So named...This flower is called "turtlehead", it grows in the damp soil of the stream meadow at the Blair Outdoor Education Centre where I work. Sometimes things are named for how they look or what they do- a blue jay is blue; a grasshopper hops in the grass. And if you look closely, it doesn't take much imagination to see the gaping maw of a turtle staring back at you.
Had I missed the August flowering period of this plant, I would still have known it grows amidst the goldenrod, Queen Anne's Lace, Joe-Pye weed and other stream bank perennials. I visit the same habitat in June in anticipation of the emergence of a butterfly called the Baltimore checkerspot. Like the Baltimore oriole it is boldy coloured in contrasting black and orange. Turns out it is the state insect of Maryland and both the butterfly and the bird are named after the first Lord Baltimore (George Calvert) whose family coat of arms included those colours. Turtlehead is the host plant of the caterpillar of this species, so when the butterfly emerges from it's chrysalis in spring, they feed on the nectar of Canada anemone and other spring flowers, seek a mate, and deposit their eggs in masses on the leaves of - turtleheads!! So seeing the butterfly assures one that the plant is predictably present. In Maryland the checkerspot is now designated as S-3, or "watch-listed", due to loss of habitat, overbrowsing of tutlehead by white-tailed deer, and predation by other insects and animals. Here at home in Waterloo County it is designated as S-4, or "rare", making the Blair Creek meadow, where both plant and insect thrive, a critical habitat.
The fading light...It is August 21, and it feels like summer is fading fast. I'm quite content with the weather this week - a mix of sun and cloud, low 20's (for those of us using the celcius scale, that's warm). Most of the summer has been blistering hot, dry and humid, not my comfort level at all. Mostly I notice the change in light of the shortening days. I went out briefly last night and marveled at the crescent moon hanging in the light blue sky, but within minutes a colorful sunset took it's place. It was only 8:30 pm. We have been away a lot this summer, and near water, so it's been a treat. 10 days camping in Killarney Provincial Park on the north shore of Georgian Bay; a week in the Haliburton Highlands surrounded by the lakes and rivers of the Canadian Shield; and intermittent trips to the cottage near Tobermory on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula. We spent a week there earlier this month celebrating my wife's birthday. There were 14 of us at one point, housed in beds, the bunkie, in tents, and on the floor. We paddled, swam, biked, hiked, ate gourmet meals every night, and made music around the campfire at night. It was a great week spent with some pretty terrific people. Now it's time to catch up on chores around the house, prepare for our return to work and school, and hopefully make time for some fall photographic forays.
© Peter Rasberry
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