I hope we are able to make our way down this difficult road.

It is late in the wildflower season in Ottawa and these little lavender asters are everywhere. The bumblebees really go for them, and there are many, but the flowers are so small they really have to work, zipping from one cluster to another, landing only briefly on a couple of flowers at each.

Whoa! I almost missed Fat Bear Week this year! Here's the link. Cast your votes for the greatest ones! Not voting would be pretty much unbearable. explore.org/fat-bear-week

Over 50 Canada geese were way up there over Ottawa honking and flying in a V formation, headed toward the setting sun. C'mon guys! One side of your V was like 40+ of you all, the other side was maybe 10. You call that a formation? That's embarrassing. Symmetry, please!

It was a just glorious late-summer/early fall day in Ottawa-Gatineau. It is peak season at the Orleans Fruit Farm and it was hopping at apple picking - still v. good! - and at the tent. Great stuff at the kiosk: corn, four varieties of apples including macs and lobos, strawberries, carrots and more.

The geese have assembled and are honking as they fly overhead this morning. They're almost ready to go.

It is the transition between summer and fall. This bumblebee was sleeping on a false sunflower in a cluster of false sunflowers. Another bee, maybe a sister, flew up and tried to rouse her, but she brushed her away with her front legs and went right back to sleep. Being a bee must be exhausting!

Happy Waababagaa-Giizis, @waub.bsky.social . Where are we now in the whole story? Pre-, mid- or post- apocalypse? These days I'm finding it a bit hard to be sure. I am thinking early-mid?

I was at Montfort Hospital earlier this week. Just wanted to make sure people here know the nurses, support staff, and Dr.s there are amazing super pros! English or French, up to you! But waits are far too long - more Dr.s needed! Also, building maintenance is needed. Automatic doors have to work!

Slightly diminish a band: Martha and the Muffin Tops

Slightly diminish a band: AB/DB

The little white cabbage butterflies are pairing off now. When one flies by itself it looks like it is just flapping around randomly, but they must really have near perfect control, because pairs are able to flutter around each other for quite some time. Cabbage butterfly romance is an aerial dance.

Fireworks at Kìwekì Point, Ottawa, last night.

You are being watched. (Too see the watcher, zoom in near the center.)

I went canoeing today wearing a mask because of the bad air. That’s a first and pretty much unimaginable here until a couple of years ago. The water was gently rippled. The diffuse light gave the surface a silvery shine. There was not much wind at all, but that's a sailboat way off in the distance.

They make PJs for elephants!!!

The white waterlilies are blooming on the Ottawa River. Although they look all white from a distance, closeup they have bright yellow centers.

Yesterday I was surprised to learn from Chief Whiteduck at an Ottawa Riverkeeper event that Kitigan Zibi, a reserve 2h north of Ottawa, still does not have clean running water for about half its people. Can we fix this now? Clean running water for all First Nations would be a great achievement.

A minivan doing a right on red at Aviation Parkway and Montreal Road crashed into an Ottawa Paramedic SUV with its lights on and with its sirens going. Right in front of me around 9:30. ago. Scary. Loud crash. Airbags deployed. It looks like everyone is up and out and okay, thankfully.

The bee balm is still blooming, but it is starting to look a bit ragged. The bumblebees have been working the flowers hard for over a week now. They are getting a bit worn down. This evening I caught one bee napping under a bee balm leaf.

I have only seen a few monarchs so far this year. When I have seen one and tried to take a pic they've been like "no, no, no" and flown off leaving me with just an orange blur. But today at noon in Ottawa this one set down on some milkweed and held mostly still just long enough for a quick photo.

Five cottontail rabbits on my ride home this evening!

Fireflies are lit tonight in Ottawa! They are the kind with extremely short whitish flashes. They're everywhere. It is like being in a stadium at night with the camera flashes.

I thought there were fewer bumblebees at the bee balm this year but they must have been waiting for the harvest: tonight was a frenzy. Here’s a video. Bee balm has tiny florets that the bee has to shove its beak into for a taste before moving on. What a mad scramble! They'll sleep well tonight!

While I was looking at the wildflowers and insects, this creature was keeping an eye on me.

After the thunderstorm when most of the water had dried up I finally saw a couple of bumblebees working the bee balm. They briefly examined each flower, rarely landing, usually only on the smaller flowers, staying only for a short time. (Zoom in to see a face in a parka with yellow trim.)

The bee balm has started flowering, and there is lots this year! I didn’t see any bumblebees but there were many kinds of native bees. The bigger bees checked out the flowers but didn't land. Others, like this micro-bee were feeding, though. Can a bee get smaller than this? Zoom in on those eyes!

There are all kinds of bees in the wildflower patch now but we haven’t seen many butterflies, apart from a few of the little white "cabbage" ones. But recently there’s been the occasional smallish orange one. “Atlantic fritillary”, I think? Zoom in to see the crazy candy cane antennae!

A less well known event in Ottawa on July 1st is Chief Pinesi Day. kichisibiancienttrails.ca/2025/05/30/c... Paddlers are paddling down all the way from Deep River!!!

Those tiny green bees better stay alert, because this monster was lurking right nearby. I'd call this a robber fly, and it is on the hunt! Very scary! (-if you happen to be a tiny green bee, that is.)

These tiny metallic green "flies" were running all over the swamp milkweed leaves. They are too small to see very well - you just see the metallic green shine. Even the photo is a bit blurry. I think they are actually a kind of bee. (Not that long ago I learned that some bees are metallic green!)

Happy Summer Solstice northern halfers! Enjoy the extra sunlight. Happy Winter Solstice southern halfers! Hope you have clear skies and see lots of stars.

Look at this big ol’ bumblebee on this purple flower. These purple flowers (tradescantia?) are a good size – maybe the length of your thumb. Even so, every time the bee landed the flowers drooped down. So here, the bee is still flying - just about to land. That showy mane reminds me of a parka.

Nobody wants to get notifications from a webpage. Please stop asking. If I want you to notify me, I will let you know.

Look at this tiny bee! The hind legs don’t so much have pollen baskets as pollen pants! The flower on the right is a thumb's width. Several of these bees were working these pink-white petaled mini-daisies which were in full sun, which was slightly less bright than usual because of lingering haze.

Just biking home in Ottawa wearing an N95 mask so I don't have to breathe in the smoke particles from the trees that are burning in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. That's a first, but I guess it will not be the last if we continue to do sweet frog all about climate.

Happy Anishinaabe Day to anyone out there who celebrates. Mino Anishinaabe Gizhigad!

Who is this guy Al who is ghostwriting everybody's reports these days? He's super productive, but he's really careless about the facts. Maybe he needs some time off.

I think that may be sunshine. At noon. In Ottawa. It has been so long I am not sure I remember what it is supposed to look like. I am going to investigate.

Ottawa OC Transpo, the lighted signs inside the bus stations indicate you should go to spots which are closed after 9 pm. There are unlit signs outside about this, but there are people waiting at the closed stops. Confusing. Let's use clear signs inside. Maybe a job for the night mayor?

We checked out Turtle Trail on Petrie Island in Ottawa on Sunday. The trail was flooded so you couldn't walk far and it was windy with whitecaps! Sheltered waters were still too high for turtles: most of the logs were submerged. I only saw these two small painted turtles that found a sunny spot.

Also at noon today there were six painted turtles sunning themselves on a semi-submerged log at McKay Lake. This photo of three of them doesn't do them justice. In person, the red on the edges of their shells was so bright it looked like they might have had lights on.

I took advantage of the warm spring weather and took a short walk along the marshy part of McKay Lake over the noon hour today. Look at this absolute chonkster! Bigger than my fist, I'd say, this bullfrog with a seemingly satisfied smile was sitting motionless on a log in the shallow water.

Spread the news around. The bees are back in town. The bees are back in town.

It was only 6ºC at noon but it was sunny blue sky and this one painted turtle was already sunning itself on McKay Lake in Ottawa. I believe this particular one is the queen of the lake. Her king is about half her size, but there was no sign of him yet. It is sunny and warming so watch for turtles!

The turtles are back in Ottawa, Ontario! #FirstTurtle ! It got up to 18°C and I went over to Mud Lake, which has to be one of the nicest little patches of wetland in town. The first turtle I saw was in the middle of this frame. I think it is a painted turtle? Lots more wildlife and photographers!

I happened upon this groundhog this afternoon in Ottawa, digging the snow out of its burrow. It was probably a bit annoyed at having to deal with snow more than 6 weeks after Groundhog Day. It was doubly annoyed that I showed up – not too worried, but it kept an eye on me and put work on pause.

The Ottawa River is always impressive but today at noon it was especially spectacular. Blue sky, mirror-flat water, and bergy bits of all sizes drifting downstream. #kichisiipi

I came across these two early this evening in Ottawa. They were not bothered at all by me, but they sure were in a hurry to get wherever they were going. I haven’t seen any all winter in the city. I don’t know if they migrate but they haven’t been around. I am guessing they just winter in the bush.

Have you seen any turtles yet this year? Let us know! Post the date you saw your first turtle this year, roughly where you saw it, and hashtag it #FirstTurtle . Tell us the type if you know it, and post a pic if you like. Don’t give the exact location of endangered turtles – they need their privacy!