Fellow nature lover Peggi and I took advantage of a beautiful spring day to take a walk around the back of her property and see what was up.
There was lots of beaver activity along the flooded area of the Scotch River.
Into the woods, we saw a very active beehive inside a cedar tree. (Sorry I didn't get closer!)
There's always something to eat in the woods, especially if you are travelling with Peggi. She spotted a
Dentaria plant...
...also known as pepperoot. She suggests cleaning and chopping the root and adding it to mayonnaise. I took a few bites of it and it tasted sharp, similar to horseradish.
The fiddlehead ferns are already mostly in full fiddle...
...but we did manage to find a few that were perfect for cutting and steaming later on.
And there were plenty of lovely spring flowers in bloom like the Marsh Marigold...
...a Juneberry bush in full flower...
Many white trilliums up but here's a lovely red one.
Peggi stopped to take a quick photo of blooming purple violets.
These fungi look like last year's fruit. Nice, whatever they are.
Peggi has been watching this Striped Maple for a few years and even has chicken wire at its feet to stop the beavers from getting to it. Apparently this northern species of maple is something of a rarity this far south.
I thought this looked like part of a giraffe. Peggi laughed and said it was actually the root of a waterlily that was likely part of a beaver dam that had been recently demolished by the township.
Richard asked me to join him while he was covering the opening of the Chute-a-Blondeau community centre and we got to sit at the Media(s?) table. Very exciting.
It had a great view, right at the front. We got to see Pierre Lemieux, Member of Parliament for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell...
...presenting a Canadian flag to Mayor Kirby from East Hawkesbury.
And there was Jean-Marc Lalonde, Member of Provincial Parliament presenting a Franco-Ontarien flag and an Ontario flag to the gang.
I was trying to jazz up the photo from a different angle but not sure it worked so well.
After a few scintillating speeches, we headed outdoors to the official ribbon cutting ceremony where Richard was working hard.
I on the other hand was too busy picking out bits of Habs memorabilia in the crowd. The photographer standing in front of me sported a camera strap with a Montreal Canadiens 100 year logo...
...and one of the youngest celebrants was in his Bleu, Blanc et Rouge regalia. (Go Habs go!)
Okay, so back to work, Ronna. The centre itself is a lovely edifice with plenty of room for social activities.
But for me, I prefer the look of the old one that sits beside it. There's a certain charm to this building, don't you think? If these walls could talk and all that. It's slated for demolition. Progress...
