The Amanita muscaria mushroom, commonly known as Fly Agaric, is commonly seen in popular culture. It appears as garden sculptures, in video games, in the Disney movie Fantasia, and in Smurf cartoons. We found beautiful specimens of it recently as we hiked through a forest in the north-central Minnesota lake country. Fly agaric is toxic, …
Tag Archives: Minnesota
Maples in Itasca State Park
Minnesota’s Itasca State Park is best known for the headwaters of the Mississippi River, which is within the park. Established in 1891 it is the second-oldest state park in the US, only Niagara Falls State Park is older. Although it is not yet officially fall, the changing leaves on maple trees in the park were …
Late Summer on the Lake
Water Lily Pollination
Many Fragrant Water Lilies (Nymphaea odorata) bloom in our lake in July and August. The flowers are showy yet I had not noticed insects attracted to them, which caused me to wonder about its strategy for pollination. Investigation revealed that these plants have a very interesting reproduction process. Each flower of the Fragrant Water Lily …
Our Steadfast Bluegill
At our lake in north-central Minnesota we have often noticed circular areas on the lakebed, each a few feet across, where bottom muck is cleared away to reveal sand beneath. With a little research we discovered that bluegill sunfish were likely responsible, and that these circles are their nests. But we had not seen fish …
Roses in a Cold Climate
Roses can be successfully grown in cold climates, like our area in Northern Minnesota which is in USDA hardiness zone 3 (very cold winters). Helpful web pages from the Minnesota Rose Society and Gardening Know How provide terrific information on proper selection and care of roses that can survive even brutal winters. Alternatively, there are …
Oaks of Northern Minnesota
Seven species of oak trees are native to Minnesota, according to the website of the Minnesota DNR. Three of these are found in northern Minnesota; the Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra), and Northern Pin Oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis). There are two main groups of oak trees, the white oaks and the red …
Spring Sunset
Science tells us that beautiful sunsets are most common in the late fall and winter. The best sunsets follow clear cool days with low humidity. The following images from a chilly May 26 in northern Minnesota show that sunsets in the springtime can be stunning too.
The View from the Deck
This idea came courtesy of Google photos, which arranged these shots showing the lake from our deck as fall transitioned to winter.
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?
North MN Outdoors 