Saturday, 2 August 2025
We met up with an extended family of the combined genetic and friendship sorts for a very lovely ritual…
…involving kayaks and a few flowers. Soooo glad we attended.
BTW, almost no breeze yet no biting flies down on the Lake Michigan shore. We did not kayak, but we admired those who did, and the paddleboarders, too. I now know there are inflatable paddleboards.
Note the smokaze.
Friday, 1 August 2025
All distant views throughout the day were tinged with smokeaze, that is, smoke haze (and thus the AQI suggested lesser activities, with little deep breathing). This photo, however, is just plain out of focus, so not honoring the sweet peas.
Thursday, 31 July 2025
Many Queen Anne’s lace flowers look like this.
Others have a small dark center, which is, I believe, a colored floret amidst the sea of white.
QAL is not a native plant, although widely distributed here in North America. In fact, I believe it’s designated a noxious weed here in Michigan.
Oh, my. 🤣
Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Somehow, these harebells looked bluer in person, although I rather like the purple-pink cast.
Keeping the bluer shade in mind, know that I was going to make some sort of (weak) joke about blue and gold being overshadowed by green green green pretty much everywhere else. Thus, we can say “Spartans win!,” no?
Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Tonight, we enjoyed a group dinner-on-the-deck, with four younguns in constant motion (more or less), around us assorted adults. Here, the two six-year-old boys attempt to hoover up all the smoked whitefish appetizer. The moms sent them elsewhere soon after this, and the rest of us were able to nosh….
Monday, 28 July 2025
Another hot day, after a not-so-cool overnight, so I sure enjoyed my lake bath, today rather late, around 8pm, when the lake was quiet, as you can see. Tonight’s supposed to be cooler, whew!, and tomorrow the high will somewhat more reasonable…all of, get this: a mere 78°F.
Hmm, I’d better find a blanket, a light one, mind you, but still: a blanket.
Sunday, 27 July 2025
I left my late-day swim duds on the line overnight. Special morning with the dew-fog (which kept the duds over-moist). I’m calling this shot Line Art. 🤣
Elsewhere, this thistle is festooned with spider webs, a big one on the right, and a small one on top. I really do not want the thistle seeds to disperse (they’re noxious weeds!); tomorrow morning, if I get out when it’s still cool, these will become compost or otherwise be…eliminated…from the gene pool.
Again, I took a late-day lake-bath, hence the shadiness in this shot. This feather truly is floating on top of the water, although it looks like it’s airborne and above the surface.
Saturday, 26 July 2025
We stopped at a rest area with well-tended flower beds, and I took over a dozen shots. Looking through them, I realized all were of yellow or yellow-orange specimens, except for two rather desiccated white daisies. Am I part bee?
When we crossed the bridge, ever a hugely important landmark when connecting two immense peninsulas, the sky looked strange. I figured there were smoke particles in the mix with humid air, but never smelled it…which I’m happy about.
I took a lake-bath about 8pm, to sluice off the sweat and bring my temperature down after doing assorted cottage-opening chores in the heat and humidity. Now the temp’s dropped to 72° and it feels heavenly. The humidity is down to 82, but it’ll be picking up through the night, to decrease again when the sun arrives. After tomorrow’s heat (outrageous high of 90°F predicted), the highs are supposed to moderate. I sure hope so.
Friday, 25 July 2025
I always get a bit excited to see this long-view of the mountains, even though the powerlines-strung-with-orange-caution-balls disrupts the skyscape, as it signals that we’re leaving the Piedmont…in short: we’re On The Road!
Not pretty enough? Here’re some asters at dusk three states to the north.
Thursday, 24 July 2025
I always found the common name for this, monkey grass, is jarring, but often I remember it better than the “real” name: liriope. Anyway, now’s its blooming season.