Beach and Birds

The summer season is finally winding down.  The last day of museum hours will be a week from tomorrow on September 30th.  I have a lot going on in October and will be available some days for private appointments, but not on all days so please call or email ahead of time if you are interested in visiting the Gitche Gumee Museum (906-494-2590, karen@agatelady.com).  Fall hours are daily 2-5pm except Tuesday 6-8pm and Saturdays noon to 5pm.

Today I'll post some miscellaneous photos. First a couple of yard visitors...

The other night I had dinner with friends at 12 Mile Beach Campground in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  We saw multiple black and orange beetles.  I looked it up and it appears to be Nicrophorus vespilloides, which is a burying beetle.  Burying beetles are true to their name—they bury the carcasses of small vertebrates such as birds and rodents as a food source for their larvae. They are unusual among insects in that both the male and female parents take care of the brood.

The beetle liked our 12 Mile Chops leftovers.

So did my friend's dog.

There was no sunset due to clouds, but we enjoyed time along the lakeshore.