The Forest Floor Wakes Up

New growth pokes through the layer of dead leaves. Out of last year's debris, regeneration begins. The red trilliums seem to open before their more proliferous white cousins.

Sometimes solitary, sometimes in small clumps their deep red is a sharp contrast to the sepia around them.



Slowly the ferns are unfurling. They looked like they were huddling together. Warmth in numbers. The temperature was a hovering around 5°C (about 41°F), definitely chilly for the end of April.



We did find a few open, white trilliums, but mostly they were just starting to bud.



Like the trout lilies (erythronium), they seem to be waiting for warmer temperatures.



Small patches of hepatica have sent up their first tentative blooms.




Sanguinaria could be spotted here and there.



The forest floor is covered with dry, decaying leaves. Some looked almost ghost-like. Slowly they will return to the soil and soon the forest floor will be covered with the green of new growth.

The Wild Flowers are Emerging

Walking on the mountain (Mont Royal) I found some patches of wild flowers. After our coldest April on record in over seventy years the flowers are finally emerging. I have seen these identified as dogtooth violets and as trout lilies. If anyone knows which is correct (or is there a third option?) let me know.



These bright yellow flowers could be seen poking through the dry leaves. The insects, too, are emerging. With temperatures returning to seasonal averages, the parade of seasonal flowers will march to a faster tune.

Addendum: The official name for the flowers on top is Erythronium Americanum and the yellow flowers on the bottom are coltsfoot or Tussilago.

Wild Strawberries

Wild Strawberries, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

A week at CAMMAC - the music camp in the Laurentians where I spend a week each summer - a mix of music and nature. I took a walk up the gravel road and found many delights to photograph (and even to taste).



Wild flowers grow by the side of the road.



I have yet to know their names. And having seen them for so many years, it might be impolite to ask them.



As always, the dandelions find space to grow.They are ready to send their seeds off to find new spots where their sunny faces will pop up. Here in the country they are wildflowers. On peoples' lawns they are hunted down.