A RELAPSE AND TWO FIRSTS

THE ICE PACK RETURNS

PLANTS FOR THE FIRST LANDSCAPE JOB OF SPRING

ASPEN TREES IN BLOOM

Tuesday, 8:00 AM.  35 degrees F, wind ENE, calm to very light,  The sky is cloudless with sone haze.  The humidity is high at 92% and the barometer is trending down, now at 30.08".  The channel between Bayfield and Madeline Island, which was pretty much open water yesterday, is again clogged with ice, the icepack having migrated back with winds and currents.  It seems we have had something of a relapse.
   Our trip to Northwoods Nursery in Rhinelander yesterday was pleasantly uneventful.  Including loading at the nursery and lunch in Woodruff, the 275 mile trip took most of the day, which was cloudy and cool, perfect for transporting plants.  The pickup truck had a full load but hauled enough plants for the first planting job of this late spring.
   We usually see lots of turkeys on Hwy. 51 around Mercer but only saw one this trip.  They may have had a hard winter or, more hopefully, may be preoccupied with mating and nesting.
   I did not notice any quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides, in bloom on the trip south, but by the time we came back they were in bloom all around the lakeshore, from Hayward to Bayfield. The trees are dioecious ("two houses"), male and female flowers occurring on separate trees. The emergent catkins (long caterpillar-like flower clusters) create a gray-green halo around each tree, and a delightful corresponding haze on the hillsides, which is barely apparent but significant and beautiful nonetheless.