Andrew Trundlewagon's photos

Flowers of marsh marigold (Populage des marais) growing by a lakeside, lac Moulin, St. Bruno, near Montreal.

The inconspicuous flowers of Micranthes virginiensis, the early saxifrage or the Virgina saxifrage. This is an early spring wildflower that grows on rocks. The stems are long and leafless. A small rosette of dark green leaves hugs the rock surface. (Parc St. Bruno, Quebec, near Montreal). It is thought that the long stems prevent the pollen being taken by beetles and favours productive pollination by bees and other flying insects.

Red trillium (Trille rouge, Trillium erectum) grows on the forest floor as a spring ephemeral before the leaves of the trees are fully open and block the light. The flowers are pollenated by flies and are said to smell of rotting meat, (for which reason they are sometimes called stinking Benjamins), although I have not noticed this. The outer coat of the seeds is very attractive to ants, which carry them to their nests, and in this way distribute the seeds through the forest. Unfortunately the plants are equally attractive to deer, and a recent explosion of deer numbers in the locality has diminished the numbers of trilliums that can be seen each spring.

A yellow bellied sapsucker. A woodpecker that feeds on the sap of trees (and can do quite a lot of damage). The yellow belly seems to be misleading, as there is only a hint of yellow on the shoulder.

A pileated woodpecker. She was quite far away so the photo is heavily cropped. Very noisy bird, didn't stay still for a moment, a real pile-driver, she dug great chunks of wood from the trunk.

It snowed last week in the middle of April. I went back to look at old photos just to remember that summer will eventually arrive.....

woodpecker among the branches.

Chipmunk against a snowy background. Now that the weather is warming they are coming back out to greet the spring after a long winter below ground. In a strict sense, they don't hibernate, as they wake up periodically through the winter to feed on nuts and seeds stored in their burrows.

Another chipmunk against a snowy background. Now that the weather is warming they are coming back out to greet the spring after a long winter below ground. In a strict sense, they don't hibernate, as they wake up periodically through the winter to feed on nuts and seeds stored in their burrows.

Chipmunk - with the snow slowly melting it has probably just recently emerged from hibernation.

A slightly tentative Chipmunk, not sure if it is safe to come out or not - with the snow slowly melting it has probably just recently emerged from hibernation.

A completely rational way to park a rusty bike.

It's an important job and if he doesn't do it, who else will?

This is called "the secret bench of knowledge" (Lea Vivot). Coated in ice, they aren't dressed for the cold!

Giovanni (John) Porretta’s Exaltation, 1981 in the snow, coated in ice, Montreal.

She looks half asleep. A barred owl, perched in the woods, St. Bruno, January. (Chouette rayée, Strix varia).

A barred owl, perched in the woods, St. Bruno, January. (Chouette rayée, Strix varia).

Not for the squeamish. A fox that has just pounced on and killed a grey squirrel. Fortunately the hunt was executed with surgical precision, death was very rapid and I don’t think the squirrel knew what hit it.... Pas pour ceux qui sont délicats. Un renard qui vient de se jeter sur un écureuil gris et l'a tué. Heureusement, la chasse a été exécutée avec une précision chirurgicale, la mort a été très rapide et je ne pense pas que l’écureuil sache ce qui l’a frappé.