This Giant Gardenslug (Limax maximus) was moving so quickly it was a challenge to get a decent photograph. Slugs are notoriously hard to photograph – the challenge is to have enough depth of field (area of the image in focus) that both the near eye spot and the body are sharp and crisp. Since slugs are often prefer to avoid …
Courtenay Airpark
A Prickly Subject
I was initially stumped by the aster I found growing in the Courtenay Airpark. I photographed the plant and was particularly struck by the distinctive row of spines down the midrib of the leaf. With a leaf like that I assumed that the field guides would definitely use it as a field mark and it would be easy to identify. …
Grass Workshop at the Courtenay Airpark
A couple of Fridays ago I had the opportunity to join an impromptu grass workshop led by Dr. Brian Wikeem at the Courtenay Airpark. The Comox Valley Naturalists Society has an ongoing restoration/invasive plant removal project at Airpark and Dr. Wikeem had volunteered to help us try to identify some of the 75+ species of grass growing there. I should …
Small Pink Flowers
The flowers of Herb-robert (Geranium robertianum) range in colour from pink to reddish-purple. I have to admit that lately I’ve been spending a great deal of time looking at small weedy flowers. My walks out to the Courtenay Airpark have proven it to be an excellent place to find all sorts of exotic plants from Eurasia. This week I’ve focused …
Pass the Field Mustard
The terminal flower cluster of Field Mustard (Brassica campestris). While I love finding interesting, rare, and unusual plants sometimes it’s fun to take a closer look at some of the common weeds that grow in urban areas. The walkway around the Courtenay Airpark is a place where introduced species are common. I’ve found a cosmopolitan collection of Eurasian plants, garden …
Purple Dead-nettle
Purple Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) forms carpets over the ground. Last summer I wrote about some of the invasive species of plants that I was noticing on my walks around the Courtenay Airpark Lagoon. This area was heavily altered by human use and at one time it was a sewage lagoon. The number of invasive plants that grow along the pathway …
White Cockle
White Cockle | Silene latifolia ssp. alba Walking the riverside walk along the Puntledge River in Courtenay is a great place to see all sorts of invasive, introduced plants. Lately I’ve taken to strolling our two young children around the Airpark Loop. I always keep my eyes open for interesting plants and birds. The Airpark Lagoon is excellent for migrating …