Saunterings

The trail to the Devil's Pulpit It is hard to unravel a mystery without actually getting "on site". Every detective from Sherlock Holmes down to Jimmy Perez in the BBC show Shetland has to get to the scene of the crime. They look for clues and observe and interview and ponder. So I too must get "on site" and once again return to the Forks of the Credit nestled in the Niagara Escarpment to search for the Devil's Half Acre. From the previous posting here I mentioned that the distance is correct and the timing of the blossoms of the Calla are correct, it just comes down now to beating the bushes. I had always heard about the Devil's Pulpit that exists here in the "Forks" but had never climbed up to it. Anyone who has hiked the Bruce Trail through this section knows of this brutally steep section of trail. So I too must climb to the Pulpit. Yes BRUTAL. Yes fascinating. The trail follows an unopened road allowance straight up the escarpmen...

Thistle Always in life there needs to be a "Plan B" and today was one of those days. The original plan was to travel to Luther Lake Conservation Area to obtain a plant specimen that John Muir had collected in the "Luther Wood" in 1864. The specimen was obviously a Water Lily but had the curious label of Dirca palustris and a local name of Wicopy. I contacted the writer Bonnie Gisel of the book Nature's Beloved Son to ask her about this. She had recognized that in fact it was mis-identified but kept it in as a historical oddity. So off I went in the search for a Nymphaeaceae - a generic water lily. Luther Lake on a hot summer day. This was to be another day of kayaking, this time on Luther Lake during a rare hot and humid day in southern Ontario. When I arrived at the Conservation Area it was closed since it functions as a major bird sanctuary until the end of July. As I cruised the perimeter roads I was able to see that with a short walk along a d...