Thursday, 18 June 2026
Drippy-rainy morning, with pink lupines…
…and aging dandelion blossoms….
Bonus: looking back west from the point, plus the foggy far shore.
A lighter moment with milkweeds budding [already]…
And, with more light, mayflies on the cottage door. [Not shown: seagulls swooping to snap up mayflies-in-motion.
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
The morning fog thickened after I took this, but I was bizzzeeee inside, so you’ll have to imagine what a later shot would have been like.
I like that the forget-me-nots have flowers on the ends and what the botanical types describe as tulip-shaped pods that contain the seeds along the stems. Anyway, I enjoy the flowers with the pods…togetherness?
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Pink lupine, but you knew that.
Blue-purple lupine, with bumbler, with orange-red pollen.
I labelled this “mystery tracks,” then I checked the magic AI/online ID system, which indicates they’re raccoon.
In ATL, peonies were at this stage in early April, so over two months ago. That’s what latitude can do to plants!
We had an errand on the other side of the lake. We’re not motorboat-across people, so we drove around. On the way back we stopped at this new wheelchair-accessible structure for fishing, but we just looked at the water and surrounds. In the foreground, you may be able to pick out red foliage in the grass. That’s the remnants of the poison ivy that used to blanket the area before they dumped all the gravel, etc., here, and made modifications.
And here’s the lazy creek, with a promise of fish, if you read the signs.
Monday, 15 June 2026
A few minutes before the sun crested the trees….
Using the spotlight filter in full sun on a fern frond….
The fading sun turns the lupine blooms into jewels….
Sunday, 14 June 2026
My sweetie took me out to lunch at our favorite place in Manistique. I like it because I can order a whitefish dinner (with salad bar that includes…tahdah…pickled beets…yum) and The Guru likes it because he can order an all-day omelette.
We lunched out because the morning weather was overcast and damp, and not good for mowing, which is almost always (and in this case) Job#1 upon cottage arrival. As the afternoon went on, the wind dried the grass (mostly), and the sun came out—yay. And we mowed about half of the grass—not the total grass, but the grass that we mow. …honoring (AKA bowing to) the tyranny of mowing….
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Watched Monday’s keynote for WWDC with one ear (as in partly listened, and minimally watched), and a couple of sections featured the phrase “natural language.” As in, talk to this new enhanced Siri or just the phone as if it were a person. The phrase sounds faintly spooky to me. Languages other than English coming soon.
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
We’re still in a drought for the year, but June’s totals are approaching the month’s modern average. [You see the raindrops, eh?]
I was totally surprised to discover, sheltered as I am in horticultural matters, that this is in the milkweed family; I knew it as butterfly weed. The pods look like spiky cylindrical okras.
Monday, 8 June 2026
From what I’ve read, the dominant deciduous canopy tree in southern North America several hundred years ago was the American chestnut (mixed with oaks). Now, it’s just the many species of oaks. Looking up, oaks, shown here, do not look like the maples I grew up with. I do not know what a group of mature American chestnuts look like; I guess very few do, as the chestnut blight fungi have nearly extirpated the (eastern) populations.
Sunday, 7 June 2026
Early-ish, I braved the dew-wet grass to capture an image of the sentinels; however, the shadow makes them less interesting.
Here’s another group, far better lit.
I thought I was seeing tiny dew drops when I took this, but maybe it was just lupine hairs, now that I examine them enlarged.
Ordinarily, I would post an image of The Bridge on this travel day, but I’m mixing it up and posting one of the view south from what my family called The North Country Hill. It’s just north of Clare, and I assume it’s glacial, perhaps a moraine. Without the contrast of passing through the rolling hills to the north, it doesn’t look like much. Bridge photo next time?
