What’s going on out on the land?

Common Galls of Southern Ontario
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Common Galls of Southern Ontario

I wanted to compile a list of some of the common galls one might encounter here in Guelph, Ontario. I have been spotting a few lately and wanted to build a little database for myself and for others who may encounter them and want to know a little more. The galls are named by the inducer, and what I mean by that is the insect as all galls below induced by insects. I hope to make a series of posts over time.

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Exploring Water Hemlock
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Exploring Water Hemlock

I have had a long curiosity regarding Water Hemlock ever since I had heard of it. Perhaps the most toxic plant on Turtle Island/North America. Of course I would be enamoured! I misidentified it for a couple of years thinking I knew who they were, but it wasn’t until the past four or five years that I began taking a closer look, seeking them out, learning the lore, and reading the sometimes sparse literature on the plant. This post is an effort to collect my thoughts and learning, along with a couple of good photographs.

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Considering Chokecherries
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Considering Chokecherries

In an older blog post I mentioned that I had been watching a specific Chokecherry or the Anishnaabemowin name asasawemin, where I was looking at Eastern Tent Caterpillar egg masses and how the caterpillars had emerged. I ended up taking a closer look at the Chokecherry in the days following as my interest had been piqued.
Chokecherry is a role model. How can we be in good relationship with so many different life forms, transform degraded and barren anthropogenic landscapes in preparation for new life? Yes, there is a note of caution to be had, an awareness of potential hazards, but the overall theme of this shrub appears to be regeneration, repair and creating spaces for life to flourish again.

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Common Burdock
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Common Burdock

A brief consideration of a common plant which often gets no consideration at all. Common Burdock (Arctium lappa or Arctium minus - often considered interchangeably) seems to grow everywhere, and while I have seen it a ton, I have not taken the time to really look and pay attention… until recently, that is.

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Violets and the Telling of the Bees

Violets and the Telling of the Bees

What happens to the world when we stop to watch and listen? What new things do we notice? What old things do we see in new angles and shades or light? What happens to us when we stop to watch and listen? What happens to us when the world stops to watch and listen to us? Can we feel a sense of being heard and understood when we speak with pets, plants, or planet?

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Who are you?
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Who are you?

I wanted to make a post of some of the assorted lifeforms I have been finding while out on the land. Part of the process of learning the land is to know that we don’t know much. I know those with longer standing relationships, more profound training and mentors may have considerable more knowledge and experience, but we all start somewhere and I’m trying to learn all I can.

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