Thursday, 26 June 2025
The storm the other day brought this lupin down across the path, and my eye was caught by the complex patterns in in the blossoms.
I can’t know, of course, but perhaps when I stopped to take this picture the seed tick I found inside my elbow a couple hours later crawled onto me…ick. I quickly removed it, then took a shower with lots of soaping, followed by a complete towel scrubbing.
Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Down on the beach during my morning stroll, I could see these dips in the under-sand filled with I-dunno-what, but they are deer tracks, pretty sure.
On the exposed sand, I have been seeing tracks like this for years and wondered what critter made them, with unsolved confusion. Today, perhaps, I had a break-through: not raccoon, but skunk? Going with skunk.
Up in the orchard above the beach, these bent lupins are evidence of lodging by a storm several days back. The plants have adjusted to present to the sun-sky, hence the bends.
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Last summer, roughly midsummer as I recall, we were leaving and I had two green onions that were somewhat scruffy, and not worth transporting 1K miles, so I stuck them in the garden mound. One disappeared, but this one is thriving, in bloom, even.
Monday, 23 June 2025
I went to the beach to see the sunrise, and caught the post-rise glow…over a slightly roily lake. It’s been at least a day of the lake being in motion, and that changes the microbiome…I found ten large leeches while walking the beach cast ashore by the relentless turbulence, and snagged them each with a stick and tossed each in the woods. Me and the wind: altering the microbiome.
Returning to the cottage to make coffee, I spotted the sun illuminating a lupin that’s already displaying fuzzy pods.
Since today was to be hothothot, even more than yesterday, we decided to visit the largest and deepest of the Great Lakes, the S of HOMES. This is the flag display standing at attention in the south (offshore) wind at Grand Marais…the Michigan one.
At the end of the peninsula bracketing Grand Marais’s bay, we walked out toward the lighthouse. This is looking west along the beach…you can see there’s some overcast obscuring the distant dunes. Indeed, several times at the cottage, we’ve smelled a touch of the smoke still being generated up in Canada.
We drove west to the mouth of Hurricane River, one of our favorite stops. The offshore wind means the biting stable flies are epic in the quiet air, so we didn’t hike to the Au Sable Lighthouse as we typically do.
We spotted this pair of Amanitas adjacent to the along-the-beach path aka the North Country Trail…and (haha) unaffected by the biting flies…. Not so, the two of us. Back on the road, we turned up the fan to discourage the biting flies that followed us into the car…they head for the windows and the ankles…and they are per-SIS-tent (ouch; their bite is sharp).
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.
Saturday, 21 June 2025
We had rain in the wee hours, then an overcast dawn-time, then a break. In that relative calm, the gulls wheeled around the cottage, then landed and strutted in the grass. They were looking for fishflies, I suspect…’tis their time of a feeding frenzy.
I found this boletus on my way to the beach during the calm.
The lake wasn’t as wavy as I expected.
As I returned to the cottage, the wind kicked up and tipped over the lupins this way and that, when some were already bent by the overnight storminess.
Late in the afternoon, the sun came out and it got relatively warm, while still steamy. The high was 79°F, I think, so lower than predicted (we’re supposed to have an overheated weekend), because of how the overcast, etc. played out. I doubt we’ll have such relief tomorrow.
Friday, 20 June 2025
We took a wee side trip to stare into Tahquamenon River, way in the upper reaches…I estimate only some 15% of the catchment is upstream of this spot—for whatever it’s worth. 😉
We found four of these spell-binding swallowtails (if you can tolerate butterflies) flitting about on the boat launch apron next to the bridge.
The Guru calls it Take-Home-A-Sac (sarcastic harhar).
Thursday, 19 June 2025
We found the darkest purple lilacs I remember ever seeing, which we found on the Seul Choix lighthouse grounds.
There’s the light, with the keeper’s home to the left. [Apologies for the exaggerated keystoning.]
It’s on a point that projects out in the M of HOMES.
Contrast that with “our” lake. That’s a round rock (perhaps/probably rounded by humans, and thus an artifact) atop a binnacle. Because of this weighty binnacle that was on/near our beach, that word was part of the vocabulary of the kids who grew up in my generation on this property, and probably would not otherwise have been familiar with the term. Now, why there was a binnacle of this scale here, I do not know, because it’s way too large for a ship/boat on this lake, but not for one a HOMES lake.
Wednesday, 18 June 2025
My eyes are loving the lupin these days. Meet pink-top.
Here’s a range of purple-blues, all with white accents.
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