OF LOGS, SPOTTED KNAPWEED AND YARROW

LOGS...AT THE TOP OF THE "HONEY DO" LIST

SPOTTED KNAPWEED...

...THISTLE-LIKE FLOWER

COMMON YARROW...

...PANICLE OF FLOWERS

Wednesday,  8:00 AM.  64 degrees F at the ferry dock, 60 on the back porch.  Wind ENE, calm with occasional gusts.  The sky is mostly clear with some clouds in the east.  The humidity is 82% and the barometer is rising, now at 30.04", presaging some very nice weather.
   At Joan's insistence, yesterday afternoon I began chainsawing the pile of logs that has been sitting in the middle of the driveway for several weeks, ever since my last landscape job, which involved removing a lot of dead and dying trees to make way for a new fall planting.  I had Jay's Tree Care, which is often my partner, do the felling, and the logs in the driveway were a few I brought home for firewood.  I admit to them being very much in the way and I was guilty of laziness in leaving them there. Anyway the chainsaw is up and running and I should have the work done by noon today.
   I don't know what passersby think of this old dude all decked out in orange safety pants and helmet trying to do a young man's work, but since I spent a lot of money on a new chainsaw and safety equipment last fall I am obligated to amortize my investment.  Anyway, I have my marching orders.
   Spotted knapweed, Centaurea stoebe, in the Compositae family, is on the Wisconsin list of invasive plants.  It has a rather pretty pink flower that looks like a thistle flower.  Indeed the whole plant reminds me somewhat of a thistle plant, but it has no spines.  In fact it seems rather innocuous, but it spreads very readily on sandy or infertile soil and can take over large areas, as the roots exude chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants.  It is best not to let it get started in lawn or garden, particularly in sandy soil.  It seems to be much more prevalent north in Wisconsin than south.

    The various garden and wild varieties of the common yarrow, Achillea millifolium, also in the compositae, are blooming in fields and on roadsides; some are garden escapes, others are of unknown origin. There are seventy-five species and many varieties in the genus Achillea, mostly of Eurasian origin, but there are North American native and circumboreal species as well.  Named for Achilles, who tradition says used compresses of its foliage as a coagulant for the war wounds of his soldiers, its flowers may be white to yellow and even shades of red and pink. Most of the roadside and field yarrows are white.  The crushed leaves of many varieties have a strong rosin odor. The species name millifolium refers to its many finely dissected, fernlike  leaves. It is an important landscape perennial, particularly the colored varieties,but is best  used outside the perennial garden, as it is a rampant grower. I can attest that the herbal use does indeed work.