July 23.2017 - Summer Photos

Summer is passing quickly in Minnesota; here are some photos from our warmest season. By positioning a small hummingbird feeder near a hanging pot of red flowers, I lured this Ruby-throated Hummingbird close to the flowers. Because adult females, and both male and female juveniles, look like this bird, we can’t be sure which one it is. We can say for sure that that it isn’t an adult male, because it doesn’t have a red throat. Hummingbirds have very tiny feet and you can see them on the front of the bird just above the tail.

HummingbirdRubythroatedflowerDunningLakeItascaCounty20170709

Blue Flag Iris can be found growing all around the shore of our lake.

IrisBlueFlagDunningLakeItascaCounty20170620

Diana and I were taking a boat ride around the lake when this Osprey flew over and really checked us out.

OspreyflightDunningLakeItascaCounty20170708

Toward the end of May, I drove to Sakatah State Park in southern Minnesota. A Worm-eating Warbler had been reported there, which would be a new life bird for me. I didn’t get to see the bird but I was intrigued by this flower. One of our friends told me she thought it was a wild onion. (The leaf at the bottom of the photo is from a different plant.)

Update: One of my readers wrote and told me this flower is a Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum).

OnionWildmaybePrairieperLindaRussellSakatahStateParkSueur20170522

This small butterfly, with a wingspan of just over 2 inches, landed on our deck. I recognized it as a Silver-spotted Skipper. Skippers are a subset of butterflies that have spoon-shaped ends to their antenna.

SkipperSilverspottedEpargyreusclarusDunningLakeItascaCounty20170629

A rainbow always produces a majestic photo. We saw this one in Woodbury, Minnesota, as we were taking our oldest grandson home. He had been visiting us at our lake home. I had my camera gear along but I chose to take this photo with my cell phone and I’m very pleased with it. Those cell phone cameras keep getting better and better!

RainbowWoodbury20170623