Wildflowers are abundant this year. This group of bunchberries caught my eye while hiking in Cascade River State Park.

Bunchberry

Pink & White Showy Lady's-slippers 001

The pink and white showy lady’s-slippers were exceptionally beautiful in Gooseberry Falls State Park. There was double the number of last year.

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Pink & White Showy Lady's-slippers 002

A friend told me about a patch of pink and white showy lady’s-slippers that he knew of on private land.

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Pink & White Showy Lady's-slippers 003

I have never seen a more beautiful grouping of the state flower.

PinkWhiteShowyLady'sSlippers003

Wild Yellow Iris 001

Wild yellow irises aren’t very plentiful along the North Shore but I found this one plant that had four blooms on it this spring.

WildYellowIris001

Wild Yellow Iris 002

It was located next to a pond.

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Luna Moth 001

Luna moths are the largest moths in Minnesota and have a distinctive design that helps protect it from predators. Potential predators see the large “eye spots” and decide to move on instead of mess with something that has that big of eyes.

LunaMoth001

Luna Moth 002

They only live for six days and don’t have any mouths. They live on the food stored within their bodies from when they were caterpillars.

LunaMoth002