Wild One

A wild rose. Vilas County, WI. June 2012.

The Last May Day in May

As May turned into June, the monarch butterfly and wild calla lily were out to show their support for the upcoming summer solstice. Everything and everyone in the Northwoods is ready for summer fun.

Slip into a Pair of Slippers

I am so behind on blog posts (most of all my recent snapshots are uploaded onto Facebook these days that the blog gets ignored. Sorry blog.) that I am just going to skip over all the frills and just give you this photo of a wild orchid--a Pink Lady's Slipper. I wanted to give you a nice write-up about this rare plant, but to be honest, I just don't have it in me, so...just slip into a pair of slippers.

...for reasons like this

I have learned to always carry my camera--act as if it's another appendage. And it's for reasons like this...it doesn't get more simple and pretty than flowers and butterflies (actually, I believe this is a lady admiral moth). Happy Friday!

Go hikin' and keep smilin'!

So Wild

Sometimes I get into a funk and I get frustrated because I am not seeing the wildlife that I set out to see, so when that happens I grab my macro lens (which I still have yet to completely understand) and just concentrate on the smaller things Mother Nature offers.

Spring is a wonderful time to grab the macro lens. So much is growing, blooming, turning green...and my favorite part of using the marco lens is that it typically requires me to dig my toes in the dirt and really appreciate the smaller things.

Now call me a nerd, but I also really enjoy not knowing what I am looking at and having to head home and dive into a reference book to figure it out. Wildflowers a tad bit more tricky to figure out than birds ;o)

I didn't need the guidance of my "Wildflowers of Wisconsin" book to know the first photo is a trillium, but I did need it for the other three shown here; however, after posting this I realized I forgot my notes giving proper identification of these flowers. So until I get those notes, just enjoy the pretty wildflowers.



What Kind of Trout?

The spring wildflowers here in northern Wisconsin are not in full bloom yet, but I would guess by the end of the week they will be.

This is a yellow trout lily. I have never seen it before last Sunday. It reminds me of the glacier lily in the mountain regions of Montana. So, pretty. (and really rather tiny...if you are not looking you will blink and miss them).