All posts by Troy

Mushrooms Abound

September 29, 2018 Troy

While camping at Lost Lake in the Chequamegon – Nicollet National Forest Labor Day Weekend I kept finding different and unique mushrooms. There are nine different ones pictured alone in this post but I counted at least 13 different types. I’m not a mushroom person so I don’t know what most of them are nor do I eat them so if you’re looking for what kind each is I’m sorry but I can’t answer that. Maybe at some point I’ll research these and figure out what more of them are but there are just too many at one time. It would take a good part of a day to identify all of them which is more time than I am willing to commit at this moment.

There were several things I wanted to do while enjoying an extended weekend in the quiet north woods of Wisconsin. Some of these included fishing, sitting by the campfire, exploring area trails and waterfalls, and photographing stuff like animals and stars. Upon moving my stuff from the car to a cabin I kept seeing different mushrooms. Some in or on trees and others on the ground. I thought it was pretty cool to see these especially since I had recently read an article about some of the area mushrooms and was learning a better appreciation for them and their structures. Eventually I planned to take a few pictures of them but fishing was more on my mind so the camera stayed in its bag and down to the lake I went.

The next day,after throwing a line in the water for a bit, I decided to snap a few quick photos of those mushrooms just around the cabin I was staying in and retreat to a chair for some R and R before continuing on with a day of exploring. Looking at these photos a little later on I was not happy with how they were turning out so figured I should find a bit more time at some point to get some better ones. Also I was spotting more types of mushrooms to take pictures of.

By the third day I decided to try again photographing the mushrooms in the area but only half hardily. Handholding the camera in relatively low light of the forest I attempted some more pictures of the same mushrooms as the day before in hopes of better results. Well, the results really weren’t much better but I wasn’t sure I cared enough to spend more time doing that.

After spending about as much time as I wanted photographing mushrooms I returned to the cabin ready to take it easy for a little bit when the friend I was camping with brought out his camera and started getting more serious about capturing these little forest gems. Begrudgingly I joined in and realized if I wanted some decent shots I needed to commit to setting things up correctly with the camera which required a tripod, remote shutter, and additional lighting. At first I struggled a little bit because it was taking longer to set up a shot or series of shots than I really wanted but the urge to capture these amazing mushrooms motivated me to continue on.

Getting good, close shots of some of these tiny mushrooms requires figuring out how to get low to the ground while keeping the camera steady for a second or two and triggering the shutter while holding a light at just the right distance and angle became a bit of a circus act. Eventually I enlisted some help and began to see some nice photos encouraging more time on the forest floor. By the way, it had rained the night before so the ground was wet and muddy adding to my lack of motivation to crawl around to get some interesting shots.

Once I finally got past the lack of desire to spend the time capturing these little fungi and started to get better results from the camera setup, time started to fly and the day with it. Every time I thought this is the last different on that I see I would photograph it, stand up and see another one or be informed of one I need to take a look at a little further in the forest. After several hours of just taking pictures of mushrooms I finally decided I needed to be done. I was on fungus overload and needed to go fishing. Especially since I wanted to eat fish for the next meal.

While meandering back to the cabin so I could put the camera gear away and grab a fishing pole I couldn’t believe how many different mushrooms existed in such a relatively small area. I’ve never seen so many. Or at least I’ve not noticed them like this. The other thing that really caught my attention was the coral fungus. Having just read about them a few months prior I wanted to find some and here they were. Since that time I’ve been paying more attention to decomposing logs and trees looking for more of these interesting little fungus. Sometimes I find a couple of different mushrooms but nothing like what was at Lost Lake. Hopefully I can return to those cabins again and continue this hunt for even more mushrooms.

Adventure, Troy's Blog, wildlife

Merganser Feast

September 23, 2018 Troy

Before the sun had risen above the horizon at Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota I ventured to a dock hoping for a foggy morning scene. There was some fog hanging onto the lake as sunlight began casting shadows from the pine and maple covered shoreline but not the epic foggy morning dreamt about the night before. Everything was so still waking up from a cool summer night. So peaceful! The type of morning I have come to cherish. As I was soaking in this serene landscape movement caught my attention. Ducks swimming slowly through vegetation nearby. With camera already resting on it’s three legged perch I stared into these grasses watching as ducks disappeared under the water’s surface and returned again all without making a sound. Only the ripples giving them away. Zooming in on one of these busy birds I noticed something in it’s mouth appearing to be a crayfish.

Watching intently through my cameras eye the outline confirmed my suspicions. It was indeed a crayfish caught in the beak of a merganser. This hard shelled creature appeared much to large to be swallowed by the little mouth of this bird so I continued to watch, snapping a few pictures along the way, as it wrestled to get it’s next meal ready to eat. As if it were dancing, this duck would swing it’s head from side to side opening its clamping beak attempting to shift the crayfish in another direction before dipping it underwater as if rinsing it off in preparation to eat it. The crayfish dance would be repeated for several minutes until finally satisfied this meal was ready to be consumed. All the while the crayfish appeared to be in a state of uncertainty of what was going on. Only moments before it was the predator eyeing up the next meal.

Once this early morning meal had reached the stomach of this merganser it was back to hunting. A water bird of this size appeared unable to handle more than one of these bottom dwelling creatures and yet continued searching for more. Watching this happen several more times I began wondering just how many crayfish can a little duck eat before becoming too lethargic and tempting a nearby perched eagle into a possible easy meal. Finally the mornings feast seemed to come to an end and preening was the next event on this cool, sunny mornings calendar. A few dunks in the water while flapping its wings before drying off in the warming sunlight in preparation of checking that all of this little ducks feathers were perfectly in place removing those that were not. Returning to the soundless swimming in and out of grassing camouflaging this brown aquatic bird from sight before once again losing it under the waters surface.

Scanning over the nearby waters surface this merganser re-appeared once again holding another crayfish in it’s tiny beak. The dance continued, although as if perfected, lasted a much shorter time before another crayfish was swallowed whole into the small mouth of a motivated predator. By this time more people were stirring causing these little ducks to retreat further into the weeds protecting them from the large two legged animals wandering along the shoreline. It was time to store my camera and tripod back into its protective sack relinquishing my place on this dock for others to begin launching their water crafts for a summer day out on the water.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Heron’s Hangout

September 15, 2018 Troy

An early morning in July I decided to get up before the sun and take the camera hoping for an amazing sunrise. The sunrise was nice but not as spectacular as I’d hoped so I continued on to another place hoping for a few wildlife shots to make the morning worth getting up for. I decided to peak in at a little shallow pond close by and spotted a great blue heron fishing ahead of me. I think we spotted each other about the same time although I’m sure the heron heard me long before that. Usually this would be the point which the heron would fly off but there must have been ample food here as an incentive to remain even though I was there. Kneeling down and pulling off my backpack as quietly as possible I changed lenses on the camera and got it set up on a tripod for some steady shots of this heron. I’ve photographed herons before but still enjoy watching them move and fish in shallow water.

Fortunately this heron went about the business of getting breakfast while I slowly moved closer and got the camera in place for some better shots. While watching the great blue heron I began to notice another heron moving around. This one turned out to be a green heron. Typically I only see these from a distance before they fly away but this one also stayed allowing me to turn my camera on it. Over the next half hour or so I counted six green herons and one blue heron. It was a heron jackpot! For the next hour or so I remained in this spot photographing as these herons fished and moved around while the sun moved higher having a great time.

At first this little body of water remained shaded from the morning sunlight making clear pictures a bit of a challenge. Any amount of movement during the shot and it came out blurry. Fortunately herons are great at standing still for more than a few seconds so I could get some nice shots in this lower light. Over time the sun continued to rise in the sky illuminating these birds in some nice soft light making it much easier to photograph them and capture clear photos. With all of these herons it was difficult to decide which one to focus on but I would choose one or two closer together and just follow them with the lens snapping a photo when there was some activity to capture.

Before the sun fully spread into this little pond I was near there was a loud crash in a nearby forest like a tree had fallen. There was nothing visible from where I was so I don’t know what really happened but right after this crash there were some loud noises like animals having been startled. Almost a half hour later I heard something rustling around in the cattails and a raccoon popped out. This raccoon started paddling water towards it like it had lost something and was searching for it. After trying this in a few different places it eventually headed off allowing the herons to return to their fishing. It almost seemed as though the raccoons may have caused a tree or large branch to fall under their weight while climbing and this particular one was shaken up a bit and needed some water to calm down. That’s just my interpretation of what I saw. Probably a long ways from what was really happening.

As the morning continued these herons eventually caught enough for their morning meal and began to fly off to more secluded places as more people began to stir. I stayed until most of these herons were out of sight enjoying their antics while stalking their prey. They are rather agile birds contorting themselves into positions that seem both unnatural and quite painful. All of their efforts seem to pay off as they appeared to be more successful at catching fish than they missed. I’m always amazed that fish swim right underneath herons in a relatively short time span after those herons have moved to that spot. It seems like anytime there’s a shadow the fish disappear and don’t return for some time. Maybe it’s because people cast a much larger shadow.

After lunging into the water after a meal it’s entertaining to see the herons reaction. Usually they appear as though they accidentally fell into the water and begin drying off in disgust. Maybe they’re just irritated they had to go all the way into the water in order to catch the fish closest to them requiring more effort instead of a quick jab with the beak and food is served. Once they emerge from the water they hurry for a place to dry off by shaking and twisting their whole bodies. Nearing the completion of drying they fluff their feathers creating this big fuzz ball vaguely resembling a heron. They then work for the next few minutes preening and placing all of those feathers back into place before continuing to hunt for the next portion of their meal.

Eventually all of the herons either left or moved out of sight so I packed up my gear and left as well. Besides there were getting to be too many people moving around for me also. The sunrise may have been a bust for photographing but the herons made if a fun time and worth waking before the sun on a Saturday in July. Hopefully there will be more opportunities to capture a beautiful sunrise.

Adventures, Camping, Troy's Blog

Return to Lost Lake

September 9, 2018 Troy

After my trip to Lost Lake in July I couldn’t wait to return having so much fun the first time and much more to explore that just wouldn’t wait until next year. So a few days after getting home I booked Labor Day weekend for another extended weekend of exploring, fishing, and campfires. Even though it marked the end of summer I was eager with anticipation of what was in store for a second visit to the cabins for weeks beforehand. The summer goes so fast as it is that I try to never look forward to upcoming events, but enjoy the things that are happening in the moment so as to not rush the summer away. As hard as I tried I couldn’t keep my mind off camping in the north woods of Wisconsin and I was not disappointed. Why is this area so much fun? For me it has to do with a number of things. First off it is a beautiful area full of lakes, scenery, and wildlife and I can just take it all in without the responsibilities of every day routines. Secondly I get to just be me and basically relax. There’s no being a father, husband, or son for a few days which can be a nice break. I love being those things but a break is kind of nice once in a while. And lastly I like heading to this area of Wisconsin because I get to see an old college friend and hangout doing whatever we want to do whether that’s fishing all afternoon, playing with our cameras trying to capture the beauty of the area, or exploring a new lake or trail.

On this trip it almost felt like a completely different place. Yes the lake is still there with the resident loon and the roads are the same but so many things around us gave new adventures. First off shorter days made a huge impact which I wasn’t fully expecting. It felt as though a good part of the day had already disappeared by the time day light became bright enough to see which just had a domino effect the rest of the day with everything happening later. Yes I was aware of earlier sunsets and later sunrises but the days flew by even faster than I anticipated as often we would be preparing dinner by lantern and fire instead of eating under a setting sun. The fire would just get going nicely when the yawns could no long be ignored and it was time to retreat to bed for the night although one of the nights we did continue to fight the tiredness and photograph the night sky. Some of the other differences between the July and September visits where clouds and rain, mushrooms, waterfalls, and light painting.

Our second night in the Chequamegon National Forest we found an area on a nearby lake where we could take in the sunset as the forecast called for clouds skies and some rain over the next few days so that was possibly the only opportunity to watch a beautiful sunset and we were not disappointed. As it turned out that was the last visible sunset during the rest of our time there. During our last night a nice thunderstorm rolled through completing the camping experience. Because there was so much rain mushrooms were popping up all over. It seemed as though I would photograph one and only a short distance away there would be another different, interesting mushroom. We lost count how many different mushrooms we saw and photographed over our long weekend there. I’ll probably do another post on only the mushrooms of Lost Lake. There is a waterfall drive in the area we were in which shows off a number of different rapids and small waterfalls. Even though they are not very high they are still mesmerizing to watch and listen to and well worth some time to explore which is something we didn’t do on our first visit to the area.

During one of the nights sitting by the camp fire we looked up and notice a break in the clouds revealing the numerous stars shining across the sky so we quickly grabbed a camera and some lights and headed to lake side for a little nighttime fun. The clouds really seemed to add drama to the night sky making for interesting photographs. Also we decided to attempt light painting which turned out great and was fun to play with. That started as night fishing with lighted bobbers and turned into photography experiments since the fish weren’t really interested in eating anyway. While there were these different things to explore there were some things missing which made this a different experience. There were a lot less frogs, no red dragonflies, and few butterflies. Fortunately there were also less mosquitoes even though they really weren’t all that bad in July. All of these changes made for a unique experience that finally satisfied my urge to camp at Lost Lake again this year. It does seem to be only a temporary sense of completeness as there is talk of returning next summer for another opportunity to enjoy these surrounding again.

Adventures, New Experiences, Troy's Blog

Walking Across the Mississippi

September 1, 2018 Troy

One of my goals during the raising of our children was to take them to the beginning of the Mississippi which is located at Lake Itasca. A few of the landmarks I think anyone living in Minnesota should see include Lake Superior and the North Shore, The Minnesota State Fair, Minneapolis and St Paul, and where the Mighty Mississippi River begins. As we continued on our quest to complete our National Parks Monopoly board I began to run out of time to experience the Mississippi headwaters with the children and was thinking this wouldn’t happen. Fortunately there was a portion of the summer with no travel plans and we decided to add Voyageurs National Park to our board which was not all that far from Itasca State Park where this large river begins.

Leaving Voyageurs late in the afternoon we arrived at Itasca State Park at sunset to a porcupine crossing the road in front of us. That seemed like a good omen to begin this portion of our journey. Getting to our campsite at dark made it a bit more challenging to set up the tent and get everything ready so we could sleep but eventually we were successful and grabbed a snack before crawling into the sleeping bags for some much needed rest before a full day of exploring this area boasting the start of the Mississippi. Unfortunately it was a cool night with temperatures falling into the 40’s Fahrenheit making it a little difficult to get a good nights rest but we eventually emerged from the tent, grabbed some food and headed out with the first stop the Headwaters Visitors Center.

By the time we arrived at this river crossing it was mid-day and there were a lot of people exploring this start to one of the longest rivers in the world. This made it a bit of a challenge to grab some family photos so we watched as many other people along with our children ventured across the rocks or through the water to add walking across the Mississippi to their list of accomplishments with the goal of returning at a quieter time. I did take a few photos at this visit to the headwaters just in case plans changed and we became unable to get here with a smaller crowd. Even with all of the other people exploring around here it was fun to think about how far this water will travel and how long it will take for the water we were walking in to reach the ocean so far away. Fortunately we did make it back the next day after the visitors center closed so there were a lot fewer people.

With less people we set up the camera and took a few family photos for memories and then played in the water a little more without worry about causing issues with other visitors. To get to the beginning of the Might Mississippi you have to park at the visitor center and walk a short distance to the lake and this small river. Hard to imagine the Mississippi as a small river. I’ve grown up visiting this river often a little further south watching as barges moved cargo up and down it and couldn’t imagine it being a small river to walk across at some point. There are a few other locations in the state park where you can walk or drive across the little Mississippi which we did to fully take in this idea. One thing that always seemed weird to me was this river flows north for a ways before finally turning south. The land here is a high point so everything flows away in several directions which is why the beginning of the Mississippi River runs Northward before the ground gets lower allowing the water to return to a normal direction of flow going south. There’s a webcam set up to view the headwaters if you’re interested in viewing it live. Mississippi Headwaters Webcam

New Experiences, Troy's Blog, wildlife

Bears–They’re Everywhere

August 26, 2018 Troy

During a trip to Northern Minnesota we stopped in Orr for a night after many hours sitting in a car. One of the things to see in Orr is the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary which allows visitors to see wild bears. They’re only open during a few hours in the evening so we spent some of our afternoon preparing for a week camping in Northern Minnesota and resting before venturing off to the sanctuary. For the short drive we were all just hoping to see a few black bears and get a good photo or two. This appeared to be an unrealistic expectation for August! There’s a long unpaved driveway to enter the wildlife sanctuary with anticipation growing along the way to watch black bears but also a bit nerving for first timers like us. We didn’t know what to expect.

I was a little anxious because I really didn’t know if there would be a possibility of contact with a bear and how this sanctuary thing works. Will there be bears to see and photograph, how safe is it? As you get closer to the parking area there are small signs pointing you further until reaching a larger opening with people directing cars on where to park. I kept looking around trying to figure out where this sanctuary viewing area was and for any possible bear passing by but there was no sight of either. We got parked and headed to a little shelter to purchase tickets for entry. Upon receiving the tickets we were told to wait until a bus arrives. Oh this wasn’t the actual viewing area. Heading back to the car to get sunscreen, bug spray, and of course the camera I studied the other visitors to see what the procedure appeared to be. No one else really appeared nervous, just excited to see bears like we were so this must be a fairly safe endeavor. With gear in hand we waited about 10 minutes or so until an empty bus appeared from the woods. A small line formed to load the bus until it was full and off we went to the wildlife observation deck.

After a short bus ride we arrived at a wire fence enclosed observation deck. The bus pulled as close to the entrance as possible and staff blocked any potential opening before allowing us to get off the bus and ascend the stairs up to a raised observation deck which stands at least 7 feet off of the ground. within the first minute we spotted 3 bears off in the woods climbing around dead logs lying on the ground. This was already as many bears as I had hoped to see hear. Sanctuary staff encouraged us to keep moving to allow everyone to get on the deck assuring us there were plenty of bears to see on this day. Venturing further into the platform we could see several other bears with one on a tree limb not far away from the deck so it was at eye level for us. This just didn’t seem real to have this many wild bears in one area so close. We had about 3 hours here and for the first hour we were in a state of shock at being able to see all of these bears of different sizes.

There were many bears at 300 – 400 pounds. I have never seen a black bear that huge and certainly wouldn’t want to meet up with this bear in the wild. There would be no chance if it became aggressive. A renewed respect for these incredible creatures. Off in the distance we could see a couple of cubs sleeping in a tree. I’ve seen pictures of this but never was able to see it in person. It is amazing to witness with your own eyes. While photographing these bears a mother with it’s cubs came into the area with the cubs climbing up into a nearby tree shortly thereafter. We learned that the mother gives the cubs a signal to climb for their safety as larger bears really can’t climb very well. I missed this signal but others witnessed it. Fortunately I was able to photograph as these cubs continued to climb higher and higher with surprising speed. It’s an experience that I can’t believe and one that almost does not seem real.

During our time on the observation deck some of the staff would give talks on the sanctuary and animals that visit it such as birds, squirrels, raccoons, and deer. Some of the other information included why so many bears keep coming here. A few of those reasons include safety and food. Inside this whole sanctuary bears figure out they’re safe from people and cars. Food is plentiful and easy for them to find which is another reason for them to visit the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. The one thing they do have to watch out for is other bears due to the larger numbers in such a small area and we witnessed a number of scuffles as they declared dominance and who’s food is who’s but nothing too major or violent. During the 3 hours of observing bears we saw between 40 and 50 wild black bears of all sizes as they continued to scarf down pounds and pounds of food in preparation for the upcoming hibernation season. Soon the bears would leave this sanctuary in search of solitude and a place to take a winter nap before giving birth to new cubs early in the new year. An amazing experience which hopefully can be repeated again sometime soon.

Adventure, National Parks, Troy's Blog

How About One More?

August 20, 2018 Troy

We were all really sad to have our Monopoly travels come to an end in Hawaii and didn’t really want our National Park adventures to come to an end but there we were visiting an active volcano which was placed at the end of our trips as an incredible end in our family journey. Fortunately I found a loophole (excuse to visit another park) giving us another opportunity to explore a different National Park as a family. The Monopoly board has three ‘chance’ spots on it and three ‘community chest’ spots which we figured where there for us to pick out six of our own places to go. After a little discussion it was decided the ‘chance’ places would represent three different caves we’ve explored – Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Mammoth Cave. For the ‘community chest’ locations it was thought the three national parks in Minnesota would make sense which includes Grand Portage National Monument, Pipestone National Monument, and Voyageurs National Park. All of these have provided adventures for us on previous trips with the exception of Voyageurs National Park so that is where we decided to go this summer as an unofficial ending for our Monopoly adventures.

While there we experienced a range of temperatures with days of 90+ degrees Fahrenheit which is unusual for extreme Northern Minnesota and days in the upper 60’s with nighttime lows reaching into the 40’s. Since we were camping there were times the heat was a little uncomfortable and so were the coolest of nights causing us to shiver while trying to sleep. The beautiful landscape made the time at the most northern portion of Minnesota very enjoyable. Much of Voyageurs is surrounded by water so to really take in this park some of the time should be spent on the water fishing, canoeing, or just exploring. We planned on going canoeing one afternoon and taking a boat excursion another day. Unfortunately we were unable to get on one of the boat tours and on the day of our planned canoe trip the wind was too strong causing that to be canceled. So there we were without an opportunity to travel over these same waters voyageurs would transport their furs over a long time ago. This didn’t stop us entirely from enjoying the water. On one of the hot afternoons we found a place to venture out wading through the nice, cool lake water to find some relief from the heat.

We intentionally timed this adventure to coincide with the Perseid Meteor shower peaking throwing a meteor per minute across the dark sky. Where better to watch this astrological event than a dark sky location like Voyageurs National Park? Fortunately our first night stargazing was mostly clear allowing us to watch as these amazing meteors streaking across the sky. Previous to this Canadian fires provided enough smoke creating a thin blanket over the sky preventing many of the meteors to be seen. We were not alone in our quest to see these fireballs blazing their way through the night sky as every park ranger we talked with also took time to look up and find a meteor or two during the night. This was certainly one of the highlights of our time in this great National Park. In the photo below you can barely see a meteor lighting up the sky in the middle near the top. It’s quite faint so you really need to look closely. Also in this picture is a portion of the Milky Way which can identified with the real bright spots combined with real dark areas in the left portion of this photograph. It almost look like the branches from a pine tree on the left side are pointing to the Milky Way.

During the day we found a few trails to hike allowing us to take in this serene landscape as it uses the final weeks of summer to prepare once again to enter dormancy to survive the harsh winter conditions not far away in this part of Minnesota. No National Park adventure would be complete without a junior ranger badge so of course one of the first priorities was to get to the nearest visitor’s center and pick up a junior ranger packet. While traveling to different areas of the park we would work on these books eventually completing enough activities to get sworn in and receive badges signifying junior ranger status. Even though our children are older now they can still become junior rangers and usually encouraged to do so by actual Park Rangers.

Probably the weirdest part of exploring this national park was that we were using our own vehicle. Usually we rent a car so that in itself has become part of each adventure. Upon picking up the car there’s a competition to figure out what color it’s going to be along with what state it will be registered in but we didn’t get to do that this time. There was one other time we traveled in our own car and that was while exploring Badlands National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park on our first set of adventures. There was definitely a higher level of comfort doing it this way though because there was no airplane ride which restricted the amount of things we could bring. As our time here dwindled there was once again a feeling of sadness because now we really were on our final national park adventure on the Monopoly Board. There are many more national parks I would like to visit but I’m not sure if we’ll be able to do so as a family in the future so for now our Monopoly Travels which began nine years ago come to a close.

Adventure, Troy's Blog

Under the Surface of Lost Lake

August 12, 2018 Troy

On a recent trip to Lost Lake in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest I read that the water clarity was pretty good so I brought my mask, snorkel. and of course the GoPro to explore the lake under the surface. I’ve never snorkeled in fresh water before so this would be a new experience. In salt water it’s pretty easy to stay afloat due to the high density of that water but fresh water I tend to sink rather easily so was nervous to try snorkeling in deeper water. Lost Lake seemed like a good spot to try as there is a lot of shallower places to swim allowing me to touch the bottom if needed.

My first adventure into the water brought several interesting observations for me. First, the water was a little cool but didn’t take any more than a few seconds to get use to which was nice. Next, the water clarity wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping for and finally, snorkeling in fresh water wasn’t much different than in salt water as far as being able to maintain my ability to float. I wished I had brought my fins once this was discovered because it was challenging to swim while holding a camera. Fins would make it easier to move forward while using the GoPro to record these beautiful fish.

I found it easier to move around by using my feet on the ground but that brought up a lot of the decaying organic debris into the water making the clarity even less. Some of the surrounding fish seemed to be happy with me doing that as I’m sure I was stirring up food with the debris. Once being able to move around a little easier I was able to focus more on the different fish, their behaviors, and the underwater landscape which was really interesting. There are pumpkinseed pan fish, perch, small mouth bass, and trout listed to be in Lost Lake. I didn’t see any trout but found the others lurking in weeds.

The landscape underneath the surface proved to be quite interesting with a combination of living and dead vegetation. Scanning through the weeds at different points there would be fish or two swimming in between them but if I stayed there for a minute or so there would soon be a large school surrounding me. I began to think there would be nightmares later that night of fish attaching from every direction. Fortunately that did not happen! At one point I just stayed in a single spot and turned completely around only to find fish in every direction staring at me. It was kind of cool and a little creepy at the same time.

Every so often I would come across a bare spot in the floor of the lake. As I watched some of these areas a larger pumpkinseed would return and begin to flare its gills and fins at me in defense of this spot it had previously cleaned off as a nest. I would move towards it and scare this fish away only to have it return a short time later. This wasn’t something I would do repeatedly as I didn’t want it to abandon the nest but found this behavior interesting as I was many times larger than the fish. After swimming among the fishes for awhile I returned to the shore to dry off eagerly wanted to go fishing. It almost seemed like cheating a little because I had found certain areas for certain fish so knew where to cast. That didn’t mean I necessarily caught them even though I had a good idea where they were. Another freshwater snorkeling adventure is definitely on my agenda when I get a chance.

Adventure

A Butterfly Day

August 4, 2018 Troy

For the first time since the end of April I actually got out with the camera to see the sun rise and got to enjoy a nice morning while watching some wildlife. Much of the morning was spent watching green and blue herons but there was an hour or so of exploring trails I’ve not been on yet. While hiking these trails I kept coming across butterflies, most of which I haven’t seen before so the hike became even more interesting. The odd thing to me was that most of them were on the ground. They must have been searching for water as they were on wet areas on the ground. The butterfly above is a Hackberry Emperor. Thanks to Minnesota Seasons I was able to identify all of those I saw on this trip.

The first actual butterfly I came across was an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail which I have seen a couple of times before but this one seemed much larger than those I’ve watched previously. Seeing it before did not make it any less fun to watch as it fluttered around landing often on a moist area of the trail. Butterflies are not always the easiest to photograph as their flight is unpredictable and you never know where they’re going to land unless there is a consistent food source they’re taking in. When you get to close they take off making a close up very challenging.

If they’re actively pursuing nectar from flowers you can usually get closer to them or set up the camera on a certain area and wait for them to sip nectar from that area for a great close up. As I walked along the trail I came across culvers root flowers which appeared to attract many bees and a butterfly or two such as this western tailed blue butterfly. Part of the name comes from the blue coloring on the inside of their wings which I didn’t see on this one because it didn’t fly or open its wings while watching it. I enjoyed watching it for a few minutes as it climbed all over the flowers.

Often times I’d be walking along and all of a sudden something would move or fly away not always able to figure out what it was. The northern pearly eye above was one of those but fortunately it landed fairly close allowing me to snap a few pictures of it before both of us moved on. The patterns in the wings amazed me as is often the case with butterflies.

During my short hike the butterfly that was the most colorful and different to me was this red spotted purple butterfly you can see here. First of all being a dark bodied insect really set it apart from the surroundings along with the red, blue, and white spots covering parts of the wings. Secondly it had red spots on the outside of its wings which came out beautifully in the sunlight.

Early on in my hike I was looking at the area landscape when I happened to look down and see an interesting caterpillar crawling around on a spent thistle bloom which seemed fitting as they both have a lot of spikes on them. Researching this one came up with a spiny elm caterpillar which becomes a mourning cloak butterfly later in its life. I’ll have to keep an eye out for those as the summer continues. I don’t remember seeing this many different types of butterflies at one time in one place. It certainly made for a more enjoyable hike.

Hawaii, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Troy's Blog

Abstract Pieces of a Lava Flow

July 29, 2018 Troy

While exploring Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii we noticed many interesting shapes and forms of lava from previous flows. As we looked even closer at them the colors in some of these flows caught our attention causing us to wonder how those were created. Without seeing an actual eruption it was up to our imaginations as to the creation of these different forms and colors. The photo above shows what appears to be a little lava rock which, landed in this spot or was carried to this place by flowing lava, and remained hot for longer than the lava it landed on causing these red, orange, and yellow colorations seen in the photo. They probably were exposed as this lava rock cooled and began to split apart causing a piece to roll down the flow further.

These same reds, oranges, and yellows can be seen in other portions of this same lava flow bringing an added element to these interesting textures. Did this portion of lava also cool at different rates causing these colors to emerge in only certain areas? What would cause one area to cool faster than another? I’m certain some people understand what happened at one time to make these interesting patterns and colors especially now as they can study the new eruptions and flows currently creating new patterns, colors, and shapes.

It amazing how different amounts of lava and lava temperatures combined with the terrain it’s going over can create so many unique types and shapes of rock. Some lava is smooth which is called pahoehoe which is the type shown in the photo above. Below shows another form of lava called a’a. This type looks like a bunch of smaller rocks. As you look closer there are multiple colors all mixed together which combine to look like a dark grey field from a distance. Our time was short to continue looking for more interesting pieces and forms created from an old lava flow but it was fun to have at least a little time to examine lava rock and find the different shapes and colors. Sometimes we forget to take time to really see what makes up a landscape especially if you just get use to viewing it everywhere around you.

Gaining Life Experience