OMT
Sunday, 16 August 2026
I just found out this is a native plant, Passiflora lutea, commonly called yellow passionflower.
OMT = one more time, as in OMT, my ignorance is diminished a tiny bit.
Musings
Succession
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Back in March 2024, I wrote about the twin magnolia trees next to the BeltLine that used to be behind the outfield of the Ponce de Leon Ballpark and up against the railroad ROW (before it became the BeltLine). Just the other day, one of the magnolias collapsed. Fortunately, Trees Atlanta has cloned the magnolias, so there’s a new generation (if the term is appropriate) growing along the BeltLine.
Satisfying day
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
We ticked off two big chores today, both before 12:45, after which we exhaled (you know the feeling) and more-or-less coasted. All good.
Rest stop data
Monday, 10 August 2026
Largest crape myrtles I’ve seen in…forever? And in a rest area. [In North Carolina.]
I found this building very confusing. No doors faced the parking area. None. And no signs. Yes, it’s bathrooms, with a door to a womens and mens on each side…. Not that you can tell from here. [In South Carolina.]
Moving day
Sunday, 9 August 2026
Somebody knows we’re leaving, and his new perch is going with us….
Just after I took this bee picture, and smiling, friendly older fellow in a dashing panama who was stretching his legs nearby invited me to do a few samba steps. It may sound like it could have been creepy, but it wasn’t at all. He gave a little bow and a thank you afterwards. I thanked him back.
We crossed a few rivers—this is over the Hudson—
…and passed through many states (New England proportions, not Midwest and Western). Yawn.
Boats and more
Friday, 7 August 2026
This morning we toured the Vermont side of Lake Champlain. At the first stop, we found a canoe named Fiona, outfitted for a long-distance paddler, it seemed, or at least serious fishing.
At the next stop, I found ripe Rubus odoratus, the purple-flowered raspberry. I don’t remember sampling one before. It is nowhere near as tasty as the domestic kind, but not awful.
At the next stop, I spotted this special boat used by the North Hero Fire Department.
At this stop, we watched this ferry that crosses to New York state loading cars.
On a totally different note, don’t you notice these orange and white barrels? This is a construction site in Winooski, so after we left Lake Champlain.
A bit about the wider world
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
I don’t think I’ve ever looked at these late-summer fern spikes. I don’t know what they’re called, and don’t really need to know. I usually only look at them when they are dark brown and dry, in the autumn.
We crossed an international border, high above the St Marys River…and later visited at this charming, foreign rest area.
We got stopped to wait our turn to use a one-lane section of a construction zone and I could see this farm. We called these folks and their neighbors buggy people, because that’s their mode of transport. I don’t know if they’re Amish or something else. Each farm made it clear that they don’t sell eggs on Sunday. One farm had cut their wheat and made hand-tied sheaves neatly distributed in rows across the field. Non-buggy farmers used combine harvesters, which dump the wheat in trucks, skipping the sheaves step entirely.
Beach details
Monday, 3 August 2026
I don’t know how the water develops scallop patterns on the beach, and here’s a pair that perhaps are circling in opposite directions? Maybe that’s not possible: illusion!
Back from the beach, I found these chokecherries (or something else; my guess is chokecherries), well into autumnal mode.
Sunday mode
Sunday, 2 August 2026
I’m “battling” the deer for the black raspberries. The empty socket is one that I scored. Yum.
I especially enjoyed the sixty-one afternoon minutes I spent chatting with a far-away friend, watching the lake and gulls and clouds while listening and conversing. And I’m not much of a phone-talker.