July 16 This year the nesting pair of loons on our lake raised two chicks. Below, these pictures of them were taken July 16. July 25 This next group of pictures was taken nine days later, on July 25. The chicks are growing fast. August 14 These pictures were taken August 14, the final day …
Author Archives: jimr77
Blue Mushroom
Recently we were surprised to find blue mushrooms beneath white pines on our daily walk near our lake home in North-Central Minnesota. Research on-line allowed identification of it with reasonable confidence as the indigo milk cap (Lactarius indigo). We first noticed this indigo milk cap September 5, 2024. You can see that it is right …
Rainbow
These pictures were taken looking west across our lake around 8AM on September 6, 2024. There was a slight rain shower to the west with sunlight from the east hitting the raindrops. Sunlight is reflected back towards the observer by the raindrops. Because of the refractive index of water, the wavelength of light, and the …
Northern Lights Return
The pictures below were taken last Sunday, August 11, just three months after a similar show of Northern Lights in May. I had thought Northern Lights predominantly occur in winter. This really does not make sense though. They are caused by interactions between solar activity and the Earth’s magnetic field and neither of these things …
Antelope Island 2024
Antelope Island is a peninsula that juts out into the east side of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The Utah State Park on Antelope Island is a short drive from Salt Lake City. Access to the park across a causeway is seen in the picture above. There are many hiking trails in the state …
Ski Slopes in Summer
Being familiar with the Park City ski slopes in winter, it was an interesting experience to hike partway up the mountain in summer. I mostly followed a trail designated as Jenny’s Trail. A person hiking here has to be aware of the mountain bikers who are also enjoying the trails; parts of the trail are …
Bugs in the Lilac Blooms
In mid-June this year the two lilac bushes in our yard bloomed profusely. Several different kinds of bugs shared in our enjoyment of the lilac flowers. The photos below show the larger insects in the lilacs. There were more bugs that were too small and fast to photograph. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus Male …
A Family of Trumpeter Swans
Today we were lucky to see two adult trumpeter swans and their five cygnets very close to the Paul Bunyan bike trail in the Chippewa National Forest. In the videos below the adult swans are seen waddling back and forth apparently stirring up muck from the bottom of the pond. The FAQ page of The …
Jack Pine
Pinus banksiana Three pines are native to North-Central Minnesota, The Red (Norway) Pine, the Eastern White Pine, and the Jack Pine. Jack Pine is somewhat less desirable than the other two, both commercially and aesthetically. However, it successfully exploits its niche as the northern conifer best able to thrive after wildfires. A single Jack Pine …
Northern Lights, 2024
The exceptional show of Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) over the last few days has been covered extensively in the news. The reason for this event is traced back to sunspot activity, specifically in a sunspot cluster designated Region 3664, which is at least 15 times wider than the earth! Solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections …
North MN Outdoors 