5/07/08 MORE UNUSUAL SPRING FLOWERS

Thursday, 7:30 AM. 54 degrees, wind W, calm. The channel is calm, the sky clear with some haze, and the barometer predicts rain, which we got a trace of last night.
The Pasque (Easter) flower, Anemone patens, a member of the buttercup family, is an interesting native of dry prairies and slopes. It is somewhat used as an ornamental, and has very pretty seed heads which last long after the flower is gone. Another usually overlooked flower is that of the much over-planted Norway maple, Acer platanoides.
The chipping sparrows are back, very welcome little birds with a chestnut patch on the top of their heads, and their chipping song is much heard in the yard and at the feeder.
We are heading south to Stevens Point at noon for a quarterly Urban Forestry Council meeting and Lucky gets to stay at Blue Ribbon Kennel for two nights where he will undoubtedly bark the entire time. It should be a nice drive. Joan will have brakes put on the convertible while I am in meetings. We will be back late Friday.

5/06/09 NEIGHBOR ZACK HAS A GOOD DAY ON THE SIOUX

Wednesday, 7:30 AM. 53 degrees, wind SW, calm. The channel is glass, the sky hazy, we got a trace of rain last night and the barometer predicts more. It promises to be a real spring day.
Our new young coastguard neighbor, Zack, had a good day on the Sioux yesterday, losing several steelhead trout before he landed this keeper (minimum size 26”). It looks to me as though it is not a migratory rainbow trout from the lake, which are called steelheads because of their steel-like color and almost indiscernible rainbow coloration, but rather a fish (much darker coloration and distinct rainbow) that wintered in the river. In any case Zack was a happy guy, and his catching it was almost as much fun for me as it was for him. I am nursing a sore foot and can’t wade the stream for a few days, hope I don't miss the run completely.

5/05/09 GREAT GREENHOUSES, GREAT VIEW

Tuesday, 7:00 AM. 51 degrees, wind W, calm. The channel is like glass and the sky is mostly overcast. The barometer predicts rain.
I went to Bailey’s Greenhouses yesterday on Whiting Road several miles south of town to pick out and reserve hanging baskets. It is a fine wholesale operation that serves local retailers and the Twin Cities alike. They have a spectacular view of Chequamagon Bay and Long Island.

5/04/09 MORE SPRING FLOWERS

Monday, 8:00 AM. 45 degrees, wind W, light. The channel is calm, the sky cloudless and the barometer predicts sunny skies.
The black willows are leafing out and blooming, the “pussy” flowers are a pretty chartreuse rather than the silvery white of “pussy willow” flowers.
Lots to do today, set up street tree planting with Diggers Hotline, reserve hanging baskets at Bailey’s Greenhouses, a tree board meeting at 2:00 PM, and pruning young street trees after the meeting.

5/03/09 A FANTASTIC MORNING AT THE BEACH

Sunday, 7;00 AM.44 degrees, wind W, light. Skies are blue with some haze. The channel is calm and the barometer predicts rain.
We have had all kinds of finches at the feeder, including pine grosbeaks.
Lucky and I are off to the beach, where it will be fantastic this morning.

5/02/09 CAUTION: TREE BUTCHERS AT WORK

Saturday, 7:30 AM. 40 degrees, wind W, light. The sky is overcast and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies. It is a cold dark morning.
I have had issues with utility company tree “pruning” for years. Basically, there is no respect shown to trees as elements of either beauty or environmental utility. If a tree is in the way of overhead lines it is just hacked, topped, whatever. Of course the most relevant answer to the problem is either to bury the lines (too expensive say the utilities, although they often do it in new subdivisions) or replace tall trees with varieties that do not grow into the overhead lines. Utilities sometimes offer grants to do the latter, but they are few and far between. In the meantime we live with ugly and disease prone, butchered trees.

5/01/09THE SNEEZE, MY FRIEND, IS BLOWING IN THE WIND

Friday, 7:30 AM. 42 degrees, wind NW, light. The sky is mostly blue, and the barometer predicts sunny weather. Yesterday evening we had some sustained high winds as the high-pressure system moved in.
As a rule, once one notices a particular thing or event , one suddenly sees similar things previously ignored. So it is with the catkin flowers; the aspen, Populous tremuloides, catkins shown here are quite large and obvious once one looks for them. In early spring an aspen tree truly looks “in bloom,” and is quite attractive. The male catkins of the common tag alder were releasing their pollen while the snow was still on the ground, and the oak male catkins will be obvious shortly. The pollen released by male catkins is borne on the wind, not by insects, to the female flowers, and such wind borne pollen adds significantly to the pollen count for allergy sufferers.
We have made good progress on our big planting job, but we must now wait for the wildflowers and grasses which will be in the greenhouse for another three or four weeks.