Musings

We took a drive up on the plains to throw off a building affliction of cabin-fever (hahaha). The plants have filled in so much since I began visiting decades (cough cough) ago.

We encountered pretty full campgrounds by Lake Superior, including many tenters, and goodly crowds at all parking lots we went by with foot access to the beach. That’s far more people than we saw in the early summer when the same campgrounds were almost empty; granted: some were closed at that time.

We checked out blueberry plants by the Fox River (Hemingway was here, or dreamed he was here), and, as we’ve been told: lotsa no-berries. And here: no berries. Consistency in the wild crop.

On our return, we took the wildlife drive at Seney Refuge…pretty quiet as far as other human visitors…in contrast to up by the Lake. We did spot several swans, all dirty headed/necked from the tannic waters of the refuge impoundments. Also a few Canada geese. A pair of Sandhills. Assorted ducks. A large tern with a gaudy orange beak (Caspian?). A loon we were photographing and binocularizing called as we watched; nice touch, buddy!

Posted at 7:43 PM | Comments Off on Adventure northward

First ground-flock of Canada geese I’ve spotted…preparing to fly south?

My hypothesis: the geese find the giant hay bales nurturing.

A fine shot of Queen Anne’s lace aka wild carrot, an invasive species from Europe and southwest Asia, to honor Joe’s VP pick: Kamala Devi Harris (October baby!, b. 1964), US Senator and former AG of CA.

Also in the news: Big Ten, Pac 12, more cancel fall football (that is: American football).

Posted at 4:50 PM | Comments Off on Everyday until late afternoon

Tonight we ate veggies from the neighbors’ garden: mini-cucumbers, leaf lettuce, broccoli…all super-yum. We ate basil from our garden*…snipped atop a pasta-tomato sauce mixture [okay, I admit: the ingredients for that were from various groc stores].

I kinda think the basil made the main dish phenomenal!

* Our garden consists of basil…and a pair of barely rooted spearmint stems. So we pretty much harvested all we had! [Not enough of a garden to get through the winter….]

Posted at 7:04 PM | Comments Off on Fresh herb

I’ve got two interesting pictures today, I thought, embarking on this post. This one has immediate punch. Color. Drama. Visual clout. Floral!

Yet, this one of the growth end of a cucumber plant is in many ways far more interesting. Look at that unfurling foliage drama! So much mystery unfurling pending. Flowers are lovely, but cucumber plants have flower AND produce food.

No honest way to compare the pair.

Posted at 8:37 PM | Comments Off on Drama club of plants

I’ve been trying to snap this cluster of white birch trunks for a few days, and every time I bring them into focus they have a beige/brown cast on the screen that I don’t see in reality. I know I can remove that in post, but I kept trying to find a situation where the camera wasn’t “confused” by the color. Finally, this oblique angle (both me and the sun) produced relatively true color.

And this is a close-up (duh) of a mullein (Verbascum thapsus) leaf (top surface). The fuzziness appears like another world’s surface.

Posted at 6:34 PM | Comments Off on Photo phun

Is a grapevine tendril.

Was a peony blossom.

Posted at 8:30 PM | Comments Off on Izza wazza

Call it cinquefoil or call it potentilla, it’s a pretty, modest flowering shrub that’s hardy enough to survive in northern climes.

Posted at 5:24 PM | Comments Off on What’s in a name

When the Manistique River is high this time of the year, the lake it flows from must be high, too? Roight? And it is. And it has been. For years. We go from drought years to this in, what?, just a few years…and this high-water has been with us for, what?, a decade?

The lake it flows from is a shallow lake, big and shallow, and the speed boaters always had to take that into account…like anchor their boats well off-shore (takes some depth for those big motors) and take a dingy in, and the like. Well, those folks like the high levels. The rest of us watch our property wash into the water and disappear. Not happy-making.

In short, Lake Michigan is high. The feeder rivers that flow into it are high, and everything upstream is water-filled. Welcome to climate change, this local version right at present.

Today’s official palate-cleanser flower….

Posted at 8:32 PM | Comments Off on Water! Essence of life.

I have to say that I tend to enjoy drippy rain. White-noise drippy rain. Today’s lasted, off and on, until about 5:30 pm, when the sun came out and the temp began to elevate. I hear even more bird calls now. And, as you can see, the rain barrel is full…plenty to last us a few days until the meteorological report predicts sprinkles, as I only have to water the basil…and mint! Peppermint! This summer’s science experiment (thank you, Sweet, Kind Neighbor, who induced my snippings to send out roots after I had failed to do so).

I see a stand of goldenrod (Solidago spp.) has pushed well above the grass head near the garage. Only they’re not yet golden. Time, magic time, will change this.

Title refers to a common phrase around here that goes something like…if you don’t like the weather…da da da.

Posted at 7:25 PM | Comments Off on …wait ten minutes

Knowing the heat was coming, I got out right after coffee for a bit of pruning, then we went to town for a few groc necessities. I suspect this is an Asian honeysuckle that escaped from the great-grandmother garden, and not a native species. This branch survived the pruning.

Late in the afternoon, we walked across the road to visit with the neighbors at a social distance (plus), and to pick some of their lettuce—lovely and tasty.

Between these two, I just soaked in the heat, from a seated and decidedly un-lively position. [I call that afflicted by the heat/humidity combo.]

Posted at 7:19 PM | Comments Off on Afflicted