2 July

 I can't think of a better way to mark the Canada Day weekend than passing time in a wild place.  The Hamilton Wetlands and Forest met the bill perfectly this past Sunday.

The foliage is definitely ripening into summer. 

Although they're still tart, the salmonberries have lots of colour now.

We were delighted to see the young hairy woodpecker drilling for her breakfast.  She's fully fledged, but her feathers still look a bit untidy, after the manner of young birds.

She looks to have a taste for bracket fungus.

This tree trunk appears to have been explored by a bear in search of grubs.  He doesn't seem to have had an appetite for polypores.

I've never understood why, but the sight of a bush full of ripe huckleberries always calls Christmas to my mind.

The pathfinder flowers, unusual last week, had become even more exotic.

Each of the little black seeds that appeared last week, now looked a bit  like snowflakes, and the stems show little white growths.  

Less unusual, but still wonderful, the ocean spray is in full glory.

At the marsh, the hardhack is coming into bloom.

Arrowsmith is now nearly bare of snow.

The water level in the marsh is sinking, revealing what must be nutrient-rich mud.

The marsh was quieter than we've seen it in past weeks.  There were swallows, but much too distant to photograph.  We heard blackbirds, and had a fleeting glimpse of a yellowthroat.  

On leaving the marsh, we saw this odd growth, which may be a parasitic growth akin to mistletoe.  

The oregon grape is just starting to ripen.

Near the road, there are now a few fireweed, somewhat uncommon in these parts.  In their Plants of Coastal British Columbia, Pojar and MacKinnon describe fireweed as "especially evident along roads and old burns."