Wildflower Wednesday from the Wilds of Stony Lake

Kevin, Bart and I took a vacation to Stony Lake, Ontario two weeks ago visiting my girlfriend Joanne at her home and cottage.  The time away from Oakville was great.  The weather - well, it was consistent with the rest of the summer.   It was cool - one morning 8C.  And, it was wet.  Fortunately the cottage was heated and there's lots to do in the towns of the Kawarthas during the day.

The family property consists of a lovely beach and acres of woodland to explore.  While it wasn't beach weather, there was no reason for not being able to mine the woods for Gail's Wildflower Wednesday.  So with umbrella in hand and dogs to help, off I went.

Here is a woodland sunflower -  Helianthus divaricatus.  There's nothing like a bit of yellow to brighten a dark shaded space.

Often I find flowers I don't know the name of, but have seen before - this was a brand new discovery for me.

You can see just how tall it is based on my friend Mickey.

I was careful not to show too much interest in any one plant, lest he yank it up by the roots and spit it out at my feet.

After much digging on the net, I've discovered that it is a Prenanthes alba or Rattlesnake Root.  The leaves are highly variable - some smooth - others lobed.   The heights differ as well - from about 1/2 a meter to close to 2.

You can just barely see the beginning of Fall Asters at Mickey's feet - and if I may point out - lots of Poison Ivy.

Just a little too close to the Prunella vulgaris - one more second pause with my camera, and he'll make sure we don't leave without it.

Too late for these blossoms, but what pretty Thalictrum leaves.

 You can see little dots of Helianthus colonizing the open area.

There were a few trees that had started to turn red.  I don't even want to go there just yet, seems we've hardly had summer, but you can see the ferns are starting to change to yellow.

And one more shot of my cottage buddy Mickey.  

Some very sad news.  I couldn't believe this, but this morning just as I was loading the photos into my blog, I heard from Joanne.  Her dear old Mickey had died.  He'd had seizures for a while.  Apparently last evening was a tough one and she had planned to get him to the vet this morning as soon as she could, but he passed away.  Joanne has buried him with dogs Sam, Brandy, Kelsey, Eli and Rocky the cat.  He was such a social guy, no doubt he'll enjoy keeping his old pals company.  

As my Kevin said, "He lived in paradise.  He was one lucky dog."  We'll all miss his happy-go-lucky nature and his ability to fix you with those eyes so you'd swear he knew exactly what you were thinking.  May his next journey be as wonderful as his time on earth.