At the tip of the Door Peninsula, the Washington Island Ferry provides a way for vehicles and passengers to reach Washington Island, a 22 square mile island in Lake Michigan about seven miles from the tip of the peninsula. Another ferry takes passengers from Washington Island to Rock Island, a 912 acre state park were vehicles are not allowed to be brought over to the island.
Washington Island Ferry
The brightly colored orchid like blossom of the Gaywings is a small woodland flower in the Milkwort family. The flowers are about a half inch to an inch wide and the plant only three to six inches tall. It was thought that cow’s milk production would increase by eating this plant.
Pretty Little Gaywings
This log cabin was built by Thomas Goodletson in the late 1850s on Horseshoe Island across the bay from Ephraim in Door County. It was later moved across the ice from the island to the village and Thomas and family continued live in the cabin until the late 1800s. It was later used as a honeymoon suite for a local hotel before it was moved again in 1974 next to the Pioneer Schoolhouse as part of the museums run by the Ephraim Historical Foundation.
The Goodletson Cabin
In the 1850s, Belgian immigrants began to settle in the southern Door, northwest Kewaunee and northeast Brown counties of Wisconsin. They brought their religion tradition of roadside chapels with them to a wilderness area with poor roads and few churches. Some of the old chapels still exist today as well as some new ones. Most are a wooden building, that at first glance might resemble a privy, if not for the cross near the door. This Saint Donat Chapel is one of thirty remaining roadside chapels which was built from stone. It is believe to have been constructed a few years after Charles DeVillers settled his land in 1856.
Stone Roadside Chapel
The Ridges Sanctuary is a 1,600 acre nature preserve and land trust in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin which also operates an orchid restoration project. There are over twenty five native orchid species there and during a visit there earlier this month, the Ram’s Head Lady’s Slipper was supposed to be blooming. After seeing the Yellow Lady Slippers earlier in the week and with a name with ram head, I was expecting a large blossom. But instead this Wisconsin Threatened plant flower is only a half inch to an inch long so it was very hard to spot in the woods as even the small spider in the photo appeared to longer than the blossom.
Ram’s Head Lady’s Slipper
Although the longest daylight of the year was Sunday with the start of summer, the latest sunset in my area was tonight. But the sun was later in rising so even though the latest sunset, the day was already a minute and two seconds shorter since the start of summer.
Latest Sunset
The second lighthouse keeper to take charge of the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County was William Duclon. William, his wife Julia and seven sons moved there in 1883 and the sons shared this bedroom on the top floor of the lighthouse. The boys helped with the chores, including the daily trek down to the lake to fetch buckets of water and carrying the full buckets up the 77 steps. There is also a rumored story that the last boy up in the morning had to empty the bedroom chamber pot.
Lighthouse Bedroom
The bright color bracts which resemble paintbrushes dipped in paint gives this flower its name of Indian Paintbrush. The colorful modified leaves is not the true flower but instead the flower is a smaller yellow green tubular hidden in the tips of the orange brackets. It is also considered to be hemiparasitic as its roots intertwines with other plants for water and nutrients. Bees, butteries and hummingbirds enjoy these flowers.
Indian Paintbrush
This cute log building probably has seen a lot of history and if the walls could talk, I bet it would have some great stories to tell.
Cute Log Building
The mother mallard had a tough time corralling her ten ducklings as there were several who were testing out rapid swimming and spinning in the water. It is always fun to watch the ducklings playing in my pond, even if they are little for only a few days.
Mallard Ducklings
