Great day to take the kids to the beach.

 I was out kayaking on Snelling lake and saw this Black-crowned Night Heron. She/he let me get within 20 feet of him/her. Supposedly nocturnal and roosts and sleeps during the day. Taken around 10:00AM.

He/she held its beak open in the water for a good 2 minutes. Waiting for breakfast to swim in?

The 35 Most Spectacular Wildlife Photos From The National Geographic Photo Contest

Great National Geo pics worth sharing....

Whats Blooming?

Yesterday we had a good day at the open house.  The rain held off and I had time to take a little stroll to see what was blooming in this late spring.  

 Golden Alexander, native

Alkali Buttercup, native

The Alkali Buttercup is considered endangered or threatened in many states, including Wisconsin, but not Minnesota.

Leafy Spurge, invasive, Europe

Leafy Spurge is on the noxious weed list for Minnesota and can be hard to eradicate.

Canada Anemone, native

Virginia Waterleaf, native

Dame's Rocket

Dame's Rocket may be confused for a wild phlox, but phlox all have 5-petaled flowers, not 4. Dame's Rocket is a prolific bloomer and a single plant produces a large quantity of seed. It can form massive colonies and crowd out native plants.

Common Fleabane, native

Photo by Doug Schurr

If you are interested is our wildflowers a great site is http://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/