Sunday, 22 June 2025
The predicted heat streak really hit us today. We were lucky, however, as the windiness tempered the heat (to some degree 🤣). I thought this barrel reflection did a good job of showing the turmoil in the sky. I truly enjoyed my 4:30pm dip in the not-so-warm lake.
It may get down to 69°F tonight, so tomorrow will be another hot one.
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
On my post-coffee beach walk, I saw wee rollers coming in, not feverishly, but unmistakably.
I had to post this photo with the colorful lupins and serendipitous OOF* seagull.
Back in the garden, I flipped open a discarded rhubarb leaf, and discovered a pair of slugs. Yup, they’re gross. But, still: nature data.
* OOF = out of focus
Friday, 13 June 2025
I’m not a major Jimmy Buffett fan, but this evening I’ve been thinking about changes in latitudes and attitudes.
BTW, no change needed in this lovely pottery, made by Gail-the-potter for guests use to toast the new couple at her wedding.
Sunday, 8 June 2025
Yesterday we left idyllic lake-side life, scented with Canadian wildfire smoke, to arrive in clear skies and no nearby open water.
We abandoned lilacs and lupin, and now breathe the sweet scent of gardenias. BTW, the temp here is 80°F, with the AC running, while up north it’s 62°F and my cousin has a fire in the fireplace.
Thursday, 5 June 2025
Last night was quiet, and with all the moisture after the rain, the situation was perfect for the sun to make ground fog. Lovely.
Before the sun got up very high, I took various tools and buckets and drove the car to the other end of the swamp to do some hogweed extraction from the ditch. I’m convinced this is where the ones in our field came from. I did a similar removal session several years back, but I hadn’t realized how big the survivors have gotten. I removed all that looked like they’d make seeds this year. Several were too embedded in roots to extract their roots, so the “crop” will continue. I’ll try to get after them again before summer’s end.
Our big excitement was this evening, when we attended a murder mystery dinner theater play. It’s the first time I ate next to a dead guy—Mr. Cooper his name was. We had a great good time, and I even guessed the killer, although not the whole back story and motivation.
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
We headed to Manistique to have a better grocery selection than are offered at nearer stores, and began our adventure with lunch, followed by a stroll on the boardwalk (mostly paved) along the Lake Michigan shore to look at the lighthouse. It’s rather stubby and unprepossessing; good thing it’s painted red.
And just to the left, moments after the photo above, I caught a gull taking flight. Look! No horizon in the background, and this was merely perhaps an angle of 40° different.
Next stop: groceries. I guess a version of the shopping-after-lunch plan was in the air, as we saw both parties that were eating when we arrived at the lunch place at the grocery place. Great minds? (Snort; I don’t think so, just restocking after a long holiday weekend.)
Back at the ranch, I got the grocs put up, then headed out to check on the lake and just wander about. The barberries next to the cottage are in bloom. Indeed, we watched a (smallish, dark) hummingbird busy with the flowers just yesterday.
I checked the lupin pair pictured yesterday, and the development is noticeable. This is about 30 hrs after the previous photo.
I just went out to close up the entry porch, and realized the buckets I put out to drain and dry now seem to be a convention. I used the buckets to water in the new top-dressing I added to the rhubarb in the bed I created last fall down at the stone house. The plants’re small, yet doing well, and all survived (a major coup).
Friday, 23 May 2025
Proof we had rain overnight….
Proof it wasn’t much. [The rain barrel stays indoors all winter…if I don’t forget—so this is MaNachur’s first deposit of 2025.]
First lupin buds I spotted…the rest are just vegetation for now.
Although the summer veg crop is not coming in yet, we went for a veggie-laden dinner…raw lettuce, tomatoes, and radishes, plus “semi-stir-fried” broccoli…with medallions of salt-n-peppa pork tenderloin. [Lousy photo quality, but the eatin’ was good!]
Thursday, 22 May 2025
We drove in rain a ways, then just on wet roads, but we only had heavy overcast when we crossed the bridge. Note in the lower left, just over the railing—blue skies!
And even sunshine at the cottage! (…although now there’s a light overcast again…and a low of 41°F predicted overnight—yowzah!) BTW, my weather-and-more app indicates we have a day length of something like 70 minutes longer than we did where we were yesterday morning. Sure enough: it’s plenty light out even now, as I post.
The lake level is pretty high, at least according to my memory, which goes back to the 60s, heh-heh. We have been notified of a meeting early in June about agreeing on target lake levels winter and summer…wonder how contentious it’ll be….
Wednesday, 21 May 2025
A storm came through overnight, rainy and windy enough to wake me up. Yawn. So, enough, we thought; let’s get on the road. (Truth: trip was planned.) The storm festooned this north Georgia rest area with many tree leaflets, and this rock no longer carries its message.
In contrast, crossing the Ohio River, we saw plenty of signage. Yup, north on I-75, that was us—and we’ll motor more tomorrow to the usual location near the northern end of this interstate.
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
What is the statement of the day based on this image, I was thinking a few minutes ago. Hmm.
A bee crawls through a milkweed quite without effort? Too simplistic.
Orange and green are my new favorite color pairing? Yeesh, who would believe that.
Garden life is captivating? I’ll take that.