My annual pilgrimage to to the Migmatite “mixed rock” of Archean Eon gneiss intruded a billion plus years later by Proterozoic Eon granitic rock at the Stevens Point, Wisconsin, dam. Never gets old-pun fully intended. #geology #rocks #nature #earthscience #Wisconsin #geoscience

Bougainvillea in Glendale, CA. #flowers #bloomscrolling #gardening #nature

Wisteria and poppies waving in the wind. #bloomscrolling #flowers #plants #nature #gardening

"Dame's Rocket", if I ID'd correctly. I found a Penn State Extension article that said that they'll take over a flower bed - can confirm. I was fine with it this year because I didn't have anything else planted there, but they gotta go before they spread any further #bloomscrolling #nwpa #invasive

I wait for it every year-our wisteria blossoms here in Wausau, Wisconsin, farther north than they are supposed to grow, reminding me of my early days in South Carolina. #bloomscrolling #flowers #plants #gardening #nature #Wisconsin #SouthCarolina

The first poppy of summer in our garden opened today. #bloomscrolling #flowers #plants #gardening

It’s a purple iris and blue corn flower day. #nature #flowers #plants #gardening #bloomscrolling

Pinks to brighten this not-so-pretty volcanogenic metasediment specimen from our rock pile. About 1.8 billion years old, give or take, its ash layering tells of awesome times past in what would become Wisconsin. #bloomscrolling #gardening #rocks #geology #flowers #plants #rockgardens #nature

Happy Clematis and Baptista day! #flowers #gardening #bloomscrolling #plants #nature #botany

Oh no! How did this Dame’s Rocket, listed as an invasive species here in Wisconsin, invade our garden?! Pretty. But it’s gone now. #invasivespecies #flowers #bloomscrolling #gardening #plants #botany #nature

Our blue flag iris is looking sharp this morning. #flowers #gardening #bloomscrolling #plants #botany #nature

This boulder in our yard in Wausau, Wisconsin, is lower Proterozoic felsic metavolcanic, but I haven’t noticed until now the blue lichen or the tiny yellow ones. Someone, please tell me what’s dining on our rock. #lichen #rocks #gardening #geology #bloomscrolling #nature #geoscience #botany

First yellow peony blossom of the season. #nature #flowers #bloomscrolling #gardening #Wisconsin

The first iris blossom and first pinks of the season. #nature #flowers #bloomscrolling ##gardening

While digging out invasive Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) I happened upon, and did not awaken, this fawn that was sleeping like . . . well, a fawn. And so it was quitting time. #nature #outdoors #wildlife #gardening #bloomscrolling #flowers #Wisconsin

Like an itinerant preacher on a revival circuit, our Jack-In-The-Pulpit has returned again. #nature #flowers #wildflowers #gardening #outdoors #bloomscrolling

Jacob’s ladder, yellow trillium, and pulmonaria are looking in good in wonderful spring weather that has finally found its way to Wausau, Wisconsin. #flowers #bloomscrolling #nature #outdoors #Wisconsin #Wausau #gardening #plants

Our crabapple is in fine springtime form this year. #nature #outdoors #bloomscrolling #flowers #trees ##Wisconsin

American white pelicans stopping on Lake Wausau in Wisconsin on their migratory route. #birds #nature #outdoors #Wisconsin #Wausau #birdmigration #springtime

Fun hike at the base of Safford Peak outside Tucson. The rocks here are rhyolite, but I’m clueless as to the blue-gray, the chartreuse, and the rust colored lichens. Please feel free to weigh in. #lichen #moss #bloomscrolling #rocks #geology #nature #outdoors #earthsystems

Petroglyphs at Saguaro National Park outside Tucson. #nature #outdoors #archaeology #rocks #geology

While hiking in the Saguaro National Park - West Tucson Mountain District I spotted my head-and-shoulders favorite saguaro. #flowers #bloomscrolling #nature #outdoors #cactus

Said the mountain to the boulder “what’s eatin’ you?” #lichen #moss #flowers #bloomscrooling #rocks #geology

Prickly pear cactus in bloom in Tucson. #flowers #bloomscrolling #nature #outdoors

Sunset near Tucson. #nature #outdoors #desert

Congratulations to Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team for their great win over UConn! Good luck against the Bruins! #SouthCarolinaGamecocks #basketball #collegehoops

Wow, looky here - we’ve got a crocus here in Wausau, Wisconsin, that the deer have not yet found! Are the stars lined up, or what?! #outdoors #nature #flowers #gardening #bloomscrolling #Wausau #Wisconsin

Now that the polar vortex has gone back to Canada where it belongs (no offense to our Canadian friends) and the temperature has finally moderated, conditions and trail grooming at WinMan Trails near Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, are superb! #outdoors #Wisconsin #crossCountrySkiing #NordicSkiing

The Marathon County Historical Society’s new building now under construction-the John and Carolyn Sonnentag Archive Center-will allow us to continue to collect, preserve, and display the history of Marathon County for decades to come. #MarathonCounty #Wausau #Wisconsin #history

New snow and fresh XC skate deck and classic tracks made for a fun ski at Minocqua Winter Park. #outdoors #nature #CrossCountrySki #NordicSki #winter #Wisconsin