Musings

We arrived at the cottage just before 5pm, after a straightforward drive up from Ohio, and only a dozen-minute delay at the bridge-crossing toll booth.

One of the crucial cottage-opening activities is to air out the place, which is easier upstairs with a fan. The big bedroom has a pair of under-eaves windows facing south, one shown here, and a pair of higher windows in the end wall. It’s not an optimal flow-through situation, but a fan does help to make it work.

My apps indicate it may get down to 62°F overnight, which sounds impossible to Atlanta-in-July-oriented ears. Hallelujah.

Quick note: smoke-at-ground-level predictions on airquality.weather.gov suggest we’re fine for a while here…yay.

Posted at 9:06 PM | 1 Comment »

We drove to Athens to enjoy family company and a lovely luncheon. This caprese salad is made with basil from their garden—knock-out good!

On our return, we approached this looming cloud, and eventually motored through a deluge…

…and, on the other side, by the time we reached our neighborhood: dry roads.

Posted at 7:34 PM | Comments Off on Friday adventure

The low-angle light was especially pretty this morning.

Then, taaah-daaah, we got on the road (OTR). The “marine” layer was thick-ish at The Bridge, and, also, we understand from others who treked north, along Lake Superior at Grand Marais. Since it was present through mid-day, and the sun had long been out, I’d say that’s a persistent layer.

We drove in and out of rain zones….

We even saw a rainbow. Apologies for the snap, but you know they don’t last. I tried to get another shot, and the color had become almost imperceptible.

Ohio has upgraded rest areas along I-75 to have almost lounge areas and museum displays in them.. Outside, there’re signs about native plants, mostly trees, but this is a showy not-tree I don’t remember seeing before (my ignorance is vast). Also, there’s a loop to stroll with many signs to study, I think part of Dolly Parton’s books-for-kids-under-five outreach program somehow (didn’t take the time to walk it—next time?).

Posted at 9:03 PM | Comments Off on OTR

This was an hour after sunrise, and the sky portends precipitation. And, indeed, we did get some rain, enough to call it rain, but no storm, just dripping. Then, ta-dah, clearing for the rest of the day.

I recall sweet peas blooming all around the cottage, mixed in the orchard grasses. Today, only a few are left. Maybe they did better when the grasses were cut by this time? Dunno. This one’s hanging with a yellow goatsbeard gone to seed, and perhaps another that has already had its seeds blown away.

Otherwise, we had a chore-filled day I really do not want to detail. Onward.

Posted at 10:01 PM | Comments Off on Morning moments

The weather flip-flopped all day. This was at 6:18am. Dry, with strange orange layer along the horizon to the north, and solid cloud-cover above.

By 10am, it was pouring, with thunder and lightning to keep us alert. That’s how the day went. Right now, it’s fading off a rain/thunder/lightning phase.

I’m glad to have the rain, although less excited about the accompanying audio track.

Posted at 10:10 PM | Comments Off on Changeable

You can look at the early sun…

…and you can turn around and see what it’s lighting up.

Here’s late-day low-angle sun backlighting a rhubarb leaf.

It’s only right to celebrate the sun on the longest day of the year.

Posted at 9:12 PM | Comments Off on Sun-shines

The morning fog thickened after I took this, but I was bizzzeeee inside, so you’ll have to imagine what a later shot would have been like.

I like that the forget-me-nots have flowers on the ends and what the botanical types describe as tulip-shaped pods that contain the seeds along the stems. Anyway, I enjoy the flowers with the pods…togetherness?

Posted at 9:18 PM | Comments Off on Sunny day; rainy evening

I’m tickled by how the droplets are focusing the sunlight.

Posted at 8:12 PM | Comments Off on Rays of sunshine

We’re still in a drought for the year, but June’s totals are approaching the month’s modern average. [You see the raindrops, eh?]

I was totally surprised to discover, sheltered as I am in horticultural matters, that this is in the milkweed family; I knew it as butterfly weed. The pods look like spiky cylindrical okras.

Posted at 9:29 PM | 1 Comment »

Looking forward to weekend rain…too much drought, fire, smoke, pollen….

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Hoping…