with feathersThat perches in the soul,And sings the tune without the words,And never stops at all,* “Hope”, written by the divine, American poet Emily Dickinson circa 1861, uses the metaphor of a bird to represent hope, which persists in the human soul and provides comfort during difficult times without requiring anything…

  • Lens-Artists Challenge #409 – My Wannabe Best Ever Images

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     I scoured my MacBook for five perfect views,By Lens-Artists standards, there’s not much to choose!A laneway a skyline and a barn of stone,An eagle, a crown where a butterfly’s flown. My photography skill is a work in progress so, being perfectly honest with myself, “best-ever” is, as yet, a goal not an actuality. But I…

  • Fireweed’s Finale

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    Fireweed is an herbaceous, native perennial, sometimes regionally known as Rosebay Willowherb.  Why Fireweed?  This species is a forest fire endurance specialist.  Its tough roots survive despite high underground temperatures.  They sprout very quickly after a fire which helps prevent soil loss.  A single plant can produce up to 80,000 tiny seeds (which they produce…

  • The Bee And Her Blossom

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    Pink Turtlehead is an herbaceous, native perennial, and we have a bumper crop in our pollinator garden this summer. It is a valuable, late-summer and early-fall food source for Bumble Bees, which are (near as I can tell) the only species strong enough to pry open the tight, snapdragon-like blossoms.  I was lucky enough to…

  • White Wistfulness

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    This morning a white rose — aptly named “Honor” — blooms in our small courtyard garden, planted to honour my beloved dad and his grand rose garden (150+ species) at the wee house on Joy Drive. It is a sweet, sentimental flash of white petals that brings back happy memories. White Wistfulness A little splash…

  • Happy Little World

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    White Panicle Asters are an herbaceous, native perennial and, at this time of year, their buds are beginning to burst.  They are a favourite of all the pollinators and already (the flowers aren’t yet at their peak) it’s a veritable honey factory in our laneway garden. Happy Little World White panicle asters bloom by the…

  • The Flower Hour #43:  Random August Amble

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    My Green In-Between Beyond my pillow and my desk,Lies something grand and picturesque!A secret lane where bees carouse,And nodding blossoms gently drowse. I snap a picture of a bee,Chat with any neighbours I see.No longer strangers passing by,We watch the busy Hoverfly. Away from chores and indoor care,We weave our stories through the air,A little…

  • The Golden Road

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    Sweet Yellow Clover, also known as Melilot and Hart’s Clover, is an herbaceous, non-native biennial in the Pea (legume) family.  At this time of year, roadsides and meadows in rural Ontario are painted yellow with an extravagance of these pretty yellow blossoms.  It is listed on the Ontario Invasive Species register but, despite its status,…

  • In Her Sunday-Best

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    Cow Vetch is an herbaceous, non-native perennial in the Pea family.  It is now listed as an invasive species here in Ontario so I’m sure my friend Tyler is rolling his eyes or groaning (or both!) as he reads this.  It is in full bloom at this time of year and is truly a glorious…

  • Pink Bells

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    Hedge Bindweed is an herbaceous, native, perennial in the Morning-Glory family.  This is a smooth, fast-growing, twining vine which always and only curls (twines) against the sun (counter-clockwise). Fun Fact:  If you gently pinch or squeeze the large green jackets (bracts) at the bottom of the blossom, the entire trumpet-shaped flower will pop cleanly off…

  • Rural Ballerina

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    Philadelphia Fleabane is an herbaceous, native perennial in the Aster family that blooms May through October.  It is a great draw for all species of pollinators — just look at this one picture: Fun Fact:  At one time folks believed that using the dried flowers would drive away fleas (hence its name), but this has…

  • Woodland Splash of Spring Fire

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    The Trout Lily is an herbaceous perennial of the Lily family that thrives in moist woodlands.  Its fanciful names are Yellow Dogtooth Violet and Fawn Lily. The leaves are edible.  It is a spring ephemeral, blooming May to June. Fun fact:  Trout Lily, because the speckling on its leaves resemble the body of the Brook…