I am always thrilled to explore little channels to see the wonders that have been created. You have to look both above and below the water line, as sometimes it is hidden. If you just take the time to truly see the beauty in front of you …. you will be mesmerized. It can be as simple as a flower, as stunning as a rock wall, or as tiny as a mushroom growing in the moss on a sheer cliff.
We must slow down for lots of reasons. One of them is to stop the erosion from our wakes as we travel up a shoreline. When you see the shores of Hole in the Wall this season you will see that the beaches are very narrow and small now because of the high water.
There have been trees further up that shoreline that have had their roots exposed and have died. I am wondering if it is because of enlarged boat wakes as boaters either slow down quickly as they enter Hole in the Wall or rev up as they leave. We all should approach it with care with a slow speed whether in a boat or a personal watercraft.
When you turn the corner to see the rock cliffs, take the time to see the moss that is growing! It is magnificent. It even has tiny mushrooms growing in it. (left) The cracks in the rocks are from thousands of droplets of rain and ice and snow rounding the edges and forcing the rocks apart when the ice expands and contracts and expands again in the winter months.
One summer’s day while out for a picnic, we found a quiet pond that was filled with waterlilies and marsh plants. It remined me of a Monet painting. (right) I have always wanted to make it into a jigsaw puzzle. I think it would be awfully hard to complete but miraculous to behold. The colours were outstanding. In my opinion, looking at the flora and fauna is like looking at individual miracles.
One of my all-time favourite flowers to find are the Moccasin flower or Pink Lady Slipper. It is in the orchid family. It can be found in acidic soils like the ones in a pine forest. Another one of my favourites is the wild strawberry plant or heart berry. They are the first berry of the season. It is used to treat diarrhea and dysentery. The First Nations people also used to chew the leaves and roots to place on an infant’s umbilical cord to stop infection when they were born. The roots were chewed to clean teeth and help gum infections.
Moccasin flower (left)
The wild strawberry is a sacred plant. Ode’imin is the Ojibweword for a strawberry.
Wild Strawberry Plant (right)
The creation of life and the different cycles are fun to follow. Whether it is from a sparrow nest found on the ground in an old cedar tree trunk or
………
Sparrow’s nest with eggs (left)
the growth of a frog from a tadpole to a hopping, croaking reptile it is always an amazing process.
leopord frog (right)
I love to find straight lines and angles that occur naturally in the rocks. They are everywhere. They never cease to amaze me. They have taken years to create, but they are there for all to see.
The ice freezes and expands in these cracks over the winter to nudge these tons and tons of rock further apart.
I am watching for acute, obtuse and right angles in the rocks. The rock faces with their huge cracks are so smooth. Sometimes they jump out at you.
I have watched this small crack in this boulder for 20 years. It has now expanded to a 10-inch gap. The rock must have had a small fracture in it at the top for the water to get in there and expand when frozen. The boulder lays on an angle and the right side was off the ground for years. Then it was cleaved apart with a hook left at the top. The part on the right side dropped to the ground and that is why it is lower than the left side. It used to hang in the air on the right side. Ice is an amazing force of nature.
So please go out and explore the beauty and art that Mother Earth has left for us to see and admire. Pack a picnic, take your time, and see the gifts that have been laid before us. She is a beautiful artist.