Good Buds…

…redbuds, that is. Quick visit to Oconomowoc to say hi and drop off a few things, then back home to gear up for serious packing. As of now, the trailer and truck are rather well loaded.

Yes, the border is still closed, and we are locked out of our summer home. But on the up side, we have been invited to the Janowiec summer home in Lac du Flambeau, where we will have diggings in the boathouse. (Both families have been sheltering carefully, so the risk is low while the benefits are high.)

IMG_5752.jpeg
IMG_5751.jpeg

Nota bene: the old fridge seems to be working somewhat consistently, so the new fridge will be cancelled come Monday.

Shade, Glorious Shade,

or, Bees Among The Blossoms. Maples in full leaf. Oaks and apples halfway there. And, on a hot and sunny day, shade is appreciated, not least by Pax. I’m pretty sure he’d like to go jump in the lake.

IMG_5754.jpeg
IMG_5753.jpeg

Puddle on the floor this morning beneath the fridge. Motor burned out, after running continuously for 10 years. A refrigerator is a useful appliance, and living without requires a little adaptation.

BULLETIN: Five minutes after I wrote about the demise of our refrigerator, it came back on—after being dead for over 12 hours. Is this the stuff of miracles? Should I take a photo of this miraculous machine and post in online? (Of more practical interest, should I cancel the order for a replacement?)

Tranquility Base

All quiet in this little town. Lots of people walking dogs. Many singletons out, but widely spread—batting baseballs, jogging, shooting baskets, riding bikes, playing the French horn.

IMG_5733.jpeg
Adjustments.jpeg

Farmer’s market operating, but in limited fashion. Most people wearing masks, and everyone providing lots of elbow room. Two bags of boc choy, two dozen eggs, and a bunch of spinach.

Dandelion Clock

Count the number of puffs it takes a kid to blow all the seeds away, multiply by 60, and you have the time. Or something like that.

IMG_5731.jpeg

A bit more poetry for corona time:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Faith” is a fine invention
For Gentlemen who see!
But Microscopes are prudent
In an Emergency!
—Emily Dickinson

"Nuns fret not at their convent’s narrow room"

Nuns fret not at their convent’s narrow room;
And hermits are contented with their cells;
And students with their pensive citadels;
Maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom,
Sit blithe and happy; bees that soar for bloom,
High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells,
Will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells:
In truth the prison, into which we doom
Ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me,
In sundry moods, ’twas pastime to be bound
Within the Sonnet’s scanty plot of ground;
Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be)
Who have felt the weight of too much liberty,
Should find brief solace there, as I have found.
—Wordsworth

 

Sheltered, Sequestered, Secluded…

…from the weather. Cold rain, cold wind (and some snow). Majorly miserable Mother’s Day. Pity the poor parents coping with cooped-up kids.

IMG_5730.jpeg

Mother’s Day is supposed to be the day, at least in this part of the world, when it is safe to plant a garden and move indoor-started seedlings out into their hardening-off phase. Another frost warning tonight, however.
But, in honor of the occasion, a poem I may have posted previously:

Putting in the Seed

Robert Frost

You come to fetch me from my work to-night 
When supper's on the table, and we'll see 
If I can leave off burying the white 
Soft petals fallen from the apple tree. 
(Soft petals, yes, but not so barren quite, 
Mingled with these, smooth bean and wrinkled pea;) 
And go along with you ere you lose sight 
Of what you came for and become like me, 
Slave to a springtime passion for the earth. 
How Love burns through the Putting in the Seed 
On through the watching for that early birth 
When, just as the soil tarnishes with weed, 
The sturdy seedling with arched body comes 
Shouldering its way and shedding the earth crumbs.

Hither and Yon

Oconomowoc, to join Becca as she moved up to a gear bike.

IMG_5724.jpeg

Then to Fox Point to drop off a number of items destined for Lac du Flambeau (and to pick up the trailer).

Then back to O’wock to pick up some flowers (from super saleswoman Maddie) and say hi.

IMG_7764.jpeg
IMG_7759.jpeg

The boys like holding frogs, sometimes kissing frogs, and being frogs.

Frost Warning

But maybe the brisk wind will mitigate it.

IMG_5703.jpeg

I don’t think things are so advanced that a frost will do harm. Serviceberry in full bloom, apple blossoms turning pink, redbud budding red, but pretty much everyone accustomed to May being variable. And, unlike a normal year, the rosemary bush, instead of being outside under the apple tree fending for itself, is still indoors being pampered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
I have a lot of respect for Kim Stanley Robinson, the science fiction writer. His Mars trilogy, written years ago now, details in an engaging way how Mars will be colonized and eventually terraformed. He does his research. He knows what he’s talking about. This is worth reading.

Glacial Distancing

Meet up, with Irene, at Glacial Park, in far northern Illinois, just about half way for each of us, coming both ways.

IMG_5717.jpeg
IMG_5713.jpeg
IMG_5715.jpeg
IMG_5718.jpeg
IMG_5719.jpeg

Three thousand five hundred acres shaped by the southern end of the Wisconsin glaciation. Park open, but facilities closed, and, as a result, we had the whole sky patio behind the visitor center all to ourselves. Because the visitor center was closed, the only access to the patio was by means a a small sidewalk around the back of the building. Although quite a few other folks (and dogs) were enjoying the fine weather, no one else, apparently, thought about checking out the backside.

Irene, Emmy, Zoë, all good. Pax happy for the outing, too.

Farmers’ Market…

…still trying to function.

Dandelions know how to prosper, but they were not on the menu at the farmer’s market, although they are a delicacy in some places.

Dandelions know how to prosper, but they were not on the menu at the farmer’s market, although they are a delicacy in some places.

I should have taken photos of the market, but I was too preoccupied with mask, gloves, deposit boxes and the like to think clearly. Anyway, I picked up a dozen local eggs, a big bag of local spinach, a bunch of yellow carrots, a bag of bok choy, and a lemon-poppyseed cake. All items are resting quietly in the trunk of the car, decontaminating (as if they ever were). Sometimes careful can seem extreme.

Garden Work…

…on a much cooler day.

Hosta la vista, or rather, hola hosta

Hosta la vista, or rather, hola hosta

Without geometry life is pointless.

Without geometry life is pointless.

It begins well before dawn, sill darkest night out my window, which looks west. 

But there must be some glimmering in the east, because shortly after 4 a.m. the flock of sparrows (I’m quite sure it’s them), who reside in the front hedge, erupt in song. Loud. It’s hard to tell the number of participants in this chorus, but it sounds like many, and they all sing full voice.

With the storm window now replaced by screen, the song is so immediate it almost makes me want to jump right out of bed and start the day.

Apparently there’s a lot to sing about; the music lasts for about an hour. Towards five, the volume diminishes, as if the birds are moving away. And, eventually the performance fades to the point that other birds—cardinals, robins, jays, crows (and others I can’t identify) can be heard contributing to the morning welcome.

I wonder if I should try singing before sunrise.

Rhubarb

Compote for breakfast, pie after dinner.
Rhubarb believes in the original instructions, and every spring offers its sour pungency and array of vitamins to the people, who in days gone by, after a long winter, desperately needed it. The people, in return, follow the instructions by helping rhubarb find new places to live, and offering it fertilizer, and thanks.

IMG_5693.jpeg
IMG_5691.jpeg
IMG_5692.jpeg
IMG_5694.jpeg
IMG_5695.jpeg

Rhubarb compote on genuine plain yoghurt also deserves a great many thanks. Photo of the pie to follow.

IMG_5697.jpeg

Pax Amongst The Flowers

When you have a nice bed it makes sense to lie in it.

Photo by Sue

Photo by Sue

IMG_5685.jpeg
Adjustments.jpeg

Summery day. Serviceberry (amelanchier, saskatoon, shad bush) in full bloom. Storm windows off, screens on. Here’s hoping this arrangement will last a good long while (before air conditioning becomes required). Bike rides increasing in length: this morning 12 miles at an average speed of 14 mph.

Bunch of Yerkes

Outing with (spaced out) friends.

IMG_5681.jpeg

Met the Habes at Yerkes Observatory, for a walk around the expansive property. We were stopped by the lawnmower man, who It turned out, has been taking care of the property for 30 some years. He invited us inside for a private tour of the largest “refractive” telescope in the world.

IMG_5679.jpeg
IMG_5684.jpeg
P5010412.jpeg

Spread out picnic lunch at Williams Bay, and then a walk along a short stretch of the lakeside trail from George Williams college towards Wm. Bay. Pax went swimming, of course, and, after that, and all the other exercise, is now pooped.