Andrew Trundlewagon's photos

A blue jay ( geai bleu ) waiting for peanuts in the garden. They turn up in autumn and spring and compete with the squirrels for the peanuts we put out. They are remarkably alert. I saw one fly from a tree about a hundred yards away the moment we put out the nuts. Once one bird finds the treats they call loudly to attract all the other jays in the neighbourhood. The squirrels don't have a chance- if you snooze you loose.

Autumn colours and ducks.

Autumn Leaves, Park St Bruno,

Not a political statement. These are signs at the local “pick your own” orchard and are varieties of apple.

Deptford pink (Dianthus armeria) in dew. This is a European flower that has become naturalized in Quebec.

Goldenrod growing by water, Park St. Bruno.

The first signs of autumn.

An Eastern Bluebird. This is the first time I have seen one of these. It is female, and so less brightly coloured than the male would be.

The Furze Platt hand axe, a massive Neanderthal tool, Natural History Museum, London, 2019. 30 cm long, was found near Maidenhead, UK.

A Dodo, Natural History Museum, London. In actual fact it is a "collage" made from parts of several different species of bird to represent what the taxidermist thought a dodo should look like.

Darwin's octopus, Spirit Rooms, Natural History Museum, London (2019). The museum had a vast collection of specimens assembled since the nineteenth century. This, a preserved octopus, was collected by Charles Darwin. In his journals, which eventually became the book "Voyage of the Beagle", Darwin records his excitement at seeing an octopus change colour, and wrote back to his teacher, Henslow, in Cambridge, that he thought he had made a "discovery". Henslow, very tactfully, wrote back to tell Darwin that the ability of octopuses to change colour had been known for an extremely long time. Undaunted by this setback, the young Darwin went on to make a few more "discoveries".

A preserved giant squid in a tank, Natural History Museum, London, 2019. This is on display in the spirit rooms, and you have to pay extra to visit, but it is well worth it just to see the giant squid. It is difficult to visualize in a photograph, but the size of the tank gives some idea of how big it is.

A Pterodon, Natural History Museum, London, 2019. This would have been a stunning sight when alive.

A pickled nautilus, Natural History Museum, London, 2019

An illustration of a (conspicuously male) fruit bat from the drawing collection of the Natural History Museum, London, Thomas Hardwicke collection, approx, 1832

A fierce looking Tyrannosaurus rex (are there any other kinds?) A life size model in the Natural History Museum London (2019). The Natural History Museum was established by Richard Owen in the 19th century, who coined the word "dinosaur", so in a way it is the epicentre of dinosaurs.

This is Eastern spotted coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata/ Corallorhize maculée) with closer views of the face and side of the flower. It is a wild orchid that blooms in the shade of the forest floor. Growing with so little light it has forgone photosynthesis and lacks chlorophyll. It survives entirely by parasitizing soil fungi. The subterranean part of the plant is a bulbous mass that is said to resemble a coral (hence the name). The only time the plant shows above ground is to send up a stem carrying small flowers, that are difficult to appreciate without a close look. Despite their small size the flowers are beautifully engineered for pollination.

A bullfrog, lazily swimming in a pond.