A morning in the Sup....

[finnbay]

...erior National Forest. My last two weeks have been h@#**%. Too much work and not any play. Rebelled this morning and took a ride to see what I could see. Left the house at 7:00 and was back by noon.

Splashed in the bog again for awhile, leatherleaf:

not to be confused with blueberry blossoms:

No idea what this is, but maybe another type of bog laurel:

Looked for some ladyslippers. The yellows are about a week away yet. Most of the pinks are probably about the same, but I found one early riser:

One raptor, but I have no idea what variety:

Fun with a fox:

And a chance encounter with Mr. Wolf:

All in all, a VERY satisfying morning!

[LeeKen]

Just a couple hours out? Nice

Thanks for letting us be a part of the tour.

[mmeyer]

All very nice Ken! My favorite is the first fox image.

[dukhnt]

The fox and wolf images are sweet. Nice variety for a few hours of fun.

[Steve Foss]

Ken, when you take a break you REALLY take a break. Those fox and coyote images are spot on!

Your mystery flower is a bog laurel Kalmia polifolia.

I believe your "not to be confused with blueberry blossoms" really are blueberry blossoms.

[finnbay]

Maybe I was a bit confusing with the "not to be confused" but I intended to show the blueberry blossoms to show similarity but difference. I'm confused enough as it is! By the way, I saw a lot of blueberry blossoms today!

[Birdsong]

Yum! Blueberries for breakfast soon. What a nice walk. Every one of your blossoms (well not the lady slipper) are so similar. And very pretty. Fox and wolf, as well.

[Steve Foss]

Ken, quit confusing me!

I'm reasonably sure this is not a wolf, but a coyote, which actually is harder to find and photograph around Ely than a wolf is.

Either way, great photos! You got more out of a couple hours than I've sometimes gotten out of a full day.

[USRanger]

First image is great. Like the spider filaments and the texture on the leafs.

[Paul]

I hear ya on the too much work not enough play Ken. I wish I had some spare time to go for a productive walk like you did. Those are grand photos. I missed an amazing photo op 2 days ago. My job brings me to Lake country in and around Becker County multiple times per week. On wendsday I went down to my bosses cabin, and forgot my camara at home. To punish my wrong doing (forgetting camera) I had a family of Loons lounging around in front of the dock all day long. They were so close I got some images with my cell phone camera. Absolute punishment for leaving my camera at home.

[finnbay]

Paul, if I had a camera for every time I shoulda, I could have retired years ago! I hear ya!

Steve, not sure on the wolf/coyote thing. You know how brief you actually get to see these boys most times. I did have the Mark II and 500 sitting by me this time, however! It's got kind of a slim face, but pretty bulky body. If it's a coyote, it's a big 'un!

[Debbie K]

Ken - I wish I could have mornings like this!! We camped in Tettegouche last week and worked our way through Gooseberry, Magney and Temperance and came across one pink Lady Slipper - in our campsite.