It’s Sunday and after yesterday’s decent rainfall, the park is washed clean and cooler dryer air has pushed its way through. Today, a group of painters scattered themselves throughout the park to various locations and were tackling some landscapes.

This gentleman was capturing the view just south of the Humber Creek. Hope he takes that can (near his tripod) with him!

Elsewhere, these tall yellow flowers are hitting their peak.

Balsam Ragwort.

Balsam Ragwort is a member of the aster family and may actually be native to the area.

Chicory and its distinctive blue flowers by the Humber.

Chicory is an interesting plant. As with many wildflowers in Raymore Park, it is not native. Probably brought over by settlers from Europe, it has a taproot that after baking, can be finely chopped and used as a caffeine-free coffee substitute. Chicory has been substituted for the real  thing whenever coffee supplies have been interrupted such as in wartime. My mother lived through World War II and tolerated the occasional chicory coffee. Many people acquired a taste for chicory and retained the habit but she refused to drink it after the war, regarding it as a bit too much like ‘dishwater’.

Other varieties of chicory have leaves that can be used in salads, some variants being radicchio and Belgian endive.

Finally, some goldenrod – a sure sign of the approaching fall season. It looks like an allergy sufferer’s nightmare but in fact releases no pollen.

Goldenrod mixed in with some wild asters.