A benefit to life in Salt Lake City, Utah is the proximity of the city to the Wasatch Mountains. Recently for a hike in the mountains we drove up Mill Creek Canyon to the Upper Big Water Trailhead, just 9 miles east of the 215 Beltway in the city. Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) Trees in …
Tag Archives: wildflowers
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 …
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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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Wildflowers Flourishing in Dry Utah
The summer of 2021 has been exceptionally dry in Utah. Despite this several hardy wildflowers are flowering along hiking trails at high elevations east of Salt Lake City. Think of the water that could be saved by replacement of grass lawns with attractive plants like these.
August Favorites
The slideshow below features photos of wildflowers seen in our area in late summer. Sunflowers The website Minnesota Wildflowers lists ten species of sunflowers within the genus Helianthus. The ‘Picture This’ app made the species identifications listed above.
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 …
Early July Favorites
July brings a distinct group of attractive wildflowers, including our state flower, the Showy Lady Slipper. Showy Lady Slipper (Cypripedium Reginae) Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis)
North MN Outdoors 