Category: Picture of the Day

A river flows onward to another river, lake, sea or ocean, unless it dries up before reaching its destination and they can be many miles or just a few. The Montreal River is a river flowing to Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Much of the river’s course defines a portion of the Wisconsin–Michigan border. The Ojibwe name for the river is Gaa-waasijiwaang, meaning “where there is whitewater”. And there is some ‘whitewater’ on this river as it drops more than a thousand feet in less than 50 miles as it travels downstream over four named waterfalls (Peterson Falls, Interstate Falls, Saxon Falls and Superior Falls) before empties calmly into Oronto Bay on Lake Superior.

The Montreal River looks rather peaceful at its mouth even though it just went over a 90 foot drop a short walk in the opposite direction.

Montreal River Reaching Lake Superior

Picture of the Day for June 16, 2015

June 16, 2015

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In the northeastern states, you can often spot bluish purple color along wetlands, ditches or marshy areas when the native iris called Blue Flag is blooming. Iris veriscolor, commonly called Northern Blue Flag, Larger Blue Flag, Harlequin Blueflag, and Wild Iris. The name flag is from the middle English word “flagge,” meaning rush or reed. Iris flowers are said to symbolize power, with the three parts representing wisdom, faith and courage.

Northern Blue Flag

Picture of the Day for June 15, 2015

June 15, 2015

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When I was traveling on some remote roads in the Chequamegon National Forest, I came across some large moving tennis balls. Or at first glance that is what they appeared to be until the three “balls” piled on top of each other. When my vehicle got closer, one went up the ditch bank into the woods and the other two re-piled to hide and stayed as still as possible so I wouldn’t notice them on the edge of the road.

I didn’t see mommy duck or any water nearby, so hopefully the family of ducks got back together after I drove pass them.

Baby Ducks Trying Not To Be Seen

Picture of the Day for June 14, 2015

June 14, 2015

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The earliest reference to the suggestion of a “Flag Day” was by Victor Morris of Connecticut, where the city of Hartford observed that day in 1861 but it did not become a tradition.

Bernard J. Cigrand generally is credited with being the “Father of Flag Day,” with the Chicago Tribune noting that he “almost singlehandedly” established the holiday. A grade school teacher in Waubeka, in eastern Wisconsin, Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at the Stony Hill School in 1885. From the late 1880s on, Cigrand spoke on the need for the annual observance of a flag day on June 14, the day in 1777 that the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes.

In 1916, inspired by Cigrand’s actions, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 to be Flag Day, but the day was not officially established by an Act of Congress until 1949.

Flag Day

Picture of the Day for June 13, 2015

June 13, 2015

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This little falls doesn’t have a big drop as the other falls downstream on the Potato River, but it is a nice little waterfall consisting of a series of drops totaling 18 feet with the largest drop about 6 feet. Two more falls are downstream as the water makes its way to Lake Superior.

Upson Falls

A short video clip of Upson Falls.

Picture of the Day for June 12, 2015

June 12, 2015

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A few patches of orange red flowers in the road ditch caught my eye the other day, especially since I don’t have them growing near my home, and so I had to stop and get a photo of them. But the showy, eye catching color isn’t from the true greenish-yellow “flower” or corolla but from the scarlet colored specialized leaf bracts instead which attract hummingbirds who are the main pollinators of the Indian Paintbrush.

With over 200 species of Indian Paintbrush, the Castilleja coccinea, commonly known as Scarlet Indian paintbrush or Scarlet painted-cup, are found in my area. The species name coccinea means scarlet although sometimes the bracts are yellow and look like their ends have been dipped in paint, hence the common name paintbrush.

They are a hemiparasitic plant in which their roots grow until they touch the roots of other plants, frequently grasses, then penetrate the roots of these host plants, obtaining a portion of their nutrients.

Scarlet Indian Paintbrush

Picture of the Day for June 11, 2015

June 11, 2015

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Certain birds let you know when you are too close to their nest and will try to lead you away from their nest, dive bomb your head or start squawking at you. The Red-winged Blackbird gets rather noisy when too close to the nest and soon both the female and male are making a fuss until I leave the area. The female was trying to feeding her babies when I spotted the nest and she wasn’t happy with me. At least this nest I could get to since most of the nests are over the water as the Red-winged Blackbirds like to build their nest among the cattails.

Red-winged Blackbird Babies