Sasanqua Camellia
Camellias are evergreen shrubs native to south and eastern Asia. The most economically important species of camellia is Camellia sinensis, the tea plant. Dried leaves of this camelia are very familiar because of their use to brew tea.
Two other species of camelia are common ornamental bushes in warmer regions of the United States. Camellia japonica produces large showy flowers and typically blooms in winter. Camellia sasanqua is similar, blooming with slightly smaller flowers in the fall and winter. In Japan leaves from the sasanqua camellia are used to brew tea, while its seeds are used to make tea seed oil.
In Louisiana this is the time of year that Sasanqua Camellias are in full flower. The pictures below show three sasanqua camellia bushes that are currently blooming in our yard.
Dark Pink
Light Pink / White
White
The seasons are changing again
Late October seems too soon for fall to transition into winter. Nevertheless, this is what 2020 has brought to north-central Minnesota. Beautiful, but couldn’t it have waited for a month?
Autumn Leaves
This post is simply to share fall scenery that we have been enjoying this year in north-central Minnesota. Its title, “Autumn Leaves” might seem familiar, it is a popular song from 1945 that has been covered by 100’s of artists and is considered a jazz standard. For anyone wanting to hear it, I’ve included a link to the song as performed by Frank Sinatra.
Clear Water
We are fortunate to live beside a lake with very clear water. Effectively capturing its clarity in a photo is difficult.
Real estate ads for properties on lakes in the area with clear water commonly include photos like this, taken looking down on the water from our dock. Plants on the lake bottom, under about 3 feet of water, are clearly evident — but it does not provide a good perspective.
The short video above shows how you can watch fish in the lake from your kayak. I think they are bluegills.
Pictures of lily pads in the lake taken from the kayak give a better perspective of the water’s clarity.
This Painted Turtle was also enjoying a day on the lake. It is easy to see these turtles swimming under the water, but getting a photo of this is tough.
Signs of Fall
Maple Leaves
Asters
Strange Mushrooms
The seasons are changing
In early September the oncoming fall season is already evident in Northern Minnesota.
In addition to clear crisp days there have been hazy days lately, reportedly caused by smoke from the terrible fires in the far west. Remarkable that the fires have such dramatic effects over 1000 miles away.
August 31
A beautiful sunset on this chilly August 31 evening is a good marker for the end of summer.
Attractive Fungi
What’s our first thought about fungi? Fungal infections? No doubt certain occurrences of fungus are unpleasant (athlete’s foot, black spot on roses). However fungi are critical to all life, particularly because over 90% of plant species benefit from a symbiotic relation with fungi termed mycorrhiza.
Occasionally fungi in the form of mushrooms are attractive. Following are two examples.
These small mushrooms were growing on wood chip mulch in our garden. They most likely are Coprinopsis lagopus, commonly known as the hare-foot mushroom. These mushrooms last only a few hours before they dissolve into an inky mess.
These large mushrooms were found growing from a standing dead tree in the Chippewa National Forest, near Walker, Minnesota. They are Pleurotus dryinus, or Veiled Oyster mushrooms. This mushroom is most often found growing on decaying wood of oak, ash and beech trees.
August Favorites
The slideshow below features photos of wildflowers seen in our area in late summer.
Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera) 
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis) 
Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)
Sunflowers
Woodland Sunflower 
Giant Sunflower 
Sawtooth Sunflower
The website Minnesota Wildflowers lists ten species of sunflowers within the genus Helianthus. The ‘Picture This’ app made the species identifications listed above.
Cygnets
Young swans are known as cygnets, a name derived from the swan genus Cygnus. These two were seen in a pond next to the Paul Bunyan trail in north-central Minnesota, their parents stayed at a distance.
Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) are now fairly common in our area. However, in the 1930’s they were thought to be near extinction, with less than 70 known to exist. Fortunately, in the 1950’s a population of trumpeter swans was discovered in the Copper River Basin of Alaska. These Alaskan swans were key to restoration efforts, which have been quite successful. The Minnesota DNR estimates that there are now over 30,000 swans in the state.
Swans are the heaviest flying bird in North America. This may be why they tend to not migrate far south in the winter. A favorite spot for trumpeter swans to spend the winter is in the Mississippi River near Monticello, MN. Warm water discharged from the Monticello nuclear power plant keeps a stretch of the Mississippi ice-free. A few swans discovered this spot in the late 1980’s. Today an estimated 2000 swans over-winter near Monticello, where they have become an attraction for winter visitors. In winter a real-time view of the swans is available using the “swan cam” maintained by Monticello.
