Musings

I had thought this pair had moved on; today the (I assume) fella serenaded me with their rough call. They had moved on when I returned ten minutes later, perhaps flown to a nearby pond.

We boarded the pick-em-up and headed down the road. A couple of the rivers we crossed were the Sturgeon and the Little Smelt. Yay for fish.

This is the mouth of the Escanaba Marina channel; it opens into Little Bay de Noc. I proposed to the Guru that there must be a good Little Bay de Noc Noc joke, but I couldn’t think of one. [puh-dump] And, yes, there is a Big Bay de Noc.

We returned through the woods and got out on the bridge over the West Branch of the Manistique.

Posted at 6:56 PM | Comments Off on Bits of our day

I made squirrel cage in ATL when I caught squirrels stealing my almost-ripe tomatoes. But, in reality, the yard’s too shady for tomatoes to thrive. With a pickup, you can move a screen cube (minus one side) a thousand miles and not sweat it.

Last evening I spotted a black-capped chickadee fluttering around the cube, perhaps somewhat distressed, and then realized another was INside the cube. Oops. I tipped it over and released the trapee, then righted it again. I probably should have shored up the bottom with soil so that can’t happen again. Turns out it is no longer a SQUirrel cage?

Also, while I was listening to the coffee maker wheeze and spit, and waiting for it to finish, I watched a deer stroll by the south side of the cottage, not terribly worried about danger, and perhaps unable to hear the coffee maker.

BTW, the water barrel is full for the first time this summer (I think), proof we received considerable rain a day or two back.

Posted at 8:17 PM | Comments Off on Wildlife notes, limited edition

It was raining, and the sun was out. Until I got outside, camera (aka phone) in hand. Then, where the rainbow I’d hoped for would have been, just this as the sun had departed with its magic capabilities. Pretty, sure, yet NOT the same.

I managed to catch this beauty with the wings fanned. Such vividness.

Posted at 9:36 PM | Comments Off on Color thoughts

We had to go to town for grocs for tomorrow’s scaled-down party, and on the way, look what we found in the road. Shell was maybe a foot long. I think the black color is from algae or other growth. Meet a small-to-medium sized snapping turtle. I stood around until s/he turned around, and I stayed behind her/him until I saw him/her disappearing under a bush. In the shade. Until then anyway, a happy ending.

For various reasons, like it was hot hot hot, I took my walk late (for me), and the sunlight was in ray form, and just stunning. I tried to capture how magical the ferns looked, but they just look meh.

Posted at 10:07 PM | Comments Off on Snap snap

Another foggy morning.

With sandhill cranes (center, on hill).

Later, much later, a teeny storm was threatening from the northwest, and this merganser mom lead her brood away from our par-tee. The storm did get to us, a wee bit of wind and not even enough rain to moisten the soil around the mint on the ringfort.

Posted at 9:29 PM | Comments Off on Variable weather

Always love the effect when there’s a quiet night and plenty of dew, which together create a mist when the sun-heat arrives.

Pair of sandhills in the field on the opposite side of the road from previous sitings/photos. If I’d been quicker to snap the shutter, you could see both their bodies (instead of two necks/heads and one body). I heard that the farmer may put some feeder cattle in the field (no sign of that so far*), so they better take special care in selecting a nest location.

* Since the nutritional quality of the grass will soon drop precipitously—it’s almost going to seed—I’m not sure if it’ll be worth the effort of shipping the beasts in and out, and upgrading the fencing.

Posted at 6:55 PM | Comments Off on Neighborhood summery-ness

We are back in northern Michigan early spring—frost overnight, and probably tonight, too. Apple blooms look okay (so far).

Offshore breeze means quiet waters (here).

Herd of deer by tree. If you can discern two dark shapes just a bit closer to me than the deer—those are a pair of sandhills…I’ve been hearing them and previous years I’ve seen them in this field…good to find them here again.

Posted at 6:55 PM | Comments Off on We are resilient

Yeah, that title is the prediction for overnight in the clear-sky dark-hours. Lots of blooms in danger. And if the apple blooms are hit, well, no apples come autumn.

Look immediately above the right tree and on the far left. Two sandhill crane souls captured. Two more were in the air, although I did not manage to capture their images/souls.

Posted at 9:29 PM | Comments Off on Freeze warning

Leaves are still emerging by the pond.

The marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) are blooming in the swamp.

The lilacs are just opening in the stand that shields the outhouse.

The lupins are just beginning to show color in the orchard.

The Canada geese are unsettled and still flying north in Vs.

This venerable cedar shows damage from the spring ice break-up, which coincided with two days of strong (like 40-mph) winds that drove giant ice “cubes” way up above our beach, like I’ve never seen before. Trillium is for scale.

Posted at 9:15 PM | Comments Off on Signs of spring

I think this is Prunus serrulata, with the huge distinctive dangling blossoms.

Found this huge trunk; tree too tall to make a good “portrait” photo.

We spent most of the day with family, sitting and laughing/talking, with this great view. Also: great eats.

Apologies for the delayed post; we had too much fun for too long, so I didn’t have time to get my brain in gear to write a cogent post. I DID think of youall, Gentle Readers, however.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Family day