PHOTOS OF THE MONTH: Babes, bison and blooms

You know summer has arrived in Bemidji when traditional events like the Bemidji Jaycees Water Carnival and Mississippi Music are in full swing and the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues are in the ever-constant company of tourists posing for photos.

The drums and jingles also rang out once again as Red Lake Nation held its first post-pandemic powwow while the bison roamed to the west at the Red Lake Buffalo Ranch. In the midst of a month of smoky days and stormy nights, Pioneer photographers Jillian Gandsey, Annalise Braught and Hannah Olson found these fun moments along the way.

1/6: A baby bison makes its way through the grass under the watchful eyes of the herd in late July on the Red Lake Buffalo Ranch. (Hannah Olson / Bemidji Pioneer)

2/6: A purple coneflower blooms outside the Tourist Information Center on July 7, 2021, in Bemidji. (Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer)

3/6: Dancers in traditional regalia make their way around the grounds during the Red Lake Nation Independence Day Powwow on July 6, 2021 at the Red Lake Powwow Grounds. (Hannah Olson/Bemidji Pioneer)

4/6: Alyssa Mess and Paul Russell dance as the Erik Koskinen Band performs the first Mississippi Music concert of the summer on July 7, 2021. (Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer)

5/6: A bumblebee carries pollen on its legs while collecting more from a bee balm plant outside of Watermark Art Center on July 16, 2021, in Bemidji. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

6/6: Errol Corning, 1, runs under Bemidji’s Babe the Blue Ox statue on July 28, 2021. (Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer)