Mochi & Unknown Insect

Here are two more pictures of Mochi from today!

Also does anyone happen to know what insect this is? Any help in IDing it would be much appreciated. It has six legs but the back two are against it's body. The protrusions on the sides are definitely wings but I haven't seen it fly yet. It's fun looking whatever it is!

Meet Mochi!

A few days ago Mochi arrived! We adopted her from the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA). She's from a very strange litter and looks nothing like here sisters. It seems this litter had multiple fathers which is not uncommon with street cats. The adoption fee covers spaying, first shots, check-up, two de-wormings, flea-treatment (if necessary), and a small tattoo or microchip for identification.

She was a little sad for the first two days. Her foster home had about 8 cats and she felt a little lonely. We'll be here to fill in the void though! I should launch a sister blog and call it Cat Zone. I get the feeling there will be many pictures over the next few days. Probably years. Let's be honest.

Cottonwood Community Garden: August Work Party

The last Sunday of nearly every month, anyone with a plot in the gardens is asked to come out to a Work Party. Keeping the gardens up and running requires a lot of time and effort and everyone needs to lend a hand.

I volunteered for kiwi duty. Unfortunately only myself and one other person were able to make it today. Both of us are new to kiwi care and unsure of the required maintenance. We ended up just going around removing weeds, young raspberry bushes/locust trees, and trimming off the dozens of branches reaching over the side of the trellis. We decided not to touch the ones growing vertically over the trellis. Some will be trained for next year and others removed. It seemed safer than risking damage to the plant. There are two varieties and the fruit won't be ready until October/November.

A young mouse also payed us a visit near one of the compost bins. It seemed really timid but instead of running like a normal mouse it just froze. Perfect for a photo! This photo is a bit low quality but the pose is great.

Now for another Vancouver surprise, the giant slugs. This one even comes with an orange racing strip! The coffee cup is an extra large for comparison.

Spring in the Air

It's starting to warm up and it feels like spring may be close.  Next week we're suppose to have several days up around 4C (40F) so the remaining snow should be gone.  I took a few pictures just to show you what it looks like this time of year in London.  We're getting a lot of sun which is a welcome change from the dreary winter.

Over the last few days the snow has started to melt.  Seeing grass again really puts a smile on my face and the cloudless sky doesn't hurt either.

Here you can see the Canada Geese taking advantage of the newly exposed grass.  I don't know if they still migrate from further north, but here the majority just stay around all winter.  You see some flocks in the fall but there don't seem to be any less geese on the ground.  They've started to spend more time in pairs, getting ready for spring nesting.

Spring Salad!  This really has nothing to do with anything but I made this salad for lunch today and it was really good.  It has spinach, iceberg lettuce, broccoli, apple, celery, cherry tomatoes, spanish onion, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing, a dash or parmesan cheese, and some dried cranberries.  Yum!  I've never put dried cranberries in a salad before and highly recommend it.

Burrowing Toads

There are several toad throughout the greenhouses.  They seem to ignore absolutely every that goes on.  Water can be dripping on them and they'll just sit there like nothing is happening.  One time I accidentally sprayed one and it just sat there and didn't even blink.

These toads are also interesting in that they really like to burrow.  The floor of the greenhouses is not really toad friendly.  It's primarily gravel with a little bit soil holding it all together.  They seem to love it though!  Sometimes they're completely buried.  Other times they are just sitting in little pits.

 I'm scared that I'm going to end up stepping on one because they're so oblivious.  I noticed the one in the first picture when my foot was almost right next to it.  I'll just have to keep on the look out and hopefully they'll be alright.

UPDATE:  The toad below was still there today but just a little more buried.



In the picture below you can just see the back of the toad.  It still seems to have a bit of a tail which means it's at least a few months younger than the other one.

Toad

Tree Frog

I went out to check on the plants this morning and in the mini greenhouse was this odd looking toad.  I'd never seen one like this before.  It had patterning that was all light brown with a 'cross' in a slightly darker brown on it's back.  I had to prod it off one of the Baobab pots so I could take the pot out for the day.  At this point it jumped about 50cm (just under 2ft) and attached to the plastic side.  I realized this was a tree frog!  So clearly I ran back inside and grabbed my camera.  I had no idea we had tree frogs in Ontario (or Canada in general).  According to this site there are about 5 species in North America with 2-3 in Canada (excluding Mexico).  After about 20 minutes I identified this one as Hyla crucifer (Pseudacris crucifer).  This has the distinctive cross on the back hence the name.  They are found near forests and often move into the open to reach ponds to mate.  I've never been so excited to see a frog!

Mimosa & Monarch

Mimosa flower (Sensitive Plant)



Monarch Butterfly on Butterfly Bush

Around the Greenhouse

I'm going to Toronto tomorrow so I won't be going in to work. I've decided to upload a few images from around the greenhouse that haven't really fit into other posts. Tomorrow morning I'll post the Hibiscus images.

Our fish pond is located in the tropical room. It houses koi and goldfish. The largest koi with the long fins is about 12 years old.

Although we have started several Barberry plants in the greenhouse, the nicest one is located outside. Then entire plant is covered in these red/pink/purple leaves.

Now for a Bougainvillea close up. You can really see where the nickname 'paper flower' comes from. The flower veins are also clearly visible and the inner portions are all in different stages of bloom.

A few days ago a second variety of our Passion Flowers began to bloom. There is at least two other kinds that should start blooming soon.

Biotron & Material Sciences Gardens

The University of Western Ontario campus is covered in gardens. Right beside the greenhouses there is a new material sciences building. At the top of this structure is the 'Biotron'. This is in essence a precisely controlled greenhouse that allows students and professors to study the impacts of climate change.

Here are some photos I've taken of the gardens surrounded the building.

Here are some close-ups of various flowers. I think the first one is Russian Sage.

Daylily

Sedum

Daisy

Black-Eyed Susan

Local Hawk

I don't have much to post today so I'll post a picture of a hawk that I took yesterday. It nested in some large conifers outside of the greenhouse. It has been squawking constantly for days but for some reason was silent today. I'm not sure if it's because of the rain or something else. Anyway, here are the two pictures: