Blue Flag

The blue flag (also called the wild iris) was plentiful this year. This is one of several hundred that was growing in our pond.

BlueFlag

Lupines 001

It was also a good year for lupine on the North Shore.

Lupines001

Lupines 002

Lupine is not a native to the North Shore but many people have been spreading the seeds in many of the road ditches.

Lupines002

Lupines 003

Lupine are biennials. The plant grows the first year. The second year they flower and die. The only way you can move them is my the seeds.

Lupines003

Lupines 004

Most lupine is blue and purple but there are some pink and red varieties.

Lupines004

Lupines 005

This close up macro image really shows the detail in the flowers.

Lupines005

Pink & White Lady's-slippers

The pink and white showy lady’s-slipper is growing in Gooseberry Falls State Park and bloomed just last week.

PinkWhiteLady'sslippers

Pink Lady's-slipper

Earlier in the spring the pink lady’s-slipper was in bloom. I took this photo in Cascade River State Park. There was a group of eight that had been there since at least the early 1970s. This year someone dug them up with a shovel just after they bloomed. I was very upset when I went to take photos and found the small hole in the ground. They will not live so whoever took them ultimately killed them. They robbed hundreds of people of their beauty for many years to come. It is hard to understand what people are thinking when they selfishly do an illegal act like digging up protected flowers in a state park.

PinkLady'sslipper

Wild Rose 001

Wild roses are growing all along the North Shore. I took these photos in Gooseberry Falls State Park.

WildRose001

Wild Rose 002

The center of this rose looks like a face.

WildRose002

Yellow Lady's-slipper 001

Jay Cooke State Park had several hundred yellow lady’s-slippers blooming earlier this spring.

YellowLady'sslipper001

Yellow Lady's-slipper 002

There are several varieties of lady’s-slippers that grow along the North Shore.

YellowLady'sslipper002

Luna Moth 001

This luna moth was in our flower garden earlier in the week. Luna moths are the largest of the moths in Minnesota and only live from 3 to 6 days. This one is a male as the male has larger, bushier antennae.

LunaMoth001

Luna Moth 002

This close-up shows that they don’t have a mouth. They don’t eat as they live on the food supply already stored in their bodies.

LunaMoth002