Up the Valley and The Mississippi (Yes, Virginia, there is one in Canada)

August 19-27, 2017

Ever been on the Mississippi? Not THAT one! The OTHER one.  It flows through Lanark County, Ontario to the Ottawa River, a LONG 700-mile (1,160 kms. for my Canuckian/European readers) river that carves a large valley as it makes its way to the St. Lawrence, at Montreal, Quebec.

When we locals say "Up the Valley", we mean the Ottawa (Outaouais, en français) River valley. Let's take a closer look.

Our regular readers will remember the Fun Guy, the Bug Man and now...the Fern Lady!

To begin:

We take a short drive on River Road (Renfrew County #1, a spectacular drive if you are out this way), to the west of Arnprior, Ontario.

One of the many responsibilities as a Director of the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy(MMLT) is to assess potential properties eligible for donation to us. As the name suggests, we operate within the Mississippi River and Madawaska River basins, and the territory between those two rivers, which retain quite a bit of wilderness, especially in the headwaters of both rivers.

 The property shown above and below is not typical of the region. Note that the foreground of the top photo shows bare limestone rock and below note the dead trees over the rock in the background. I was hoping that this was a continuation of a habitat type that is very rare globally, but is found scattered in the glaciated territory between Lake Huron and the Ottawa River. These are alvars. Thin or no soil , wet in areas, and bone dry in others, these places host a different and unique community of plants and animals.

Although a well known alvar IS at the far end of this photo (the wet treeless part in the background), the area in the foreground was scraped bare by machinery. Oh well, maybe in the future someone will donate an alvar or two to the MMLT.

 A few days later in August, Jan (above) and I made our annual trek to the Hugli Blueberry Ranch near Pembroke, Ontario. The plant rows are fruit-heavy Highbush Blueberry varieties. We pick about 50 kgs. and store them in our chest freezer for smoothies, desserts, cereal and crunchy granola.

Highbush blueberries are larger and easier to grow and gather than our local lowbush varieties. Highbush blueberries grow wild in the Carolinas in the USA.

 After the heavy labour of blueberry picking, we stop in Beachburg for a cooling drink and dessert at Simple Things: https://whitewatercandle.ca/contact/

Yes.they make those candles too:)

A few days later, the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust held an event at one of our properties: Rose Hill Nature Reserve. Some of our properties, including this one, are administered by MMLT through a 999-year Conservation Agreement, which creates an easement. The owner retains ownership and limited use within the parameters of the agreement. This works to benefit our natural wealth, as nature is conserved under these agreements, and owners often take on a management and stewardship role within the organization. Bethany Armstong, comfortably seated at the entrance, is a Rose Hill owner, AND a Director of MMLT. Note the sign for Rose Hill at the centre top of the photograph.

The story of the several properties that make up Rose Hill is here:
https://mmlt.ca/protecting-nature/our-protected-properties/rose-hill-nature-reserve/

Above, MMLT Director Bethany Armstrong greets us at the entry to Rose Hill Nature Reserve. It is thanks to land donation by Bethany and her sister that started this very large reserve. Bethany is also the Director responsible for Rose Hill. 

 Our intrepid group (below) prepares for our hike along one of Rose Hill's trails. Individuals are encouraged to visit. Groups need to fill out an access form available on the linked page above. Our properties are first and foremost nature reserves. The basic rules apply: stay on the trails, take only photos, leave only footprints. Dogs are permitted on some reserves. Do read the rules available on the website before setting out.

And set out we did. August 15 to October 15 is, on average, prime mushroom (fungus) growing time, as days shorten, temperatures fall at night, and dew/precipitation tends to keep things a tad more moist. So, many of the following photos are of fungi, and, most of those are mushrooms (the fruiting body of certain fungi). Led by my MMLT colleague Cathy Keddy ( a superb botanist and naturalist), we march along leaning about the diverse rocky habitats mixed with wetlands in this part of the Frontenac Arch or Axis (a spine-like extension of the Canadian Shield that stretches from Algonquin Park in Ontario to Adirondack State Park in New York State).

Loyal blog followers will recall previous mushroom identification rules: a photo does not usually suffice! You need to analyze your finds in a laboratory after collection in a basket designed to maintain the integrity of your 'shrooms. These photos, once again prove this point. The young orange mushrooms (above), seen only from the top, have few necessary bits of information required for identification.These could be Hygrophorus (large genus), common mushrooms in coniferous forests.

See my blog on this topic here:
https://opinicon.wordpress.com/2016/10/09/fabulous-fall-fungi-with-a-fun-guy/

There are many small orange mushrooms. For identification, we need to see the underneath of the cap and we need to see spores. Also, it is necessary to do several other laboratory tests to ascertain the family. To get down to a species is often not possible.

Are these Turkey Tails (below) and and old, ratty Lactarius or Russula (above)? The problems of IDing 'shrooms prevails. I cannot tell from a photo. If you want to learn about mushrooms/fungi or you THINK you know the edible fungi, please click the link above and register for one of Richard Aaron's courses at Queen's University Biological Station.

Even Turkey Tails, Trametes versicolor, are not immediately identifiable, as there is another bracket fungus, False Turkey Tails or Stereum ostrea, which looks very similar. You have to look UNDERNEATH the fungus. Turkey Tails are creamy white underneath, with pores. Stereum ostrea has a smooth underside, making it a crust fungus, while Trametes versicolor is a polypore (literally meaning that there are lots of pores on the under surface).

Adding further to the botanists' challenges, the Frontenac Axis is home to many species of rock-hugging lichens and mosses, as seen below. There are few experts studying these important pioneering plants of the Canadian Shield.

The moss on the left side of the above photo is Polytrichum commune or Common Hair Cap Moss. This common moss, along with the peat mosses, was used extensively to stuff pillows and make small brooms. At least one Indigenous Nation that I know of, used mosses of this type for diapers. The photo was sent to a retired Canadian Nature Museum moss and liverwort expert for identification. She confirmed the Polytrichum commune. I thought that the middle clump was a liverwort. She confirmed this. Finally, the reason I was so confounded by the clump of moss on the photo's right side is that there are 3 moss species!

Above, former MMLT Directors Janet, with Jedi,  and Mike listen while current Director Cathy (below) passes on some of her botanical and ecological expertise.

My thanks to Cathy Keddy who graciously identified many of the plants on and around this floating peat mat on Fufflemucker Pond at Rose Hill. Note that she has printed the names right on the photo. Just seeing "Fufflemucker Pond" on the map made it essential that I visit.

Close-up of Sundew from last photo.

Rock Polypody

Several mushrooms were seen, including Amanita (left), also known as "Destroying Angel".

Club moss, above.

Some of the many moss species at Rose Hill

Above, at Rose Hill Nature Reserve, MMLT's past president, Howard Clifford, congratulates John Hatton. John's wife, Patricia Hatton has ensured that her promise to her late husband, Robert Brodey, will be fulfilled and the place they had enjoyed so much will be preserved so that others will learn to love and respect nature as he did.  Brodey's legacy added 258 acres to the original acreage donated by Bethany and her sister, Charlene.

The Macnamara Field Naturalists' Club held an event 8 days later (August 27, 2017) at Lis Allison's on Carp Road, where I joined fellow members to learn about our native ferns.

Lis (left) and Maureen (MFNC Trip Organizer) discuss ferns. Or is it my new haircut? Ok, it was ferns for sure!

Lis begins by displaying fern blades/fronds. Fern "leaves" are pinnules and pinna. A pinna is divided into pinnules. The "stem" of the frond, is a rachis. So now you have a few more words to enhance your Scrabble game.

Lis maintains a splendid fern garden with many local ferns growing happily, including the American Hart's-Tongue Fern, Asplenium scolopendrium, above. The name derives from the resemblance of the blades to a Hart, which is a European Stag. The North American variety is very rare. I have yet to see it growing in the wild.

Lady Fern (above) Athyrium filix-femina --a name most befitting a Lady! New York Fern, Thelypteris novaboracensis below. I recall one of my favourite naturalists locally, Harry Thomson, saying to me that you always knew a Lady Fern due to its lacy appearance. It is similar to New York Fern -except the latter does not have toothed margins on the pinnules. It is the toothed margins that give Lady Fern its lacy appearance.

Hay-scented Fern, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, above. One of our field trips in the Ottawa Valley was at a nearby farm that had thousands of Hay-scented ferns growing together. This is typical of this species. If present, it grows large numbers over a great area.

Another rarity, Purple-stemmed Cliffbrake, Pellaea atropurpurea, below.

A close relative to Purple-stemmed Cliffbrake is Smooth Cliffbrake, Pellaea glabella (below). Both species have purple stems. Differentiating the two is a challenge, as the main difference is that the above species has a hairy stipe and rachis. That does sound risqué, doesn't it?

This edition ends back home in Arnprior, at Gillies Grove, a Nature Conservancy of Canada protected site where there is one of the best examples of Ottawa Valley old growth forest, including Ontario's tallest tree, a 157 foot White Pine.

Northern Tooth Fungus,Climacodon septentrionale, on its favourite tree, the Sugar Maple (above). These fungi are very large, often half a metre in height and width, which is about the size of this specimen.

Canada Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis, in Gillies Grove. We see a lot of this stunningly beautiful native flower, in all of its golden glory in the last half of our summers. In many parts of the world, and in my garden, it is a late-blooming ornamental that attracts myriad pollinators.

There is confusion about this plant. A long held myth is that this plant causes most hay fever.  That distinction goes to another native plant that loves to invade fields, roadsides and vacant lots: Ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia. It is a distant cousin of the Goldenrods. Unlike Goldenrods, it's flowers are green and inconspicuous. Most people do not notice it, and when they do, they recognize that it is unobtrusive, homely and common. So next time you sneeze, remember, it isn't this lovely flower shown above.

A much rarer Hairy Goldenrod, Solidago hispida,  found at Constance Bay, Ontario's Torbolton Forest, also in August 2017. The Torbolton Forest was mostly sand dunes, until it was forested. The section I visited was returned to its natural state, and some of the rare plants, like this one, were returning. There are 13 Goldenrod species in our area, and dozens more in North America.


Seaside Goldenrod, Solidago sempervirens (sempervirens means "always alive". It is well named as it beautifies wild coastal beaches along the Atlantic shore through most of the winter.  Here is an example I found at the Assateague National Seashore in Virginia.

One of the old growth giants-a Sugar Maple, Acer saccharum, just a few blocks from our Arnprior, Ontario main street.

In the next edition, we join the entertaining Michael Runtz on a hike at High Lonesome Nature Reserve,

Una muestra de la cultura natural del Arte en España.

Arrival February 1, 2019. Madrid to Malaga by the AVE high speed train (top speed 275km/hr). Arrival in Malaga 2h20 minutes after departing Madrid. Francisco (Andalucians drop the "s") our taxi driver has our names on a sign at the station. He allows us to pick up some groceries in Malaga before departing to Nerja. Cool, very light rain. It is evening in Malaga. We pay Francisco and find our way to the villa in the Oasis de Capistrano, Nerja, Malaga, Spain. We wake up to bright sun (after all it IS the Costa del Sol), and this view. The tall peak to my right is Pico de Cielo, which is 1510 metres high. 

Hurrying to the local supermarket, we found most of the constituents of the Mediterranean diet. Being coastal, this part of Andalucia has a constant supply of fresh seafood. And olives! And olive oil! These green jewels, and their heart healthy oil, are so much more tasty (and less salty) than those available in Canada.

Then we took our first walk (3 Kms.) to Nerja, pictured below, and yes, that is the Mediterranean (Burriana Beach may be seen in this photo).

Back to the patio, and my first (of 175 species) European bird perched and sang close by. The Serin, Serinus serinus is quite common. It sings constantly, and brightens one's day. It is a close relative to the Canary, Serinus canarius, which may be seen here too, as well as in its original home in the Canary Islands, off of West Africa.

Meanwhile, perched on a nearby villa, this White Wagtail, Motacilla alba, became my second European specialty. These birds do indeed wag their tails constantly.  We have also seen Grey Wagtails (photo near end of this blog), which are not quite as common.

Our walks in early February began with a jacket, and ended with jackets in our backpacks. The cool air permitted us to walk, as below, through the local farmlands, with the Mediterranean always in view. Our walks have become longer over time, and more ambitious, with recent walks into Tejeda Natural Park involving a lot of vertical challenges (and in my case, vertigo).

The hills, as shown below, have a mix of xeric species, some of which have escaped cultivation, such as the thick leaved Agaves, below, from California. The tree is a wild olive. Olives, both cultivated and wild, dot, and occasionally cover, the Andalucian landscape.

Below is a view of the Mediterranean from one of the barrancos (gorges) cut through the hard limestone of Andalucia. Fishing boats are not common. We could see only one or two each day. About 20 miles off the coast is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, as ocean-going freighters ply from and towards the Strait of Gibraltar.

Landscaping around the "urbanicaziones" is typical of zone 10, frost-free climates. For example, the villas are festooned with Bougainvilleas, which are also planted throughout the Caribbean. Below, a typical coastline view around Nerja: red limestones and conglomerates dominate, rising quickly into the Sierra Tejeda.

Oh yeah, if the olives aren't picked while green, they ripen!

We travelled to Almonte, in the southwest of Spain, and stayed at Casa Halcon, an organic olive farm and guest house owned by Angelika and Nigel. Our delightful hosts greeted us, and we then went for a walk along the road, passing by farms. At one farm, this lovely horse greeted Jan, who has always had a great fondness for all horses.

Most of the farms in this part of Andalucia have extensive gardens, with the occasional orange tree (yummy).

The next day, February 11,  was Jan's birthday and when we returned from our tour of Doñana National Park, Angelika had made this tasty and colourful cake.

Then we returned to Doñana (how could you possibly tell?), where...

we saw Flamencos (Greater Flamingos, Phoenicopterus roseus) and many waterfowl, and wading birds....

including this White Stork, Ciconia ciconia, which was NOT seen carring a baby.

Jan was more interested in the numerous wild horses, including some which were clearly Andalusians.

I still like the Flamingos more.  The pink ones are full adults, and the white ones are juveniles.

We ended the day watching Álvaro, our delightful nature guide, helping our host Nigel demonstrate the technicalities of "curing" olives. Jan is seen in the background sampling the wares, with the olive orchard behind her. Nigel had earlier explained that he made olive oil by stomping on the olives with his "Wellies". We concluded that he wasn't giving us an accurate picture! How could he POSSIBLY get into that blue container and stomp? We know better than that, Nigel!

The next day, Álvaro started our tour in the historic, wonderful town of El Rocío, where live some of Spain's oldest olive trees, the oldest over 700 years old. Below is one of these trees.

Álvaro translated the sign below which tells the story of these venerable "árboles".

The town of  El Rocío is where the annual roundup of the Doñana horses takes place. The streets are all wide and sand covered. The restaurants/bars all have places for the Caballeros to have a pint while sitting on their horses. Each year (this year June 9-10), this village of 700 people welcomes Spain's largest pilgrimage, attracting about 1 million celebrants, to what is, at least in origin, a solemn religious experience. See more here (turn translation on!):

https://www.rocio.com/traslado-de-la-virgen-del-rocio-a-almonte-en-2019/

Speaking of religious experiences, Jan and I took the relatively short drive to Sevilla, after bidding our Almonte hosts "adios". This trip will be expanded to a full blog edition in the future. For now, know that we were treated to a very intimate Flamenco show by the three performers seen with us, above. The dancer, beside Jan, managed to demonstrate the force, emotions and vitality of Flamenco in a most visceral way. The guitarist demonstrated the intense professionalism of Flamenco guitar (both hands and all ten fingers active on the guitar). We watched a similar flamenco performance and once again experienced the emotion of this dance form in the caves of Granada.

Curiosity and a quest for knowledge drew us to the Maestranza (full title is Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla), one of Spain's most notable bullfighting rings. The tour included time in the ring (bulls were not present!) We were also treated to the Maestranza Museum, worth visiting in its own right. Aside from bull fighting memorabilia, the museum has an impressive collection of art related to this very Spanish (and controversial) tradition, including 10 original Goyas. The entrance to the Maestranza is below. The tour of the Maestranza includes the chapel where the Matadors pray before entering the ring (the prayers were included on the walls of the chapel). In the ring, the guide pointed out four doors. The one we used to enter is the same door the Matadors use. To the right of that is the very tall door where the horse-riding Picadors enter. To the right of that is the Bull's door. Last but not least, she told us, is the Ambulance door. Enough said.

She added that the seats in the shade (bull fights begin in April and go to October) are 29 Euros. Shade seats, where the notables sit, are almost 300 Euros. "I would take the sun seats for sure," I said. The tour guide then mentioned that those seats are subject to temperatures approaching 45C. "Oh," I said.

Sevilla has a big Cathedral, which originally (before 1490) housed a large Moorish Mosque. The Catholic armies of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella dispatched Moors and Jews. This sordid history is well interpreted in Sevilla. We followed the tour of the Jewish Quarter (immediately next to the Moorish walls) in Rick Steve's book about Spain.

The streets in the Jewish Quarter are the narrowest we visited in Spain.

The Moorish architecture and tile decorations, including benches such as this one, are eye candy.

Later in the month, we visited the old Moorish town of Frigiliana, in the hills above Nerja. The lovely white stone village also celebrates the 3 religious cultures of "old Spain" in the town's centre (below).

While Jan and son Thomas went off to Gibraltar, I visited Ronda for more nature touring with Álvaro. His brother-in-law runs this marvellous restaurant in Ronda, where all of the wines (above the bartender's head) are regional favourites. I am not the greatest wine connoisseur, however, these wines impressed ( I tried 3).

I returned to my room in the Boabdil Guest House (another great experience) through the narrow moonlit streets of Ronda (below).

Above is the church in Ronda's town square. Note the balconies. Álvaro explained that these were not for religious audiences, but were for the elite to watch 17-18th century bull fights! Álvaro told me a lot more, but those details will need a more expansive separate chapter. So I ended the night comfortably under the moonlight in this ancient Moorish city.

In the morning,  we set off to Grazalema National Park,and other splendid wildlife locales around Ronda, the northern portion of Malaga province.

After a few minutes, I noticed that these Griffon Vultures, Gyps fulvus, were looking quite "fondly" at me. "I am NOT dead yet," I shouted.

Álvaro hard at work finding me some "agriculture area" birds in the Osuna area. While he hunted for birds, I took this photo, below, of an Almond tree festooned with blooms.

Leaving the plains (where it never rained!) we rose up into Grazalema National Park, and found these Giant Orchids, Himantoglossum robertianum  in bloom....

just after spotting these Iberian Ibex, Capra pyrenaica, lounging on the high cliffs.

Above, a rare Ronda goat cheese bought in a very Spanish restaurant (Venta La Vega) 15 minutes to the west of Ronda.

Back to Nerja, and a visit to Las Cuevas de Nerja, the huge, beautiful and colourful location of some of Europe's oldest cave drawings. It is now estimated these caves have housed our ancestors for 40,000 years.

After the Cuevas, the neighbouring Jardin Botanico contained hundreds of native Mediterranean plants, including the Gum Rockrose or Labdanum, Cistus ladanifer, above.

Oh yeah, recall I previously mentioned the Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea. I found this male in the Rio Chillar, on the west side of Nerja.The black bib is a key field mark during breeding season.

With Jan (in the rose jacket) and our son Thomas (the tall person on her right) visited Granada. We stopped in Granada's oldest neighbourhood, Albaicín, at night. Pictured below from Albaicin, the illuminated Alhambra. We  then proceeded to Sacromonte, where Flamenco is performed in caves in which this art form has been practiced for over 500 years. The origin of Flamenco, as in Sevilla, relates to the forced conversions of Muslims and Jews following 1492.

Oh yeah, the Alhambra, above. And the Chapel outside the Granada Cathedral that contains the remains and memorial of Ferdinand and Isabella, as well as other Spanish royalty of the 16th century. Note my, "thumbs down" opinion on their policies!  I can confirm they are still dead, that is, their coffins are still in the crypt.

 Back in Nerja, we enjoyed the swirling colour of Carnaval, below.

I leave you with a view of flowers with the mountains of the Sierra Tejeda in the background (the view from our patio is similar), and also, on our patio, a Trumpet Flower or Angel's Trumpet, Brugmansia arborea,  brightens the view during our noon time meals.