Wild Lupine Blooming in Bayfield County

We were in the Bayfield area last week and the wild Lupine was blooming. Always a great sight.

Waterfalling Wisconsin- Upson Falls

After leaving Foster Falls we drove over to Upson to try and find Upson Falls. I had stopped on several earlier occasions but didn’t realize that Upson Falls could not be seen from the small park and campground. After a short walk around a large outcropping of rocks we found Upson falls.

Upson Falls also had some interesting foam patterns to photograph.

When we returned to the car I took out my macro lens to photograph some of the flowers found along the Potato River.

Wisconsin Waterfalling – Foster Falls

On my birthday, I had forgotten it was my birthday, my wife and I decided to take a waterfalling trip through northern Wisconsin. Our first stop was Foster Falls. It was a beautiful sunny day, not the kind of day you want for taking waterfall photos but none the less it was a great day to drive around northern Wisconsin. Foster Falls is not all that impressive but still provided some nice photo opportunities.

After photographing the falls I noticed some nice foam patterns in the water and spent quite a bit of time photographing them.

My wife and camera assistant patiently waiting for me to finish.

Arrival and Departure of the Joyce L. VanEnkevort and Great Lakes Trader

We were driving back to Duluth from Wisconsin and noticed as we crossed the Blatnick Bridge that the Joyce L. VanEnkevort and Great Lakes Trader was approaching Rice’s Point so we exited the bridge and drove down to Rice’s Point to watch it go under the bridge. You will notice that the Joyce L. VanEnkevort is a tug and Great Lakes Trader is a barge. The back of the former ship has been modified so the tug can insert itself into the barge. Apparently it is far less costly to run a tug/barge combination than it is to run a ship.

A day later I happened to be down in Canal Park when the Joyce L. VanEnkevort and Great Lakes Trader was leaving Duluth Harbor through the Ship Canal.

Beautiful Day at Park Point Beach

When we arrived in Duluth we decided to take a walk along Park Point Beach. It was a beautiful sunny day. The wind was blowing and the surf was up. In addition, it was the second day of the Park Point Beach garage sale so we decided to walk out on the beach and return along the road.

Late Spring Visit to Crex Meadows

We made a late spring visit to Crex Meadows last week. Our first stop was a Bald Eagle nest on Phantom Lake Road. One of the adults was sitting by the nest and there were two young in the nest. It looked like they were just about ready to leave the nest.

When we reached Phantom Lake we found a number of pairs of Canada Geese with their young. This adult seemed to be upset with something and it kept chasing other geese.

There were a number of pairs of Trumpeter Swans with their young. The adults were furiously churning the water. I assume to free plants from the bottom so they would float to the surface and the Cygnets could feed on them.

One of the popular attractions this year has been Killdeer nesting in the roads around the flowage.

We also found this Leatherback Turtle laying eggs along the road.

The spring flowers were out in the meadows. Indian Paintbrush and Yellow Water Lilies were common.

We encountered a number of White-tailed Deer in our drive through the meadows.

The young ducks have also hatched and could be found on the flowages.

First of the Red Clover Blooming

The first of the Red Clover has started to bloom. I was interested in photographing it because it is rare that I can find a plant with the leaves in perfect condition. Normally the leaves are brown or have been damaged by insects.

Hungry Spider

While on a walk around the farm I found a spider web. After taking a closer look I found the spider and stopped to try and photograph him. As I was getting ready to photograph a bunch of small insects flew into the web. The spider went nuts and dashed around his web wrapping up each of the insects.

Blooming on the Farm

Yesterday was the first chance I’ve had in over a month to walk around the farm and photograph what is blooming. By far the most prevalent flower is the Ox-Eyed Daisy. These have grown up where I mowed the Canada Goldenrod down last year.

There are also quite a few Virginia Waterleaf growing in the woods.

Other flowers were scattered around the fields and woods.

White  Campion

Dames Rocket

Grass

Chickweed

Common Dandelion

Seen on the Red Cedar State Trail this Week

There are still quite a few spring wildflowers along the trail. Dames Rocket and Virginia Waterleaf appear to be the most prominent.

Dames Rocket

Virginia Waterleaf

There are also other flowers blooming along the trial.

Wild Blue Phlox

Wood Anemone

Common Dandelion

Columbine