Frozen

Just like the Disney movie of the same name, much of Lake Superior is 'Frozen.' As of Tuesday, Feb. 11th, it was 87.1% frozen and experts say that due to the brutal winter, it may freeze almost completely over for the first time this century.  A few weeks back, our good friend, Dana, drove up to Ashland, Wisconsin, to visit his daughter, Laura. She's a student at Northland College, which features a curriculum focused on the environment and sustainability. 

They carefully hiked along the shore and spent most of the day exploring the ice caves that are formed by water, wind, and frigid weather. It's been years since winter ice has been thick and secure enough for visitors to walk out to the islands that dot the area. The dramatic wall of ice below is ever-growing and shifting. As more water filters down through the rocks, segments are constantly being created and broken off. 

It's interesting to note that where the "ice falls" meet the frozen lake, there is a horizontal gap of several inches or more.  This gap rises and falls with the movement of the lake, and can be seen at the bottom of the rock formation below.

I also love Laura's cozy warm "Spirit Hood"-style hat, which is perfect for Wisconsin's below-zero windchill!

Photo credits for this post: Dana L. French (c) 2014

Smell-O-Vision

Seriously - if you have never had the chance to inhale the intoxicating perfume of the milkweed flower, you are missing something amazing.  I wish I could share the air around this bloom with you.  It's no wonder that the Monarch Butterflies go crazy over it!

Sedona Sinkhole

With all the recent talk of sinkholes swallowing people in Florida, I thought I'd share one of our discoveries during our last Arizona visit. At the end of Soldier's Pass in western Sedona, beneath what appears to be a red rock Sphinx, there is a giant sinkhole sometimes referred to as the Devil's Kitchen.  It has an opening of approximately 150 x 90 feet and is about 70 feet deep. The hole itself has been around for awhile, but the chunk of rock broken off in this photo is called the "piano" since it has a similar shape to a baby grand. Apparently shortly after the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco, Sedona residents heard a rumbling and saw a giant cloud of red smoke and dust rising into the air in the horizon and this was the result!  Below is a view of the deep chasm in front of the piano shelf.

You can learn more about Sedona sinkholes and their causes here.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit Berries

Autumn is on its way around here, sooner than we'd like to admit.  However, one of the pretty pops of color in the fall woods are the Jack-in-the-Pulpit berries. The stalks are anywhere from 8" to 12" tall and the cluster of berries is usually the size of a golf ball (above). However, the specimen below was about about the size of tennis ball! You can see what the springtime flowers look like here. You'd never guess by looking at them that they turn into these odd little pods.

Wild Cucumber

While hiking around Balmer Park just east of here, Nik and I stumbled upon an unusual vine weaving itself through the shrubs. The leaves were so pretty and bright green, almost like a Sycamore. But then I saw the itty-bitty spiky fruit hanging here and there, and realized they were wild cucumbers. I had never seen these before because they don't bear fruit until fall and usually I'm not looking for that sort of thing. Plus this little guy was camouflaged among the wild grape vines.

According to Wikipedia, they are not edible, but with those little spikes, not sure I'd even want to try!

Oh, Deer

This young doe was taken by surprise during our recent hike. We stood quietly just watching her, and she stared at me (and Nik) for a long time before cautiously walking away. Suddenly, another deer joined her and they bounded off into the woods.

Black Butterfly - Part 3

I believe this might be the 'Spicebush Swallowtail' butterfly. It looks very similar to the 'Pipevine Swallowtail' or the black version of the 'Yellow Tiger Swallowtail.' Mother Nature loves to fool us!

The angles below shows the butterfly 'mid-flight' - as it's landing on the clover - and then as it's perched. Be sure to double-click on the images to see them full size.

Butterfly - Part 2

In keeping with the "Lepidoptera" theme of a few days ago, I am posting a few images of some pretty, buttery yellow tiger swallowtail butterflies that we saw up on the Ryan Road hiking trails. The one above really enjoyed the pink clover. If you look closely at the photo of his fluttery friend below, you'll notice the poor guy's wing looks like it has seen a little rough action, but he still seemed to get around fine.

It's amazing how, at first glance they all sort of look alike, yet if you compare them closely, you can see lots of differences.

Lepidoptera

...meaning butterflies and moths! Of which there have been plenty to see this summer. These tiny little orange butterflies were congregating around some marsh flowers at Simmons Woods a few days ago.

This furry moth (below) was resting in the sun at the Ryan Rd. trail. I love his feathery little pantaloons!

Sister Suzie Sittin' on a Thistle...

(Love that line from the "Music Man"!)

Every year thistles grow wild throughout the fields in the upper midwest, and every year I am always perplexed as to why such a gorgeous flower is considered a "weed."

[Note: Be sure to click the photos, and then click again, to see the full size view.]

Mushroom Tree

A moss covered tree trunk full of mini-shelf mushrooms on a trail at Lapham Peak in Waukesha County.

Remember that the mighty oak...

...was once a nut like you. :-)

There are many giant oaks on the Ryan Road trails. The above photo shows a white oak tree (Quercus Alba) in bloom. Most people are unaware that acorns start out as clusters of little 'catkin' like flowers. To see an example of the resulting acorns in the fall, click here (acorn photo credit to 'jlkuhns').

Mushrooms

During our recent quest for the elusive morels up on the Ryan Road trails, we came across a handful of other beautiful specimens of fungi (but never did find any morels this year.) These are mostly "shelf mushrooms" which usually grow on dead trees or fallen timbers. The top image is called a "Pheasant's Back." I'm not sure of the identification of the ones below.

Skywatch: Pewaukee Farm

This is one of my favorite vistas on the Ryan Road hiking trails. Such a pleasant, quiet refuge - far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Looking westward, it's a great place to watch the cloud formations and weather move in.

You can see more SkyWatch Friday photos here.

Hickory Blossom

These amazing "blooms" are often overlooked because most people aren't aware that the hickory tree "leaf fronds" blossom out in such a beautiful manner.

Could Always be Worse

Looks like March is coming in like a lamb this year. A very COLD lamb, but still - we'll take sunshine whenever we can get it! :-) It's hard to imagine that the corn will be "knee-high by the Fourth of July" in these fields.

Ruffled Feathers

While hiking on the Broken Hill trails, we spied this hawk perched high up in a tall tree. He was fluffing and preening his feathers in the cold, unfazed by the band of crows judiciously squawking at him from the grove of ash trees next door.

Winter Sun

As opposed to yesterday's Arizona sunset sky post, this is what a typical morning looks like around Pewaukee in January. If you click on the image for a larger view and look closely, you can see the faint, tiny outline of the sun trying to break through the clouds in the southeastern horizon of the sky.

Winter Trails

Another snowy, tree-lined path that Nik and I love to hike. This one borders the Broken Hill subdivision. Just lovely - however, we definitely got our exercise since we were the first visitors to blaze the trail, and the snow was still almost knee-deep in some places. I think I'm investing in some snowshoes for next year...and maybe a little sled for Nik!

Cactus Flowers

During our visit to Phoenix, we got a few glipses of some cactus flowers while hiking along the North Mountain trails. A very tiny cactus with super-long spikes displayed a pretty pink flower (above) and a barrel cactus (below) had a top crown of yellow flowers,

Below is a panoramic view of Phoenix taken from the trail.