I had wondered how sneezeweed, this attractive wildflower got its common name. Indigenous people and early settlers ground it up for medicinal use as well as to make snuff, It certainly brightens up the landscape in late summer and has never once made me sneeze 😏
Fall is certainly putting in an appearance. There’s still a lot of green about but the curtain is drawing on summer.
For a few weeks now, I’ve noticed that some plants and trees are beginning to show a change of colour. This small plant was a typical example. It’s still in the mid-30’s C but time marches on.
As summer winds down I especially enjoy walks by the river. The local flowers are beginning to fade but the sunflowers are still bright and dance in the wind alongside the grasses.
This field borders an entrance to a reserve we visit from time to time. On a hot day this area has the most wonderful scent as the sun works its magic. It’s a favourite spot for rabbits and bees as well.
Echinacea or coneflowers are native to eastern and central North America. I started seeing them a few weeks ago, another sign of the hotter summer months.
It’s shaping up to be a very hot summer. What remains of this seed head sums it up nicely.
Our favourite reserve has become very popular so we took a quiet path to avoid the crush. Looking around I saw this scene. My spouse calls these intimate landscapes, I like that!
A wildflower I saw growing alongside a small pond.
The trees along this path are close to the river bank and almost touch the water. I was rewarded with these reflections on a recent walk.
It seems that every week, new flowers are appearing in gardens and woodlands. Not enough time to catch them all 😊
I saw this plant at a recent visit to a local wildlife garden. I thought it looked a bit like an aquatic plant. I haven’t been able to identify it.
I was surprised at the fall-like colours of these leaves, colours I associate with September not April (when I took this). A plant I’ve never seen before.
After months of cold greys and whites, spring is showing off its colours.
The weather was truly spring-like last weekend. It’s wonderful to see crocus pushing up through last fall’s dried leaves.
I took this at a nearby conservation area I should visit more often. A boardwalk winds its way through this section of the popular reserve but looking out it feels like you’re the only one there.
I enjoy taking scenes like this. The fall foliage casts beautiful reflections on the river.
It’s been so grey lately it was time for a little colour. Although taken in late summer the flowers didn’t fade quietly.
A little bit of colour on this cold grey day.
Like many of us right now.😏
I was hoping to find a few frogs among the water lilies that day but they remained quiet and well hidden. All in all I didn’t leave disappointed.
I often see waterbirds in the shade of this wonderful tree. I always pause here for a while and take it all in. It’s one of my favourite places.
We stop by this marsh every autumn and take in the beauty of the place; and if no birds appear it doesn’t really matter.
Staghorn Sumac is a flowering plant native to Eastern North America. Its leaves turn beautiful colours in fall and remind me of party streamers.
There are still flowers about but on some recent walks, the gardens are looking more like this. As for the trees they have begun to show off their fall colours.
Taken one day in early September.
I don’t look forward to the end of summer but do enjoy these kinds of photo opportunities.
Not to be overlooked.
After a long drive we thought we’d make one last stop. I took this photo at a conservation area close to home.
Had I followed the rules of landscape photography, I would have had more in the foreground but I wanted to convey the vastness of this wetland.
The landscape is looking more like Autumn. There’s still much to enjoy but our long awaited summer is coming to an end,
The reflections in the river are taking on an autumn feel too.
Late summer – cooler nights, and daytime temperatures still nice and warm, the landscape now a mix of flowers and grasses.
Another scene that signals late summer.
It is still very much summer but the landscape is slowly showing signs of fall. There’s a bit more yellow in the fields and milkweed pods are opening to release their seeds. I like photographing these changes.
We recently visited a favourite nature reserve that had a variety of birds the day we were there. After taking a good number of photos, I slowed down to catch my breath and noticed this scene. I’m glad I saw it, there’s a lot we can overlook when our eye is on the “prize”.
On this muggy overcast day, we thought we’d cool off by the river. I shot through a break in trees and was rewarded with this scene.
It seems to be a summer of encountering plants I don’t remember seeing before. It stood out amongst the other vegetation. (I believe it’s goat’s beard.)
It was a perfect Sunday morning.
We stopped the car to stretch our legs and I noticed this curious grouping of plants by the side of the road. I wonder if they’re a form of teasel. I’d love to know, can anyone identify them?
(Mystery solved, see below)
The woods are thick with vegetation now, pleasantly cool and shady. The sun found its way through the bush and illuminated these flowers beautifully.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 