Whilst waiting for full dark and the clouds to unobscure Jupiter I turned my attention to the sunset at East Chezzetcook. This is a superb location for night sky photography but alas despite three visits I could never get a clear view of Jupiter. I did eventually succeed at Peggy's Cove, the upper parking lot.

East Chezzetcook Sunset

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The Yellow Lady's Tresses's Orchid is our latest flowering orchid flowering up to the first hard frost. Look for the small yellow patch inside the orchid flower. The orchid flower itself is no larger than a green pea.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

These are perennial herbs growing from fleshy root systems that range from slender to tuberous, and are occasionally stoloniferous. Most of the leaves are basal, but some species have leaves higher on the stem before the inflorescence matures, often taking the form of a sheath around the stem. The inflorescence is a terminal spike with flowers arranged in a characteristic loose or dense spiral. As in most other orchids, the flowers are resupinate, twisting during development into an upside-down position. The six tepals may be separate, or the three upper may be joined to form a hood over the lip petal. The lip is thin to somewhat fleshy, and two basal glands produce nectar. The flowers are usually white, cream, ivory, or yellowish, and two species have pink flowers; a few are also fragrant.^[3][4]

Yellow Lady's Tresses's Orchid

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The Blue-grey Gnatcatcher is a nifty bird with a chattering trill to announce its presence. It's one of the earliest flycatchers to arrive in the spring in central Canada. It's a friendly bird and easy to photograph.

Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher

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Blue Jay

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White-throated Sparrow

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I tried to get photos of Jupiter's close approach to earth earlier but thanks to Nova Scotia's much loved fog and cloud I was not able to get any photos until October 3. The conditions are not the best near a city due to light pollution. I couldn't use a tripod due to vibration caused by wind. I used my telephoto lens perched on bean bags on my cars window sill, 1200mm, F13 and 0.6 second exposure and various speeds from 640 ISO to 6400 ISO.

The Galilean Moons are from left to right; Callisto, Ganymede, Europa and Io.

The following is from CNN:

Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth in 59 years on Monday, September 26, according to NASA.

The largest planet in our solar system, the gas giant will be at opposition, meaning Earth is directly between it and the sun, said Trina L. Ray, deputy science manager for the Europa Clipper mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The space agency originally said Jupiter would be making its closest approach to Earth in 70 years, but corrected its statement after discovering the error, a NASA spokesperson said.

There will be about 367 million miles (590.6 million kilometers) between Earth and Jupiter, according to NASA. Jupiter is about 600 million miles (965.6 million kilometers) away from our home planet at its farthest point, the space agency said.

 

James Webb Space Telescope captures strikingly crisp images of Neptune and its rings

Jupiter is at opposition about every 13 months, the length of time the Earth takes to orbit the Sun in relation to Jupiter, according to EarthSky.

Neither Earth nor Jupiter orbits the sun in a perfect circle, which is what makes each opposition a slightly different distance, said Ray, who is also NASA’s investigation scientist for the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface, or REASON.

I used the moon to set my telephoto lens on infinity.

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Jupiter, with left to right Callisto, Ganymede, Europa and Io

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The American Avocet is an elegant long legged wader of medium size. It's a central flyway bird and commonly found in ponds and marshes in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

When Laura and I visited Oak Hammock Marsh north of Winnipeg we often saw dozens of these waders. It is uncommon (likely) to rare in Nova Scotia. Its appearance here is often weather related, particularly late season storms with strong westerly and north westerly winds.

American Avocet

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Despite many trips to Brier Island this was my first whale viewing excursion. I arrived in good time at 11:30AM but it was too late for the morning bird arrivals at the north end of the island. Migrating birds arrive with a northerly wind and land near the northern light but they soon disperse and move south through the island.

As it happened the weather was clear blue skies and light winds, perfect for a four hour nautical adventure. The whales were plentiful and friendly although there were no breaches near the boat.

It is sad to think our barbarous race of humans hunted these magnificent and giant creatures almost to extinction. The Japanese and the Icelanders still haven't got the message or the understanding that these are sentient creatures.

Humpback Whales

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After my visit to Kejimkujik National Park I stopped at Annapolis Royal Gardens at about noon. This is Nova Scotia's premier formal garden. The rose garden was past its prime and the heat was taking a toll but many areas were still pristine. The Northern Cardinal was a delight although it insisted on hiding behind foliage.

I had hoped to visit Annapolis Royal Marsh and Miner's Pond but the heat was oppressive so I continued directly to home.

Annapolis Royal Gardens

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While at Kejimkujik National Park I'd hoped for photographs of the Pleiades Cluster and the Andromeda Nebula, but the forest canopy blocked the horizon.

I will be going to Brier Island in early September and the southern spit will offer me a clear view of the southern horizon for 270 degrees. This hopefully (with clear skies) will allow me to photograph the PanSTARRS Comet. The moon will shine bright but I will be photographing at 1200mm a much narrower field of view than 16mm, my Milky Way lens.

This is my best photograph of the Milky Way. Check out the meteor tracks. There are several visible.

Enlarged Photo

Milky Way, Kejimkujik National Park

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...a possible fireball in this photo.

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I visited Kejimkujik National Park primarily for the living waters of the Mersey River, butterflies and the night sky. The absence of butterflies and day flying moths is disheartening but I hope its just a seasonal variation. September is usually better for butterflies but time will tell the tale.

First up on my trip was the living waters of the Mersey River, always worth the visit. I was using long exposures on the running water so the wind in the trees is evident as blur.

The Mersey River

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I came to the beach on Kejimkujik Lake to photograph the night sky and the sunset. The sunset though modest in presentation was my first in this place but I will try again. My primary target was the Milky Way and the Pleiades Star Cluster. I discovered that the location was all wrong for the night sky since my targets were behind me and shielded by the forest canopy.

Kejimkujik Lake Sunset

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I enjoyed a woodland stroll along the Mersey River in Kejimkujik National Park. A highlight along the way was what looks to be a rare Virginia Meadow Beauty beside Kejimkujik Lake.

Virginia Meadow Beauty

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Laura and I enjoyed a mid day walk through the deeply shaded woods of Smiley's Provincial Park on a very hot day. Most birds have left already so the late flowering wildflowers and orchids are the targets of the walk.

I also visited Peggy's Cove for the sunset but it was not spectacular. For reasons I don't as yet comprehend sunrises are always better than sunsets especially sunrises at Crystal Crescent Beach in December.

Canada Thistle

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Helleborine Orchid

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Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller

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Traffic Rushing Against the Cloud Shrouded Moon

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Narrow-leafed Hawkweed

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Sunset at Peggy's Cove

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Peggy's Cove

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Jewelweed

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Fungus about 12 inches across

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Laura and I went on the hunt for Helleborine Orchid and Coralroot Orchid. We had no luck with the latter but the Helleborine Orchid is close to blooming, but is tricky to photograph.

We also discovered a new to us woodland wildflower, the Tall Hairy Agrimony. It's tall and the stalk is hairy so we ruled out Woodland Agrimony but we stand to be corrected.

Another highlight was fine examples of Indian Pipe, a chlorophyll free plant. We often see them in groups in August.

The first two photos are from trips of previous years.

Coralroot Orchid

Coralroot Orchid

Helleborine Orchid

Helleborine Orchid

Tall Hairy Agrimony

This example was blooming beside the trail but I will have to wait for a cloudy day to bring out the details of the flower. The bright sunlight washed out the flower.

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Helleborine Orchid

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Indian Pipe

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