Walk to an Old Kettle Pond

What we think is a Praying mantis egg sack, Forest Park

On our bike ride home from Queen's Botanical Garden yesterday, we stopped at a restored Kettle Pond in Forest Park for a quick walk. We've passed the area on hundreds of bike rides through the park but never noticed an open gate leading into the area. We poked around for a bit and discovered a praying mantis egg sack attached to a drying aster flower stalk, (or at least some kind of composite flower) plenty of ducks we don't know the names of and at least one potentially invasive species inhabiting the water. All things considered, not a bad pitstop for a bit of studying.

Yellow Floating Heart (Nymphoides peltata). Pretty, but not necessarily a good thing outside of its native habitat. Another common name is the Fringed Water Lily because of the fringes visible on its five petals.