June Wildflowers

June seems like the premiere month for wildflowers in our part of North-central Minnesota. This post shares photos of some of our local June wildflowers. They are arranged from those appearing early in the month to those that we see now at June’s end. Early June Hoary Puccoon Lithospermum canescens This is a favorite wildflower, …

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 …

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 …

White Wildflowers Predominant in Late June

In late June, around the time of the summer solstice, nearly all the wildflowers in our area of North Central Minnesota are white. This seems unusual because other times of the year I see colorful wildflowers. May and early June have yellow and pink wildflowers, while in July through October you see magenta, yellow, and …

Nobletts Trail in Uinta National Forest, Utah

The Uintas Mountains are an east-west trending sub-range of the Rocky Mountains that contain the highest mountain in Utah, Kings Peak (elevation 13,528′). Nobletts is an easy hiking trail on the western flank of the Uintas, its trailhead is about 50 miles west of Salt Lake City. The trail follows Nobletts creek for about 2 …

Japanese Camellia

The Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica), is one of two camellias commonly used as ornamental shrubs in the southern United States. The other common camellia is the Sasanqua camellia, which has smaller blooms and leaves. In SE Louisiana the Japanese camellia has recently begun blooming in early January, just as the earlier-blooming Sasanquas are finishing flowering. …

Bee Balm with Insects

During these last days of July our blooming bee balm plants (Monarda fistulosa) have been a hive of activity for insects and an occasional hummingbird. The hummingbirds were too skittish to capture in a photo, but the insects were too busy to notice my presence. Two-spotted Bumblebees When the sun is out two-spotted bumble bees …