Musings

I’ve been watching the development of this distinctive large plant that’s next to the trail to the compost pretty much since we arrived. I was certain I had a shot looking down at it when it was all curled together at our arrival, but: nope. This was 15 June. Deep red flowers

By 21 June, it was far more unfurled. I have no recollection of ever seeing this species before, here or elsewhere.

Here it is today, mostly shifted to developing-seed mode from flower mode.

Looking this plant up online, it’s common name is houndstongue, and it’s native to Europe and considered one of the worst invasive plants in this state. Geeze. I guess I should whack it tomorrow before the seeds are viable.

I already did some biomass management this morning, clipping the flowers off the hogweed plants in the swamp north of us about 3/4 of a mile. I didn’t have the energy to dig up the plants, which might really get rid of them, but that removal should halt new-plant generation.

Aha. Found it. This was 6 June.

Posted at 9:10 PM | Comments Off on Biomass management

Swans and the old fire tower, closed to the public the last time I walked by it several years ago.

Reflections on still water….

Posted at 9:12 PM | Comments Off on Refuge drive

I hypothesize that these are the same two fawns we saw yesterday, here visiting in the early afternoon. And I saw them again several hours later in the same spot.

We’ve been seeing these distinctive footprints on the beach by the dozen…finally figured out they’re made by wild turkeys…which I have neither seen nor heard around the property.

Posted at 8:26 PM | 2 Comments »

I was up early, and decided the moon needed to be captured, in that digital way we do these days. If you can see an irregularity to the left of the trail above the grass, it is a deer, ears and face peeking through the tallest stems.

To accompany my “moon shot,” I walked around the other side of the cottage and caught the sky-color to the NNE. This was moments after 6am.

I went back around the cottage, and my grass-obscured amigo/amiga had come out to meet/greet me….

Okay, enough tall tales of moon-above and inquisitive deer, here’s the beach at 9am, all glistening in the early-day sun.

We closed out our holiday with a lovely potluck, great food and fabulous socializing. Once again, odds are I won’t stay awake for the fireworks to start (approaching 10pm?).

A sidenote: while we were chatting with a loooooong-time friend ensconced in a National Forest in Oregon at the end of a trail (but high enough to have cell service) about 7:45pm, two spotted fawns and a doe wandered by, and went down the path you see in the morning deer shots…. Full circle?

Posted at 9:01 PM | Comments Off on Celebrating being HERE

No, this thistle isn’t that tall; I just thought I’d try an up-angle, with the sky as background. Nice cloud patterns.

Here’s the view toward sunrise, but in mid-afternoon. You can see the tint of the sand etc. in the water, churned up by the waves.

The best you can say is illuminating, although not particularly interesting.

Posted at 6:51 PM | Comments Off on New angles

Sunrise. Still humid, hence the haze.

Surprise fish at the shore. Don’t know what kind; not leech!

Illustration of growing apples and apple green, highlighted by the low morning light.

Posted at 7:30 PM | Comments Off on Early beach visit

Did that title catch your eye? What I mean is that the humidity and murkiness evident first thing in the morning (here), and obscuring the far shore, heralded in a hot, moist day, good for reading and low-key activities all afternoon. And sipping ice water…that kind of day-drinking.

My morning beach tour became a leech-hunting expedition. I found the Garish Green Sand Shovel mostly buried in the uppper-beach sand on my first tour. It’s perfect for leech-tossing. The storminess of previous days sent lots of the boneless critters toward the beach, where I pitched them onto the beach, then tossed them to the off-beach vegetation. I returned a bit later to get a second harvest, as I found so many on the first visit. I think the total was two dozen. No lie.

Posted at 5:59 PM | Comments Off on Day drinking

Potluck tonight. All good, as usual, with an outstanding tart cherry pie for dessert. Superlative.

The meal was followed by a peek at the stunning sunset.

Posted at 9:10 PM | 1 Comment »

My, the lake was quiet this morning.

I even saw large bird tracks on the sand bottom. My bet is sandhill crane tracks.

Posted at 9:23 PM | Comments Off on Pacific, but not the Pacific

My theory is it’s just one crazy deer. A deer ate the trillium by the NW corner of the cottage. A deer ate the tops of the ferns in front of the cottage. A deer ate two of my in-bloom peonies (yesterday). A deer ate the tops of some of the lupines. None of this happened in any of the years I’ve been here. What gives? I think it’s one deer, and that animal is strange/barmy.

Not wanting to lose any more peonies, I used some of the branches we’ve cut out of the apple trees to make a kraal of sorts to protect a plant, not livestock, but you get the idea.

Posted at 8:49 PM | Comments Off on Construction project