Fun in the forest...

What another beautiful weekend we had in northern Minnesota. Sure has been a treat!

This weekend my nephew, Riley was over. So, we thought we would travel over to the White Earth State Forest. Not a far travel, by any means. I live only 2 miles max from my door step. Can't beat that.

White Earth State Forest is over 160,000 acres. Glaciers created the rolling hills, potholes and lakes. Much of the forest is maple, basswood, red oak, aspen, red and white pine and white spruce. So, you can just image how good it smelled going through the trails. I was surprised by the number of leaves that have started changing colors and or fallen to the ground.

Here are the guys taking a break, before we mozy on down the trail. Of course I'm not in the picture cause I'm taking it, but even my dog Dory came along to enjoy the awesome fall weather. She spends most of her time off scouting in the woods.

We had a great day and it even got better when I got home and learned the Vikings won their second game in a row. Way to go Vikes!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you had a great weekend.

Spider Webs

Early into September and you can already smell the scent of Autumn. Autumn is falling colored leaves. The smell of acidic oak leaves, and fresh cold morning airs. Autumn is also the time for cool damp mushroom growing, and for foggy mornings. Which brings us back to the main topic here-spiderwebs. The damp mornings fill the spiderwebs and spot the sluggish spiders with glistening dew drops.

Something about spiders and spider webs makes for a neat subject. Add a little morning mist or dew and they really light up. This image wasn't one that I had to travel real far to take, just went to the back yard.

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside...! You would be shocked if you thought the itsy-bitsy spider was confined to an occasional web in the field, but look what we find when the dew settles and the sun rises upon the scene. I swear there must have been at least a dozen of various shaped spiderwebs dotting the field! Who would ever have thunk that one?

Hopefully, you will get the chance to catch a glimpse of these amazing art pieces. A true masterpiece in the making. Enjoy and don't let the spiders freak you out. LOL

Everyone Needs a Home....

Awhile back at work, someone broke this bowl and I thought that it was pretty. However, I had no use for a broken bowl, or so I thought. One of my coworkers suggested that I take it home and put it in my garden and use it as a toad house. Well, that is interesting. As funny as it sounded, I liked her idea and off I went with the bowl. Several people asked me throughout the day about the bowl and each time I would tell them...well they would laugh at me.

So, I would like to show you my new neighbor. Yep, that is right toad houses really do work!

OK, so not everyone finds toads beautiful. However, a single toad can eat about 110 beetles, ants, June bugs, grasshoppers, moths and other bugs every day. That's right around 3,300 every month! Wow! Yummy!

I guess it only makes sense since toads are most active at night, so during the day they need a fairly dark, cool place to hide from the sun and predators. You will find me encouraging these bug-hungry hunters to have a nice long stay in my garden by providing this adorable affordable toad house.

I would like to suggest that you find an old bowl and place it in an area in your garden and before long you'll have a new neighbor, too.

Sunday Entertainment...

I have been pretty busy lately, but today I took time and enjoyed the "Red Squirrel Show". I happened to look outside and saw a squirrel going across the yard via a tunnel system. I must have watched him for a good twenty minutes. It was so funny. He would start off from the edge of the woods and then show up next to the house to eat some of the birds food that split out of the bag. He then would take the food and go off to his tunnel system. Stopping to eat momentarily and then popping out of one of the holes to look around. So, of course I had to grab my camera. I hope everyone is staying warm. Have a good one.

The Common Loon...

A few weeks ago I went fishing to one of the many lakes north of my house. Once I arrived at the lake I was shocked to find not one, but two loons. For the longest time I would go to this lake and feel incredibly sad for the poor lonesome loon. I'm glad to report that those feelings can be casted aside and I can rejoice. A friend at last! I can't believe my ears, that another loon has answered the eerie yodel of his call. How sweet.

I would like to share a couple of facts with you that I find cool.

• Loons are water birds, only going ashore to mate and incubate eggs. Their legs are placed far back on their bodies. Therefore this allows efficient swimming but awkward movement on land.



• The Common Loon is flightless for a few weeks after molting all of its wing feathers at the same time in midwinter.

So next time I go to the lake I hope that I see both of them together again. I also hope that I will be able to capture a better picture of the two love birds. I have to be quick. So until then I will keep practicing my speediness at picture taking.

Thanks for stopping in and happy trails!

Red River Zoo

Have you ever been to the The Red River Zoo? This zoo maybe a smaller zoo, but still full of life and promises for a good time. In fact there are over 300 individual animals representing 75 species that live in natural habitat exhibits. The zoo also has beautiful flowers for your viewing pleasure. Here is a list of some of the animals waiting to see you: Bactrian Camel, Persian Onager, Sleder-tailed Meerkat, White-lipped Deer, Red Panda (my favorite), Squirrels, Porcupines, Sichuan Takin, Goats, Pot Belly Pigs, Horses, Snakes, Toads (very large), Ducks, Bald Eagle and many more. I took a few photos. The Red Panda was a little busy following a rabbit that had gotten into his exhibit. We watched for awhile to see if he would eat it, but he pretty much just followed it around. So if you are ever in the area, be sure to check out the zoo. Happy trails!

Swantastic

I have been meaning to share this wonderful picture with all of you. This Swan is nesting close to Hwy 71, just North of Park Rapids about 6 miles in a swamp....I think someone forgot to tell her that she is in the state of Minnesota, after all it is the land of 10,000 lakes. Nonetheless what a gorgeous bird. Since the taking of this picture, four to six cygnets' have arrived. How fortunate we are to live in this area to see such beauty. Not everyone can drive down the highway and see this kind of wildlife.