Michigan Lilies in Stoney Creek.                

By Bruce Mackenzie

Something new popped up this June along the Dofasco Trail!

The Dofasco Trail - on the Mountain in Stoney Creek - passes through many different habitats and there are always some surprises to please the trail walker. We often think of wild flowers as adorning the forest in the spring. Spring wild flowers take advantage of the sunshine in the forest before the leaves come out on the trees that shade the forest floor. After the trees create their canopy of leaves overhead wildflowers mostly disappear from the shaded forest floor. There are some exceptions of course, and the Michigan Lily is one.

The lily starts growing in April but because of its large size it is not ready to bloom until the end of June with just exceptional orange blooms. The Michigan Lily is not commonly found in our area so it is a real treat when one comes across it. If you find one you are likely to find a hundred or more. At the very east end of the Dofasco Trail there is a lovely woodlot that the trail cuts through just west of the 11th Line. Here the Michigan Lily grows along the trail. Most of them are just on the other side of the fence (private property) but all are easily viewed from the trail. They are pretty big plants so their beauty can be enjoyed close and at more of a distance.

Michigan Lilies are normally considered plants to be found in Tall Grass Prairies in Ohio and Michigan and points west. Finding them growing in the woodlot is indeed a treat. They are perennial plants that sprout each year and they grow from a corm. A corm acts like a bulb. The lily’s corm has the appearance more like a funny clump of white rice. They generally spread by seeds released in the fall.  They grow up to almost 2 m. in height and depending upon their age the number of blooms on each plant will increase. As many as ten blooms on one plant have been found. Most of the plants in this woodlot are about a meter in height with 2 or 3 blooms.  Canada Day always seems to be when the blooms seem to be at peak.  The show usually lasts until mid July.

This June there was a whole new stand of these lilies next to the trail with several hundred plants. But this new patch is not in the woodlot but just adjacent to it on the east side of the woods in a most beautiful meadow. Here the plants are growing in full sunshine and in full competition with the grasses, milkweeds and vetches. Wow, what a sight… but why this year? Lilies have not been seen growing here before.

Well, one difference this year is that cattle that normally graze in this field have not been put out in this pasture to date. Just maybe in the past the cows have taking a liking to nibbling on Michigan Lilies in the past. This year we can thoroughly enjoy the fact that the cows are somewhere else. We will wait to see what happens in June next year.

So keep your eyes out for the brilliant orange blooms of the Michigan Lily along the Dofasco Trail. If you miss the Michigan Lily don’t be disappointed for there are many more flowering plants along the trail that will be blooming throughout the summer and into October. The Yellow Jewelweed is another favorite that is found along various sections of the Dofasco Trail.

Experience Valens Lake Conservation Area

Have you ever wanted to just get away from it all, but don't want to travel hours away from home to get away? While your in luck Valens Lake Conservation Area boosts many qualities of the great north while being just a short drive from the city. If you have yet to discover the wilderness of Valens Lake you have a great opportunity to explore what nature has to offer, if you have been there before you will be able to relate to our friend Jeff who most highly recommends the area. 

Read Jeff's story below and be inspired to make your next trip to Valens Lake Conservation Area!

We go to Valens all year round, and just love it.  It is like being in Algonquin Park. When we stay overnight camping, it feels like we are in a different place, far from our home in Hamilton. In fact my wife commutes to work in Burlington from our site. Our children are reacquainted with nature, and you can be put to sleep listening to the coyotes howling along with the many night birds and frogs. Looking around at night at other campfires and hearing all the night sounds makes it tough to believe we are in Hamilton!

Scientifically, four hours walking the beautiful trails in Valens gives you ten days worth of feeling of well being!

You can also bring or rent a boat and float around and fish on the lake.  No motors.

We have been going for years and always get our annual membership, so that we can go anytime we want!  It is a great way to get the kids interested in nature (their electronics get shut off at the gate).  We have seen myriad frogs and butterflies, hawks and many other birds including owls, turtles, racoons, and deer there.  Being there stretches the day into another of many treasured Valens memories.

We feel ownership in a way, regarding Valens.  There is a big field where kids gather and play and a nice quiet beach.  Most highly recommended!

Jeff. 

Natural Areas Inventory Update

As the Natural Areas Inventory project wraps up its final field season, our ecological land classification crew is still busy surveying many of the natural areas throughout Hamilton.  Over the years, our ELC teams have found many rare and exciting species in our watershed, and this field season has been no exception! Recently, the team was thrilled to discover a rare Carolinian tree species known as Pawpaw.

Pawpaw, also known by its scientific name as Asimina triloba, is a small tree which can reach up to nine meters high, and usually grows in small groups or thickets.  They tend to grow in floodplains and shady areas with rich organic soils. This plant has teardrop-shaped leaves that have been said to smell like Bell Peppers when they are crushed, and can sometimes grow up to 30 centimetres long!  The leaves are bright green when they first open and droop downwards, giving the tree a tropical appearance.    
 

Pawpaw, flowers through late May to early June in Ontario and although the flowers are showy, with their six big red-purple petals, you might be more likely to notice their smell first! Like many other plants, Pawpaws are pollinated by insects, but instead of attracting bees, their flowers give off the smell of carrion to attract fruit flies and beetles.   Once the flowers are pollinated, they set edible yellowish-green fruits that are full of big, shiny black seeds.  These fruits can also have a different flavour to them, depending on the conditions they grow in, and are said to taste like custard, mangos, and even bananas.

The discovery of Pawpaw is an excellent find for the NaturalAreas Inventory project and the City of Hamilton for many reasons. First, adding a new tree species to the list of those already found in the city is exciting for Hamilton residents. Second, the discovery of a new Pawpaw population is exciting at a province-wide scale, as these trees are usually found along the northern coast of Lake Erie and throughout the Niagara Region. 

Pawpaw is just one of the many exciting finds resulting from the Natural Areas Inventory Project; don’t forget to keep an eye on the website for more to come! 

Jessica Consigilio
Ecological Land Classification Technician
Hamilton Conservation Authority

Beat the Heat

Its summer time here in Ontario and it is HOT!

If you are looking for a way to cool off during the summer, HCA has many great places for you to beat the heat!

Christie Lake and Valens Lake Conservation Areas offer beautiful natural settings for you and your family to relax and enjoy the summer heat. Spend the day relaxing on the beach or if you are feeling adventurous, go for a paddle on the lake and enjoy the time spent on the water. Christie Lake and Valens Lake both offer boat rentals.

HCA also offers two beach locations on Lake Ontario. Visit Fifty Point Conservation Area for one of the warmest and cleanest beaches on the lake, or head to Confederation Park and enjoy the refreshing lake water. Confederation Park also offers an outdoor pool and splash pad at the Lakeland Centre.

If you are looking for a more heart pumping experience, visit Wild Waterworks in Confederation Park and ride the two body slides and four tube slides, catch a wave in one of Canada’s largest outdoor wave pools or relax in the eazy river.

 

Little ones will love Little Squirt Works, our fun wading pool with slides, mists and fountains.

No matter how you want to beat the heat, HCA has something for everyone. 

What's Alive in Hamilton!

Sharp Lobed Hepatica

The natural areas inventory project is quickly gearing up for our final field season. This year we will be checking out many of the natural areas on the Hamilton/Halton border in Waterdown and East Flamborough. There are quite a few wetlands, valleys, escarpment talus, and deciduous upland sites in this area which we are excited to survey. Most of the spring flowers are now in bloom, so it won’t be long until our ecological land classification crew is out surveying the forests, thickets, meadows, and wetlands. But for now, check out your local natural areas for these spring ephemerals!

Bloodroot

Squirrel Corn

A spring ephemeral is a perennial forest wildflower that blooms in early spring and produces seeds before summer. These flowers take advantage of the sunlight that hits the forest floor before the trees produce their leaves

You may have heard that many birds are back from their wintering grounds down south. Keep an eye out for chimney swifts, red-bellied woodpeckers, and orioles which have all been heard and seen this spring. 

Juvenile Brown Snake

Our frog and toad monitoring program has had a quick start. With the warm temperatures lately, these amphibians have been calling all over the City of Hamilton. Spring peepers, wood frogs, chorus frogs, and American toads are common at this time of the year. Keep your ears open and you may start to hear leopard frogs, green frogs, and grey tree frogs.

And don’t forget that this is the time of the year that snakes are on the move too! Here is a juvenile brown snake that I saw on a walk through the Dundas Valley.

Keep checking the website for more updates on the Natural Areas Inventory Project.

Nicholas Schwetz

NAI Coordinator

Hamilton Conservation Authority

Help HCA win $25,000 with the Shell Fuelling Change Challenge! Vote for What's Alive in Hamilton and we can continue to educate our community and help protect the environment in Hamilton. http://fuellingchange.com/main/project/411/Whats-Alive-in-Hamilton

One week’s notice…. Spring is here!

Next week the calendar tells us that spring has finally arrived. The ground hog may have mentioned it about five weeks ago (in case you missed the announcement).

Unlike the last few years where migrating birds returned in January and gardens sprouted in February, this past winter took us back to when winters had snow and Jack Frost occasionally did take a nibble at your nose. The arrival of spring this year also bodes well for a healthy season. As we speak the vernal pools are active with amphibian activity and the endangered Jefferson Salamanders are on the move! It is breeding season for Jeffy and that comes with road closures in some areas to protect the paths they take to reach their breeding grounds.

Now, Jefferson Salamanders don’t make much noise and, while their movement heralds the arrival of spring, they are not the most commonly-noticed of creatures. One creature you will notice is the Red-Winged Blackbird. Traditionally, another first sign of spring is their migratory return from the Southern States.  Keep a look out near wet areas such as wetlands and shorelines populated by tall grasses or cattails and bulrushes. They’ll start looking for dance partners as soon as they return, so their calls will be frequent and easily heard. Just watch out once they start nesting because they defend their nests vigorously!

It’s not just the little ones we watch for this month. Along the north shores of Lake Erie from Windsor to Point Pelee, mass migrations of raptors are a birder’s delight. Closer to home, the Niagara Peninsula Hawk Watch is underway with the big day coming up at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in the Niagara Region on Good Friday. But really, anywhere along the Niagara Escarpment and the lake shores this time of year is an excellent opportunity to see large birds such as bald eagles, swans, herons, falcons and hawks on their way back to Ontario.

A few weeks from now you might even get lucky enough to see the “clouds” of Broad-winged hawks and my friends the Turkey Vultures as they migrate en masse. Last year’s count of Turkey Vultures estimated more than 20,000 traveling through Niagara and more than 100,000 through Western Ontario!

So if you’re waiting for the flowery signs of spring… they’re coming, but it’s the feathery signs that come first! 

Chris Hamilton

Information Officer

Hamilton Conservation Authority

Rules of Engagement: Courtship and Marriage in Early Canada

Dearest Etta,

The delightful hours I have passed in your society have left an impression on my mind that is altogether indelible, and cannot be effaced even by time itself.  The frequent opportunities I have possessed, of observing the thousand acts of amiability and kindness which mark the daily tenor of your life, have ripened my feelings of affectionate regard into a passion at once ardent and sincere, until I have at length associated my hope of future happiness with the idea of you as a life partner, in them.  Believe me, dearest Etta, this is no puerile fancy, but the matured results of a long and warmly cherished admiration of your many charms of person and mind.  It is love - pure devoted love, and I feel confident that your knowledge of my character will lead you to ascribe my motives to their true source.  Might I then implore you to consult your own heart, and should this avowal of my fervent and honourable passion for you be crowned with your acceptance and approval, to grant me permission to refer the matter to your parents.  Anxiously awaiting your answer, I am, dearest Etta, Your Sincere and Faithful Lover, George Courtright.  Wednesday October 20th, 1894. 

Poor George.  He must have agonized over that letter for days, carefully crafting a marriage proposal that would convince his darling Etta of his love, commitment and suitability as a husband.  We can imagine Etta, perhaps unfolding the letter with trembling hands, reading it several times and weighing each word, each phrase.  She would likely not have been surprised by this turn of events, as it would have unfolded as part of a complex, but well understood, process for finding one's life partner.  We do not know what her answer might have been, but we can be sure that she would have measured George's proposal carefully, taking into consideration not only her own hopes, dreams and preferences, but those of her family and community.

Since Canada's earliest days of settlement, the trials of finding a spouse has been a theme consistently chronicled in diary accounts, letters and journals, providing a fascinating window into how early Canadians met, courted and married.  They help us to understand what was considered acceptable behaviour, the influence of parents and neighbours and the strategies that were necessary to navigate the sometimes treacherous social terrain.

Just what were early Canadians looking for in a mate?  Prior to the 19th century, economic considerations were a strong factor in the selection of a husband or wife.  Eventually, however, the concept of marrying for love crept into the equation, and by the early to mid-19th century, the idea of a spouse as a companion was widely accepted.  Women were encouraged to look for a man with not only good financial prospects, but also someone who would be kind, temperate and hard-working.  Men typically sought women who were even-tempered, patient and capable of engaging in intelligent conversation.

The importance of a spouse as friend is reflected in the 1854 letter of Caroline Hewlett, who commented on the broken engagement her niece Jane Price.   "From all I heard of Mr. Campbell he appeared to me from his youth, habits, and insufficiency of means, to be wholly unworthy of Jane, who ought in her husband to have have a man of equal talent with herself, a companion and friend..." 

Meeting a life partner was a long process that in many ways began in childhood.  Social gatherings that brought together people of all ages, such as religious functions, skating parties, community picnics and work bees were all opportunities for people get to know one another within their social sphere.  Parental and community approval was extremely important, as couples would depend upon the assistance and support of family and friends throughout their married lives.

Once a potential partner was identified, parental consent secured and intentions clearly stated, courtship could begin in earnest.  This was an intense period when a couple would really get to know one another, spending many hours discussing a wide range of topics, to ensure compatibility.  Engagements could last for many months, or even longer if the man required time to settle debts, secure a property or settle into reliable employment.  Once a pledge to marry was made, only very exceptional circumstances would allow the engagement to be broken, a circumstance typically met with strong family and community disapproval.

The long and considered courtship process in nineteenth century Canada, grounded as it was in family and community approval, seems to have greatly increased one's chances of a happy, or at least workable, marriage.  Someone who clearly married for love and companionship, Susanna Moodie, wrote to her sister Catherine in July 1856, after twenty-five years of marriage: "Time lengthens while he is away.  Will age never diminish my love for this man?"

Lisa Hunter

Programme Co-ordinator

Westfield Heritage Village

Come to Westfield Heritage Village on Family Day, Monday, February 18 from 12:30 - 4:00 to help celebrate a winter wedding and learn the fascinating stories of love, courtship and marriage in Early Canada.

Prepared with information from:
Noёl, Francoise, Family Life and Sociability in Upper and Lower Canada, 1790-1870.  McGill-Queen's University Press, 2003.
Young, John H.  Our Deportment: Manners, Conduct and Dress of the Most Refined Society, F. B. Dickerson and Co., Hamilton, Ontario, 1881.
Azoulay, Dan.  Hearts and Minds:  Canadian Romance at the Dawn of the Modern Era 1900-1930, University of Calgary Press, 2011.