Musings

The view is east. From the bathroom. And this morning fairly early I saw a couple-spike buck still in velvet on the mowed area just a few feet away. He moseyed on, walking funny—couldn’t tell if it was a limp or something wrong with his hips. My eyes lifted to the sky. Clouds obscured to still-low sun, with nice cloud layers portending a fine sunrise, from the right angles. I finished my personal business and grabbed the Big Cam and headed down to the beach, stepping high to try to keep the drops remaining from yesterday’s rain from penetrating to my toes. Didn’t work. Still, the view of the lake from the bluff was terrific.

I descended and walked to the end of the dock (TY, M&D), and soaked in the views. To the southeast were three loons keeping company, and maybe doing a toned down version of the circling we observed earlier this year. Soon I heard loon calls from east around the point in the photograph and to the southwest, as well as from the trio. I even managed to record a bit of it. (Not being as talented and experienced as KW, I offer you the story and not an audio or video clip.)

Anyway, while I was soaking and didn’t have the camera stuck to my face, I saw a very large bird arrive in silhouette fluttering his/her wings to land on one of the dead branches you see poking skyward on the end of the point. Cra-a-ack, I heard, and the wings fluttered and the big feathered shape disappeared back along the shore to the east as a dead limb fell into the center of the very tree you’re looking at above. S/he returned maybe 4-5 minutes later and fluttered, but did not land, perhaps remembering distant times when this was a good spot to fish from, and also remembering the perils of the previous landing attempt.

Posted at 4:28 PM | 2 Comments »

I am fascinated by the interplay of light on webs—is this my Charlotte the Spider connection?

From yesterday’s walk; too lovely to not post, especially since we made today a Chore Day, and eradicated much dust—and not a few cobwebs—from our aged cottage interior.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Aesthetic webs

Today I learned first-hand what chicken poker is.

First, you have to prep the “field.” Establish a grid, lay one playing card for each square. It’s pretty much mandatory that the grid be “fenced.” Sell tickets for what you can get ($1 this day). Each “ticket” is a playing card corresponding to the ones distributed in the squares. Introduce the chicken. Wait for product.

Winner, of course, holds the card corresponding to the one in the square inoculated by the chicken.

This at a wedding, mind you!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Step right up!

He just watched me. I just watched him (except for taking this photo). And, I could smell his breath from where I walked by—in the street, not on the sidewalk. (Ick.)

Two rain showers today, and the second one’s going on now. A side benefit is it didn’t get into the 90s today!

I don’t know dogs, but I think this is a boxer. Interesting history of the boxer breed; they’re a mastiff variant that can be traced back to Tibet in 1121 BC, if WikiPee is correct.

Posted at 5:40 PM | 5 Comments »

Once again, I only find the “hidden” insect when I look at the photo.

Anyway, one of our “long” peppers—they’re sweet. And this one is just about ready to pick!

Posted at 6:02 PM | Comments Off on Sharpen your eyes

Eight years ago this day I was swanning around the Seney Refuge in my beloved Upper Peninsula. Today: plebian chores. But the fridge is full!

And the modified fried rice I concocted with all the veggies was outstanding!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Memory land

F spotted this garden spider (Argiope aurantia), which I understand is garden-variety sized, and nowhere near as large as they can get, inbound from his walk the other day.

Thanks!

I, of course, did the kind of point-and-shoot photography where you can’t really tell what you have framed or focused on because the camera is nowhere near your eye.

I did get a couple of decent shots, but I thought this one might be a better reminder of the follies of photography (I like the ring of that…). Especially of spiders.

The zigzag feature of the web: a stabilimentum. Some species make them in spirals, so this is a simple straight-forward type….

Posted at 6:52 PM | 4 Comments »

These are the days, my friend…when critters are eating other critters and critters are eating plants and plants are doing their thing, and some living things aren’t getting their sustenance. The cycle of life is a trade-off.

Spider on left and stink bug or shield bug (something) on the right…just outside the window….

Posted at 10:38 PM | 1 Comment »

We really liked the urban stuff.

It’s also true that we were happy to leave it behind. Especially the Staten Island part. We didn’t tour Staten Island (the third borough of our NYC visit, and the one that seems to me the most different from the rest), just drove along a main road (not Interstate). From what I saw, I thought I would find it stultifying to live there. I didn’t see any neighborhoods that looked quite like the one we saw that Melanie Griffith’s character Tess McGill in Working Girl (1988) was from; I saw mostly duplexes and ranch style homes that all looked post-WWII through the 60s.

Cleverly, we scheduled our Sunday morning so that we could “do” the Skyline Drive, all 105 miles, from north to south.

The weather was perfect, the traffic light, and our trip gorgeous. We saw one large Wild Thing, although s/he was pretty skinny. And eating most of the time we watched her/him.

Note: with our entry covered by it, we have made our $80 Annual Pass (purchased last October at Pipestone) a deal!

Posted at 10:22 PM | 2 Comments »

The wildlife is getting increasingly bold.

Give me back my ’mater!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Stop, thief!