The peak of our fall season is over and the spectacular display of fall colors have now faded into a dull, monotonous gray as we wait patiently for the first snowfall to cover our fields and woods in a sparkling white coat of snow. Now, don’t jump to conclusions here – while I like the look of the snow, I didn’t say that I liked shoveling the stuff.

Until it arrives I will continue to enjoy my cross-country rambles and walks through the beautiful Upper Ottawa Valley of Renfrew County. I recently took these photos of these lovely fungi that were found growing on some trees on the periphery of our property.

I have been a bit negligent in posting spring pictures as the weather has been a bit dreary and photo-ops, few. We had miserable weather for the May 24th weekend, which was actually celebrated early this year on May 16th.

However, my forsythia has finished blooming and stepped aside so the lilacs can have their turn. I’m rushing the season a bit, as this is last year’s picture and the lilacs are still hard at work producing leaves. However, I can’t wait another minute for spring to come into full bloom, so here’s last year’s picture of the lilac bloom with a pretty butterfly that I’m guessing is a Tiger Swallowtail. Can anyone positively confirm the identify of this lovely creature for me?

If you are interested in butterflies and moths, you can view some nice pictures on the Enchanted Learning website at: Butterfly Species

You can print out a coloring page here: Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Coloring Page