• Thursday-What'sUP June 15 - 09:39 am

You know the scene - you're driving along the Keweenaw highways and byways, when all of a sudden a colorful field of flowers catches your eye. Or you notice the side of the road is covered in pink, white, and purple. That's when you wish you had your camera with you, like Charlie Eshbach had here, enabling him to capture these summer lupines. Even though the species of flower is different, this array of lupines reminds me of the field of flowers in the Wizard of Oz that start to put everyone to sleep. It actually wouldn't be such a bad place to take a nap!

Today be sure to fly some red, white, and blue, remembering what the Second Continental Congress did on this day in 1777 when the Stars and Stripes became official.

Everyone have a grand Flag Day and remember to display your flags proud today!

Happy Flag Day!!!!!! I thought I was the only one who celebrated this old holiday! My flags are out, and the sight of the Lupines brings back so many memories as a child finding a wild field of lupines, and picking them till my little hands couldn't hold any more. As a young adult I returned to the field and it was Now a subdivision around the airport in the Soo. Thanks for another great wallpaper for my computer for the day. :)

Lupines really do make the world a more beautiful place. There are
a couple of fields of wild ones at a park where my husband and I go
walking with our dog here in Toronto. Last year, while I was out
walking early one morning, I saw a coyote trot right through the
field of lupines. Not a common sight here in the big city, let me
assure you.

Though my dad is in the LP and I can't see it happening, I'll bet he's
already gone outside to put up his flag. Happy Flag Day, Dad!

I think I should wear red, white and blue today!

Lupines look a lot like the Texas Bluebonnets you see here in the spring covering fields (I believe they are in the same family). Together with the reds of Indian Paint Brush and it makes for some great springtime photographic opportunities across the Hill Country.....

Capt. Paul,

Lady Bird Johnson certainly helped to make the world a better place
with her wildflower campaign. Didn't it all get started in Texas?

thank you for the picture of the lupines. although it does make me long for the copper country.

Ah, the lupines....... My favorite part of the North County this time of year! For those of you w/ young children and grandchildren, there's a lovely children's book about a woman who planted lupine seed. I can't remember the title at the moment, but I'll research it.

Capt Paul, those were my sentiments, exactly, when I first saw the picture & read Mary's description: they remind me a lot of Texas Bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas. I think they are in the same family as the as the Texas Bluebonnets which are Lupines, too, but they are a different variety. We used to see fields of them all over, but especially up near Nava Sota. They sometimes were alongside Indian Paintbrush (which I remember as more orangeish) and Buttercups (smaller pink flowers). We have some awesome pictures of the Bluebonnets somewhere, if I can find them. I would have to get those scanned because those are film picts, not digital.

Kosk, yes, Lady Bird Johnson did start her wildflower campaign in Texas. There were fields of Bluebonnets in Texas, and it was the state flower, long before Lady Bird's campaign, but she had the sides of the highways and byways seeded, so that many, many more people could enjoy them! It is now technically illegal to pick those wildflowers down there.

Ohhh, I would love to get lost in that field of lupines!Beautiful!

It was as field of Poppies in Wizard of Oz. Strangely enough its my 5 year olds favorite movie. We love seeing fields of flowers, especially Lupines!

Yes it did, Capt. Paul, but down here with the Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush, Thistle and Sage, she really didn't have to worry very much.Where I am, we have yellow, yellow, Amarillo.

Oops--I'm sorry, Capt Paul--it was you, not Kosk with the Lady Bird question. I clearly have not had enough iced tea yet this morning!

Thank you for the picture of the field of Lupines. I love pictures of flowers! One of the bigger differences that I see between this Lupines picture & Texas Bluebonnets is that the Lupines are more muted in shade, while the Bluebonnets are usually a bright blue color. I do miss the blooming of the Bluebonnets in Texas, but I look forward to seeing the Lupines of the UP!

I love the picture too...these grow in my Mom's yard in Laurium.

I have some spectacular photos I took just this past spring of the Texas wildflowers. The Dr. and I took a little trip one Saturday about 50 miles west of here and ran smack dab into the heart of the wildflowers. There are some backroads to travel on where hardly anyone goes and we snapped a few rolls of film that day. Of course, we couldn't go out that way without stopping in Brenham at Blue Bell Creamery for our ice cream!!

If you want to see what they look like, just type bluebonnet into google or yahoo and lots of photos will show up.

WOW! That's a great photo! That reminds me, I should get out and check out the wildflowers here in Colorado.

I just love the Lupines.....I have tried to grow them but cannot. I have alot of yard with wild flowers and would love to see these all over my yard like the fields I see. If there is a trick to planting please clue me in....thanks

Do you know how blue eyes...????

God Bless..........

wow, way to make the "Wizard of Oz" connection, that was fun to reflect upon. I hadn't thought of that movie in quite some time, and I can see the tie in! Just ONE of the things I love about living here in the beautiful Upper Peninsula!

Eugenia,

The book, a great favorite of mine too, is by Barbara Cooney. The
title, I believe, is "The Lupine Lady."

Eugenia,

I thought some more. The book is called "Miss Rumphius." She is
referred to in the book as the "Lupine Lady."

That is a great book, my Abby loves it!

Right, Kosk, I just love that book and can't wait to read it to my granddaughter who was just born early Tues. morning.

So glad your Abby loves it, Pennie. I used to read it to my students and challenge them to make the world a better place like Miss Rumphius did.

Hi Mary Drew! I sure could use that picture of the first island on Lake Medora, hope you and Kevin and the rest of your family are doing well.
Regards,
UC

Hey, Uncle Chuck...if you're talking about the picture in my gallery, feel free to use it however you'd like.
Kevin is doing better each and every day and is actually released as an outpatient, having to visit the clinic three times a week and not being allowed to travel more than an hour away from the hospital.
My Mom is home and resting well, getting stronger each day too. There was a point when I thought about giving you a holler, about a wheelchair to use for the trip home, but we decided it wasn't needed after all! Thanks for asking about us all!

Eugenia,

Yup. I'll be reading it to my class before school closes (June 27th in
Toronto).