Wildflowers

Yesterday John was busy mowing and I rode with Judy to check trails for fallen trees again.  The skies were overcast and the weather a little cooler.  We didn't see a bear today.  Awe, darn. 

We did see lots of wildflowers .......

Love these Indian Paintbrush.

..and a dragonfly or two. 

We were off today and just chilled out at home.  Just before supper time John looked out the window noticed we had a visitor.

This little groundhog comes by almost everyday.

Later this afternoon I noticed Judy outside with her camera so I went to see what has out there.  A painted turtle was digging a hole to lay eggs right behind our car. 

While we were outside we saw another turtle at the end of the driveway.  Judy picked it up so I could get a picture of the bottom of it. 

They are very cool to look at.   Thanks Judy.

I wonder what that turtle was thinking. 

Tomorrow we are off again.  I guess we better catch up on our laundry.  Oh what fun. haha.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Hey, there's a bear!

Up early and off to work.  John had mowing to do.  I accompanied Judy to the recycling center and then checked trails for fallen trees.  Judy and I were on the way to pick up the recycling bins when we saw a bear.  We were both so excited to see it.  We were scrambling to get our cameras and, of course, the bear swiftly moved along.  I managed to get a partial picture of him.  Not a very good one but I was glad to get it.

If you look closely you can make out his ears. 

Here's a closer look.  Sorry it is so blurry. 

After all the "bear" excitement we loaded up the recycling bins and were off to town to drop it off.  We covered lots of ground today, checked a few trails and got some pretty cool pictures. 

Lots of butterflies flying around.  I think this might be a Slivery Checkerspot.  I checked the butterfly book but there are so many that look almost identical to it I couldn't tell for sure.

A turtle enjoying th sun.

A White Admiral.

A Killdeer running around by the shop area.

Tomorrow will be another mowing day for John and I will be riding with Judy checking trails again.  Hopefully we will see lots of interesting things to photograph. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Bird hitches a ride.

Yesterday was our last day off for a few days.  We spent it chilling out, doing a few household chores and taking an afternoon ride through the refuge.  There is always something interesting to see and photograph.   Our plan was to drive to the Pine Lake area to photograph more Pink Lady Slippers.

On the way John noticed a beaver swimming in one of the ponds.  Of course we stopped to watch and snap a photo. 

Sorry the photo is blurry.  I zoomed in as far as I could hoping to get a picture of him. 

Upon our arrival at the Pine Lake area we saw lots of Pink Lady Slippers.  

So pretty and so unusual.

We rode around a little while longer then decided to head home before the rain started.  Just before the turn off to the maintenance road John saw a little deer so we stopped to look at him.  The funny thing was he was carrying a bird on his back. 

I guess the bird was hitching a ride. LOL   Too cute not to photograph. 

Today John and I worked at the Visitor Center.  As usual there were lots of birds and squirrels hanging around the feeders. 

Gold Finches and Purple Finches.

Gold Finches

This little guy stuffed himself all day long. 

We had a total of 39 visitors at the center; 11 of those attened the 2:00 p.m. movie.  Later this afternoon two of the fox kits ran past the Visitor Center's back window.  Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to get a picture.  Maybe next time. 

Tomorrow is another work day for us.  John will be mowing various locations in the refuge and I will be at the Visitor Center.  

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Pink Lady Slippers are here.

Off from work again today.  The weather was beautiful this morning with sunny skies and 63 degrees. This afternoon we were sitting in the RV watching TV when there was a knock on the door.  It was our neighbor and fellow volunteer Judy.  She told us we had a visitor under our RV.  It seems Mr. Snapping Turtle was resting for a bit.

Judy worked this morning at the Visitor Center and one of the visitors reported seeing Pink Lady Slippers blooming.  Judy was going to look for them and invited us to go along.  

Pink Lady Slippers.  

The flowers were blooming along Highway 29 that runs through the refuge.  They only bloom for about 2 weeks.  We were all snapping pictures and soon other people stopped to join in.   I think these unusual flowers are so pretty. 

After photographing the Pink Lady Slippers we decided to check another site to see if they were blooming there also.  We did find a few more located at Highway 143 and Highway 35.  Since we were already out we decided to check one of the trails for fallen trees.  We found a small tree that John moved off the road and three trees that would have to be removed with the help of a saw.  As usual we found lots to take pictures of. 

I was finallly able to photograph a dragonfly.

Butterflies on a turtle egg.

A heron.

Also, while we were out, we rode over to the place were the young swans were hanging out. 

They are such elegant looking creatures. 

By the time we arrived back home the clouds were turning gray and we knew it was going to rain.  Before going inside John took pictures of our site, the garage and the maintenance building. 

This is where the resident volunteers park.  There are 2 RV pads with 50A FHU.

The garage.  The truck with the trailer is the one John uses.  Judy's truck is parked next to it. 

The building with all the doors is the maintenance shop. 

It rained for a short while then began to clear up again.  This has been the pattern for a few days now.   Tomorrow is our last day off for the week.    Thank you Judy for inviting us along for the ride today. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Swans, Geese and a few other things.

We had a sunny warm day today.  Just perfect weather for a work day at the refuge.  John went off to mow and I met up with Judy to check the trails.   As usual we found a few trees down.  We found an interesting tree with part of another dead tree hanging from it.   It was just swaying in the wind.

This one needs to come down.

Some of our other interesting sightings included and Osprey nest, a Raven's nest and turtles on a log.

 The Osprey nest.

Raven's nest.

Turtles on a log.  Looks like they are enjoying the sun.

This afternoon I went on a tour of the refuge with another group of volunteers.  Great photo opportunity.  The geese and their young were out as well as the swans.

The baby swan on the left is the only one left of four that were recently hatched.  Very sad.  I hope this little one survives.

A close up of the little swan.

John and I were both hungry and tired after work so we decided to go into Detroit Lakes for a bite to eat and to pick up a few groceries.  On our way back we saw a large snapping turtle and you know we just had to stop and take a picture or two. 

I don't think he liked us looking at him. LOL

Here he goes on his way.

Tomorrow is one of our days off.  I am sure we will find something to get into. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Happy to Dad and Mary Beth.

Today my dad is celebrating his birthday.  He is 83 years young.

Happy Birthday Daddy.  Love you. 

Also celebrating a birthday today is our niece Mary Beth a/k/a MB. 

Mary Beth

We send them both birthday wishes and hugs from across the miles. 

John was busy mowing various locations within the refuge until the rain showed up.  I worked in the Visitor Center this morning then met up with Judy to check trails for fallen trees.  Light rain moved into the area but it didn't hang around very long.  I am ready for some sunny days. While Judy and I were out we found a few downed trees.  Some of them were small enough for us to move off the road.   

We came across this big one.   Looks like a saw and some man power will be needed for this one. 

We were headed back in when Judy spotted a beaver in the water.  She stopped and we were able to get pictures of him carrying a stick to his lodge.  So cool.   You just never know what you will see here.  I guess that is why I like it so much. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Happy Father's Day.

Today we pay tribute to all the fathers out there.

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband John.  

and to my dad who loves to laugh and has taught me so much about life. 

 Annie (my sister), Dad and me.

Today we also remember Dad Hatch.  We love and miss him everyday. 

Dad Hatch

This year our son is having a special Father's Day.  He now has two little girls calling him daddy.  Happy Father's Day Robert.  We love you.

Robert with Ava Grace and Shelby.

The day started out with rain.....sometimes heavy rain.  Uck!   John and I worked at the Visitor Center.  He worked half a day since he had an overage in hours.   While he was home this afternoon he gave Fred a much needed bath.  I know Fred enjoyed that. 

Hope all the Fathers out there had an enjoyable day. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.