Chickadee Photo Art

Whiteshell Provincial Park

// June 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Boreal Forest, Fungus Mosses Lichens, Manitoba Tourist Destination, Scenic, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Wildflowers

Welcome back to my website & thanks for visiting !

The Winnipeg River (above) meanders through the Whiteshell creating lakes throughout. Above are some rapids where Pelicans sit to catch their fish. The photos below show terrain typically found in the Whiteshell.  Roads have been “cut through” the rocky terrain and the forest is full of lush undergrowth, tall stands of Boreal Forest trees and many different kinds of mosses and lichens.   I personally find the mosses and lichens both beautiful and interesting ( check out a previous blog under Mosses and Lichens for photos). Fox, deer, black bears and beavers are common sights here as well as a variety of  forest dwelling birds, owls, herons and other waterfowl.

Below:  rocks line the highway edges.

Below is the sign welcoming visitors to the Whiteshell.  Note the “turtle” on the sign.  The Petroforms (a sacred site to Aboriginal Peoples) are located in the Whiteshell.  One of the Petroforms is a turtle symbol representing “Turtle Island” which is another name for North America. According to First Nations teachings, the Turtle represents the teaching of Truth. You can find a “Gallery” dedicated to the Petroforms which inlcudes contact information on the right hand side of this page.

In addition to the lakes, beavers in the park have created numerous marshes which in turn provides habitat for birds, turtles and waterfowl to name a few.  Many of these marshes are filled with beautiful pond lillies. Below is a photo of a marsh filled with Water Calla Lillies.

The Whiteshell is less than 2 hours from Winnipeg and is a very popular cottage area. There are a number of hiking trails in the Whiteshell for persons with varying skill levels.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Spring Wildflowers of Manitoba

// June 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Boreal Forest, Petroforms, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Wildflowers

When the snow melts and the weather warms our early wildflowers start to bloom. These photos were taken in the Whiteshell at the Petroforms site area.  Above is Blue-eyed Grass which is so elegant and is one of my favourites. These were growing in open, rock and sand terrain.    Below, a Starflower which I found in shaded moist areas.

Below: Hoary Puccoon – these were growing abundantly along roadsides and forest edges.  A deep yellow/orange flower that stands out in the still brown grasses of late May.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Manitoba Wildflowers – Part 14

// August 24th, 2009 // No Comments » // Wildflowers

NEW . . . Manitoba Wildflowers gallery is now on-line. It is sorted by colour and when your cursor is placed over the thumbnail the name of the flower/plant will appear. You can find the page at the menu to the right in the “GALLERIES” section.

Keeping up with the  Manitoba Wildflowers is proving a challenge.   More today from within Winnipeg city limits.  This delicate little blue wildflower is called “Blue Bur”.  This is one of my favourites – I just love the shade of blue!  It is a small plant but very showy.

Another view of Blue Bur showing more of the foliage and plant.

Below are two plants I am sure everyone has growing around their property and if you are fortunate enough to be weed free it is still likely you have seen these.  They are very common and invasive.  The photo below is a “Pineapple Weed” – aptly named if you take a close look at the plant.  Sometimes I let the “weeds” grow in my garden as I know they will produce a lovely flower but for the Pineapple Weed and Common Peppergrass this is not the case.

Below are two views of “Common Peppergrass”, one view showing the white flower of the plant which is very tiny and plain.

Enjoy!

~Sharon