Cardinal Phases T-Shirt

The cardinal flower (lobelia cardinalis) in its male and female phases.

I was paddling along the west bank of Lyndhurst Creek when I photographed these wild flowers. These brilliant red cardinals were in the shadows of the forest. Cardinals are perennial herbaceous plants that grow up to 4 feet tall. They are found in wet places, stream banks, and swamps. Cardinals line the shores of Singleton Lake and Long Reach. The flowers are a very deep and vibrant red. It was introduced to Europe in the mid-1620s, where the name cardinal flower was in use by 1629, likely due to the similarity of the flower's colour to the vesture of Roman Catholic Cardinals. Apparently North American indigenous peoples used the root to make tea and for a number of intestinal ailments including syphilis. Who knew?

Creativity benefits from music as well. There are several musical symbols buried in this woodland flower painting. Some symbols are obvious and some are not and some also got buri...

I paint outside - nothing between my eyes and the inspiration. That special connectivity gets into the pigments and you quickly realize that we are all stewards of the land, privileged to appreciate its beauty during our lifetime but responsible for leaving the environment better off for the future and all inhabitants... Phil was born and raised along the St. Lawrence of Ontario, Canada and studied at Queens University as a nuclear physicist. A meteorologist for Environment Canada for 35 years, Phil specializes in severe weather and training. Remote sensing is his forte - you might want to see a tornado before you die... but not just before you die! He has farmed, raised bees, written books and articles, lectured and instructed...