STILL SWEET!

NO LOGS IN THE DRIVEWAY, JUST SAWDUST

SWEET CICELY ALONG HWY. 13...

NO FLOWERS OR SEEDS LEFT, JUST FLOWER STEMS...

...STUNNING!

Thursday,  62 degrees F at the ferry dock, 53 on the back porch.  Wind variable, mostly calm with light gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 63% and the barometer is still trending up, now at 30.16".  The day should be a "perfect ten."
   It didn't get done by noon yesterday, but the pile of logs is cut, split and stacked in the shed this morning,  and nothing but a pile of sawdust is left in the driveway.   O.K., O.K., I'll get out the shovel and broom, but I am a bit stiff and sore.
   Sweet Cicely, Osmorhiza chilensis, is one of my favorite wildflowers. The genus name translates directly from the greek to "scented root,"and the species name refers to it being found along the coast of South America as well as on the shores of Gitche Gumee.   Its panicles of white flowers and sweet scent make it a roadside winner, but once the flowers and seeds are gone...it is just as beautiful, albeit more subdued.  The tall flower spikes, including the myriad flower stems, all turn a dark reddish purple.  En mass on the roadside, or in a vase, they are still "sweet!"