Can this Dog read?

We returned to 'Arowhon Pines'  at about 4 PM.

Tired, but happy about having seen so much in one single day.

The biggest wonder of all wonders was awaiting us:

There is a tower at the end of the deck, 

extending the recommendation to

"Jump in the Lake"

There is truly no better way to recuperate from a long, sweaty day,  

then a swim from the deck.

The sign atop this Jumping Platform invites you to

"Go, Jump in the Lake"

It's an expression you might use if somebody says something 

with which you simply cannot agree.

Then, these five words, said with a smile,

tells your conversation-partner, that you disagree strongly.

What we did not expect, however, was a Dog 

who could read!

More sightings along Mizzy Trail

If you look around carefully, 

you almost can't miss some of the small stuff.

Two (2) Red-Winged Blackbirds

( One seems to be upside/down )

In full flight!

How this "Dragonfly" pushed itself 

out of this much smaller Chrysalis

would be difficult to believe, 

had we not watched the entire process

from beginning to the end.

A late Bee visits the remains of a Thistle

and drags the last remnants of nectar.

At the same time, pollen sticks to the Bee's hair,

thereby assuring the plants 'resurrection' in another place.

The somewhat rare "Sandhill Cranes"

We had almost reached the head of the Mizzy Lake Trail, 
when Christin spotted some movement off to our right. 
I truly could hardly believe my eyes. 
After visiting Algonquin Park for so many years, I had never seen 'Sandhill Cranes'.
Their home is more the Western Regions of Canada. The plains of Saskatchewan or Alberta.
Well, I was not about to question this stroke of luck, but gave my camera a good work-out.

A rare sight:

Sandhill Cranes

A female and a male Sandhill Crane.

There are also small critters

I cannot really say that we 'hiked' along the Mizzy Trail.
We more or less 'strolled'  or 'meandered' along this wonderful Nature Path, for a total of about 10 km.
Along small lakes, along the shores of lazy brooks, through open country, through relatively dense brush, and we saw and observed at length Turtles basking in the sunlight, a Raccoons "washing" its catch in the almost stagnant water of a pond, we observed and listened to numerous birds, (although I must confess not all of them I show here) a Moose cow, pulling out waterlily roots by the bushel...
and more:

Let me show you some of what we saw during one morning and afternoon stroll:

A Porcupine up a tree

A Chipmunk, proudly displaying his black and tan stripes

A Squirrel eyeing us with some concern

A young Moose, not yet a year old.

A Ground Squirrel

A  Yellow Portage Sign (male)

(quite native to this Area)

Birds of Algonquin

Slowly we made our way back to the head of the trail.
We had seen much, but by no means all there was to see.
There were birds.  A great many birds.
I'll show you some of them and from my picture library I'll add some I had seen on previous occasions.
So here it goes:

New World Oriole

American Fish Eagle, "The Ospray"

A "Common Gull" in high flight.

Mergansers

"Red-winged Blackbird"

"Red Headed Woodpecker"

Male "Baltimore Oriole"

"Scarlet Tanager"

"Ruby-throated Hummingbird"

"Mamma Mallard with 9 Ducklings"

"Canada Goose"

"Common Loon"

Two "Red-winged Blackbirds"

"Blue Starling"

"Waxwing"

It is entirely possible that I miss-identified 

one or the other of these birds.

I am, after all, not an 'Ornithologist" ..

just an ignorant photographer!

"Meat Eating Flowers in Algonquin?

"Yes, there are" I said, when Christin did not readily believe that there are meat eating plants in these regions. "There is the 'Pitcher Plant" and the "Sun Dew Flower."
They prefer wet regions where there are many flies, mosquitoes and the like.

It did not take long before we found a "Pitcher Plant"
It is shaped like a jug, or a pitcher, has at its bottom a sweet smelling liquid and the inside walls are so slippery, that once an insect has found its way inside, he cannot get back out again.
We did not find the 'Sun Dew Flower' but I will add some images of it here for convenience's sake.

This tall flower, the pitcher Plant is a meat eater.

Once an insect has descended into this "pitcher" (below)

the Plants slippery inside walls prevent it from climbing back out 

and it is dissolved by the enzyme rich liquid at the bottom.

Often found on decaying logs, the 'Sun Dew Flower'

bears a very sticky liquid in droplet form on the ends of its many hairs.

Once an insect has settled on one of these, it finds it  very difficult to 

pull away. The two halves close slowly and the insect is trapped and devoured 

by this so beautiful looking predator

The "Sundew Flower" in all its dangerous Beauty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would you like to see some pretty birds?

I mean the ones with feathers!

Then come back tomorrow to this same site.

MIZZY LAKE TRAIL on the way back

After this beautiful Fox had wandered off, we sat for a while,

munching on our lunch and congratulating one another at those absolutely 

marvelous sightings.

Christin kept shaking her head. "How lucky can I get? My first time here

and I see this Super example of a Bull Moose and then a Fox parades 

in front of us as if to brag about his wonderful tail."

I am super pleased. This, after all is my country and 

by extension this was my Moose and my Fox.

We had finished our lunch and we drink the last drops 

of the cooling Iced Tea from the thermos.

"What else is in store for us today?" Christin asks with a broad,satisfied smile on her face.

"Our hike is only half over and one never knows what else might cross our path." I said.

We slowly walked from our high perch to the pond.

Is this the first nipping of the Autumn winds? Noooo! Can't be!

Some long Grass in the slow moving river.

After two small turtles on a log and a green Frog on a Lily-pad

we get back into the brush land.

As if on Que there is a deer and a Raccoon-

This clever "masked marvel" is mostly close to wet land

where he crouches on the shore line, 

scanning the sand with his paws

trying to find small crabs or fishes, or, in fact, anything eatable.

Since this search often was successful 

and he extracted and then devoured 

his victim, it looked to early observers as if he "washed" his victim.

The Raccoon got stuck with the name: "Wash Bear."