We finally moved to camp yesterday, and awoke early this morning to that hauntingly delightful sound–the cry of the loon.

While I stood on the dock, wishing the pair would come closer, something else caught my attention.

Suspended animation. I couldn’t see the web, but trusted it was there.

Our Mondate began after we got some chores out of the way. A perfect day to hop in the tandem kayak and head north to Sweden. Thanks to our friends the Neubigs, who purchased the tandem for us years ago. They need to return and use it–just saying.

We love the upper basin because there are so many islands and stumps and inlets and coves and beaver lodges and you name it to explore.

The only thing that drove us crazy was the deer flies. Yeah. So we know insects are important for pollination and to provide food for fish, birds, dragonflies and others. But truly, what purpose do deer flies serve, other than to suck our blood? Mind over matter. Don’t scratch and the swelling will go down eventually. Note–like black flies, it’s the females that bite. I’d say, “Go Girls,” but hardly in this case.

Among the many dragonflies was this blue dasher, a common variety near quiet water. If only he would feast on those darn deer flies.

The buttonbush seems otherworldly with its pincushion styles protruding from each tubular flower.

The tight, waxy, petal-like sepals of the spatterdock, aka yellow pond lily or cow lily, stands upright above its leaf–featuring a small v-notch

On other ponds and lakes, I’ve seen the fragrant water lily in bloom already, but here it is just beginning to open. Its leaves are larger than those of the spatterdock and notched to the center.

Pickerelweed is like no other. Though the upside-down heart-shaped leaves are long-stemmed and look similar to arrowhead, once the flower blossoms, there’s no mistaking it.

The flowers are worth a second or third look. They grow in spikes along the pond’s edge. And each is covered in hair. Why?

Not only that, but each flower is two-lipped. And each lip is three-lobed. And the upper lip has two yellow spots.

The pond was dammed a long time ago and stumps support a variety of life–including the carnivorous sundews beginning to flower.

At first glance, I thought they were the round-leaved variety, but I now think they are spatulate-leaved sundews. Love that name–for the spoon or spatula-shaped leaves that are longer than they are wide.

Love is in the air.

As it should be on a Mondate with my guy well spent on Moose Pond. I bet you thought I was going to post a photo of a moose.