Lady Slippers, Lupines & Wile E. Coyote

Year 6,

It is gorgeous here in northern Minnesota, and as noted previously, it is time to get out in the countryside and enjoy the wild flowers. The lupine are now blooming even on the shores of Lake Superior. This morning while doing some “Grampa scouting” I watched this Coyote looking for breakfast. Yesterday’s rain meant the forest and fields are sopping wet, which one can tell by looking at the wolf’s fur!

Wile E. Coyote at Stoney Point

Sunrise yesterday morning found me cycling the Suomi Hills. The Showy Ladyslippers are coming into their own. Taking a bike ride will insert you into this explosion of color! If you want to see thousands of Lady Slippers, follow these directions:

  • Drive Mn #38 north from Grand Rapids
  • Drive west on Itasca Cty #48 and park at Suomi Lutheran Church. By parking at the hill you avoid the hills I included in my bike ride!  🙂
  • Bike 10 miles round trip from the church to a wetlands and back. At five miles out you will get to the wetlands are on both sides of the highway. You will see thousands of ladyslippers during the two miles leading up to the wetlands. There are lots of other wildflowers. Roses and Daisies are at their peak.

Showy Ladyslippers

The View of Lupines from my own Dining Room (the Grandkids and Greg G. love the rocking horse!)

Grampa Scouting Definition: A gent of 63 years old whose two oldest grandchildren will be visiting next week. Both kids have expressed a desire to go birding with Grampa. I know a successful birding excursion is somewhat short on the birding side, and ends with doughnuts. I was at Stoney Point looking for a merlin’s nest.

Common Loons of Northstar Lake

Year 6

I started the day at 2 am photographing the Milky Way over my Northwoods camera. It was a beautiful night and the starts were glorious.

As the sun rose I decided to take an early morning kayak paddle. However, my loons have totally ignored me all summer indicated my presence was most definitely not desired. I have to assume their chicks hatched last night, and I was now an intruder. As a fyi, I was kayaking through the middle of the lake and was over 200 yards from shore. Obviously I do not want to upset the new parents, thus for the time being my kayak paddles will take a different direction from my cabin.

Last night … the loons were totally unconcerned about my presence

This morning … Uff Dah!

Minnesota Wildflower Week!

Year 6,

I might even add a few bird photographs, but over the next seven days I will be enjoying a summer which is trying to come to the Northland (temperature did not top 50F yesterday). Thus my focus will be upon wildflowers, and here near Lake Superior flowers are starting to come into their own. This weekend would be an excellent time to take a bicycle ride in the countryside. While one will see wildflowers from a car, it is when one slows down to 12 mph that the joy of the colors truly explodes on your senses.

For my first wildflower post, I have to lead with lupines. These blossoms are from my own yard (photo taken today)! Enjoy.

And as promised … a bird pic or two … in this case some Wilson’s Snipes I saw last week which were making certain other snipes knew the territorial boundaries.