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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

More This and That from the U.P.

Today, I have random photos for you
taken either from my garden
or
from the woods
in beautiful Upper Michigan (the U.P.)



While taking a ride on our boat on Lake Michigamme,
we spied a mom and her baby ducklings:
(I count seven baby heads, how about you?)






They were soooo cute:






These little blue flowers are allllllll over my yard. Does anyone know what kind of wildflower they are?:







A purple wildflower that I also don't know the name of:








A closeup of the baby ducks. Yup, SEVEN!:








Pansies from my garden:







They self seeded themselves from last year:






A closeup:


Have a great day!

I hope I brightened it a bit for you!

23 comments:

Biana said...

Oh my gosh, those baby ducks are so adorable. You always spot so many animals. You must live in a great place with beautiful nature :)

Anonymous said...

That water looks so inviting! Don't have a clue what the flowers are. We've got an assortment of wild flowers that grow only on one of our campsites and no other place! Next spring I'll have take a couple of photos and see if anyone can tell me what they are.

DJan said...

Awwww.... they are so cute! And the sparkly light on the water, just perfect pictures. I don't know what those flowers are, either. I am so impressed with your pictures, always.

rainfield61 said...

They are seven little dwarfs...

lol.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Joan, Cute little baby ducks....

Love your Pansies. Ours finally died out --with all of the heat we have had this summer... We'll replant some in late Fall.

Have no idea what your wildflowers are --but they are pretty...

Have a great week.
Hugs,
Betsy

Jeanette said...

My pansies self seeded too and grew in the cracks of my driveway! Nice pics as usual!

Brian Miller said...

the baby ducks are cute...still loving the close ups from yesterday...the wild flowers are gorgeous though. such vibrant colors!

Amy said...

my mom wants to know if those flowers are low to the ground or tall? she loves flowers and can identify 1000's of them...she is bringing her books to Grama's with her and we will see if we can identify them for you...they are definitely pretty!

Loree said...

I absolutely love your photos. The ducklings are adorable but I just can't get over all the sparkles in the water.

Pat Tillett said...

All nice photos Joan, those little fuzzy heads!!!!

Amy said...

your pretty blue flowers are forget-me-not, they are of the Borage family, and grow in swamps or moist areas from the spring to fall, and are 6-24 inches...

The Retired One said...

Biana: Thanks so much..yes we live in a beautiful area but it gets bitterly cold with tons of snow in the winter too. ha

Cathy: I stopped by da Yoopers last month and they had a wonderful book on Michigan Wildflowers, I should have bought it..I have to go back and see if they still have it.

DJan: Thanks so much! I love your mountain scenes from your hikes too..I am wayyyy behind in reading others' blogs because of our hectic summer here. I haven't been out to take any photos since JUNE!! I gotta get busy. ha

Rainfield: hhaaa You are right!

Betsy: Thanks! I am so sad in that I have been so busy this summer I haven't gone out half as much as last summer to get photos. I hope to make up for it in the fall.

Jeanette: But they are so cute, arent' they? Mine finally are taking off..they were very sparse last year.

Brian: Thanks so much. I love both the flowers and the ducks.

Amy: Tell your mom the first ones are small and short and grow all over amongst the grass in our yard..they are probably considered weeds to others but I think they are really pretty. The second photo flowers are tall. If she finds the names that would be great!

Loree: awww, thanks. Yes it was a gorgeous day on the lake the day we were out there.

Pat: Aren't they adorable? They change so fast, too...we see them on the lake one week and by the time we see them again, they are almost all full grown.

Amy: The small flowers were not forget-me-nots, we have them also in our yard and they are different. Close, but different and taller than these are.

faye said...

Such sweet little ducklings..
and the flowers are simply
gorgeous.!!

Resigned said...

I know nothing about flowers..only that their colorful beauty is to be enjoyed !!!
I have "roots" in the UP, my fathers family originates there !

Sharon Wagner said...

The light sparkling on the water is even prettier with the little ducklings. Of course!

CiCi said...

The close up of the pansies is such a brilliant color. Aren't pansies a nice flower?

Alan Burnett said...

You look at those ducklings and at first you think they might be slightly out of focus. But they are not - they are just very fluffy.

Far Side of Fifty said...

The first little blue one is a Veronica..four petals is the clue..here is the link.
http://homepage.mac.com/chpeirce/wildflowers/bluepurpleviolet/Veronica_chamaedrys.html

The second one is some kind of a Campanula or Bellflower. Which one it is hard to tell..but it is lovely. Cute ducks! :)

Linda Reeder said...

Love all ofyour cute baby ducks and geese!
Those small blue flowers might be a kind of Veronica, commonly called speedwell. The other blue ones might be gentian, or else a kind of companula. You could try googling these to see if you gaet a match.

SquirrelQueen said...

The baby ducks are so cute, I love seeing them this time of the year. Very pretty pansies.

I believe your purple flower is Venus's Looking-glass, it is a member of the Bluebell family. It grows up to 18" and is usually found in dry woods and fields. Don't you just love that name?

The Retired One said...

Faye: Thanks!

They Call Me: Where are your folks from in the U.P.? (near what town?) I'd love to know!

Sharon: yes, it was so pretty on the lake that day.

Technobabe: yes, they are!

Alan: Yes, they were very fluffy! LOL

Far Side: Thanks so much for helping me identify the flowers.

Linda: you and Far Side seem to agree..thanks so much!

SquirrelQueen: Yes, I do love the name..thanks!

RNSANE said...

Your flowers are always so beautiful and a constant source of pictures.....love the little ducklings!!!

Resigned said...

Sorry I didn't get back to check in sooner. My family is from Calumet. I believe they are down in the Boyne City area now. It's been years since I've had contact.
Vickie

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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