Musings

We attended a HS version of Caen Laida, which the school maintains is a traditional moving-on ceremony of the Scottish highlands. This isn’t the graduation, but the fun stuff of celebrating individual accomplishments. Those are the seniors seated on the floor of the gym. The other three classes of upperclasspersons were in three sections of the risers. Parents and loved ones got to sit in the fourth section, soon to be occupied by the incoming freshmen.

For me, however, I experienced a bit more backless hard seating than I could easily tolerate. I’m still stretching after two hours of sitting. Now I’m resting up for graduation on Sunday.

Posted at 11:53 PM | Comments Off on Party tomorrow!

Yeah, it was a bit rainy (not just misty), yet I went out, motivated by the many and various blooms in neighboring yards (and here, but increased diversity across a larger geographic area duh).

Just darned strange to see stem-flower collar, stem-flower collar, repeat growth patterns on a single bloom stalk.

Posted at 10:25 PM | Comments Off on Seeing yellow

We changed three time zones, and traveled via train, plane, bus, and rental car. And I’m taaaahrd.

Posted at 10:42 PM | Comments Off on Sunset behind the Olympics

I’m a bit discombobulated from our latitude shift that meant we left the spring of the way north and are now in the summer of the deep south. These directions are based on USA attitudes not continental, geographic perspectives.

Posted at 7:27 PM | Comments Off on Almost harvest time

Late this afternoon we had a storm cell/line come through and when it was in the final dripping stages, I snapped this of an upper section of the fennel forest out front. I like that: fennel forest.

Posted at 7:55 PM | Comments Off on Alliterative Apiaceae

On the last day of May, we walked to Au Sable Point Lighthouse, and around the buildings we saw and heard many busy bees attending strongly scented blooming shrubs, about half along the ground like this and the rest upright yet not tall. I finally identified these: Prunus pumila, or sand cherry. I’ve undoubtedly seen them before, but never noticed them, perhaps because they weren’t in bloom and showing off.

Posted at 8:12 PM | Comments Off on With anthill

Spotted on the roadside. I think it’s an Edsel.

This, however, I know to be the rainbow crossing in Midtown. It was first temporary and removed, then there was an outcry and political maneuvering, and some time later, presto, it returned to stay.

Posted at 8:10 PM | Comments Off on Out the vehicle window

We had to leave this beautiful place today. Had to be done. Travel was fine, with minimal delays and bad drivers (around us, not us).

Posted at 8:27 PM | Comments Off on In transit

The lupins are out! These are probably the farthest along of any on the property. There’re perhaps one hundred blooms in this photo, but none opened other than this cluster.

…not even opened as much as these rare white ones. There are also a minority of pink ones.

However, the lilacs are perhaps two-thirds opened, and they are scenting the whole area. Mmmmm!

Also, the first skillet of morels has been found and consumed. Thank you, Neighbor!

Posted at 8:09 PM | Comments Off on Speedy springing

Aging white trilliums become pink-tinged. And scruffy.

These wee ones are coming along; I even see second leaf pairs emerging.

Recently I mentioned Pando, the 43.6 ha or 0.436 km2 aspen…clonal collective(?) growing in Utah. In news from the southern hemisphere, scientists have identified a clonal seagrass meadow in Shark Bay on western Australia’s coast that is 200 km2. Much, much larger. It’s estimated to be 4500 years old, based on how fast the seagrass grows.

Both the aspen and the seagrass are astounding. Terrestrial and marine giants. Scientific names: the quaking aspen is Populus tremuloides; the seagrass is Poseidon’s ribbon weed, Posidonia australis.

Posted at 5:44 PM | Comments Off on Amazing plants