Musings

Leaf report

Today’s weather qualified as partly sunny, as in almost no sun at all; however, I did catch the woods lit beautifully this afternoon. The color is coming.

Meanwhile, the lower leaves on the UncleDaveMaple are seemingly in neon hues.

Curiosities

Today in my wander, I found curious shapes…this gnarly branch…

…and an exploded milkweed pod. I learned today that the technical name for the fluff is coma (popularly also floss or filaments).

Lake-ward hike

My pre-coffee outing was to gauge the first frost. There was just a teeny bit on the ground, but the roofs sported a goodly amount—I’d call it a light frost. See that lower right unfrosted area? That’s above where our pillows are…it shows a serious lack of insulation!

Today’s headliner was a hike to the shore of Lake Superior…partly along the North Country Trail.

The lake was placid, much calmer than the other day.

See? That rock is the east edge of the Pictured Rocks.

On a more macro level, look at these grey fungi!

And these orange hued ones.

My-o-my did we return to the cottage (an hour-plus drive) all creaky. And hungry…ah, leftovers!

Expected, unexpected

I was too lazy to head to the beach to watch the sunrise, but did get out to see the sun crest the treeline. Nice.

Now this is unexpected: a few lilac blooms in OcTOWber! They do smell like spring.

Yawn

I titled this showoff grass, and that’s about the extent of my “creativity” at the moment. G’night.

Leaf me be…

I can get mesmerized by patterns.

Change a’coming

Here’s proof of autumn. There are colorful Asclepias species, like this one I’m guessing, that are not uncommon in gardens. I’m more attuned to A. syriaca (most likely), which however important to monarch butterfly caterpillars, is less commonly cultivated.

Note that winds from Francine will be arriving over the next 48 hrs, and I’m sure these floss/filaments soon will be lofting seeds widely in the neighborhood.

Floral irritant

Striding along under this lovely, towering magnolia, a high branch dropped a leaf that landed on my hat. It was not a small leaf, and it landed with a small thud. My neck is fine; I just shook that floral debris off and continued my walk.

Different me

Today I’m opting to shift my time-space. This flower photo is from a year ago, and was taken in the UP.

This notion builds from today’s news from Winder and Ukraine, the Mideast, etc., and from finishing “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig (2020).

So salubrious

I sure enjoyed the below average temps this morning. Plus overcast. Both contributed to a super-pleasant walk, in contrast to the above-average temps and stunning humidity of, what? (I exaggerate)—the last six years??!! 🤣🥸😇