Happy summer solstice to you!✨ ___ 5:00 pm • The sun is starting to settle in. It has a while till it sets, but the mosquitos are coming out as the epic heat of the afternoon chills out. This raccoon found his dinner early. The sunlight plays on the water making rainbows as the fish…

4:00 pm • White tailed deer are one of the more predominant mammals in the Northwoods. We all see them in our yards, at the edge of the road even in town. They are ever present, much like the squirrels and the chickadees. People end conversations with “drive safe and watch for deer,” which begs…

2:00 pm • Somewhere deep in the woods a Red Fox rests in the shade during the hot afternoon. His bed of hepaticas and potentilla makes for a restful nap. The song birds are quieter now so the rustle of the trees and small critters is the only lullaby. The smell of distant water wafts…

1:00 pm • A Badger at the edge of the meadow pokes its head out of its den. The sun is hot but her shady tree is the perfect temperature. Though she is mainly a nocturnal mammal she does enjoy poking her head out to observe the daytime. It has been a long hard winter…

I hope to see you at MacRostie Art Center this evening for my artist talk about “Wild Whimsy of the Northwoods.” It starts at 6pm🌈 ___ 12:30 pm • This young male Black Bear is out and about, looking for something. He wanders the edge of the meadow. His stomach says that it is just…

12:00 pm • Barred Owls (aka, striped owl or hoot owl) can be found in much of Minnesota and North America. Though they are most active in the dark they can still be heard or spotted day or night. A walk in the woods leading to an owl sighting is always exciting. This sweet Barred…

11:00 am • This bobcat mother and her cubs are out enjoying the spring day. Their kaleidoscopic kitty brains are seeing things beyond what our eyes and minds can perceive. The cubs frolic with joy, chasing flowers and butterflies, while the mother is attentive. She is taking in her surroundings, ready to defend her cubs…

10:30 am • These two bear cubs have found the perfect spot to roll around in this patch of low bush blueberries. Imagine how awesome it would feel to be rolling with your best fluffy bud in a patch of blueberries and butterflies. What a tripped out moment that would be. I created the piece…

9:00 am • This bull moose has found a restful cove in the midst of these showy lady slippers and spring peepers. Surrounded by the delicate beauty of moss and flowers this sweet dude ponders his day. If he were to stand you could see his tall stature, towering over the small frogs and butterflies…

8:00 am • This Porcupine trundles through the strawberries surrounded by Pink-striped Oakworm Moths. It is time to start the day and with this lady’s slow pace it is important she gets started early and with a good, sweet, and hearty breakfast. Porcupines make me think of sloths. If we had sloths in the trees…

7:30 am • The Eastern Chipmunk knows she has a busy day ahead of her so she plans accordingly to get an early start. She zips through the underbrush, crinkling and clacking all the dry leaves and twigs together, making a huge racket (forest critters or outside observers might mistake her noisy movements for a…

6:45 am • Beavers are the whole package. They are tough, awesome swimmers, incredible architects, and they are cute as all get-out. They swim so fluidly that they almost seem to be floating, but I suspect it takes a lot of strength to look so graceful. This beaver has been hard at work since yesterday…