Musings

Those of you who remember that my feet are at the larger end of the scale can tell how darned big The Botanist’s lettuce is this year!

However, those big feet came in handy this morning when I chased away a cottontail who was too interested in the lettuce, peas, and other tender goodies. Don’t know if the neighbors noted a madwoman racing across the front yard following that fast-moving little white spot. (If you know the layout here, you will realize that our little jaunt looped three-quarters of the way around the house….)

Posted at 9:00 PM | Comments Off on One plant, one huge salad

Today I heard that the swallows didn’t return to San Juan Capistrano, instead heading farther north and stopping at a country club.

So, did they prefer the country club life? Was there too much hubbub at the mission? Or, is it more along the lines of the “C” (as in climate) word?

Posted at 7:07 PM | 1 Comment »

If the title is a riddle, the answer is a skunk. At 4-something in the morning. Trundling by beneath our open windows, I assume. After wafting, hmm, I awoke. And smelled, but didn’t see him/her.

The photo is Au Sable Point Lighthouse, from yesterday. Wow! That lens bends reality!

Posted at 2:22 PM | 3 Comments »

We took a hike this aft from the Log Slide westish to Au Sable Point Lighthouse (that white dot on the other side of the point in this view). We descended (then ascended on the return trip) down, by my count, three lake stages, but I don’t know the geology beyond that. All that is in a National Lakeshore—your tax dollars at work!

GGumee: thank you HWL.

Posted at 7:00 PM | 3 Comments »

Posting early today; whimsy I guess. Rain came in overnight, drippy and good for the plants, although the accompanying cool temps slow them down.

When you’re inhabiting a small house, your living space extends to the out-of-doors, so you watch the weather a lot (or maybe I’m just talking me here). The breeze is kicking up a tad, but the lake still merely has riffles. Inbound, not offshore.

Anyway, the lupines are showing off another of their talents by catching water droplets in their leaves.

Posted at 10:52 AM | 1 Comment »

I realize dandelions are mostly just weeds unless you’re dining on their greens, but with the camera and focus, they can make darned interesting photos. The geometrics!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Weeds can be wonderful

For various reasons (starting with: it was cloudy and uninspiring out), we went to town this morning, and straight to the County Clerk’s Office. I looked up the old deeds for this property, and found, as usual, at least one surprise—or bit of evidence that I haven’t been paying attention to when someone’s been reciting family history to me…. Like, the property came into the family via the great-grandmother of the lupines. At least that’s how it appears—I had thought her husband was the original purchasing ancestor.

“Further research needed,” as They say all too often.

This is classified as a rainy day activity because 1) it was indoors, and 2) the afternoon actually became rainy from about one on (this is very good for plants and the dry-dry gardens).

Posted at 8:25 PM | 2 Comments »

Sunny and clear this morning, so we rode over to the Seney National Wildlife Refuge and went straight out on the driving tour. We were over half-way through the seven-mile drive when we spotted these three loons. They slowly circled, did no feeding—we’re guessing some type of spring behavior.

On the drive, we also saw trumpeter swans (with offspring), sandhill cranes, and, yup! bald eagles! We saw very few ducks and Canada geese. We also spotted (busy) beavers, clouds of dragonflies, and colorful wildflowers.

After the driving tour, we returned to the visitor center and also did the 1.5 mile walking tour. There we found a swamp denizen we’d missed while driving—voracious mosquitoes.

What a great way to avoid chores!

Posted at 4:21 PM | 2 Comments »

Strolling the grounds, if you can call it that, rewards the keen-eyed with surprises.

The lupine (Lupinus sp.; say “loo-pin” and not “loo-pine”; alternate spelling: lupin) are in full bloom. As far as I know, these escaped from my great-grandmother’s flower garden decades ago, and they’ve spread, especially in the orchard and the field. Their most common color is a deep blue with hints of purple. Across the property, however, you will find colors ranging from white to various pinks, a very few light blue, and a few that are darker blue than most.

Posted at 4:59 PM | 4 Comments »

(…although it’s now June.)

I was so excited to discover the last of the lilac blooms hanging on (for our arrival?). You can see most are spent, but enough are still blossoms that I can close my eyes and enjoy their scent if I bury my nose in the remaining blooms.

Posted at 2:16 PM | Comments Off on It’s really still spring…