Some folks don't hold insects in very high esteem, but combine them with colorful flowers and you have a picturesque view of these busy little creatures. Today's Upper Peninsula blossoms and arthropods come to us courtesy of Roger Kangas, Lyn Rayrat and Donn de Yampert. We don't often get a chance to examine these bugs up so close and that's probably a good thing. Our thanks to these three Pasty Camists for today's triple header, without fear of hearing that familiar buzzing and stinging bite!

good morning to all the good pasty cam watchers. supposed to be in the 80's today. summer has finally arrived maybe for awhile. time to enjoy the u.p. in person soon.

Mornin' Y'all......... Nice nature pix!!!

Todays pics remind me of that old song..."let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees
and the flowers and the trees
and the moon up above..
and a thing called love.."
Hope everyone has a good day.

Awesome pictures. I usually avoid getting that close. Everyone have a great day!

Dear Darrell,

Good luck with your surgery. Remember:
you have an international group of people
praying for your speedy recovery.

Happy Birthday tomorrow!

Darrell: When I was having surgery, I calmed myself by closing my eyes and imagining I was on my favorite beach of Superior, hearing the waves and smelling the clean air. It is the most peaceful place on earth. We all feel apprehensive before surgery. Only natural. Keep thinking how wonderful it will be when you are actually on that beach.
We will say a prayer for your speedy recovery.

Great pics.

Troll in Eagle Harbor
Since George is gone, and the Township minutes have not been posted since May what is the status
of the unneeded fire truck?

real nice shots :)

This remindes me of a fishing trip I had with my son couple of years ago...He was about 16. We went up the Sturgeon River out of Chassell around where we used to fish with my Dad and uncle.

There was absolutely no one around....
just a perfect beautiful day...

My son said all of a sudden! "Dad...listen...."
WHAT !!! I said....
"It's so quiet....you can hear the little bugs flying around...and the water rippling "

And yes...you could..it was so quiet and peaceful...all the little sounds that are not heard most of the time. It surprised me that a teeager noticed that. It's a day I will remember the rest of my life.

Would love to know what kind of camera to use to get these wonderful closeups???

Since todays picture is an insect that pollinates a flower that becomes a berry - When do the thimbleberries begin to ripen? Several years ago while visiting Ft. Wilkens we picked some berries and made jam. The receipe for the jam was something like 1-2-3 1. cup berries, 2. cups sugar 3. Cook three min. Really enjoyed the trip and the jam was super!!! We would like to try it again.

18 Days to Vacation! Better tell the Walleye in the Portage to watch out!

Dave S, I know just waht you mean, we have ventured a little bit up the Sturgeon via the Portage and it's a beautiful area. I just continue to hope is is like that for my kids!

Nice Pics for today!

JWilson, OH - I don't know the photograhpers but a good Digital camera with a good lens and a Macro setting will take some amazing close ups, I know my Sony does. I have more problems getting the critters to sit still than the camera not being able to take a fine picture!

Have a great day everyone

JWilson, OH- I use an SLR camera with detachable lenses. One lense has a "macro" setting for these type of close ups. You can also buy special filters for lenses that will magnify your close up subject.

Thimbleberry Jam

2 c. thimbleberries
2 c. sugar


Pick over berries. Do not wash. Mix with sugar; bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and seal at once.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME & EFFORT WITH THE BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS.

JJ- from greenville, MI. Who are you?
I'm from the same place and will too be enjoying the UP as I go to college at NMU

Great pictures. Eveyone have a good day.

Boy, I wish it was going to be in the 80's today. Forecast of 100+ here.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! For the first time ever, I logged in and caught the Lift Bridge UP! That was so cool, especially since I love that bridge so much.

The Dragonfly photo above is simply awesome!

I have a favor for all north bound travelers. I lost a lid to a Rubbermaid tote, somewhere on U.S. 2 and M-77 I noticed it was gone in Seney and I knew I had it in Mancelona. But I think It blew off in the U.P. If you find it, please pick it up and email me. My wife would appreciate it. I get to move to the U.P. on July 31st. I have no idea where I am going to work!! But it is a awesome feeling to know your moving there.

Great Photos! I love that bee - I can even hear the humming from here...

We're heading up north in a few weeks we'll look for the Rubbermaid lid (but if it's a size I need - I may just keep it). I was wondering if you'd want to add something like "I think a rolex watch (or some other valuable commodity) was on the top of the container and blew off at the same time" That might get people to slow down to 50 MPH instead of the 55 that everyone drives now ~[:o).

Hey Mojakka fans!

I've been doing some updates to www.mojakka.com, and have added a section on "Mojakka Memories". Do you have fond (or not so fond) story about mojakka? Share it with others.

The 3rd Annual St. Urho's Day Mojakka Cook-Off will be on Sunday, March 13th, 2005, at the Northeastern Hotel in Cloquet, MN. Yoopers are welcome to challenge the best mojakka chefs in NE Minnesota. Last year's winner was from Thunder Bay, ONT.

timo at mojakka.com

Good Morning! Very cheerful pictures! I have to tell you that when I was visiting the Yoop a couple weeks ago, it was so cool to see certain things that we have all talked about here. I don't know any of you personally, but I thought of several of you as I passed through Hancock, Houghton, Mohawk, Larium (SP?), etc... Wonder if we passed on the street? Spent a good deal of time in Calumet...baught some antiques at a really cool shop..and went to the Museum, and drove by the Italian Hall Monument. Every thing is so quaint, I even was wowed by the Calumet Post Office! I met alot of people who had moved there from Texas, so there's hope for me!

Does anyone know if there is a website, or a way to look up relatives that worked in the Quincy mine?

The thimbleberries out here in OR are at their peak. Nice thing here, is no one seems to go out and pick them.

There are old mining records here on this page.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mihought/

I see that Sharon Smith has her "Bear Feeders" out again . LOL

YOOPER IN VEGAS - HOW ARE YOU SURVIVING WITH THE GRAND CHILDREN OUT THERE? ARE THEY KEEPING YOU BUSY? THE WEATHER UP HERE STILL AIN'T THAT BAD YET, SEE YOU JUST COME AT THE WRONG TIME, TRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR I GUESS!

Timo - my wife makes a killer gula mojakka. Love that tender cheek meat!

John / New Hampshire
"Gula Mojakka"? What the heck is "Gula"?
Perhaps you meant "Kalamojakka" (Kala=Fish),
but then you must like fish cheeks? Huh?
Color me confused.

Does anyone have information on the Dimmer family that lived in Laurium? Edward Dimmer was my grandfather and Anna Mae(Dimmer)Kolka was my mother. If you have any imformation or are a relitive please send me an e-mail. I would like to know more about my mothers family.

Even though its been said, those are awesome pictures today.

So many choices for screen backgrounds. :-)

to dave s Mad Wisc: Beautiful story!!! THAT'S why parents need to spend time w/ their kids, esp. their teenagers! Not only will you remember it, but I bet he'll remember it all his life, too!

I see that The Library is now for sale!! $1,400,000. What's going on up there?? If they are not burning down, or being repossed by the bank, people are just giving up!!! And I was lokking foward to all the eating out!!!

Heading to the UP. tomorrow. It will be a sad trip as my Mom passed away on Monday. She was from Hubbell. I will be happy to be home again. Please all you Yoopers remember her in your prayers. She has always been a Yooper. Hey Mary Drew, hope to see you. Tell Aunt Ce Ce I will see her.

Theresa, Colorado-

So sorry about your Mom. Prayers are with you and your family!!!

Theresa, Colorado,
You can count on seeing me...my sympathy to you all. Aunty Ellen will be missed.

Mark, moving to Calumet

You're not rowing that boat alone ......... I guess we'd all better learn to cook. How's about some of you supper cooks out there starting up a cooking school for us now more deprived, "eater outers"?

INDIANA YOOPER....Guess you're asking the wrong person since I don't know anything about an unneeded firetruck.Sorry!

Hey, a new camera. I like that. Is this a permanent change?

Well, these are certainly some big bugs we have today, but you oughtta see the big birds that Sharon Smith has visiting her front porch bird feeders! Especially the 7/20, 4:39pm shot. My my, birdie, what a big 'beak' you have!

Oh, oh, look who's back visiting Sharon at 'A view from the field'!!

Theresa, Colorado My sympathy to you on the passing of your Mother. I remember too well when I lost mine. Take care.

Hey Sharon S . When are we going to get an interactive bear cam so we can zoom in /out
pan, all the good stuff?

Yooper once removed - about Gula mojakka - that's what my wife calls - she uses sturgeon (acipenser oxyrinchus I thinkus) - beats me where she got the name, she is a viking afterall!

How the heck did that darn bear know Sharon hung the feeders back up? I can't believe it...too funny. The flowers in the pictures are beautiful. Thank you for a nice day.

Mojakka (pronounced MOY-a-kah) is a soup served in Finnish-American households in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Western Ontario. The principal ingredients are beef or fish and potatoes. Made with fish it is called kalamojakka (KAH-la-moy-a-kah), with beef it is lihamojakka (LEE-ha-moy-a-kah).
Mojakka is not a term known to modern day residents of Finland. A couple of sources indicate it originated in the Bothnia region. Ivy Nevala wrote, "When Helena Rautala, a linguist, checked the word in the archives at Turku University [in 1990], she found that the word had been used in northern Bothnia, for instance in Kalajoki, which is on the coast, south of Raahe. It has two meanings, 'good tasting' and a 'fish soup usually made of potatoes and Baltic herring.' ... The word isn't in common use in Finland today." (The word for soup in modern Finnish is keitto, so what Finnish-Americans call kalamojakka is known in Finland as kalakeitto.)

When Finnish immigrants of a century ago made their way to the area around Lake Superior, the name followed them, but it came to mean any soup made of leftovers. Conseqently there are many varieties of mojakka -- fish, beef, pork, venison -- and the broth may be watery or it may be more like stew. With fish it is usually milk-based. Many North American Finns remember it being served in the late winter, when supplies of potatoes and other root vegetables were beginning to run low and cooks needed to ration what remained.
There are several ways to spell it as well, including "moiakka", "moijakka", and "moyakka", but "mojakka" is the most popular.

to betsy_greenville..
i recently retired from electrolux. have 3 children,10 grandchildren. best wishes on your education this fall @ NMU. enjoy the spectacular u.p.(you will soon be a YOOPER) j.jones__†__

Theresa,I am sorry to hear about your Mom. Tho I never knew your family I always heard my Dad talk about George Pini. It is always a sad trip home when you lose a parent.Will keep you and your family in my prayers.

45 Days till vacation in da UP!! YEA!!!

Any chance for a picture of Brunette Park?

Editor's note: Check out Tricia Oleksy's Guest Gallery, she has a couple shots looking out from Brunette Park.

YOOPER IN VEGAS - WELL ITS HOT OUT UP HERE TODAY, EVEN HAD TO TURN THE AIR ON HERE IN THE SHOP AFTER WE PUT IT IN FOR THE FEW TIMES WE WILL USE IT! SO WHEN YOU COME UP NEXT YEAR, YOU WILL BE ALL GRAY THEN?