Landowner Rights & Trail User Responsibilities

The Waskahegan Trail is a unique resource that exists only because of the generosity of landowners. Before you set foot on the trail:

  1. Know the landowner rights and the trail user responsibilities.
  2. Check the trail conditions

Showy Milkweed

by

Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) has large rounded clusters of star-shaped pink or purplish flowers atop stems with lance-shaped leaves showing distinctive white veining. Softly greyish-hairy throughout; hollow stems with milky juice. The plant ontains “poisonous resinoids and cardiac glycosides” (Parish 249)

Oval-leaf Milkweed (Asclepias ovalifolia) is a related species—smaller, with more oval leaf shape and greenish-white flowers.

[lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]

Pollination

“Milkweeds are pollinated by insects that get little horseshoe-shaped pollen-carriers called pollinia clipped onto their legs as they enter the flower. They must break the pollinium free to leave. Some cannot and are trapped. The rest fly to other milkweeds, where the pollinia detach upon entry just at the right spot for fertilization. Smart flowers!” (Gadd, 339).

Monarch Butterfly Nursery

In southern Alberta*, this plant is part of a bigger design. The Eastern Monarch butterfly** lays its eggs (300 to 400 each) on the underside of milkweed leaves. As the larvae feed on the plants, they accumulate the poisonous glycosides, to which they are immune. Birds do not like the taste of these chemicals and therefore avoid eating the monarch larvae and butterflies. Declining occurrence of milkweed in North America directly impacts this beautiful insect (Nature Conservancy, 13; Parish, 249).

* Monarchs are most common in Alberta near the U.S. border where milkweed is abundant, but they have been seen as far north as Edmonton (CBC).

**The Eastern Monarch ranges from Alberta to the Maritimes and winters in Mexico. Western Monarchs occur in British Columbia and migrate to coastal California in winter.

Sources

[/lgc_column]

[lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”true”]

WASKAHEGAN FIELD NOTES

Found late June along the Pipestone Creek trail, on the sunniest, driest slopes high above the creek.

[/lgc_column]

 

North Hastings Lake: Wasps Outsmarted, Wonders of Allen Nature Trail, and a Musical Experience in St Margaret’s Church

by

Nine of us came out to hike on a beautiful clear day. The first thing we did was address a potential hazard. From yesterday’s trail maintenance, we were aware that we might be menaced by wasps on the path.

We remembered from previous years that whenever we walked too close to wasps nesting in the ground or in a woodpile, it was always the fourth and fifth hikers who would get stung. Perhaps it goes like this: Hikers #1 and #2 walk by and alert the wasps. Hiker #3 walks by and the wasps interpret it as a lingering threat. They rise up for the attack, and by now, Hikers #4 and #5 are right there in front of them and become the unfortunate targets.

So, today we took the approach of sneaking past the wasps. To avoid triggering their instincts, we spaced ourselves on the path, allowing several feet in between each hiker. We walked swiftly and silently—and we succeeded in not riling the wasps.

When we arrived at the Allen Nature Trail, we were met by the Allens themselves. They accompanied us on the trail and told us about the history and their experiences living in the area. We went down to the beach and observed the colony of pelicans across the lake through tripod-mounted, high-powered binoculars.

Then Mrs. Allen opened up St. Margaret’s Church for a tour. Roger, a hiker from Camrose, is also a professional musician. He sat down at the pump organ (“the smallest pump organ I’ve ever played”), and played the opening few minutes of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. What an amazing treat!

 

Inside St. Margaret’s Church

The Allens joined us for lunch in the churchyard and we learned more—first-hand—about the fascinating story behind the preservation of St. Margaret’s Church.

There are more pictures on Flickr.