Bio Blitz spider/Orb weaver

I thought the pattern on the back of this one was interesting, looks like the face of some animal.

June 24 Update: Got this one narrowed down to orb weaver, Araneidae, Neoscona. Thanks go to my favourite spiderman, David, in New Mexico, an arachnologist who I met online in of all places, a watercolour painting group.

White blob protozoan/ possibly Lycogala flavofuscum

Some strange blob-like fungi hanging from a sugar maple tree. The largest blob was about 2.5 inches long, they were hard and smooth to the touch.

UPDATE June 22, 2008

I went back to re-examine the blob, and took some more pictures. It has progressed to feeling like a dry leathery skin, now dimpling when touched, and it's "poofing" out light-gray spores.

June 24, 2008

Thanks to Chris who sent the query out to his "network" word has come back that this may be

a slime mould, Lycogala flavofuscum. (*Since I don't know how folks feel about their full names being mentioned on blogs, I sent out my thankyous by email.) This has been another little "discovery" episode, and I'll be keeping eyes peeled for more unusual fungi in the future. Now to find me someone who's had practise with these Latin names so I can hear a pronunciation.

June 25 update: One more note, this is a PROTOZOAN, not a fungus. Just one more thing to rattle my amateur brain.

Snapping Turtle

While driving past my favourite roadside pond yesterday afternoon, I slowed to check out the logs on which painted turtles usually line up to bask. There were no painted turtles, just one big honkin' snapping turtle.

Snowshoe hare in transition

Yesterday was a brutally hot day, the thermometer in the shade read 80F. The ponds were screaming with spring peepers and wood frogs, birds were chasing each other in fights over territories, and one big bunny was hopping about.

Snipe

Thursday, April 10, I took a drive out to Amherst Island. Along the backroads I spotted this snipe sitting atop a signpost.

Along the shoreline, I also got close enough to this songsparrow to get a shot.

Great Gray Owl

Recently a great gray owl was spotted in our area, thanks to some of my birding friends, I was informed of its location. I went looking for it Thursday morning, and thankfully the person keeping me informed was also looking for the bird, without his help I would not have spotted it in a tree way down a farm fencerow. As we were admiring the owl, it took off and flew to a tree at the side of road near to us, eventually moved to other trees also nearby, and I managed to get some good pictures of it.

Eagles

Today was a nice sunny day, just above freezing, so we decided to take a walk out to the cottage. The snow is still deep, but with the recent thaw/refreeze it is crusted so hard that we can easily walk right over top. While we were at the lake I heard the red-shouldered hawk calling, he was circling over the pines and telling the world of his return. There was also one robin hopping about in the melted areas along the rockwalls, picking about for a meal. On the drive home I spotted a pair of bald eagles sitting in the trees of a narrow valley, and managed to get some pictures.

The wonderful thing about digital raw files is the ability to blow them up. In spite of the size of the birds and a 300mm lens, they were far enough away to make it difficult to get a good shot.