Beavers Are Ecosystem Engineers

On this windy but sunny morning we made plans to hike the Beaver Dam trail. The weatherman called for rain and a thunderstorm between 3 pm and 7:30 pm. So if we were going to do any hiking today it would have to be earlier in the day. Mom and I had breakfast and got ready to go. We were far enough away fromt he trail head that we had to drive there. 

Once we parked the car and got out, the first thing we noticed was that there was a section just off the side of the trail that was set aside as private property for the First Nations people. 

The trail head map gave us a general idea of what to look for and what to expect. Beavers once created dams and lodges here (known as "impounds") and changed the the landscape. They are nature's ecosystem engineers. They create wetlands that benefit both wildlife and people. 

This trail was pretty wet which shouldn't have been too surprising, It was even more so than the Swan Lake trail that we had hiked the day before. 

The cat tails and reeds were tall. Very tall. Taller than we were. 

Here and there, through the reeds you could see the open waters of the marsh and all the lily pads sitting on the surface of the water. 

Since it was the beginning of September, the leaves were turning red and orange and yellow. They were beautiful against the green backdrop of the pine trees. 

There were plenty of boardwalks on this trail, but one of the first ones that we came to was one that really made you work to get to it. The ground before it was flooded out from the recent rains. In order to get onto it I had to go around to the side and grab the first post and swing myself around and up onto it in order to avoid getting my feet soaked. 

Once we were on it though, it was worth it. It was peaceful here and it was pretty. We stayed here for a few minutes just to enjoy the quiet and to take in the view. 

A red Meadowhawk dragonfly joined us to do the same. 

The next part of the trail had a boardwalk that went through the forest. The ground was not as wet here as it is in other parts of the trail but I am guessing that there is a whole lot more water here in the spring time. 

All over this area were fuzzy, rusty-brown, Virgin Tiger moth caterpillars. These little guys were quite plentiful here. 

A fallen log made for the perfect bench to watch the caterpillars and for my mom to wait for me to catch up. 

In between the slats of the boards on the boardwalk we found some orange, jelly-like fungi, called "Witch's Butter", growing there. 

As we emerged from the trees, the area opened up to reveal blue skies and a beautiful wetland landscape.

It was about here where the trail splits into two. You can continue up the trail or take a side trail to the exit. However, if you aren't careful, you may miss the exit trail because the sign for it was lying on the ground. 

We weren't even nearly ready to end our hike yet, so we opted to continue on. The boardwalk, was so overgrown with the flowers and plants from each side that it all but disappeared beneath them. 

It was so beautiful here. Orange Jewelweed flowers lined both sides of the boardwalk and were dwarfed beneath the heights of the ever so tall cat tails. 

There were also some very tall, pink, Joe-Pye Weeds.

In some places the white Aster flowers were so plentiful that it almost looked like there was a covering of snow or a pile of cotton balls. 

Attracted to all the colourful flowers were White Admiral butterflies. 

Butterflies weren't the only ones who were biding their time here. There were many types of bees and insects here. There was one bee (not the one pictured below) that seemed to have a white face. We weren't sure if that was the bees actual face or if it was just covered in pollen (unfortunately the pictures didn't turn out so I guess we will never know). 

Eventually the boardwalk led back into the tree line again. 

But the butterflies were just as happy in the pine trees as they were in the flowers. This Grey Comma butterfly followed us for a little bit and landed on pine branches every once in awhile for a rest. 

You never know what is around the next bend when it comes to Ontario landscapes. As quickly as it went from marsh to forest, it then went from forest to rock. We climbed up a bit of a rock hill and looked down at the marsh below. 

Just as surprising as seeing butterflies in pine trees was finding frogs this high up on the rocks. And you thought that frogs were good at camouflage in the water... They were amazingly camouflaged in the moss on a rocky hill! And there was not just one frog hiding up here; there were at least 3 or 4 of them that we spotted.  

The point of interest from the top of the rocks was the Heron Rookery far below. At this time of year there were no herons nesting here. However, I am sure that come spring time there will be a number of nests here. 

As we sat on the rocks and had a snack, we were joined by a number of different visitors. It was to be expected since we were sitting in the middle of their home.  The first one to come along was a White Pine Sawfly caterpillar. I like how shiny black their heads are. 

Next was a tiny little inch worm.

And then there was a Tussock caterpillar (which you don't want to touch because their bristles can irritate and sting your skin). 

Not far from where we stopped for a snack we found a cozy little spot that had a picnic table. If we had known it was there we probably would have had our snack at the table instead. This spot is a perfect place for a picnic. I would come here again just to do that. It's quiet and it has a beautiful marsh view almost all the way around you. 

This picnic spot was also the furthest you can go on the trail, as was indicated with the "turn around and go back now" arrow that was painted on the ground. The trail is not a straight line and it does loop around until you get back to the exit sign that was lying on the ground. But it is still the furthest point on the loop. 

The next part of the trail had some very interesting root work on it. Some of the roots were entwined with each other and joined together and were far enough above ground that you could probably hide things under them. It would probably be a great place for a geocache. 

The bright yellow flowers of the Nodding Beggarticks were like little, mini-sunflowers growing near the water's edge.

Eventually the trail circled back around to the boardwalk that was lined by all the jewelweed and aster flowers. Up from the cracks of the board walk popped a garter snake. It didn't stay long and as soon as it felt the vibrations of our feet walking on the wooden boards, it dipped back down into the cracks and slithered away; probably to look for some of those camouflaged frogs we had seen earlier.

Soon we were on the exit trail towards the way out. Above our heads we could hear a hawk calling. I could barely make it out as it flew past and into the trees somewhere out of sight of the trail. 

Although that hawk did not stay to have its picture taken, this hawk did. Meadowhawk that is. This White-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly was basking in the sun under the pine trees. 

Also basking inthe sun was this little mushroom. I believe it is called a Caesar's Mushroom. 

We followed the root filled trail through the trees until we reached the exit. 

We got off the trail at a good time because the sky was starting to turn darker and the winds were picking up. We were going to get that rain we were expecting pretty soon!

It started to rain just as we got back to camp. Perfect timing!  Since it was raining, mom decided to go into her tent and take a nap and I went into mine to read for a little while.

Just before I went inside, I looked over at the neighbour's site across the road. They were still out kayaking but they must have known it was going to rain too because they prepared ahead of time by wrapping a tarp over their fire pit. Now that is good thinking. They will be able to get a fire going quickly and easily when they get back. It started raining at 4:45 pm. I could hear the thunder by 5 pm.  At 5:15 there was a big down pour and the winds really picked up. 

As I lay on my sleeping bag, reading my book, I noticed a little wasp on the roof of my tent. I was not fond of the idea of having a wasp in the tent with me. However, since it was raining and since I had nothing to capture it in, I made an agreement with it. I told it that if it stayed on the far end of the tent, away from me, then it could stay. It agreed and we co-existed in the tent in harmony. I left the door open a crack in case it wanted to leave.
​By 6 pm the storm had passed. It stopped raining at around 7 pm, just like the weatherman predicted. I left the tent to go have supper and when I came back later, I found that the wasp had left too. 

When it got dark, we once again took a walk down to the lake by the amphitheatre. The moon was just as beautiful this night as it had been the night before. The moonlight reflected and danced on the surface of the lake. All was quiet and all was peaceful.