Pioneer Cemetery/ Mount Albert

The land that eventually became the community of Mount Albert was first settled in the 1820s by Quakers on the east and west sides of an old Indian trail, which is now called Centre Street.

Other settlers soon followed, purchasing land from the Quakers. Many of the newcomers were Methodists buried in this cemetery between 1830 and 1894. Life was hard back then. Looking at the stones, it's sad to realize that many of the stones once marked the graves of children. But now the stones have been moved and laid flat, arranged in a line at the back of the cemetery for some reason I don't understand.
Here's a closer view of some the gravestones.
And here's another view. As you can see the engraved stones have weathered over the years and now many are difficult to read.
At the front of the cemetery, an engraved stone reminds passersby that this parquette is actually a cemetery.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Jack-in-the-pulpits (Arisaema triphyllum) are blooming in the forest now. They're hard to see because they blend in so well with their surroundings. But once you DO spot one, be sure to crouch down or gently lift the hood-like spathe so you can see Jack.

The photo above is of a brown Jack-in-the pulpit, but the spathe can be purple, brown, green or even white.
And here's a green one, found the same day just a few metres from the brown one.

Last year, we found them in many places along the path. This year only two!

Jack-in-the-pulpits are sometimes called Indian Turnip. Native Americans ate the root as a vegetable…but before you try it, beware! Indian turnips must must be properly dried and cooked because the fresh root contains calcium oxalate crystals, which sting the tongue and throat. According to one account, the Meskwaki tribe poisoned their enemies by finely chopping roots and then rubbing them into meat for their foes to find. What a surprise! The "treat" is said to be flavorful but deadly within a few hours -- a painful way to die.

Lake Scugog

Until 1830, Lake Scugog (pronounced skoo-gog, accent on the first syllable) was a shallow river that meandered northerly through thick swamps and muddy bogs. But when a dam was built on the Scugog River, thousands of acres of land along the river's banks were flooded creating the lake and an island called, you guessed it, Scugog Island.
Lake Scugog covers 63.5 square kilometres (25 square miles) with an average depth of 1.4 metres (4.5 feet) and a maximum depth of 7.6 metres (25 feet), all of which the Lindsay Dam artificially maintains.

Walleye and bass thrive in this shallow, murky and weedy lake. And in winter, the lake is covered with ice fishing huts, fishers there to catch walleye and perch. Crappie is abundant in spring.

Both photos look like the air and water were cold. Trust me, they WERE.

Downtown Port Perry

Port Perry is a picturesque tourist community east of East Gwillimbury and about an hour northeast of the city of Toronto. Clothing stores, restaurants, cafés, galleries and antique shops line both sides of the Victorian-era main street (Queen Street). The main reason my husband and I like to visit Port Perry is to browse the town’s used bookstore, which is situated behind the shops in this photo. One of us is sure to leave with at least one book...usually more.
Across the street on the south side, chocoholics can visit The Nutty Chocolatier. ;-)
Or slip down an alley to photograph the town’s quaint architecture from a different angle.
Then cross the street again to take a shot looking easterly to see why this town is such a tourist attraction: Palmer Park beside Lake Scugog. It was a cool, dreary day but you can see the lake in the background. More about the lake tomorrow.

Wild Carrot Skeletons/ Sky Watch

It’s mid May and the sun is still setting on last year’s skeletons of Queen Anne’s lace (or wild carrot) here in Ontario. I found these on the edge of a farmer's field. Amazingly, when the stems of Queen Anne's lace dry they become rigid enough to withstand winter snow and winds. These are a bit weathered but still standing tall.
Here's a photo I took in early March, which shows why wild carrots are sometimes called bird's nests. When wet, the skeletons curl up.

I'm looking forward to seeing this year's crop of Queen Anne's lace. Some folks call them weeds...but not me. How lucky you are if they are already blooming where you live!

To see more Sky Watch photos, check out Wigger's World by clicking HERE.

Apple Blossom Time

Drive down a country road these days and you're sure to find wild apple trees loaded with blossoms, pale pink tinged with rose. Above you can see a tree that if all the blossoms are pollinated will be totally covered with apples this coming autumn.
There are so many wild trees around here that's it's hard to imagine that before Europeans settled North America there were NO apples in Ontario. Early settlers brought apple seeds and trees with them to the New World.

YAY, Spring!

Today is a dreary day, but the landscape is popping with colourful flowering trees. Gotta feel great in spite of the drizzle. ;-)