American Kestrel Close-ups on Downtown Condo Balcony & Reed Canary Grass at Rouge Hills: June 2020

Thanks to Mike Burroughs for these photos taken with a phone on a downtown Toronto condo balcony.

For many years, I taught at a spring music camp near Orillia, Ontario. Growing in a ditch by the road was a tall grass that I was never able to identify. Even with a Grass Field Guide I wasn’t sure what it was and was too busy to really investigate.

Eventually, I had more time and really had a look. It is Reed Canary Grass and I now realize that it is very common.

Reed Canary Grass is native, unlike many of our common grasses, and can form dense stands completely choking out other vegetation.

Other botany:

Some birds:

Park scenes:

NATURE POETRY

Month of bees, and month of flowers,
Month of blossom-laden bowers;
Month of little hands with daisies,
Lovers’ love, and poets’ praises;
O thou merry month complete,
May, thy very name is sweet!                     – Leigh Hunt (1784–1859)    

Miles Hearn