Around The House
Didn’t go far today. Morning walk through campus, afternoon walk on the east side trail.
Hellebores
Back of house—photo by Sue
More mini iris under the redbud—photo by Sue
Signs of Spring
Perfect day—warm in the sun, chilly in the shade.
Ducks At The Birdfeeder…
…and other stories.
After extensive research, half a dozen prototypes developed. Construction in earnest on the winner tomorrow.
Meanwhile, about a hundred hazel seeds, after 6 weeks of stratification, were planted. If these sprout as hoped, I hope to plant them hither and yon, and distribute to anyone partial to hazel (Corylus avellana), which in my book is a fabulous big shrub or small tree. Nuts attractive to wildlife (including humans who sometimes call them filberts), and the best tree for coppicing (and thus making wattle hurdles).
Hearts are everywhere around town (and all towns I do believe) as kids who are are cooped up have to cope. Surprised to find them in front of several cacti in the greenhouse on the UWW campus.
Freight Delivery
Delivery (and exchange) of items to Oconomowoc, and then to a meeting place (a county park) half way between Whitewater and Flambeau.
Through the screen discussion.
The lizard known as Jumpy.
Back To The Barn
Nite 300 has been returned to Roger’s barn for summer hibernation—to sleep away the months until next November, most likely. And to think she never sailed once all this past winter.
Next winter—high speeds on lots of black ice, and a victory or two.
Everybody Out Of The House
Sun, and a little warmth.
So everyone outside. Walkers—dog walkers, singletons, duos, families pushing strollers, along with various other dog walkers. Who knew there were so many captive canines in little Whitewater? We had to alter our trajectory frequently as we walked Pax around the prairie.
All good. Just everyone taking advantage of an improvement in the weather, and making the best of a bad situation.
Quiet Day In Whitewater
Chilly and gray. Fired up the chiminea (to incinerate the latest batch of windfalls and trimmings) and the Big Green Egg (in anticipation of a steak about to be grilled).
Above, a Ponderosa pine on campus (Pinus ponderosa). Not a native, but seeming to enjoy college life.
Let The Sun Shine In
A few breaks in the clouds, providing a bit of beatitude, though still a cool north breeze.
A few errands requiring automotive transport, though no human contact. Topping up the tank on the Rav was relatively painless.
Wet and Windy
Very windy. A couple of hours listening to Beethoven, several long dog walks, an hour on the back patio in the company of birds and squirrels, and chicken potpie made from scratch—not all bad.
Surrounded By Chickadees
Sit still on the back patio for a few minutes and you will be part of the flock as they dart from redbud to feeder to apple tree. Sometimes the juncos join them, and occasionally, a nuthatch, but the sparrows and finches are too shy.
On our walk today, on campus…not in the forest preserve as in the photo above, we came across a large flock of what I think were warblers, loud with very high pitched chatter, weaving, cutting, looping, and chasing each other. They swerve and cut so quickly I could not always keep track of their flight paths.
Other spring things: 1) the wood ducks (Aix sponsa) are back in Starin park, where there’s a big nest box high in an oak. These birds are really skittish, and well before you get close enough to photograph, will take off squealing like a stuck pig. And, 2) the spring peepers are out in full force, now in every wetland.
Fragrant Onion Tart…
…is on the menu tonight.
Photo above by Maddie. Thanks, Maddie, for permission to use on this blog.
Around here, we tanked up on six gallons of the world’s best water (at the ever-flowing well), and then walked in the Kettle/Moraine State Forest, where the fee box has been taped shut (as well as the outhouses). We were the only humans there.
Voting Day
We walked to the post office to drop off our absentee ballots. On the way some blooms.
And this Lutheran church. Are these the 95 theses that Luther nailed to the door?
Note the date—ante bellum.
Pollarding
An arcane art I’ve been reading about and now plan to try.
This tree, which I recently came across on campus, is one of the few examples I’ve seen around here. It could be beautiful when in foliage. Now that I know that it’s here I will be watching closely to see how it grows, and how the arborists tend it.
And this stump used to be a wild, snarly tangle of shoots, new ones each season growing three feet or more. I thought is was some kind of arboreal corona virus. But then the tree man who took down the big ash said “Hackberry,” and I, immediately thunderstruck, knew he was right. I love Hackberrys, and this poor stump just wants to be a tree. My plan, now that I know what it is, is to work with it, hoping that together we can grow into something fine. It’s the wrong place for a towering hardwood, but a likely spot for something carefully pollarded.
To The Chicken Farm
The chicken farm was today’s outing.
Rhubarb, getting started. The first real vegetable of the year, and full of vitamin C.
Beautiful, rundown farm south-west of town with views across rolling pastures and fields, down to the wetlands where cranes were making their presence known. The chickens there are very free range, but according to Margie, they all come back to the barn at night. We picked up one frozen bird and 36 pullet eggs. Interestingly, just one of these substantial birds provides us with four two-person dinners and two lunches, with plenty available for Pax, too.
Crane Spotting…
…on a gray and chilly evening—after a morning of snow.
Went with the neighbors—in separate cars, communicating by cell phone.
Pecan, Date, Banana…
…bread (made by Sue), is the kind of thing to warm a chilly day.
Bright But Cold
Fine day for walks, yard work, and bike rides.
The back yard faces east.
The Spring Seems Slow
Bright sun has chased away the snow,
But still—the spring seems slow.
The prairie path is dry, no longer mud,
On silver maple, twigs with swollen bud.
Snowdrops bloom despite a lingering chill,
But across the world so many people ill.
No school for kids, no place for them to go,
The sun is bright, but, oh, the spring seems slow.
Overly Busy…
…in spite of nothing to do.
Pax and I met this imposing personage on our morning walk.
What with walks, news-reading, breakfast, lunch, and naps (and a scenic drive) no time left for reading or music practice. Will do better tomorrow, promise.
Rain Delay…
…or there would have been if anything was going on—but there wasn’t.
The lady at the dog food store brought a small order out to my truck, which was parked outside her shop, dropped it in the bed, took my Clorox-wipe-wrapped credit card, and that was that—my only semi-social event of the day—and all done at arm’s length with few words.
Happy Equinox, by the way.
Today’s Prescription…
…Walk in the rain until wet. Repeat as necessary.
And the giant cookies (made of the former ash tree) have been baked into the existing tree-remains back fence, and the whole mess cleaned up. The back yard view is now much improved, and will only get better.
Counting the rings, the former towering ash tree appears to have been about 50 years old. And to think that a little green beetle could kill such a hard, hard, hardwood.