4/30/10 PUTTING OFF THE INEVITABLE

A FEW DESULTORY DROPS
MY WEEDY, THIRSTY GARDEN

Friday, 7:00 AM. 48 degrees, wind NE, calm. The sky is overcast and it had been raining, a few desultory drops. The barometer predicts rain but it has been an unreliable prognosticator. If it doesn’t rain substantially I will have to drag out the hoses. I did water and fertilize the roses, which are surviving if not thriving. I cleaned up the garden as well as possible, considering that the soil is like cement. There is much incursion of grass among the bulbs and perennials and at some point the garden needs a complete renovation, a daunting task I have been putting off for several seasons. I purchased bags of cedar mulch yesterday and will apply it once the garden soil is well watered. That will make things look neater, at least.

4/29/10 HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL (FOR RAIN)

LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE RAIN
GARDEN NEEDS CLEANUP BUT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD ANYWAY

Thursday, 8:30 AM. 48 degrees, wind NW, calm. The sky is overcast and it feels like rain, which the barometer predicts. Hope springs eternal.
Tulips, daffodils, Alyssum, creeping Phlox, primrose, dwarf Iris are all in bloom. I have been trying to get the garden cleaned up before it rains.

4/28/10 EVERYONE'S ALL DRESSED UP

A COURTIN' HE WILL GO

FROST ON THE ROOFTOPS AGAIN
PASQUE FLOWER

8:00 AM, 37.5 degrees, up 4 degrees since 7 AM, when frost was heavy on the roof tops. Wind W, calm. The sky is crystal clear, the iron ranges clearly visible on the south and southeastern horizons. The barometer predicts partly cloudy skies.
The Pasque flower, also called windflower, Anemone patens, is native to dry prairie hillsides, but is also a good garden perennial. The royal blue flowers are followed by very decorative, long lasting seed heads.
The male goldfinches are decked out in their courting clothes, brilliant golden missiles shooting among the branches.

4/27/10 WILL APRIL FLOWERS BRING MAY SHOWERS?

MALE WILLOW FLOWERS ALONG THE ROADSIDE
A PATCH OF SHIN-LEAF
SHIN-LEAF LEAVES
FORGET-ME-NOTS
PUSSY TOES, APTLY NAMED
A PATCH OF PUSSY TOES

Tuesday, 8:00 AM. 39.5 degrees, up from 36 degrees earlier. Wind W, very light. The sky is clear and the barometer predicts the same.
The old crack willows along Tenth St. are shedding their yellow male catkins, their work now done. They lie in windrows along the edge of the road.
There are large patches of shin-leaf, Pyrola rotundifolia, in the woods, not yet in bloom. Blue flowered forget-me-nots, Myosotis scorpioides, are blooming, as are pussy toes (genus Antenaria, I’m not sure of the species). Will April flowers bring May showers?
Today I have to call Digger’s Hotline to have utilities marked for city tree planting. It is a rather daunting task.

4/26/10 A TRIP TO DELTA

A LITTLE RAIN HELPED A LOT
WHERE'S DELTA?
AN AUTHENTIC DINER
GOOD DINER FARE
ONE OF THE DELTA POTHOLE LAKES
JUNEBERRY IN BLOOM EVERYWHERE

Monday, 8:15 AM. 45 degrees, wind N, light. The sky is mostly blue with some haze, and the barometer predicts sunny skies.
We took a ride in the new truck to the Delta Diner through the Mohqua Barrens on the Park Service road yesterday. It is a fun, authentic diner that seems in the middle of nowhere, but the Delta area has scores of pothole lakes and, of course, lake cottages. It also has the huge Bibon swamp that is the headwaters of the White River. I think it is one of the most beautiful areas of the state.
The Juneberries, Amelanchier canadensis, were in full bloom in the sunny spots along roads and woods edges.

4/25/10 SURF'S UP!

A "DITCH IN BLOOM"
MARSH MARIGOLDS
CHOKE CHERRIES
WAITING FOR A WAVE
"RIDING THE WIND"
TOES IN THE WATER

Sunday, 8:30 AM. 44 degrees, wind ENE, quite strong. The sky is overcast and the barometer predicts rain, which we got about .2” of yesterday, not much but welcome nonetheless. This is looking like one of those springs when early and later flowers bloom together.
The marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) are blooming in swamps and roadside ditches (these along Turner road). Juneberries and cherries are beginning to blossum, these choke cherries (Prunus virginiana) are along Star route.
Lucky and I went to the beach this morning, where the surf was up and the birds were obviously having a good tome riding the wind and waves. Birds and other animals I am convinced often do things for the pure joy of it. They play, and we should as well.

4/24/10 BEAT THE DRUMS!

LOOKS LIKE RAIN
CANADA MAYFLOWERS EVERYWHERE
THE WOODS WALK

Saturday, 7:45 AM. Wind S, calm. The sky is overcast with dark rain clouds and a few misty drops are falling. But the barometer, although down, predicts only partly cloudy skies. Time to beat the drums.
We took the woods walk for the first time since last fall, and the Canada mayflowers (Maianthemum canadense), also called wild lily of the valley, are sending their spear-like leaves up everywhere, often in great clumps. It will be a while before they bloom.

4/23/10 SPRING HAS SPRUNG

ANOTHER FINE DAY
RHODODENDRON 'PJM'
STAR MAGNOLIA
SAUCER MAGNOLIA
MOSTLY NEW TRUCK


Friday, 7:15 AM. 36 degrees, wind W, calm. The channel waters are patterned by different air currents. The sky is cloudless but hazy, and the barometer still predicts rain.
Spring is burgeoning, rain or no rain. The large PJM Rhododendron is on Washington Ave., the two Magnolias are at the Chateau Boutin.
Spring has also brought a new (to us) truck, this '06Chevy Silverado. Love it so far.

4/21/10 EVER GET THAT SINKING FEELING?

IS THIS A GOOD IDEA?
LOOKS GOOD SO FAR
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TRUCK?
THAT SINKING FEELING...
BLUB...BLUB...BLUB
AN UNDERWATER VEHICLE
WANNA BU Y A GOOD USED TRUCK?
LOTS OF KINDLING
Thursday, 8:00 AM. Wind WNW, calm at present. The sky is partly cloudy with high gray clouds and the barometer again predicts rain. Roofs are white with frost this morning.
Neighbor Sherman Edwards gave his presentation, “The House
That Sank,” at the historical museum, to a packed house last evening. As Sherman says, it is a hilarious story; unless you owned the house. The photos (used with Sherm’s permission) show the “progress” of the house slowly sinking into 70 feet of water on March 2, 1977. It was being towed across the channel ice from Pike’s Bay to La Pointe, the first of four houses scheduled to be so moved. Needless to say, the others stayed on shore. The wrecker truck pulling the house was first to go down, and the drivers, luckily, jumped out. The truck was later raised by the “Outer Island” barge and its crane and reconditioned, but the house broke apart and was a total loss except for a clothes dryer brought up from Davey Jones Locker, dried out, plugged in and used for years afterward. The Outer Island is a WWII LTC (Landing Craft, Tank), the only such ship still in use, but that is another story. The Outer Island saw live fire action on this campaign, as someone blew the roof off of the pilot house while cooking wieners on a propane stove. Sherman was one of the recovery divers during the episode. Luckily no one involved was seriously injured in the entire process, so everyone can laugh about it forty years later.

4/21/10 SOMEONE LEFT THE FREEZER DOOR OPEN

A DARK, COLD DAY
Wednesday, 7:30 AM. 33 degrees, wind NE, right off the big lake and blustery at times. The channel is dark and crawling, the sky overcast and the barometer predicts precipitation. When the wind is from the northeast it is like opening the door of an upright freezer, almost any time of the year.
Last night’s Chamber After Hours at Good Thyme Restaurant was well attended, and the tacos and Margaritas very good indeed.
Tonight, neighbor and ferry boat captain Sherman Edwards will present his slide show and personal account of “The House That Sank,” the woeful tale of a house being moved to Madeline Island that broke through the ice road some years back. 7:30 PM at the Historical Museum.

4/20/10 TREE LOVERS 5, TREE HATERS 0

A VERY CLEAR DAY
WEEPING WILLOW BLOSSOMES (sorry, upside down)
CRACK WILLOW CATKINS

Tuesday, 7:30 AM. 40.5 degrees, up three degrees in the past 45 minutes. Wind SSW, calm. The sky is blue and clear, the outline of St. Peter’s Dome in the Penokee Range was visible earlier on the southeastern horizon.
The willows are a complex, interbred genus but I do know a few of them in flower, beginning with the earliest pussy willows. The old craggy-barked crack willows along 9th street are dressed up in very pretty blooms, and the pendulous branches of the big weeping willows on 8th and Manypenny are adorned with exquisite chartreuse catkins.
The tree board meeting last night attracted five tree lovers, and no tree haters showed up.

4/19/10 "WOODSMAN, DON'T PLANT THAT TREE"

COOL AND HAZY WITH NO RAIN IN SIGHT
CREEPING PHLOX ARE BLOOMING
Monday, 7:30 AM. 36 degrees, up from 33 earlier. There is frost on roofs this morning. Wind SW, light. The channel is glassy, the sky mostly cloudless but hazy, and the barometer predicts another sunny, rainless day. The cool temperatures at least ameliorate the drought somewhat.
The creeping phlox, Phlox subulata, are starting to bloom. They are native to dry hillsides further south and east and have long been a garden favorite, with white, pink and blue selections available.
At 7:00 PM tonight the Tree Board has a public meeting to discuss this year’s tree planting sites and selections. We had vociferous objections to city trees from a few very vocal individuals last year who claimed trees would interfere with their view of the lake. So, we decided to debate these issues in public so those objecting to trees could argue with their neighbors rather than abuse the volunteer tree board. It has been the adverse of "woodsman, spare that tree." I’ll let you know what happens.
A pair of chickadees has investigated the birdhouse on the back porch twice. Yesterday they brought the listing agent, so they are evidently serious about moving in.

4/18/10 REFUTATION

BLUE SKY AND WATER, GREEN EARTH
DARK GREEN WHITE PINE, AZURE BLUE SKY
CHARTREUSE ASPENS, DEEP BLUE SKY

Sunday, 10:00 AM. 46 degrees, up from 36 earlier. Wind NW, light. The channel is sparkling, the sky azure blue and the barometer predicts sunny skies, still no rain.
Lucky and I went to the beach this morning for our walk, and saw another hen turkey on Whiting Road and Hwy. 13 on the way back. Designers will often state that blue and green do not go together, but that is not true. The blue of sky and water and green of the earth, the dark green of the white pine and the chartreuse of the aspen hillsides against the deep blue sky easily refute their claim.