Eastern Oregon June (Jon's pix) Contains snakes

While I was in the Midwest, Jon found some great critters!! This Polyphemus male is a bit worse for wear, but he did fly off. (they don't really fly, as such. They seem to stagger in the air!) 

Jon also spent several hours up at the ranch, both lower and upper. This time of year is very pretty. 

After church, he found an fun surprise. Adolphe (from We're No Angels) is a Western Terrestrial Garter Snake. He lived with us for more than a week. We finally had to release it because, although these are considered a 'starter' snake, he was difficult to feed. There were tadpoles in the water, which we assume it ate, and worms in the soil. Adolphe preferred both places to hang out in. And we really weren't positive he ate. The tadpoles could have been splashed out and trying to find an earthworm in dirt is not easy! 

Adolphe was a very pretty lively snake. Not a bit cuddly. 

Jon also found a white lined sphinx, ours at this time hadn't emerged. 

This is a super pretty butterfly. We think it is a Great Spangled Fritillary. 

This little bird we believe is a fly catcher. 

Jon took Friday off for Hodaka Days and set himself up near the trail at the Upper Place. The riders often waved to him as they passed and he helped load a wrecked bike into a truck. He took a LOT of photos all weekend, these are the only ones I chose...for now! 

Lorquin's admiral is one he has seen often. It is a striking butterfly that often hovers around wet spots. 

This one we had trouble identifying. It is rather tattered and is most likely an Eastern Tailed Blue. 

Jon said this butterfly was hard to photograph, it was constantly on the move. A very shy butterfly, but I reckon a Common Wood Nymph might be! 

Jon said this Western Meadowlark was busy and loud!! 

On his way down from the hills, Jon was surprised to find a rubber boa in the road. He's only seen three in all the time we've lived here. One was when we first moved to the area, one had been run over, and this one. It is a very docile, even tempered, cuddly til it warms up smaller snake. 

 

Flowers in MN

There were several little libraries in Duluth, this one was my favorite. I didn't take a book, because I didn't have anything to replace it with, but I did take a photo! 

These images aren't in the order I took them, silly blogspot! But, they are all flowers around my aunt's house. She is fond of flowers that help out the bees. Minnesota will pay you to do this, so my weeding was kept to grasses choking out flowers in beds. Just in case I pulled something I thought was a weed and wasn't! 

Am not sure what this orange flower is. I rather liked its perky look. When I find out, I'll get some seeds. I figure anything that can grow on a hill over Lake Superior can grow in Eastern Oregon! 

There were several colors of forget-me-nots. I brought some seeds back, unfortunately, I can't find them~ They were tucked in an envelope with a letter from a friend. 

These two are backwards. It is a houseplant my aunt picked up years ago for less than 20$. Now, it is fairly large and blooms often. I liked how the dying blossoms turned into little mummies! 

There are a lot of wild bunnies in the area. This one seemed to prefer eating dandelion seed heads! It was difficult to sneak up on it to take a photo. 

This is another bush my aunt has that I fell in love with. Amazing scent. But, magnolias do. 

These pink flowers below are also one I'd like to have around here. There are a lot of blossoms in the head and they are fairly tall. (the ones above are an azalea, I think)  One of the things that surprised me was how many plants here are similar to one's that grow there. Although, because of the lake, the climate changes quickly in just a few blocks! It is much warmer at one of my cousin's houses than it is at my aunt's. Oddly, I didn't take any photos of my aunt's house! It has been renovated and is the same, and yet not. 

Mum is Home

 One of the things found while at Aunt Darlene's were mum's ashes. So, I proceeded to make plans for scattering them. A place she spent a lot of time at were two little ponds called, logically enough, Twin Ponds. It isn't far from the house mum grew up in, the one Aunt Dar has now, so I walked down and put ashes in different areas. The far pond from the one in the picture, under the bridge, and where the ponds empty out into a bit of a falls. 

To put mum's ashes in Pike Lake, I wanted to do something different. I found and made origami envelopes from dissolving paper. The stuff I used worked, but there is also another brand I couldn't find at the last minute. The envelopes didn't lock as well as I'd hoped, they needed stickers. Dissolving stickers DO exist, they are made by Ball for canning. 

I timed how long it would take for a small bit of paper to dissolve. There was a smidge of residue left after 21 seconds, but I was incredibly impressed! 

The best part of these envelopes of ashes was being able to write on them. Uncle Bill and Joanie weren't able to be there, but I stuck a note on one envelope from them anyway! 

You can see how the envelopes came apart, but they held together long enough to get the ashes away from the dock and into the water. Much more efficient than paper cups! 

I took the remainder out onto the lake with Chris via jet ski. He chose some nearby fishing sites for me to skim the envelopes across and into. The rest were in a baggie, those were just poured in normally as he drove around. 

I'm glad mum is finally at rest in one of her very favorite places in all the world. As I read through her journals, she visited MN often and much of her time was at, on, or in the lake. One of the things she was certain to do almost as soon as she landed in the area was get her MN fishing license. Aunt Darlene was often in charge of me while mum and my dad, Harry, fished. She's come full circle. (the chairs in the b/w photo at the top of the stairs are still at the lake, hopefully to be passed on to someone else in the area who wants to refurbish them! I wish I could have brought them back..)

Kris in Minnesota

 

I wanted to go East to see some of the relatives and places mum would have. One thing I learned from mum was if you can do something and want to do it, don't put it off. So, I didn't. 

 Aunt Darlene painted the above picture in a class taught by Erin. (Erin also gave me one she had done, only it is horizontal.) Lake Superior is a beautiful place. Unfortunately, the view from the house on Skyline isn't as great as it was even 30 years ago. You used to be able to see the Aerial Bridge and more of the ships as they moved around, but there is a new rule about not trimming trees. So, you pay for a harbor view you don't get. 

Erin is the two legger for this adorable youngster. His name is Frode- Scandinavian for clever, learned, wise. 

On Aunt Darlene's birthday, Uncle Bill and Aunt Joanie came to visit for a bit. I was very thankful to see them!!!! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see Uncle Gary and Aunt Marilyn in the cities. Am still sad about that. 

Aunt Darlene surveying the lawn descending to Skyline Parkway.

On the way to one of the restaurants where we celebrated Aunt Darlene's birthday, we passed mum's old High School. Central is now being turned into an apartment complex! The place we visited for one of the celebrations was called Ledge Rock Grille in Twin Harbors. Completely fun and totally different than anything I've experienced! 

On Aunt Darlene's real birthday, we visited a spot downtown. It was across the street from a handmade ice cream restaurant. One that made rhubarb ice cream during the summer months from local rhubarb! We picked a bunch for Erin to take in. 

Two things I had hoped to do while in Duluth were shop for souvenirs and visit Park Point. (Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see Candy, who grew up on the Point.) There was a bluegrass band playing outside a local Farmer's Market. I picked up some fun earrings, honey sticks, and Duluth syrup there. Park Point was cold and foggy, there was a Point wide garage sale going on, but we didn't stop. Below, you can see across to Wisconsin. 

It was a fast 10 or so days, but I am very glad I went.