5/23/11 JUNEBERRIES, CHERRIES AND SHARPTAIL GROUSE

RAINY GARDEN

PINES AND JUNEBERRY

JUNEBERRIES AND CHERRIES IN CUTOVER AREA

CONTROLLED BURN FOR SHARPTAIL GROUSE HABITAT

Monday, 8:00 AM.  48 degrees, wind W, light.  The sky is overcast with fog and mist over the Apostle Islands. More than an inch of rain has fallen in the last several days and the barometer predicts more.
    Yesterday afternoon we took a ride in the rain through the section of the Chequamegon National Forest traversed by forest road 236.  This road runs about fifteen miles, from Hwy C west of Washburn to Hwy 2, west of Ashland.  It is an area of poor, sandy soil, but trees grow well…red oak, popple, birch, pines and lots of Juneberry and wild cherries, …and the entire area is now dotted with the latter trees in flower.  We kept getting severe weather warnings on the radio as we listened to the Brewers/Rockys baseball game, but fortunately we missed the high winds and hail.
    Hundreds of acres along the south stretch of the road  have been purposely burned, the smoke smell still clinging to the blackened vegetation.  The controlled burns are being done to create habitat for the Wisconsin endangered sharptail grouse, which requires grasslands and woods edges for its habitat.
    On the way back we stopped at Tetzner’s greenhouse for tomato and herb plants which will go in the garden when it dries up a bIt, and at TenTzner’s dairy farm for their home made ice cream, which was desert for dinner.
    Indiana’s Mitch Daniels dropped out of the Republican presidential candidate race over the weekend, with Sarah Palin still on the fence.  It looks like there are only a few potential candidates left standing, with some real contrasts in philosophy and experience.  It’s getting really interesting!