To the Expositor:
All residents and visitors to Manitoulin Island will agree that the winter of 2013-2014 was one of the longest and coldest in many years. Spring has been delayed 10 -14 days, but once the warm weather of the past week arrived, plant life advanced amazingly fast. An indication of this speed was observed by my wife and I as we drove from Sheguiandah to South Baymouth on Sunday, June 1 to do a little hiking. We are always watching the ditches for interesting plants and signs of insect feeding and did not see a single blooming yellow lady’s-slipper along Highway 6 south. However, on the way home four hours later, hundreds of blooming lady’s slippers graced the highway ditches. Thus, this tell-tail sign of spring had appeared in all its glory in a span of only four hours, which must be a record!
Joe Shorthouse Retired Laurentian University Professor Batman’s Campground
