Monday, 7:30 AM. , 49 degrees, wind SW, calm. The channel is glassy. The sky is absolutely clear. The barometer predicts rain by earl evening.
Yesterday Joan and I and Lucky took a break from watching the Olympics and rode up the south shore past Port Wing and had a picnic. It was a glorious top-down day.
There are two plants blooming now which from the car can look similar because they both have prominent pink blossoms and are tall plants, but ecologically the one is very invasive, and the other a beneficial pioneer plant.
The former (the first pictured above) is purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, a garden plant of European origin. It spreads easily by seed into a wide range of habitats, and is particularly damaging in wet areas, where it forces out the native cat-tails, which are important wildlife plants. There is now some success in controlling it with an imported beetle.
The latter (the second and third photos) is the native fireweed, Epilobium angustifolium, a tall perennial herb, very beautiful in both flower and seed.
The guests in our Garden View apartment had a fine time kayaking to the Myer’s Beach sea caves yesterday, the wind being cooperative. It can be very dangerous if there is a significant north wind.
Lots of yard and garden work to catch up with, and I have to get the boat running before fall fishing.
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