Minnesota

Forgive the brief hiatus from the AT narrative, I was out in Minnesota for 10 days or so.  I had to drive all the way out there (about 26 hrs of driving, further than Tennessee!), work a week, and drive all the way back.  While the little bit of Minnesota and Wisconsin I saw were quite pretty, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio didn't do it for me.  I'm sure there's plenty of interesting critters and plants to be found in all those cornfields, but I don't think I could be bothered to look very hard.  Like all states, I'm sure they have some pretty spots, but what you see from I-90 isn't much to write home about.  I guess it's better to keep the traffic away from the pretty spots, the better to keep them from getting spoiled by throngs of people.  Then again, it seems like most of the people on that route are on their way somewhere else, judging by the number of RV's and long haul truckers.  I guess I fall into the latter category.  On the bright side, there were some pretty flowers to be seen along the road while flying by at 70+ mph.  The chicory is in full bloom right now (including here in Vermont).  I'm tempted to try digging some up and making coffee out of the roots, but the flowers are too pretty to spoil and I don't like coffee anyway.
After getting back from Minnesota, I took a nice long walk around the back yard to see what was new.  Turns out all sorts of things can change in a week!  I don't know if it's all so interesting to me because I never paid that much attention before, or if every year is going to be this interesting to me.  I guess we'll see.  One thing is for sure, I will always welcome the coming of green stuff after a long winter.  Speaking of that, it's looking like we'll be around here for another one.
I'll get back to the AT retrospective in a little bit.  In the mean time, here are a bunch of pictures:

Back in Vermont, pre-Minnesota trip:

Luna Moth

Cluse-up of antenna.

Iris of some sort...

Haven't figured this one out yet.

Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).
















And now, some from the midwest.

Sunflower?  Laporte, Indiana.

No idea what this is.  LaPorte, Indiana.

Marsh Pea?  LaPorte, Indiana.

No idea about this one either.  LaPorte, Indiana.

Common Nightshade (Solanum nigrum).  Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Squirrel-Tail Grass (Hordeum jubatum).  Minnetonka, Minnesota.

One afternoon after work, there was a big thunderstorm that rolled through.  I went wandering around after it had passed, hoping to find some katydids or cicadas blown from the treetops.  Instead, I found hundreds of baby toads.

Oddly enough, their natural colors blended in perfectly with the cement curbs.

That was about all I had time for while out in Minnesota.  So, here's some from the yard back home in Vermont.

Rosy Maple Moth.

Black-eyed Susan.  I wonder if there's a story behind that name.  Hopefully Susan wasn't a victim of domestic abuse.  That reminds me of a bad joke...

The milkweed is blooming.

Damselflies sure are pretty.  If my camera had a manual focus, I'd have lots more of these sorts of pictures...

Bur-reeds.

Blue Toadflax?

Hop-Clover (Trifolium agrarium).

Soft Rush (Juncus effusus).

Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata).

Young Green Frog that still has its tail.

Green frog tadpole that is getting its legs...

I can't figure out what this is.  It looks like foxglove to me, but I don't think I've ever seen it this color, and it's usually taller from what I remember.  This is right at the edge of a maple forest.  It's not in my Vermont Wildflower guide, or in my North American one...

They call this "flowering raspberry" in the east, but I'm almost certain this is what is known as "thimble berry" out west.  (Rubus odoratus).  Looking up the scientific name, I answered that question.  Thimble berry is indeed very similar, but it's a separate species (and only grows in the west, R. parviflorus).

Mossy tree trunk.

Slug.  Hmm, how does one identify slugs?

Broad-leaved Dock.

Haven't bothered to look this up yet.



 

I think this is Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris).

Not sure.  Could be a younger plant of the thing above...

The insects are starting to sing again!  This is a Roesel's Katydid.

A green frog (Rana clamitans) stares into the sunset.