Nothing Much Happened

The sun was out this morning. And there was no rain in the forecast either. As I peered over my cup of coffee, and looked out the window, the tops of the trees were perfectly still. A good day for cleaning up the garden and clearing the downed trees out in the woods. Perfect, I thought and then I changed my mind and decided to take Baron for a long morning hike. Days of cold, wind and heavy rains left me and the big guy ready to commune with nature.
We hiked perhaps 6 miles this day at a relatively slow pace. Not another person was to be seen all morning. We had Lake Louise State Park all to ourselves. Neither did the birds, deer or even butterflies seem to be around either. . The summer flowers were long gone to seed and only a few scattered asters were in bloom. Baron constantly sniffed the ground looking for anything interesting. Parts of the trails had standing water from the flooding last week. I guessed by looking at the grass that was laying flat, the Upper Iowa River had briefly risen by about three feet. Other areas and towns further to the west had been completely inundated.

In the distance I could see a cross country ski shelter along another trail. Another reminder that winter is not that far away.

At several points the trail left the open grassland and entered the deep woods. CLICK on the small picture and see if you can spot the large wolflike creature hiding in the light and shadows.

A distant reminder of civilization came into view. Giant windmills converting the prairie wind into electricity.

We ended our walk with a little fetching at the deserted beach. Baron loves to fetch. Rather that bring the stick back to me, he would drop it on the beach, begin growling, and then paw, drag, and leap at it. I actually think he believes the stick is a snake. And they say German shepherds are very smart dogs. I have my doubts, though, about that one.

All in all, it was a quiet day. Lots of fresh air. Hiking with my best buddy. Nothing much happened. I love it.

Nostalgic Camping

Here the sun is setting on the channel from the landing on beautiful Mantrap lake near Park Rapids, Minnesota. The lake is so named because of the myriad bays and channels where a man can get easily lost. A woman, of course, would ask for directions. The picture was taken on a vacation to the lake several years ago. Unfortunately, this year, we, along with friends Gary and Rosie, were plagued with rain, wind and cold. Thus, my hopes for some of the usual great fishing were dashed by the weather.

For a change of pace and on what turned out to be the only decent day of our trip, we decided to head up to Bigfork and visit Scenic State Park. For me this was a trip into fond memories. My parents had taken me and my little brothers camping many times to this beautiful park. That's me and my mom packing the car for one of those trips. Can you believe that hat? I think I was about 15 at the time of this picture. Yikes!

The park then and today is noted for great fishing and hiking trails. It was the first state park to be built by the CCC in Minnesota. It's lodge was considered to be a model for other project across the nation. Of course, we didn't know that then.... it was just a place for all the kids to hang out on rainy days. Much later Mrs. T and I also took our sons there for some of their first camping/fishing trips.

Naturally our first stop on this outing was to visit the lodge and the parks two campgrounds. Although much had changed, those long ago memories came rushing back. Those were the days my friends. Here we all are inside the famous lodge.

Another highlight of the park is Chase Point Trail. This esker or long winding ridge of sand and gravel divides adjacent Coon and Sandwich lakes. Come on along with us and take a look.

A Flutter....A Blizzard

The Baron and I were driving along a track on our way to one of my favorite hiking/birding trails. To the right was a prairie, to the left a long line of shrubs and scrub trees. The flutter of monarch butterflies coming off the shrubs quickly became evident. The flutter soon began to look like a blizzard of orange & black for the next quarter of a mile.

I fumbled to get my little cheapo camera out of my pocket. I like the camera because it does fit in my pocket, while the binocs dangle from my neck. The following pics thru the windshield doesn't come close to doing justice to what I actually saw....but you get the idea.

Like many of our migrating birds, the monarchs gather in the fall for an epic journery. My friend, Mr Science (Gary) gives the following succinct explantion.

MONARCHS PRODUCE FOUR GENERATIONS EACH YEAR. THREE OF THESE GENERATIONS ONLY LIVE ABOUT ONE MONTH EACH, BUT ONE GENERATION(THE 4TH GENERATION) LIVES FOR ABOUT 8 MONTHS AND THAT IS THE GENERATION THAT EACH FALL MAKES A 1400+ MILE MIGRATION TO MEXICO. THIS FOURTH GENERATION WILL MIGRATE TO MEXICO, OVERWINTER THERE, LAY EGGS IN MEXICO AND THEN DIE. THOSE EGGS WILL HATCH MAKING A NEW 1ST GENERATION THE WILL MIGRATE AS FAR AS ABOUT N. TEXAS-LAY THIER EGGS AND DIE. THE NEXT TWO GENERATION WILL REPEAT THIS CYCLE AND HEAD FARTHER NORTH EACH TIME. THE 4TH GENERATION IS BORN UP NORTH AND IS THE ONLY GENERATION TO MIGRATE TO MEXICO IN THE FALL.

His notebook "Nature Notes" on the flora and fauna of Fillmore County, Minnesota can be found at

http://fillmorenature.blogspot.com/