Greg Shchepanek

 These are Some I Have Come Across They are found all over the world and are sometimes the most colourful plants to be seen, there are enthusiasts' that plant and garden their own.  Wikipedia : Carnivorous Plants  has an extensively detailed write up on these wonderful oddities in nature. I love to spend my time in wetlands of North America be it lakes, marshes, swamps bogs and fens. And in these locations carnivorous plants can be found, some times in abundance and other times just a few. The thought of these plants catching any type of prey to feed on is just a wonder of nature. I have found the most variety of these plants at my father's cottage in Alleyn-et-Cawood, Québec, Canada, some being a rare find and endangered. Bogs & fens are a most popular location to view these almost animal plants of the Flora kingdom. I am a member of the Carnivorous Plant Society of Canada (CPSC)   where I have participated since May 9, 2020. Spatulate-Leaved Sundews ( Drosera ...

 The Disappearing Monarch Monarch Butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) Jack Pine Trail, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Conservation Status: imperiled (S2N,S4B) in Ontario, CA (NatureServe). Taken July 20, 2018. Once bountiful and ever present, is a thing of the past for the Monarch Butterfly as it slowly disappears from the landscapes of North America. Once every year I could visit a location and was sure to find my beloved Monarchs doing their thing. Even with some years a more proliferation of the butterflies was witnessed but sadly this has all come to an end and with only one single sighting this year in Alleyn-et-Cawood, Québec where the species once had a stronghold in the Milkweed fields. One could venture to the Arboretum in downtown Ottawa and find the Monarchs in full flutter on the varieties of flora arrangements of the gardens. Here I will look at the presence of the Monarch Butterfly over the past five years noting that documentation of the butterfly has fallen and 2022 mark...

 Alleyn-et-Cawood, Quebec, Canada Whorled Loosestrife  ( Lysimachia quadrifolia ) Kaz Station, Quebec, Canada. Conservation Status: Vulnerable (S3) in Québec, CA (NatureServe) Flowers and butterflies oh my. It was hot ! And the bugs were buggy ! But it was a great escape from the heat of the city. Went to the cottage in search of rare flowers and Monarch Butterflies, only saw one Monarch at Kaz Station but the Whorled Loosestrife was in full form and an excellent quantity from previous years of observation.  Still getting used to the new camera and lenses it proved difficult to the Loosestrife photos it being a delicate small flower with multiple focal points as seen in the top photos. What turned out great were the butterfly photos on Milkweed. In particular a Dun Skipper turned out great to photograph on the bulbous Milkweed flowers and my 100mm lens did not let me down. What did let me down was my 35mm macro lens it was very difficult focusing on the Loosestrife and I ...

 Golden Trumpets Fungi Spruce stump was cover in Golden Trumpets  ( Xeromphalina campanella ) Alleyn-et-Cawood, Québec, Canada. Largest colony I have ever come across out there in the wild. Almost eighty per cent of the stump is coated with the beautiful trumpets. This was one of my favourite spottings to come across for a fungi. So many mushrooms and just one stump. 

  End of Summer Jaunt in the Forest Northern Leopard Frog ( Lithobates pipiens ) found surprisingly far from waters edge & alone in the woods of Alleyn-et-Cawood, Québec , Canada. The Flora & Fauna are getting harder to find in the woods & forests of Québec . Which was once bountiful & abundant with creatures & botany now seems very quiet. The search for nature is ever becoming an arduous task with very little results & discoveries. Where has Mother Nature gone with all her beautiful creations ? Asian Ladybug on Goldenrod in the woods of Alleyn-et-Cawood, Québec , Canada. Woodland Berries. White Baneberry/Doll's Eyes ( Actaea pachypoda ) & False Solomon's Seal ( Maianthemum racemosum ) Alleyn-et-Cawood, Québec , Canada.