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 …
Tag Archives: Minnesota
October in North Central Minnesota
This year we are in the height of fall colors during the first weekend of October. Saturday was bright and clear Sunday was overcast, but the views were still striking. Maple leaves in the upper row, red oak and hazel leaves in the lower row
Summertime Clouds in Minnesota
Cumulous / Cumulonimbus clouds Cumulonimbus clouds are tall clouds associated with thunderstorms. Sometimes they form from smaller fluffy cumulous clouds, as seen in this You-Tube video. I believe the picture above shows clouds in the transition from cumulous to cumulonimbus. Cirrus clouds Cirrus clouds are comprised of ice crystals at high altitudes. They are found …
Destroying Angel? Death Cap?
Recently I found this mushroom at the edge of our yard. I was surprised to learn from mushroom ID apps that it is likely either the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) or the North American Destroying Angel (Amanita bisporigera). As you can probably tell from these names, both of these mushrooms are deadly poisonous. The Amanita …
Paul Bunyan Trail in mid-August
The Paul Bunyan Trail is a paved recreational trail in northern Minnesota that runs 120 miles from Brainerd to Bemidji. It is an ideal route for biking and running in the summer and for snowmobiles in the winter. The photos below are from a recent bike ride in the middle of the trail, between Hackensack …
I can hear the green frogs calling me
Minnesota Nice Weather
North-central Minnesota has been blessed with good weather recently. Unlike the arid conditions in 2021, late spring and early summer of 2022 has brought sufficient rain, interspersed with temperate sunny days. Overcast skies have provided enough rain for the lake to be several inches higher than last year. Today a small storm skirted by the …
Native Flowering Shrubs
From late May through mid-June, we have noticed a succession of native shrubs blooming in north-central Minnesota. Each of them has similar small white flowers, and seemingly take turns blooming one after another. Serviceberry was first, in late May. It was followed by Red-osier Dogwood, then Viburnum in mid-June. Serviceberry Red-osier dogwood Viburnum Two species …
Quaking Aspen and Paper Birch
Quaking Aspen and Paper Birch are both fast-growing trees common in Northern Minnesota. While they are similar in some respects, they actually belong to different plant families. Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) belongs to the birch family, Betulaceae. Paper birch is distinguished by its white bark that readily peels off of the tree. The leaves of paper …
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.
