Gooseberry Falls State Park

We took a day trip up the North Shore along scenic Old Hwy 61.

Pierre the Voyageur, aka Pierre the Pantsless Voyageur, near Two Harbors

Young Green Grasshopper

Gooseberry Falls

Foam in the pool at the base of the falls

Tree roots with all the soil washed away.

Iris

Nightshade

The clover flowers were huge. 

bee-looking beetle

Bottom of a Daisy

Honeysuckle? 

Gooseberry River

Having Fungus in the Yard

In our deep damp forest we grow lots of fungus.  Here are a few around the yard.

Growing up in the yard about 6 inches.

Four inches tall and spreading its top.

These purple mushrooms are growing up from buried stump.

These large mushrooms (4 in diameter) were growing up from my compost pile.

I frequently see these little bright orange mushrooms.  About 1 inch tall; Maple leaf for scale.  

Dog vomit Fungus or scrambled egg fungus is actually not a fungus.  It is a slime mold...a colony of protists.  When conditions are right, it will produce this bright yellow spongy "fruit" of sorts.  Within a day it is orange-brown, soon turning brown and crumbly.  

The slime mold likes to grown on wood chips.  This is the third "batch" I have show up on a pile of wood chips in my driveway that is waiting the mulch a trail in the trees.

Butterfly Bait

On my daily drive I spotted a large patch of milkweed.  I'll be dropping in there when ever I can to look for butterflies and caterpillars.

Loon on Caribou Lake.

The Thunder up North

The USAF Thunderbirds were hanging out at the Duluth Airport with the 148th Fighter Wing while they waited to do a fly over of the All-Star game in Minneapolis.  Twenty three minutes before the game...

Afterburners!  Jet #6 gets a boost to catch up.