Spotted Touch-Me Not

Today, Hugh and I wanted to have a look down the east side of Lynde Shores Conservation Area.  We had been told by friends, that when walking their dog, they saw a snake and a turtle.  So we set off today to see what we could find.  The children were most relecutant to come out with us.  The path was a paved one, we were not expecting it to be so developed.  There seemed to be no access to Lynde Shores from the east side, in fact most of it was fenced off.  We did see a frog or toad jump through the grass but we were unable to catch it.  We think it was a Leopard frog

We walked along and down to the lake by the Ontario Shores Hospital.  There are very large rectangular cement blocks for stopping shore erosion and big boulders.  The boys had a great time walking along.  They dragged Hugh out to see a cave they found.

We found a spot with some picnic tables.  I spotted this little flower growing amongst these boulders.  On closer inspection I realised it was an orchid.  It was very tiny and very orange.  I did pick one flower so that I could look it up in my book when I came home.  Of course after I found it in my wild flower book, it said to never pick!  Well now I know.

It is called a Spotted Touch-Me Not or the Orange Jewelweed.  The latin name is Impatiens capensis.  This plant is found near poison ivy and the juice from it's crushed stems can soothe the itching.  We didn't find much else, at least not today. Note: I didn't take these pictures, I will have to go back during the week to get some pictures