THE COLORS OF SUMMER

ORANGE HAWKWEED

RED WINGED BLACKBIRD

Friday, 8:30 AM.  60 degrees F at the ferry dock, 51 on the back porch.  Wind NW, light with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is overcast and it rained some again last night. The humidity is 89% and the barometer is steady, at 29.8".  The week ahead is predicted to have highs in the mid 60's to 70, with clearing skies and drier conditions.
   As summer progresses and the weather warms there are more oranges,  reds and yellows  in natures palette, among them orange hawkweed, Hieracium aurantiacum, in the Sunflower Family.  It  has orange to yellow flowers that grow on about a 6" stalk from a flattened rosette of fuzzy leaves.  It is very pretty along the roadside or in an unkempt lawn.  It can be considered a lawn and garden weed I suppose, but it is really only abundant in nutrient deficient, sandy soil.  There are about a dozen different introduced species, this one common in the north.  The ancient Greeks gave the genus its name, as they thought hawks fed on the plants to aid their eyesight.  The genus name is Greek for hawk, and the species name refers to vision.
   Many of the hawkweeds (there are many species) were used in the Middle Ages for diseases of the lungs, such as whooping cough, and for other ailments.
   My recorded blooming dates for orange hawkweed are: 6/22/15; 6/23/14; 6/25/11; 6/22/09.  This year it seems they are blooming right on time.
   Many of our roadside "wildflowers" are immigrants from Europe and Asia that hitched a ride to our shores along with agricultural seeds.  Should they be granted permanent resident status, issued a green card, or be granted full citizenship?  You decide; for myself, I find them mostly innocuous, and much too numerous and tenacious to eradicate. The ecological purists will continue their futile battles, despite all the confusion and costs.
   Orange and red are also the flashing colors of the red winged blackbirds nesting and proclaiming their territory in the marsh at the beach.  Get too close and you will get dive bombed.

ASK THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP THE RULES

BIRD'SFOOT TREFOIL:RATHER PRETTY IN A LAWN...

...TRUSS OF THREE SMALL, TYPICAL PEA FLOWERS...

 ...SMALL,  COMPOUND LEAF

Thursday, 8:00 AM.  51 degrees F at the ferry dock, 51 on the back porch.  Wind NW, gale force.  It rained most of yesterday afternoon and evening, at times torrential, as a strong front blew through.  Skies are mostly still cloudy and overcast, the humidity 100%.  The barometer is rising steeply, now at 29.52".  Today will be overcast with highs around 60.  Cool weather will continue, with mixed skies and chances of rain until the middle of next week, when it will warm some  and clear up.

A FRONT BLOWS THROUGH FROM THE NORTHWEST

   Birds' foot trefoil, Lotus comutatis, in the Pea Family, is an ubiquitous roadside plant of Eurasian origin. It gets its common name trefoil from its compound three-leaflet leaves, and the "bird'sfoot" from the appearance of its ripening seeds while still attached to the plant.  It is a legume, and as such fixes nitrogen and improves the fertility of the soil, thus can grow in poor soils where most plants can not.  In fact, it has been commonly used as a forage plant where soils are too poor for alfalfa in northern climates. 

   Bird'sfoot trefoil is quite beautiful along roadsides and in pastures, and unfortunately also in lawns, where it can withstand mowing and bluegrass purists can't tolerate it.  It blooms all summer long in the far north.

   Bird's foot trefoil is listed in Wisconsin and elsewhere as an invasive and noxious weed, although it was introduced as a forage crop.  Since bird's foot trefoil is ubiquitous, fixes nitrogen, is a good forage crop and is quite attractive, what makes it a noxious weed, and is it worth trying to eradicate it?  I can't answer that one.You will have to ask the folks in the DNR who make up such rules.

  

COREOPSIS ARE BLOOMING

FIELD OF COREOPSIS AND AN OLD  TRUCK AND WAGON...

...AN OLD HAY WAGON IN THE FIELD OF COREOPSIS...

LANCE-SHAPED LEAVES

COREOPSIS FLOWER

Wednesday, 8:00 AM.  59 degrees F at the ferry dock, 58 on the back porch.  Wind variable and calm.  The sky is overcast and cloudy, the sun having given up trying to shine through.  The humidity is 77%, the barometer is falling rapidly, now at 29.67".  The forecast for the next ten days is for cool weather with highs in the 60's, mixed skies and chances of rain and thunderstorms.

   Tickseed, AKA lance-leaved coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata, in the Sunflower Family (Compositae) is a common early-summer blooming perennial wildflower endemic to Wisconsin, Michigan, and southern Ontario, and occurring generally throughout eastern North America and in the western mountains.   Its  ribbon-like leaves and bright golden blooms identify it easily.  The rather unsavory common name tickseed refers to the stick-tight seeds that  cling tenaciously  to clothing when ripe.  Coreopsis is easily distinguished from the coneflowers and black-eyed Susans, which have dark brown to black central  disks.

   Many of our dry, sandy fields and roadsides are now gloriously adorned with these bright golden-yellow flowers.  The field with the abandoned agricultural equipment pictured above is on County Hwy. J, which winds through the orchard country outside of Bayfield.
   Note: the Freckman Herbarium of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point considers this plant mostly a garden escapee in Wisconsin,  except in Door County; so, is it native or not? You decide.

   My  recorded blooming dates for Coreopsis lanceolata are: 7/03/15; 7/10/14; 7/11/13; 6/25/12; 7/05/11; 6/21/10; 6/30/08.  Those dates are pretty consistent, but always right after, or along with the last of, the lupines.

THE PROMISE OF A BLACKBERRY PIE

BLACKBERRY FLOWERS...

BLOOMING ON SIX FOOT TALL FLOWERING CANES

Tuesday, 7:30 AM.  58 degrees F at the ferry dock and on the back porch, ten degrees warmer than yesterday morning.  Today will have clear skies and a high in the low70's. The weather will then  cool some, with mixed skies and chances of rain, but clearing and warmer again by the weekend.
   Our friends Andy and Judy are at this point undecided as to when they may come up from southern Wisconsin, so we decided yesterday to check out their abandoned-farm camp site.
   We found the blackberry brambles in full flower, a magnificent sight, the arching flowering canes cascading gracefully.  From a distance the blackberry patches looked like snowbanks.  There should be a record  blackberry harvest come mid-September.
   Blackberry picking is a blood sport (the picker usually exiting the bramble as though from a fight with a wildcat) and it is always possible to encounter a bear, but the promise of a blackberry pie makes it all worthwhile.

SWEET CICELY IS BLOOMING

ALONG HWY. 13...

SWEET CICELY JUST STARTED BLOOMING...

DEEPLY LOBED, OPPOSITE LEAVES ALONG THE FLOWER STALK ...

...AWESOME AMONG THE  LUPINES

Monday, 8:00 AM.  50 degrees F at the ferry dock, 48 on the back porch.  Wind variable and calm, the skies overcast, with 97% humidity after considerable rain yesterday afternoon and during the night.  The next ten days are predicted to have highs in the 60's, mixed skies and chances of rain and thunderstorms.  Summer is an elusive entity hereabouts.

   My favorite wildflower, sweet Cicely, Osmorhiza chilensis, in the Parsley Family, the Umbelliferae, suddenly appeared in bloom a couple of days ago, along Hwy. 13 just north of Washburn.  it will soon be evident everywhere near the lake.   There are a number of species of Osmorhiza with the same common name and general properties, but I am pretty sure of this scientific name because Fasset's Spring Flora of Wisconsin says it is very specific to Bayfield County near Lake Superior.  In any case this species, as are others in the genus, is very sweetly anise scented.  The plant parts have a licorice flavor, and decoctions of it were used in Native American medicine for many ailments, much like one would use mint.
   Note: extreme caution should be used with all members of the parsley family, as they can be confusing, and some are deadly poisonous.
   O. chilensis is found on the Bayfield peninsula, the far western US, and coastal regions of South America (thus its scientific species name).  How it got to Bayfield is, as far as I know, a botanical mystery.

   My recorded first bloom dates for sweet Cicely are: 6/23/16; 6/24/15; 7/02/14; 7/03/13/ 6/25/12; 6/30/11; 6/21/10, always as the lupine display is just beginning to fade.  The blooms are beautiful and very fragrant in a vase, but don't last long.  The dried flower stems are deep red-pink, and very effective in arrangements, when picked in August.

DRIED FLOWER STEMS

FORT MCNAIR HYBRID BUCKEYES ARE BLOOMING

'

'FORT MCNAIR' HYBRID BUCKEYE...

...SPECTACULAR IN FLOWER

Sunday, 9:00 AM, 54 degrees F at the ferry dock, the same on the back porch.  Wind NW, mostly calm with light gusts.  The sky is cloudy and overcast, and it is misting, the humidity 100%. The barometer is rising gently, now at 30.01".  The next ten days are forecast to have mixed skies, high temperatures mostly in the 60's, and chances of rain.

   A few years back, as City Forester, I planted some rather spectacular flowering trees that are a hybrid between the southern native red buckeye, Aesculus pavia, and the European horsechestnut, A. hippocastanaeum. They were called hybrid buckeyes when I purchased them but they are also currently being called hybrid red horsechestnut.  Given the parentage, I guess either could be correct. They were originally planted on both sides of Sixth St. (Hwy. 13) entering Bayfield from the south.

    The official name of this hybrid as currently sold is Aesculus X carnea 'Fort McNair.'  The X denotes that it is a hybrid.  It is important to order and purchase hybrids by their exact name to be sure it is the right plant.  The Fort McNair bears nuts that are said to be viable, and to produce an offspring much like the parent plant, which is unusual for a hybrid of any kind; I have not seen our trees bear nuts.  There is another hybrid, 'Brioti,' which is also quite beautiful but does not bear fruit.  There are one or two on private property in Bayfield. Hybrid plants must generally be reproduced by making the original cross and obtaining seeds from that union, or by asexual propagation, which is one reason they are usually expensive.

    We have lost two of the original trees we planted,  and current construction threatens several more, but the remaining trees seem to be doing well, and have made it through successive very rough winters.  We have been unable to replace those lost because young Fort McNair trees have not done well in northern nurseries the last several years and have been very scarce.  All this makes one wonder whether it is worth the trouble to grow these trees.  

   It may not be practical to grow unusual and particularly ornamental trees, but a special tree such as the Fort McNair is a great signature tree for a community or a park, or as a spectacular entrance statement.  One could say the same thing about a rare and difficult to find native tree such as an American Chestnut. In any case, it is interesting to engage in such efforts as long as they don't become too expensive or time consuming.

   Originally I had envisioned an alle' of Fort McNairs along the Hwy. 13 entrance to Bayfield, and that may never be achieved in its entirety, but the trees that have survived the winters and the snowplowing thus far always are beautiful and unusual in spring and draw a lot of attention. 

THIMBLEBERRY IS BLOOMING

THIMBLEBERRY BUSH...

...MAPLE-LIKE LEAF...

...LARGE, SCENTED FLOWER...

...EDIBLE BERRY (UW Green Bay Herbarium photo))

RASPBERRIES AND BLACKBERRIES HAVE THORNS...

...HAVE MANY FLOWERS, AND COMPOUND LEAVES

Saturday, 8:00 AM.  55 degrees F at the ferry dock, 56 on the back porch. Wind WNW, very breezy.  The sky is cloudy with some overcast, the humidity 83%.  The barometer is rising slowly, now at 29.68".  Mixed skies, highs in the 60-s to 70's and chances of rain are predicted for the next ten days.

   Thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus, in the Rose Family, is closely related to the raspberries and blackberries.  The species has an odd geographical distribution: around the Great Lakes and in  the western United States, Alaska and Canada and south to northern South America.  

   Thimbleberry is so called since when the ripe composit fruit is pulled from its stem it is hollow, resembling a sewing thimble.  The shrub is large, spreads by stolons and grows in part shade to full sun in woods and on woods edges, and along roads and railways.  The leaves are lobed and look like sugar maple leaves.  The stems have no spines or prickles, unusual for a Rubus species.

   The species name translates from the Latin as "small flowered," but the flowers are relatively large.  I suspect this misnomer relates to the fact that the shrubs are few flowered. The flowers are pleasantly lemon-scented. The fruit is edible and makes good jams and jellies, but is soft and does not pack and ship well commercially.  Some folks do not like the taste of the fruit, but I think it fine. 

   Thimbleberry is a valuable plant for native landscape restoration and can be obtained from specialty nurseries.  Use it with care, as it can easily take over.  I have recorded only a few bloom dates for this species: 6/19/15; and, 6/27/14.  This year is probably right on time.

OFF THE CUFF

   Holywood and the leftist media have gone off the rails with their denigration, and worse, of the President and the Presidency.  Mock assassinations and so-called humorous death threats are no longer funny, and would never have been tolerated during the Obama presidency.  Can you imagine a so-called comedian getting away with depicting the beheading of President Obama? Or his assassination on stage? It is time, particularly after the attempted (and nearly successful) assassination of Republican senators, for it to all cease.

   Such overt calls for harm to the President and others must stop right now, and the way to stop them is for the Secret Service to take it seriously, and start knocking on some doors in the middle of the night.

WHITE PINE POLLEN

POLLEN CONES ARE BURSTING...

...WITH COUNTLESS BILLIONS OF POLLEN GRAINS CLOUDING THE ATMOSPHERE

WHILE THE GARDEN PROGRESSES FROM SPRING TO SUMMER

 Friday, 8:00 AM.  59 degrees F at both the ferry dock and on the back porch.  Wind NW, light with occasional stronger gusts.  The sky is crystal clear, the humidity 68%.  The barometer is rising, now at 29.58".  The weather prediction for the next ten days calls for highs in the 60's to 70's, with mixed skies and chances of rain.  It looks like the cool, damp spring is continuing into a cool, damp summer.
   The annual release of  pine pollen from male cones is here, clouding the atmosphere with golden yellow dust.  The preponderance of the pollen is from white pines, but red and jack pines add to the onslaught.
   When the west wind blows strongly it triggers  an event of truly Biblical proportions, the pine trees from thousands of forested acres releasing untold billions of pollen grains. If the wind is calm and we get some rain conditions are ameliorated somewhat, but in any case I am sneezing.

MOCCASIN FLOWER AND WINTERGREEN

MOCCASIN FLOWER, A NATIVE ORCHID

WINTERGREEN: AROMATIC EVERGREEN LEAVES AND EDIBLE RED BERRY.

Thursday, 8:30 AM.  66 degrees F at the ferry dock, 62 on the back porch.  Wind WNW, mostly calm with very light gusts.  The sky is overcast, the humidity 79%.  The barometer is steady, at 29.65".  Mixed skies, highs in the mid-sixties to seventy with chances of rain are predicted for the next ten days.
 The moccasin flower, Cyprepedium acaule, in the Lily Family, is an orchid native to much of Canada and most of the eastern half of the U S.  Its habitat is boreal and deciduous forest floors and edges.  This is one of several found near the Onion River parking area.
  Moccasin flower is not truly rare or endangered, but it  is not common, and a real treat to see in bloom.   The greatest threat to this orchid is gardeners digging it up to transplant in their gardens, a process the plants seldom survive.  Unless their habitat is in immediate danger of being completely destroyed, they and most other wild plants should be left alone and in place.  The plant has two stemless basal leaves (acaule, Latin, without a stem), with strong parallel venation.  It is pollinated by bees which are attracted by its fragrance.  Like other orchids, Cyprepedium relies on a symbiosis with a soil fungus to germinate seeds and  complete its life cycle.
   Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens, in the Heath Family (Ericaceae) is growing in association with the moccasin flower.  It is also known as teaberry, as the dried leaves and stems make a good tea. The berries are also edible and are eaten by birds, and the plant is good winter browse for whitetail deer. It is native under oaks and conifers in northeastern North America and the Appalachian Mountains.
   A number of other wildflowers, no longer flowering, were also present.

HARRISON'S YELLOW ROSE, "THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS"

HARRISON'S YELLOW ROSE, DOWNTOWN BAYFIELD, HWY.13...

HARRISON'S YELLOW ROSE, CORNER OF 6TH AND WILSON...

..."THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS"

Wednesday, 8:00 AM.  57 degrees F at the ferry dock, 56 on the back porch,  Wind variable, calm.  The sky is clear, the humidity 84%.  The barometer is taking a nosedive, now at 29.93".  Today will have highs around 60, tomorrow in the mid-seventies.  It will then cool off considerably, with mixed skies, and a chance of rain on Saturday.

   Everything that hasn't bloomed earlier is blooming now and it is hard to keep up with it all, but we will try to do so in subsequent posts.
   There is a large rose bush on the corner of 6th and Wilson that I am quite certain is the old fashioned “Harrison’s Yellow Rose,” which has been grown for almost two centuries and is still available. There are a number of these venerable old roses blooming around Bayfield.  It is only a spring bloomer, but when in flower is covered with semi-double, fragrant flowers. It is thorny and spreads, so must be used with caution, but is a worthwhile plant in a sunny location (mine has succumbed to heavy shade). This is the rose that was carried across the country by settlers moving west, and has thus become also known also as “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” and "The Oregon Trail Rose." It was a chance hybrid occurring around 1830 in the garden of a Mr. Harrison of New York City. It was grown and marketed by Prince's Nursery on Long Island.
   The song, “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” is thus associated with this rose. The “Yellow Rose” of the song, however, was a young mulatto (hence the "yellow") woman. Named either Molly Morgan or Emily Wade, she is credited in folklore as a heroine of the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, in which the Texas militia under Sam Houston destroyed the Mexican army of the tyrant Santa Anna, with virtually no Texas casualties, thus attaining Texas independence from Mexico.
   Molly (or Emily) purportedly  seduced the Mexican general on the afternoon of the battle, facilitating the Texan surprise attack. Soon after the battle, the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (composer unknown) became popular and has remained so as a Texas folk song. In 1955 it was arranged and played by Mitch Miller and his orchestra and became a national hit song, even eclipsing Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock.”
   Texas became an independent republic in 1836, and voluntarily joined the Union in 1845. The legend and the song say a lot about Texas and Texans.  The Battle of San Jacinto was considered payback for the massacre at the Alamo, a visit to which cannot fail to stir an American's soul, as the battle was at the time a struggle for freedom from tyranny, a one-sided, obviously futile fight, which volunteers joined,  knowing they would surely die.  Iconic figures of American history did die there, among them Davey Crocket and Jim Bowie.

           
            THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS 
             (Mitch Miller rendition, 1955)

1) There's a yellow rose in Texas, That I am going to see,
Nobody else could miss her, Not half as much as me.
She cried so when I left her It like to broke my heart,
And if I ever find her, We nevermore will part.

[Chorus]

She's the sweetest little rosebud ;That Texas ever knew, Her eyes are bright as diamonds, They sparkle like the dew;You may talk about your Clementine, And sing of Rosalee, But the YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS Is the only girl for me.

2) Where the Rio Grande is flowing, The starry skies are bright,
She walks along the river In the quiet summer night:
I know that she remembers, When we parted long ago,
I promise to return again, And not to leave her so.
 [Chorus]

3) Oh now I'm going to find her, For my heart is full of woe,
And we'll sing the songs together, That we sung so long ago
We'll play the banjo gaily, And we'll sing the songs of yore,
And the Yellow Rose of Texas Shall be mine forevermore.

 [Chorus]

THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Google photo)

 

THE FLAG OF TEXAS

BUNCHBERRY IS BLOOMING

BUNCHBERRY, AKA DWARF CORNEL, FLOWER AND LEAVES...

...EDIBLE BERRIES RIPEN IN JULY.  NOTE THE VEINED, TOOTHLESS, OPPOSITE LEAVES

HUGE PATCH OF BUNCHBERRY ON BLOOM ROAD

Tuesday, 8:00 AM.  62 degrees F at the ferry dock, 58 on the back porch.  Wind WSW, light.  The humidity is 70%.  The sky is clearing and it should be a nice day.  The barometer is rising, now at 29.88". Mixed skies and highs in the mid-sixties to 70 degrees are predicted for the balance of the week, with chances of rain on the weekend.
   Bunchberry, AKA dwarf cornel, Cornus canadensis, in the Dogwood Family, is a circumpolar plant of damp coniferous forests. It is a woody sub-shrub that grows less than a foot tall and spreads by stolens into large mats.
   In the right habitat it makes a fine ground cover.  Its white flowers are much like the flowering dogwood of the South, but smaller, and  the edible red berries are very similar. Fall leaf color is purple to red.  Cornus species berries are edible; and one, Cornus mas, cornelean cherry, an Asiatic shrub, has berries very good for jams and jellies.
   There is a very large colony of bunchberry growing along a side road off of Highway K in Bayfield County.  This would be a good plant for more  nurseries to grow.
   This dwarf doogwood always reminds me of the wonderful flowering dogwood of the eastern and southern US, Cornus florida. It is almost a miniature of that beautiful tree.

HIGHBUSH CRANBERRY

LARGE HIGHBUSH CRANBERRY IN THE BACK YARD

... PANICLES OF COMPOUND FLOWERS... 

... PERSISTENT, EDIBLE FRUIT.  NOTE THE THREE-LOBED LEAVES

 Monday, 8:30 AM.  60 degrees F at the ferry dock, 57 on the back porch.  Wind ESE, moderately breezy.  The sky is overcast with some clouds, the humidity 87%.  The barometer is steady at present, at 29.77".  The week head is predicted to be on the cool side with highs in the mid-60's, with mixed skies and weather.

  The highbush cranberry, Viburnum americanum (AKA trilobum) is not a cranberry at all, but a member of the Honeysuckle Family (Caprifoliaceae). The true cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, is a member of the Heath Family (Ericaceae), and is a resident of acid bogs in northern North America. 

The common name refers to the similarities in appearance of the shrub and it's berries to true cranberries, and the respective hight of the two shrubs,  The name cranberry of course refers to  the fact that cranes inhabit marshes and may eat the berries.
   To make nomenclature even more confusing, many authorities consider highbush cranberry a variety of the Eurasian species, and have named it Viburnum opulous var. americanum.  It is a visually ubiquitous species in the northern native landscape when in bloom, and once one recognizes it, one will see it everywhere, on woods edges, in the woods understory, roadsides, etc.  The clusters of red fruit also stand out, particularly in the winter landscape.
   Highbush cranberry is a large shrub native to much of southern Canada, New England and the Lake States.  The compound flowers are large, with an outer ring of showy white,  sterile ray flowers.  The misnamed "cranberry" fruits ripen deep cherry red in October and can remain on the shrub all winter, until the next spring's flowers appear.  The berries are edible but very astringent, thus the "cranberry" description.  Although too tart to eat out of hand, they are excellent in preserves.  They also provide  late winter food for birds. Cranberries and their juice are important in herbal and standard medicine for the treatment of urinary tract infections, due to their high acidity.
   Highbush cranberry, also called American cranberry, is an excellent shrub for landscape use, particularly in the larger yard and for naturalizing.  It does not spread as aggressively as many shrubs, has excellent floral interest and fall leaf color, and abundant, highly decorative fruit that attracts birds in late winter.

   My reeorded blooming dates for highbush cranberry are: 6/12/15; 6/12/15; 6/29/14; 5/26/12.

 

BAYFIELD EMERGENCY SERVICES OPEN HOUSE

ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE

SEVERAL PUMPERS

AMBULNCE

DITTO

FIRE HALL AND GARAGE

Sunday, 9:00 AM.  61 degrees F at the ferry dock, 58 on the back porch.  Wind NNE, breezy with stronger gusts.  The sky is overcast and cloudy, the humidity 91%.  It is raining again after better than a half inch fell last night, and it looks like it will be a drippy day.  The barometer is beginning to rise, but the week ahead is predicted to have mixed skies with chances of rain, and high temperatures in the mid-60's.  A cool and damp spring is turning into a cool and damp early summer, which has pretty much guaranteed the success of the big rock garden job we planted a month ago.
   Yesterday we attended the annual Bafield Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service open house. We took a close look at all the equipment, which was polished to perfection, talked with volunteer firemen and EMTs, and ate gourmet firehouse food prepared by, who else, the firemen.
   Bayfield's firemen and EMTs are an all volunteer force, highly trained and on call 24/7.
They raise money to supplement the city equipment budget with an annual raffle and other events.  Area fire departments and ambulance services cooperate in combating major fires and in other emergencies, and and a helicopter service is on call for emergency flights to Duluth hospitals.
   We have lived in communities with both paid and volunteer emergency services, and find them about equal in effectiveness.  It is becoming more and more difficult to maintain volunteer services  because of declining rural and small town populations, and one way to compensate for that factor is for communities to pay a standby and per-emergency stipend, which helps young people with seasonal or low income regular jobs to stay in the community, and is still far less of a tax burden than hiring full time personnel.
   The city of Ashland has a large enough population to support full time emergency services, but surrounding communities and the Indian reservations must rely on volunteers.
  A not-so-subtle threat to volunteerism in general is over-the-top licensing and education requirements by state and federal agencies that can make it nearly impossible to recruit and train volunteers.  I am told that volunteer or deputized citizen help is no longer possible for small police departments for exactly that reason.
   The perfect should never become the enemy of the good.

LUPINES

LUPINES ON HWY. J...

...DISPLAY THEIR FULL COLOR PALETTE...

....DITTO

Saturday, 8:30 AM.  61 degrees F at the ferry dock, 61 on the back porch.  Wind variable and calm, the humidity 87%.  The sky is cloud covered and overcast, but the sun is knocking at the door.  The barometer has bottomed out, at 29.57" and steady.  The weather for the week ahead is predicted to be cool (highs around 60) and rainy.
   The continuing road construction on Hwy 12 south of Bayfield necessitates a long detour on Hwy. J, but presents an opportunity to see some exceptional patches of lupines, which should be blooming for several more weeks, thanks to the cool, damp weather ahead.
  Lupines do not keep in a vase worth a darn, so they are best left to bloom undisturbed, and for others to enjoy as well.