There is always something interesting to see at the bottom of the Bluffs just east of Birchmount Rd.

MYSTERY BIRD

I will identify it at the end of the post.

This morning I found a plant which puzzled me at first.

Are there 5 petals or is this an “irregular” flower?

The egg-shaped opposite leaves were a clue.

Eventually I remembered seeing it some years ago while prowling about in alleys looking at weeds in the Main St. / Danforth area. This is Wild Four-O’clock (Mirabilis nyctaginea).

Four-o’-clock is native to the central section of North America, and it occurs elsewhere as an introduced including parts of Europe. Its exact native range is obscure, and it is often weedy throughout its range, spreading into disturbed habitat easily.

It is in the same family as the Four O’clock plant (also called the Marvel of Peru) Mirabilis jalapa.

The flowers usually open from late afternoon or at dusk (namely between 4 and 8 o’clock), giving rise to its common name.

I also came across a lovely and large Green Darner.

The name comes from the insect’s resemblance to a darning needle.

More botany:

MYSTERY BIRD

Smaller and slimmer than a pigeon, this is a Mourning Dove.

NATURE POETRY

O summer day, surpassing fair,
With hints of heaven in earth and air.               – Eben Eugene Rexford (1848–1916) 

Miles Hearn