The beautiful Baltimore Checkerspot is about half the size of the more familiar Monarch Butterfly. They produce one brood and are seen from May – July.

Baltimore Checkerspots are found in wet meadows within woodlands.

The butterfly is named after George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, a 17th-century American colonist.

The orange and black colours match the colours on the heraldic shield of Lord Baltimore.

Other flyers:

Thanks to Ken Sproule for assistance in identification.

Valens Lake, near Freelton, has extensive trails and boardwalks plus camping and swimming.

Some botany:

Freelton is named after its founder, Patrick Freel, who in 1840 built a hotel on the site. Freel’s brother-in-law, Thomas Campbell, also built a hotel in Freelton. He named it Central Hotel because it was equidistant from Galt, Guelph and Hamilton.

NATURE POETRY

Beyond me in the fields the sun
Soaks in the grass and hath his will;
I count the marguerites one by one;
Even the buttercups are still.     – Archibald Lampman (1861–99)

Miles Hearn