Thursday, May 29, 2008
Memorial Day weekend
I got to the lake finally. Things looked good. A pileated woodpecker greeted me not long after I got things opened up. Larry had been there and turned on the water, so civilization, as represented by indoor plumbing, was present.
Mark and his fishing buddies were fixing things next door and helped Skip and me roll our docks into the water. A bit later, I got the decking installed. (See rain photo below for evidence.)
I'd stopped in Amery and bought some plants to get in the ground (you know, like salvia for the humming birds, who are already around). While planting I noted that it was the day for the bloodroot to blossom.
In the woods all around, the trillium and the jack-in-the-pulpits were showing off.
Meanwhile in the garden, the hostas were just barely showing their sprouts
and the lupine that was pushing up new growth in the October cold seems to have given up the ghost except for one little leaf at the back of the bed.
Friday night, Skip and I joined Mark and his friends (who were heading for Voyageur's National Park the next day) for dinner. Ah, cold beer and good conversation. Mark had fished at Cub Foods for some good walleye that he deep fried in a wok on the grill. He can cook for me any time.
Saturday afternoon was the exciting time. The weather radio beeped at me until I figured out what was making such a strange noise. A thunderstorm warning! Sure enough, rain came. Then came a tornado warning, and I spent a couple hours with one eye on the television weather reports.
The storm stayed south of Little Blake and the evening was mostly wet and cool. The next morning was bright and sunny. I walked down to Blake School (most of those pictures are on film in the other camera). Coming back, the sun and shadows on the road were enticing.
However, things were cool. I was sitting in the sun while working on workshop presentations. Me! Sitting in the sun! And I sat in the sun while finishing the puzzle that Kris began back in '06.
Then the sky turned gray. The temperature never really got above 60.
That's when I decided to clean up and come home before I had to turn on the heat (save that propane for later when it's really cold).
to be continued...
Mark and his fishing buddies were fixing things next door and helped Skip and me roll our docks into the water. A bit later, I got the decking installed. (See rain photo below for evidence.)I'd stopped in Amery and bought some plants to get in the ground (you know, like salvia for the humming birds, who are already around). While planting I noted that it was the day for the bloodroot to blossom.
In the woods all around, the trillium and the jack-in-the-pulpits were showing off.
Meanwhile in the garden, the hostas were just barely showing their sprouts
and the lupine that was pushing up new growth in the October cold seems to have given up the ghost except for one little leaf at the back of the bed.
Friday night, Skip and I joined Mark and his friends (who were heading for Voyageur's National Park the next day) for dinner. Ah, cold beer and good conversation. Mark had fished at Cub Foods for some good walleye that he deep fried in a wok on the grill. He can cook for me any time.
Saturday afternoon was the exciting time. The weather radio beeped at me until I figured out what was making such a strange noise. A thunderstorm warning! Sure enough, rain came. Then came a tornado warning, and I spent a couple hours with one eye on the television weather reports.The storm stayed south of Little Blake and the evening was mostly wet and cool. The next morning was bright and sunny. I walked down to Blake School (most of those pictures are on film in the other camera). Coming back, the sun and shadows on the road were enticing.
However, things were cool. I was sitting in the sun while working on workshop presentations. Me! Sitting in the sun! And I sat in the sun while finishing the puzzle that Kris began back in '06.
Then the sky turned gray. The temperature never really got above 60.
That's when I decided to clean up and come home before I had to turn on the heat (save that propane for later when it's really cold).
to be continued...
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Wasn't quite the summer feel that I like to see as of yet. Sounds like a nice time however.
BTW I appreciate your accounts of the local plants. Botany is one of the massive holes in my attempt to be a fully rounded naturalist. Bloodroot only blooms one day? I had no idea.
BTW I appreciate your accounts of the local plants. Botany is one of the massive holes in my attempt to be a fully rounded naturalist. Bloodroot only blooms one day? I had no idea.
Hope you don't rely on me much for native plants. Of course, in the Blake Lake watershed there aren't many natives left. Trilium, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and bloodroot are native. But even the trees around the lake are second growth and may have been planted.
I didn't mean to imply that the bloodroot plants all blossom on the same day. But the flowers only last a day. There were some blooming when I arrived. The next morning those petals were on the ground and other plants were blooming. I often miss seeing the flowers completely. (Those flowers must be powerfully attractive to something for pollenation.)
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I didn't mean to imply that the bloodroot plants all blossom on the same day. But the flowers only last a day. There were some blooming when I arrived. The next morning those petals were on the ground and other plants were blooming. I often miss seeing the flowers completely. (Those flowers must be powerfully attractive to something for pollenation.)
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