Finally some sunshine again! At the Strathroy Reservoir the Virgin's Bower looked pretty against the blue sky. I found muskrat tracks and slide marks down the banks. There were hundreds of ducks at the Sarnia Bay in the afternoon, but since I forgot my binoculars at work, all I could identify were redheads, mallards, common golden eyes, canvasback and a bufflehead. Somewhat tenuous identifications I made squinting from the shore.


Most ferns disappear in winter, reappearing in the spring from underground stems, but a number of species are visible thoughout the winter. The Ostrich-fern Matteuccia struthiopteris (L.) Todaro' s fertile spore stalk appears woody and brown. Found on wooded river bottomlands, swamps, in neutral to alkaline muck.