YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK; SOMETIMES WE GET THINGS RIGHT

YELLOWSTONE BULL ELK

YELLOWSTONE BISON

ELK HERD ALONG US14 EAST OF YELLOWSTONE

YELLOWSTONE TOURIST TAKING PHOTO OF GRIZZLY BEAR (WAY TOO CLOSE)

ANTELOPE ON HWY US 14 EAST OF YELLOWSTONE

Tuesday, 8:30 AM.  47 degrees F at the ferry dock, 44 on the back porch.  Wind NNE, light with moderate gusts.  The sky is overcast and thundershowers are possible this afternoon.  The humidity is 87% and the barometer is falling, currently at 30.0".  It evidently has been cool and wet at home while we were gone.

   We arrived back in Bayfield last night, exhausted and with a brake dragging on the truck, but overjoyed at a wonderful trip. We are anxious to pick Buddy up from Blue Ribbon Kennels. The lawn needs mowing but lots of things came into bloom during our absence; Allium, more Iris, lots of flowering crab trees, lily-of-the valley, sweet woodruff, Oregon grape holly, lilacs, red elderberry and more.

   Grandson Nick's high school graduation in Denver was a delightful event, and it took us a day to drive from Denver to Cody, Wyoming, east of Yellowstone National Park. Denver traffic is awful and it was a hassle to get out of the city.  Once out of Denver it was a nice trip north.   Cody was full of Chinese tourists heading for the park, and indeed the park itself was replete with Chinese and other foreign tourists.  At times there were more foreign languages to be heard than English.  

   I have a lot of commentary on the park, but will get back in the swing of posting with a bit about the wildlife of Yellowstone and environs.  Bison (buffalo) were everywhere,  both inside and outside the park. When I was last in Yellowstone sixty years ago there were none.
   We also saw mule deer (or maybe they were blacktailed deer), lots of elk (both inside and outside the park), and quite a few antelope outside the park.  We looked for moose, wolves and bighorn sheep but were not fortunate enough to see those species from the truck.  We saw a few black bear, and were overjoyed to see a grizzly bear, but were unable to get a decent photo of it.  I did get a photo of a tourist taking a photo of the bear; he was way too close to the animal, which was thrashing around in the undergrowth about twenty-five yards away.

   Which reminds me of a Yellowstone tale from the  late 1950's, when two acquaintances of mine (call them Dumb and Dumber) traveled to Yellowstone in a brand new Buick (those were the days when a young guy could get a good paying factory job and buy a new car).
   Dumb, or perhaps Dumber,  thought it would be cool to take a photo of a bear behind the wheel, so they enticed a roadside  black bear into the driver's seat with a candy bar.  The bear posed for the photo but was reluctant to leave until it got more candy. They had none.  In its unhappiness the bear  totally destroyed the inside of the automobile.  My friends, sadder but wiser,  drove a  thousand miles back to Wisconsin sitting on peach crates.

   Yellowstone is a fantastic landscape, created by the blowout and collapse of a huge volcano some  700,000 years ago, and the only thing that keeps it from blowing out again is the constant release of pressure by all the geysers and hot springs in the region.  Eventually it will blow again, and take out much of the North American continent.  Something else to worry about; keep it up, Old Faithful.
   The next few posts will give some more insights regarding Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the United States, and indeed in the world.  Set aside from development by President Grant 144 years ago, it has been amazingly well preserved despite its popularity, and indeed Yellowstone led to the eventual creation of the National Park Service, which celebrates its 100th birthday this year.
   Sometimes we get things right.
  

COMUNICATIONS

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APPLES AND FLOWERING CRABAPPLES ARE BLOOMING

BUDDY CHECKING HIS P MAIL

Saturday, 7:30 AM.  55 degrees F at the ferry dock and on the back porch.  Wind variable, with light gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 79%.  The barometer is falling, now at 30.17".  The week ahead should be warmer with a good chance of rain.

   Apples and flowering crabapples are beginning to bloom, and the orchard country is ready to burst into color.  The native red elderberry has begun to bloom and the lilacs are not far behind.

   We are leaving for Denver shortly, to attend grandson Nick's high school graduation on Tuesday.

From Denver we will head to Yellowstone National Park, where we have cabin reservations for two nights; Joan has never been to Yellowstone and I am anxious to show her this oldest of all National Parks.

   Buddy is staying at Blue Ribbon Kennel while we are gone.  This is no trip for him.  I had to check my email, sent to me by my friends and associates; Buddy had to check his  pmail, scent to him by his.  We each have our means of communication; his being more reliable and less expensive.

WILD PLUMS ARE BLOOMING

WILD PLUM BUSHES...

JUNEBERRY BLOSSOMS AND EMERGING LEAVES (note srap-like petals, reddish young leaves)

... WILD PLUMS IN FULL FLOWER...

...AND VERY THORNY!

Friday, 8:00 AM.  49 degrees F at the ferry dock and on the back porch.  The wind is variable and calm,  the sky partly cloudy and the humidity 85%.  The barometer is more or less steady, at 30l.19".  Temperatures in the sixties and some rain are predicted for the next week.
   We are leaving for Denver tomorrow morning to attend grandson Nick's high school graduation, and then on to Yellowstone for a few days before returning home.  We will try to make some blog posts along the way.

   Wild plums and cherries bloom right after the Juneberries, and now the white blossoms all mingle together in the northern landscape.  The flowers are quite different when viewed closely, however; the plums and cherries having prominent anthers that reach far above the petals.  Also, the Juneberry leaves appear with the flowers, while the flowers of most of the wild plums and cherries appear well before the leaves.  The wild plums have thorns, the Juneberries and cherries do not.

   We have two native wild plums in Wisconsin, Prunus nigra, Canada wild plum, and Prunus americana, American wild plum.  Both can form large thickets on woods edges and along roads. Both are native to much of North America except the far northwest and south west, the Canada plum usually is more northerly in distribution.  I am not sure which is pictured, as the leaves  and fruit are an identification characteristic and neither have yet appeared.  Both species bear fruit good to eat fresh or make preserves of if one can out-compete the bears, raccoons and birds. Canada wild plum fruit is bright red, American wild plum fruit is yellow.  Bears will simply tear down branches to get the ripe fruit.  Careful of those thorns!

THE CHERRY ORCHARD

SWEET CHERRIES ORCHARDS ARE IN BLOOM...

...GORGEOUS!

Sunday, 5/15/16, 12:00 PM.  52 degrees F at the ferry dock, 54 on the back porch.  Wind variable and gusty, the sky partly cloudy with cumulus clouds.  The humidity is lower, at 42%, the barometer beginning to climb, at 29.99".  It looks like nice, seasonally cool and dry weather for the week ahead.

   The sweet cherries are in full bloom. The trunks and large branches are whitewashed to reflect the late winter sun, which can be very damaging to the thin-barked young trees.

   Hopefully the cold weather has not damaged the blooms, and that the flowers are getting pollinated.  If so, and there is no further frost, it will be a good and profitable crop.  Cherries this far north are a gamble, but even if the crop is successful only every two or three years, it pays off big.  Our sweet cherries are as good or better than any, and are bought out as soon as they are ripe. 

FORGET-ME-NOT_ "IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME"

FORGET-ME-NOTS...

..HAVE BEEN BLOOMING FOR A WHILE

JUNEBERRY, FORSYTHIA, PJM RHODODENDRON, TULIPS, CREEPING PHLOX ALL IN BLOOM

Thursday, 8:00 AM.  55 degrees F at the ferry dock, 46 on the back porch.  Wind NW, calm with occasional light gusts.  The sky is clear, the humiity down to 48%.  The barometer is steady at 30.16".  This is a "perfect ten" day, during which I have to mow the lawn and do a lot of watering but I consider those tasks a privilege.

   Fortet-me-nots are  pleasant little spring flowers that grow almost everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in moist, sunny to partly shady places.  They are another reason not to keep everything overly neat and tidy, as they spring up in flower borders and lawns and under trees and shrubs.  Light blue with a yellow center, the little flowers are very cheerful and can grow in considerable masses.  There are over 200 species of Myosotis, in the Borage Family; some are annual, some perennial, and I would not waste my time trying to tell one from another, just enjoy them for what they are.

   Myosotis translates directly from scholarly Greek as mouse (myos) ear (otis), which I assume relates to the soft, fuzzy leaves of the plant, or to the rounded petals.  But, it's all Greek to me.

   The perennial garden is rather nice now with Juneberry, Forsythia, PJM Rhododendron, creeping phlox and tulips all in bloom at the same time.  There are even a few dandelions if you look closely.

BARREN STRAWBERRY AND PURPLE AVENS, TWO NATIVE CROUNDCOVER PLANTS

BARREN STRAWBERRY USED AS A GROUND COVER EITHER SIDE OF WALKWAY

...ATTRACTIVE YELLOW FLOWERS, INEDIBLE FRUIT

PURPLE AVENS

Wednesday, 10:00 AM.  51 degrees F at the ferry dock, the same on the back porch.  Wind WSW, light.  The sky is clear, the humidity 58%.  The barometer is falling slightly, now at 30.28".  It is a fantastic day.

   Most small native flowering herbs are not really suitable as ground covers because they are ephemeral, not only the flowers and fruits of short duration but the leaves as well.  Two species that work pretty well as ground covers because their leaves last are barren strawberry, Waldsteinia fragaroides, and purple avens, Geum rivale, both in the Rose Family and both with nice flowers and very short stature.  Both prefer sandy, poor soil, the later a moist habitat. Barren strawberry is native to barrens and dry woodlands of the eastern United States, purple avens is a northern, circumpolar species.
    These plants are part of a native landscape at the end of Chequamegon Road on the lake, designed by Sara Bowles of Cornucopia, Wisconsin.

PLANTING JOB COMPLETED

PLANTING COMPLETED, LOOKING NORTH TOWARD GARAGE

GRASS SEED SOWN AND COVERED

Tuesday,  8:00 AM.  41 degrees F at the ferry dock, 39 on the back porch.  Wind SSW, calm with light gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 81%.  The barometer is steady at 30.38".  It looks like a dry week with temperatures in the 60's ahead.
   This is one of the best springs I can remember for early blooming plats.  Magnolias, cherries and Juneberries that often last only a day or two in flower have been blooming beautifully for a week and more with no signs of quitting.  It's been rough on garden annuals already planted but that's a small price to pay for weeks of prominent beauty.

   I have been working on installing landscape plantings that I designed for a residence on the lake,  and I and Jay's Tree Care crew completed it yesterday (except for seeding the grass walk).   It turned out very well, and will look rather spectacular when the trees and shrubs all flower and leaf out.
   A list of the plants used is as follows: showy mountain ash trees (2); round leaved dogwood (22)'; coralberry (20); arrowwood (2); tall blueberry (10); low blueberry (22);dwarf bush honeysuckle (18); winterberry (8); little bluestem grass (20).  The plants selected will provide a nice succession of bloom, fruit and fall color, plus interesting shapes and textures. The blueberries are edible.  All the plants are native to Wisconsin.

YELLOW TROUT LILY ARE BLOOMING

 YELLOW TROUT LILY...

...A SPRING EPHEMERAL OFTEN FOUND IN LARGE COLONIES...

...WITH A LARGE, NODDING FLOWER...

...AND LEAVES SPOTTED LIKE A BROWN TROUT

Monday, 8:00 AM.  44 degrees F at the ferry dock, 41 on the back porch.  Wind variable with light gusts.  The sky is partly cloudy, and the humidity has risen to 81% after light rain last night..  The barometer is at 30.05" and rising.  It looks like it will be a slightly warmer and drier week ahead.
   This morning we are planting the trees and shrubs that I laid out at the job site on the lakeshore on Thursday.  It will be good to get them in the ground and the job done.

   The yellow trout lily, AKA dog-toothed violet or adder's tongue, Erythonium americanum, in the Lily Family, is a prominent spring ephemeral wild flower of North America east of the Mississippi River.  Its habitat is deciduous,  and mixed coniferous and deciduous, woodlands, where  it forms significant understory colonies.  The nodding flowers occur one to a plant, each plant having two lily-like leaves which have spots  reminiscent of those which occur on brown trout.  The common name "dog's tooth violet" comes from the appearance of the root, and "adder's tongue" I assume from the shape of the leaf.
   Our trout lilies have been blooming for several days, and are now about at their peak.

A GREAT ARBOR DAY, AND THE FIRST HUMMINGBIRD OF SPRING

BAYFIELD SCHOOL 4TH GRADE CLASS AND THE ARBOR DAY TREE

BIG CROWD FOR THE GARDEN TALK RADIO SHOW

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  33 degrees F at the ferry dock, 32 on the back porch.  Wind NNW, with strong gusts.  The sky is overcast and cloudy, the humidity 66%.  The balrometer stands at 30.07" and is steady.  We got a trace of rain last night, which froze on the decks.  A few desultory snow flakes are falling.  Hope my tomatoes didn't get nipped.

   Yesterday was a busy day that started out with the annual Arbor Day tree planting and celebration at 9:00 AM.  The Bahyfield School fourth grade class helped plant the tree.  The new mayor read the Arbor Day proclamation, and State Urban Forestry Coordinator Don Kissinger taught proper tree planting. Jay Cblick of Jay's Tree Care helped plant the good-sized sugar maple on the Old Courthouse (now Park Service) grounds. The tree was dedicated to David Burst, an employee of Jay's Tree Care who was a great tree planter and wonderful man, who died last spring of cancer.

   Next was Garden Talk Radio Show, with both audience and call-in garden questions, hosted by the ever-popular Larry Miellor. Myself, Don Kissinger and Agriculture Agent Jason Fishbach answered questions.

   Then I, Jay and his small crew set out and planted the City's twelve new trees for 2016.  Not many trees, but enough for the smallest city in Wisconsin to plant; we continue to plant more trees than we remove in any given year so we are staying ahead of the game.  

   It's time for me to pass the volunteer City Forester job on to someone new.  I have been doing it for a dozen years and with a new mayor we need some new ideas and new enthusiasm.  Come to think of it, it is the longest I have had any job, paid or unpaid.

   All told, it was a great Arbor Day.
   News Flash!  Just saw a hummingbird at the feeder, couldn't see if it was a male. Anyway, right on time!

A SUPER BUSY FRIDAY

TOPSOIL ADDED TO SITE LAST FALL...

...SHRUBS AND TREES...

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...LANDSCAPE JOB ON THE LAKE, ALL LAID OUT, READY TO PLANT

Friday,7:30 AM.  45 degrees F at the ferry dock, 42 on the back porch.  Wind variable and calm, with occasional light to moderate gusts.  The sky is overcast, the humidity 65% and the barometer 29.92" and rising.  The current weather pattern should be with us for the next week or so; seasonally cool and partly cloudy with maybe a chance of rain.  Perfect planting weather.
   Today is the  Bayfield in Bloom kickoff at the Pavilion with Garden Talk Radio Show, preceded by the annual Arbor Day tree planting, so it is a busy morning with little time for the Almanac post.  The afternoon will be devoted to planting  alarge job at the lake with Jay's tree Service's crew.  The later is a nice job, which I designed during the winter and brought in soil for last fall.  More on the design and plants used tomorrow.
   Then it's on to planting city trees.

WILD BLUEBERRIES AND A DEER LEG BONE

WILD BLUEBERRIES IN BLOOM

PATCH OF WILD BLUEBERRIES AT THE BEACH

GEE, BOSS, LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND!

Thursday, 9:00 AM.  45 degrees F at the ferry dock, 47 on the back porch.  Wind variable, calm with occasional light gusts.   The sky is overcast, the sun hidden.  The humidity is 96% and the barometer is rising, now at 29.91".  We got a third of an inch of rain last night and the forecast calls for cool damp weather ahead, which is good weather for planting trees and shrubs.
   Today will be devoted to laying out a big planting job on the lakeshore.
   Buddy has been in bvad need of a run so we went to the beach late yesterday afternoon, where we found native bueberries blooming.  They grow in large patches, mostly on the back of the dune.  I will watch for them to be ripe but I often miss them and the birds and animals get my share.
   Buddy found a whole deer leg bone, which he thought a great prize, and was unhappy with my admonition to "leave it."

ORNAMENTAL PEAR AND CREEPING PHLOX ARE BLOOMING

CREEPING PHLOX

ORNAMENTAL PEAR...

...BLOOMS

Wednesday, 9:30 AM.  44 degrees F at both the ferry dock and on the back porch.  Wind variable and calm at present.  The sky is overcast ant the humidity is 86%.  The barometer is 30.1" and falling, predicting showers later in the day or this evening.  The weekend looks like it will be cool and mostly cloudy.  Our city of Bayfield daffodils  still look good for Bayfield in Bloom.

   Yesterday I spent time calling Diggers Hotline to have utilities marked for our street tree plantings. Do not hesitate to use this free service any time you plan to sink a shovel in unfamiliar territory.  Utilities, especially telephone and internet and TV cable can be very shallow and unprotected, and if you damage one without calling before you dig, you are liable for repair costs; I have learned the hard way!

   The city trees, along with plants to be planted for customers on the lake shore, will be arriving from Northwoods Nursery this afternoon, and I have a busy week ahead laying out trees, supervising a large planting job and participating in the Garden Talk Radio Show on Friday.  I have been limping along on a very bum leg for over a week but it's getting better and I guess I will make it.

   Creeping phlox, Phlox subulata, in the Polemoneaceae Family, is native to the eastern United States, and is found on the dunes of Lake Michigan and some of the other Great Lakes.  It has been much planted and hybridized.  There are many cultivars and color shades from pink to white to blue.  Its native habitat is sand dunes and rocky ledges, and it does well in a rock garden.  It is an evergreen perennial and grows as a creeping mat, seldom taller than 6".  It can naturalize in less well cared for lawns, where it will withstand careful mowing.  One is fortunate indeed to have creeping phlox invade and persist in a lawn, where it is very beautiful but difficult if not impossible to introduce.

   The ornamental pears are small trees which can be very useful in parks, smaller landscapes and as small ornamental street trees.  Pyrus calleriana, in the Rose Family, is an Asian species of which there have been many varieties selected, such as Bradford and Chanticlear.  It has very small, inedible fruit so it can be used as a street and park tree.  

   The species is very weak wooded and prone to ice and wind damage and should not in my estimation be planted.  The varieties are much more reliable and are beautiful and useful.  I have read that some have become invasive in Missouri, and that means that they should be monitored, but so far I would still use them (with caution of course). 
   It is easy to say "use native species," but that really cuts down on the diversity of flowering trees and shrubs for city use, and natives have their problems and issues as well.  At this point I like the  tougher of the ornamental pear varieties and will continue to use them.

P.J.M. RHODODENDRONS ARE BLOOMING, AND A LACK OF PATIENCE

P..J.M. RHODODENDRON

INNOVATIVE HERB GARDEN

Tuesday, 9:00 AM.  50 degrees F at the ferry dock, 49 on the back porch. Wind NNE, calm with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is mostly cloudy, the humidity 59%.  The barometer is beginning to rise somewhat, now at 30.05".  Winds off the lake have cooled the weather considerably again.

   The P.J.M. Rhododendrons, a very hardy  hybrid evergreen Rhododendron, is blooming all around Bayfield.  A number of other Rhododendrons and azaleas are hardy with us and will bloom, but the P.J.M. is very dependable and grows well.  It is hardy in zones 4 through 8, and requires an acidic soil,  moderate moisture and light mulch over the roots. It will take full sun this far north, but appreciates light shade.  It will grow as high  and wide as 6' when full grown, and a good specimen is a beautiful springtime sight.

   Neighbor Beth up the street does a lot of innovative permaculture gardening, and the kitchen herb garden pictured is a rather neat idea.  It is a gabion concept, rocks held together with  hardware cloth and wire.  It is a good use of small rocks one has collected in the yard, and the design allows for herbs of various sizes to be used in a small space.  I like a lot of permaculture ideas but do not have the patience to initiate most of them myself.

MOTHERS' DAY, JUNEBERRY AND PIZZA

MOTHERS' DAY AT HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH

JUNE BERRY IN BLOOM...

...IT'S REALLY SPRING!

DA LOU'S PIZZA, WASHBURN...ABSOLUTELY THE REGION'S BEST!

Monday, 10:30 AM.  50 degrees F at the ferry dock, 55 on the back porch.  Wind NE, calm with moderate gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 62%, the barometer stands at 30.02" and is relatively steady.  Chance of rain showers middle of the week.
   The first really significant native flowering tree of spring, the Juneberry, of which there are several species, has begun to bloom.  The one pictured is probably Amelanchier arborea, in the Rose Family.  A usually small understory tree, it bears small, cherry-sized, edible blue-black berries in June (difficult to get the fruit before the birds and animals do).  It is a very decorative small tree, with smooth gray bark when young and good fall color.  It is often sold as A. laevis, which is a actually a shrubby native Juneberry.  It is native throughout most of the North American continent east of the Mississippi river and south of the Boreal Forest.  It is reasonably trouble free and will tolerate some shade. 
   Our historic Christ Church had a Mothers' Day service, which we attended, and the little church was resplendent with daffodils.  We went to Da Lou's Pizzaria in Washburn for dinner, and enjoyed the wood fired pizza, which I count as the best in the region.

  

SUGAR MAPLES AND MARSH MARIGOLDS ARE FLOWERING

SUGAR MAPLE FLOWERS...

ARE A SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF SPRING...

MARSH MARIGOLDS ARE SUDDENLY BLOOMING

Sunday, Mothers' Day. 8:30 AM.  45 degrees F at both the ferry dock and on the back porch.  Wind ENE, very light with light gusts.  The sky is partly cloudy, the humidity higher now, at 73%. The barometer is steady, at 29.9". The switch from westerly to northerly winds has cooled things off.   It is a nice spring morning.

   The sugar maples, Acer saccharum, in the Maple Family, are blooming.  The yellow-green flowers are easily mistaken for emergent leaves, and I imagine most folks simply do not see nor appreciate the flowers.  Too bad, as in mass they are a significant aspect of the beauty of the North American springtime.  Paper birch, red oak, poplar and willows are also blooming.  The red maples flowers, lasting a long time,  continue to be significant in the landscape.

  Maples are monoecious, having both male and female flowers on the same tree. Soon after fertilizaton the female flowers will develop the typical samara (winged nutlet) fruits that whirl away on the wind like little helicopters. 

   The very warm weather two days ago literally pushed the marsh marigolds, Caltha palustris, in the Buttercup Family, the Ranunculaceae, into leaf and flower.  I have been watching for them to emerge in roadside ditches and on Thursday I saw none, and by Saturday they were leafed out and blooming almost everywhere.

   From now on it will be one species after another flowering. 

   And in a few days the male hummingbirds will arrive.  Time to get the feeders hung up.

MAGNOLIAS, SAILBOATS AND THUNDERSTORMS

STAR MAGNOLIA...

...PERFECT BLOOMS THIS SPRING...

...PINK VARIETY

SAILBOAT BEFORE THE STORM

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  54 degrees F at the ferry dock, 52 on the back porch.  Wind NE, light with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 49%.  The barometer stands at 29.93" and is falling. The air is fresh and clear after last evenings thunder storms, and it is a fine day.

   Yesterday was very unseasonably warm, 85 degrees  F in Bayfield, and a reported 91 in Cornucopia.  The hot, windy weather had spring flowers blooming, including both white and pink star magnolias.  Magnolia stellata, a small tree of Asiatic origin, is hardy and beautiful in bloom, but only looks so occasionally in Bayfield, so I do not consider it a good choice as it can often look like it is blooming wet paper bags.   Yesterday they were gorgeous.

   Hot, dry winds from the NW were bound to collide with cold air over the big lake, and by late afternoon thunderstorms chased the boats off the lake; at least the sailors with any sense.  We drove out to Cornucopia to the Village Inn for Friday night fish fry in violent wind and rain.  The aspen are leafing out, a refreshing, light green color.  The sugar maples are blooming and leafing out, as well as the red oaks.

   If our winds are the winds that are prevalent in the Alberta oil sands country they are in continuing trouble from fire.   With all the slash laying around from our current logging blitz in northern Wisconsin I also worry about wild fires here as well, in this kind of weather.  Wisconsin has a history of disastrous forest fires that are easily forgotten today.
   I also wonder about the oil sands themselves catching fire and smoldering forever, as have some coal mines. I remember when I was a child there was a period when Wisconsin peat bogs were burning, deep seated fires almost impossible to extinguish, which caused heavy smog.  That situation was promoted by the draining of bogs and marshes for agricultural production.
   No human activity is without its environmental hazards, risks and consequences and we seldom think things through thoroughly before we do them.  We are a species as opportunistic as a bear dumping over garbage cans.

DAFFODIL DOS AND DONTS

DEGRADED DAFFODIL DISPLAY CAUSED BY LAWN MOWING

DAFFODILS ARE NOT BLOOMING WHERE ICE AND SNOW LAID ALL WINTER

Friday, 8:00 AM.  75 degrees at the ferry dock, 70 on the back porch.  Wind WNW, with strng gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity a low 36%.  The barometer is rising, now at 20.74".  The winds will bring us warm temperatures today, then things will cool off considerable for the following week.  It is indeed a gorgeous morning.

   Now that our Bayfield daffodil display is at its height, we will pass along a few things that we have learned about naturalizing daffodils.

   Daffodils, like tulips and other bulbs, bloom well and look fine in a well maintained garden border.  Naturalizing a large daffodil display in a lawn or field situation is another matter entirely, and to be successful the bulbs need to be planted in decent soil, in full sun, and have adequate moisture.  We plant the bulbs about 6" deep, and fertilize them with either bone meal or a low nitrogen organic fertilizer once a year in the fall.  We use a cordless electric drill with a bulb auger, and plant bulbs about a foot apart. Planting good sized healthy, disease free bulbs is essential. For budget purposes, contracting to plant daffodils currently costs about a dollar a bulb in our area, but costs could improve with efficiency and lower bulb cost.

   The biggest reason for the decline of a daffodil display is mowing the grass they are growing in before the leaves of the bulbs turn brown and  dry off.  I will no longer plant daffodils  in church or business lawns, because there is too great a desire to mow the grass and be neat and tidy. A season or two of early mowing weakens the bulbs and spoils the display.  Neatness and naturalized daffodils are a contardiction in terms.

   Daffodils and other hardy bulbs appreciate good snow cover, but heavy ice and snow all winter long, such as near the edge of a road or an area where snow is piled and ice accumulates will smother the bulbs, which may survive but will not bloom.