Musings

Yesterday we lived through thin outer bands of the Fred Storm. Today, we had a bit more substantive bands. I understand that by 6am, we’ll be getting serious rain from the center of the storm, to total perhaps as much as 4 inches before tomorrow is up.

We are preparing for power outage and more. I understand the power has been out in at least parts of Ann Arbor since last Thurs/Fri?…in any case, even in a US city, the power can be out for days. So, I’ve been preparing my basket of necessaries (ID, keys, cash, meds, nutrition bars, you know: the usual) to stash bedside. In case.

Posted at 10:05 PM | Comments Off on Fred’s fangs

I came around a corner, marching along, and look at this aerodynamic wonder. Little windows. Rivet job looked homemade. No manufacturer label/sign.

And this is the front. Interesting shape; wonder what the interior’s like.

Posted at 6:53 PM | Comments Off on Remains a mystery

When I see this design on the chimney, I think microscope. On a table. Or looming above one.

See it? See something else?

And now for something completely different…

Posted at 9:11 PM | Comments Off on ANFSCD…

One (or more!) people at this house is seriously into gardening, with this and a large planting of white ginger flowering now. They smell lovely, and the scent cuts through the humidity.

In the UP, we were awash in the scent of blooming milkweeds. Too many, IMHO, as there were few monarchs feeding on the thousands of plants on our property. Thousands.

Posted at 7:22 PM | Comments Off on I am not exaggerating

If I recall the figures correctly, I saw a report today that indicated that Americans who got the “original” Covid19 infected, on average, 2 to 3 other people. This nasty Delta variant, well, on average, 5 to 7 peoople are infected per afflicted person. This is why hospitals and health care workers are overwhelmed. By almost entirely, the unvaxxed.

BTW, while in the UP, we’d see maybe one or two other people in the grocery store wearing a mask; here: pretty much everyone is wearing a mask, or double masks. The latter is my style, these days.

Been walking early, trying to avoid the sun’s rays…and the heat and sun damage they bring…just too/so uncomfortable to wear long sleeves and long pants, and I do not like to slather on zinc or other barrier preparations on a daily basis.

Jealous of the in-laws who have a coffee maker they can trigger remotely as they make the final leg of their morning walk. Me, I do it the old way—well, with an electrified coffee maker…so, dating to late last century. Heh.

Posted at 9:06 PM | Comments Off on Nowadays

Sunday morning early. Quiet. I’m passing by the Middle School, which opened last week. I see a ladder and a pair of legs, knees down, in a leaf-dense bush…shrub.

I keep walking, and I see it’s a woman. In a fig tree. It’s fig season, I think. This is my second picking, she says. Gleefully.

[Photos no relation to the story. Hibiscus and glinting sun. Today. No figs.]

Posted at 8:30 PM | Comments Off on Urban gathering

That would be floral and fungal.

Floral is prettier, but fungal has perhaps the more interesting story. My guess is it grows on wood, yet here it is emerging from a sidewalk crack. The universe is upside-down. Perhaps. Or I’m missing a few facts.

Posted at 8:53 PM | Comments Off on F x 2

Tis the season for crape myrtles to bloom. Scientifically, they’re Lagerstroemia spp., and in the loosestrife family. Didn’t know that. That family also includes pomegranate. Botanical taxonomy is complex, especially now genetic info is one type of evidence.

Crape myrtles also played a role in the day I met the Guru. But that’s for another day.

Posted at 7:37 PM | Comments Off on Flowering stories

We went to Athens, visited family, laughed, and ate. They kindly watched our pictures, and we got to see this lovely ginger bloom.

Posted at 7:02 PM | Comments Off on Wonderful day

We continued our haze survey in Tennessee. Have I made it clear (haha) that the haze is smoke from the northwestern US and Cali fires?

And into Georgia. Haze continues, with clouds. And humidity. The normal humidity, seems to me. But heavy traffic on I-75, including many semis…we mused that this suggests a busy national economy. Mere speculation, however.

Posted at 9:13 PM | Comments Off on Haze survey continues