Meeting a Sweet Blogger Friend

Last Thursday I got to meet a blogger from Erie Pennsylvania. Through reading each other's blogs over the last year or so, Linda from Erie's Argonaut found we had a few things in common. he grew up for the first years of her life in Minnesota and both of our fathers were involved in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota in the early 1930s. Several weeks ago she emailed and told me that she and her husband Matt were coming to Minneapolis for a work convention. They would be staying in Minneapolis for a few days, then would drive up to Duluth and then onward to northern Michigan as they vacationed on their way home. I was thrilled and quite flattered when she said that they would like to see Hasty Brook while they were in northern Minnesota! We worked out the details and happily Linda had some free time while here in town to do some quick local birding. I've always enjoyed Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden so I picked Linda up and that's where we headed.

My sense of direction notoriously poor, we wound up in a not-so-very-nice part of Minneapolis. Eventually we made it to the Garden. Armed with 30% DEET bug spray and loaded with cameras and binoculars we headed in.

The day was warm and a bit humid. The garden trails led us down along a very wooded and shady path where there was not a breeze to be had.

One of the first birds we heard was this Common Yellowthroat. We stopped for a quick picture and were immediately swallowed in a cloud of mosquitoes. Didn't they read the memo about the effectiveness of 30% DEET? I'm not kidding- the mosquitoes were in my mouth and up my nose. Poor Linda! Well, we moved along the path and caught a quick look at an Indigo Bunting. No pictures of the Bunting, just mad slapping instead.

We did make one more quick photo stop in the bog area for a patch of gorgeous Pink Lady's Slippers. Linda remembered that this is the Minnesota State Flower. I suggested we hustle along the path and head for higher ground. Maybe the air wouldn't be quite so still and the mosquitoes so thick. Linda did not object!

Birds were few but the wildflowers were thick. Any ideas on this one?

Some kind of pea? The foliage was very pretty and about waist high.

Don't know what these are either but the white ones were VERY fragrant.

A variety of (Princess) buttercup?

I liked this short round fern but couldn't identify it in my fern field guide.

A yellow flag iris- finally something I know!

I'm pretty sure this is a Silvery Checkerspot. I didn't pay attention to the undersides of the wings. That would have helped. I took this photo at an odd angle and if I look at it too long it makes me feel tippy.

I'm always so impressed at people's knowledge of dragonflies. I don't have it. I am pretty sure this is a type of damselfly. When I was little we called these sewing needles. One of my brothers told me they would sew your lips shut if you talked too much. That didn't stop me!

Linda and I didn't spend too much more time on the upper trail before we decided to call it quits. So we jumped in the car, said good-bye to the mosquitoes and headed to Starbucks for coffee and a sweet. For me this was the best part of the day. Linda and I spent over two hours talking about our families, our lives and what we believed in. I was comfortable talking to Linda- it was like talking to an old friend. This blogging thing is really quite special. We all make choices of what and how much to reveal about ourselves through our writing. I think it is possible to get a pretty good sense of the person behind the blog. Linda is a gentle woman, kind and generous. I am so happy to call her my friend.

Stop in and visit Linda at Erie's Argonaut next week and read about her vacation.

But wait- there's more...