Category Archives: wildflowers

Fairy ring

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Alistair

He wha (who) tills the fairies’ green Nae (no) luck again shall hae (have) And he wha (who) spills the fairies’ ring Betide him want and wae (woe). Traditional Scottish verse It is now difficult to … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, wildflowers | 2 Comments

Window thunk

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Alistair

The predawn thunk of a window collision reminds one that birds rise early. The collision was a consequence of birds flying to an adjacent rowan tree (European mountain ash). Most of the birds flying to the rowan berries were robins. However, … Continue reading →

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Not a topiary

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Alistair

I had no idea what I was looking at, but it reminded me of an enormous topiary sculpted in the forest. I was on an osprey survey with the Friends of Kootenay Lake. We were passing along the east shore … Continue reading →

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June goulash

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Alistair

This is an end-of-the-month collection of images, none of which has had a posting of its own. A cinnamon-coloured Black Bear eyes an intruder in its territory. For a female Osprey to be lifting her tail this late in … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, herptiles, mammals, wildflowers | 2 Comments

Forest oddities

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Alistair

A walk through the forest in Kokanee Creek Park revealed two oddities that do not quite fit normal ideas: pinedrops and slime mould. Pinedrops are a mycotroph, a plant that lacks chlorophyll and so cannot synthesize its own carbohydrates. … Continue reading →

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Striped Coralroot

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Alistair

Sometimes while searching for one thing, something better turns up. Such was the case two days ago, when the prize was a Striped Coralroot. I had last seen this wild orchid six years ago and on the other side … Continue reading →

Posted in wildflowers | 4 Comments

Fairy Slippers

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Alistair

The bee knows. Yesterday in my yard, I saw pollinia on the thorax of a bumble bee. As far as I know, the only flowers around here that produce these pollen packets are orchids, and the wild orchid that … Continue reading →

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From ice to flowers

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Alistair

In a lovely example of a seasonal transition, I saw ice extrusions and subalpine buttercups within three metres of each other at an altitude of about 800 metres on a mountainside above Kootenay Lake. Typically, ice extrusions are seen when the … Continue reading →

Posted in weather, wildflowers | 3 Comments

Waxing alliteratively

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Alistair

It was a most elegant symphony of visual alliteration: waxwings wolfing waxberries. A flock of many dozen Bohemian Waxwings landed on a staging tree above a bank covered with rose hips and waxberries (aka, snowberries). They flew in waves to the waxberries, but … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, wildflowers | 4 Comments

Carbon antlers

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Alistair

The title, carbon antlers, is easy to misread as caribou antlers. Yet, they are not real antlers, but a fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon, that grows on decaying wood. The common names, carbon antlers, stag’s antlers and candlestick fungus, come from the … Continue reading →