On June 9th this year we noticed a snapping turtle in our lake-front yard. There are two species of snapping turtle native to North America. The bigger alligator snapping turtle is typically found in the Southeastern United States. Our Minnesotan turtle is a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), which has a wider range across the …
Category Archives: wildlife
Summer at the Lake 2024
Simply a collection of good pictures from this season at the lake cabin in North-Central Minnesota. One of the two islands in our lake. This sunflower was a volunteer in our garden. A better result than in years when I had actually planted sunflowers. Looking east at dusk. Fall colors seemed muted this year, maybe …
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 …
Utah and Minnesota Kayaking
Within the last month I’ve kayaked in Utah and in Minnesota — there was quite a contrast. The pictures below illustrate how different the two places are. Deer Creek State Park, Utah On Memorial Day we brought two kayaks up from Salt Lake City to Deer Creek State Park, near Heber, Utah (appreciating a YouTube …
I can hear the green frogs calling me
Barred Owl
This barred owl is a frequent visitor to our backyard in SE Louisiana. It is more common for us to hear these owls than to see them, they have a loud distinctive call that you can hear in this YouTube video. According to experts, their call sounds like “who cooks for you”, which seems like …
Suburban Opossum
This opossum was calmly perched on a fence in our neighborhood as we walked by on a recent morning dog walk. Opossums are nocturnal animals, so seeing one out in mid-morning seemed unusual. Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only wild species of opossum in the United States, and it is our only native marsupial. They …
Autumn around the Lake
In fall the scenery on and around our lake in north-central Minnesota is wonderful. This post simply shares images taken this October.
North MN Outdoors 