Summer Flowers

Beautiful indeed are the flowers of summer. When I posted about spring flowers, I promised a post about summer flowers as well and now redeem my promise. One of the joys of summer is the wide variety of flowers you may grow in the garden or enjoy on an outdoor adventure. Don't get me wrong . . . gardening in itself is an outdoor adventure of a more tame nature, unless you garden like I do and then things can get pretty wild. I am including an assortment of wild and domesticated flowers (most of whom have their wild cousins) to accomodate the tastes of gardeners and wildflower enthusiasts both.

Nodding Trillium

Butterfly Bush

California Poppy

Purple Coneflower

Rudbeckia

Columbine

Wild Rose

Hollyhock

Delphinium

Water Lily

Sunflower

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, and no words of mine can do justice to the flowers, I will leave it to the viewer to exclaim over the beauty of God's handiwork. But when you get outside, just don't forget to sniff the flowers!

Evening on Rainy Lake

Evening is a beautiful time to be out on the lake! My husband and I live only a few miles from Rainy Lake, on the Minnesota side of the border, and this weekend found us out after fish for supper as well as pictures for memories. Most of the pictures which follow were taken near the island pictured above. To see the pictures in a larger format, just click on the picture.

Pictured above is a brood of Merganser ducklings fishing for minnows. There was Mama a with them looking frazzled (see below) as the life of a Mama Duck is a "hair-raising" affair!

Most people think that all ducks say "quack" and in the case of the common merganser this is just the case. The call of the common merganser sounds something like the quack of a duck mixed with the bark of a dog and you may listen to it here. In the picture below you may see a baby merganser eating the minnow he caught while his siblings continue to fish.

But there are a lot more critters that use lakes than just ducks and loons, and we saw some of these while we were out, too. It was my husband who first saw the whitetail doe (below) that came off the rocks of the island to get a cool drink of lake water.

She was a little worried about the boat at first, notice how her ears are laid back, but after a bit she relaxed and had a sip from the lake. In the picture below, she seems to be admiring her reflection and thinking: "Wow...ain't I beautiful?" Of course deer have never been taught grammar, so we have to overlook her slang...and she is beautiful! Female deer communicate using a variety of grunts and bleats. If they are scared or suspicious, they make a loud wheezing snort.

Having had her drink, the deer (see below) turns back into the brush of the island and goes upon her merry way.

This was not the end of our outdoor adventure, though. A little while later I noticed the willow bushes on the island shore waving vigorously even though there was no wind. I watched closely to see what was making them move and out lumbered a beaver (see below) who was eating willows for dinner! Have you ever heard a beaver talk?

In a very little time, his mate came out as well and there before our excited eyes were two beavers!

The male beaver was a little fiesty about the presence of the boat and waddled down to the shore to get into the water and show his disapproval.

Whoopsie, be careful Mr. Beaver...those rocks can be slippery! Notice his flat tail, which he uses primarily for swimming...and for showing his disapproval as we shall see! Once in the water, the beaver starts swimming out to the vicinity of the boat.

A beaver's show of disapproval is to slap the water hard with his tail as he dives. Ordinarily the beaver makes a very quiet surface dive that hardly disturbs the water, but get him upset by invading his turf and he slaps the water to make a loud "SPLOOSH" and sends the water flying (see below).

While this beaver is splashing his disapproval, his mate calmly eats her supper of willows. Notice in the picture below how nifty her paw is at grabbing willow branches and bringing them to her mouth!

Yessir, there is nothing better than a quiet night out on the lake if you love wildlife and like to see critters in action. And you don't even need a boat! You can see all kinds of critters by sitting quietly on shore and keeping your eyes and ears open. I hope to see you out at the lake soon!

A Summer Stroll

July can be a hot month up here, and even though this July has been remarkably cool we have had a few hot days. Last week I took advantage of a hot summer day to take a stroll along a hiking trail in Voyageurs National Park. The trail is only about ten miles from my house, so in the afternoon I set out armed with my camera (of course), plenty of mosquito spray, water, and a lot of enthusiasm. It wasn't long before I came upon a couple of Common Yellow-throats (see picture at left) who were in a state of anxiety and fluttering about complaining in bird language.

At first I thought that the birds were upset with me, but I only flattered myself. I soon saw that they were chasing a short-tailed weasel around! The weasel was bouncing around so fast that I couldn't get a picture of him, but I was fortunate to find a picture on the internet and have placed it at the left, courtesy of the National Park Service. The birds were chasing that little weasel everywhere he went and letting the whole world know that he was on the prowl.

Finally I gave up on the weasel and went on my way down the beautiful trail I was on (see photo at left). The cicadas were singing as only they can when the weather gets hot and even the dragonflies found it necessay to take a break in the heat (next picture).

Taking a pleasant summer stroll is a good way to see lots of pretty flowers, such as the blue flag (wild iris) below the dragonfly, and the blue-eyed grass immediately below it.

Why not take advantage of the nice summer weather and get out for a stroll yourself?  You never know what you will find around the next bend in the trail.  Get out and enjoy! 

Crazy About Loons

I have to admit to a weakness . . . I am crazy about loons. I love seeing them, calling to them, taking pictures of them, and inflicting the pictures I have taken on my friends. Who could not be crazy about these awesome birds? They are world class divers, fabulous swimmers, beautiful to see and eerie to hear . . . best of all they are great fishers and spend their days out on the lake fishing. No wonder I am crazy about loons!

Up here in the North Woods, we have an expression "crazy as a loon" to describe anyone that we find mighty peculiar. Why the expression? Loons are not crazy, of course, and one loon acts much the same as another so they are not peculiar. The expression cames from their call, the tremolo, which you may listen to here. After listening, you may agree that the tremolo sounds a little, well, crazy shall we say?Loons use the tremolo call when they are excited or alarmed. Often this call may be heard if you accidently approach a loon's nest. The nest (below) is always carefully cammoflaged to remain hidden from predators.

Not all calls of the loon sound strange and eerie, though. The wail is a lonely and beautiful call often heard after dusk coming from bays around the lake. Family groups communicate with the "hoot" which sounds just like you would imagine from the name. The yodel is the call male loons make and use to defend their territory. Loons can use any combination of these calls to communicate with other loons.

Loons have no need to rely on technology like depth finders to do their fishing. As you can see in the picture above, loons have a far simpler way of finding fish. The loon has eyes that can see well underwater and it sticks its face into the water and looks down to see if there are any fish around for dinner.

Seeing a fish down below, the loon (above) makes a neat surface dive that is so smooth that it hardly disturbs the water. Now you see it, now you don't, and when you see it again it will not be where it was! To watch a video of a loon diving, you may click here. Loons are powerful swimmers, and when they resurface 100 yards away, there is hardly a ripple to show that they have. One second the lake is empty, and the next there is a loon sitting placidly atop the water.

Don't get the idea that loons are just laid back placid fishers, though. Loons have attitude, as the one above shows by flapping his wings, which in loon language means: "I am so bad . . . don't mess with me, baby!" Loons can be vicious fighters and during the mating season have terrific rumbles down under the water. Their weapon is their strong, pointed, beak which they use as a sword of sorts. The male loons fight under water, twisting and dodging as they try to get the best of their opponent and stab him with a beak. It is serious business, and a stab will pierce the bird who receives it. The long nimble neck of a loon is as dangerous wielding a beak as the arm of an old-time knight was wielding a sword.

For the most part, though, loons are just beautiful birds drifting about on the water during the warm summer days (or winter days, if you live in the South). They are fun to call to using the hoot (who could possible do a tremolo?) and will often respond by coming closer. Watching and calling to loons is just one more way to enjoy the outdoors. But I would not recommend trying to "swim with the loons" as some people swim with porpoises. That beak could as easily pierce you or me as it can a fish or another loon! Loons must be respected and when you learn more about their calls and behavior you can be pretty sure what it is they are trying to tell you. A tremolo means "Back off, you are crowding my space and I'm worried." A hoot is akin to "Howdy y'all!" and a wail is meant for enjoyment as you sit back in your boat or on the shore after sunset. Enjoy!