For the 125th annual family reunion of the Beaumont family, of which Batavia friends Susan and Dan Russo are members.
Near Kansasville, Wisconsin. Had fun shooting with both camera and drone. Beautiful drive through the countryside on alternate back roads both there and back.
Magnificent being, fellow adventurer, best of friends.
We miss you.
Big fun party at Nies residence in Merton.
Some cloudiness, the threat of rain, and lots of wind.
While my hickory seedling and my shrubby St. John’s wort whip are both toast, my hazel tree/shrub seems to be prospering.
Morning breakfast with my progressive pals. We may be in the startup phase of doing something useful, but even if not, still fun to chat with likeminded folk.
Visit and sales call. Trip to ICF with Tom and Mary both to explore the new facility and to see about selling Tig. Serendipitously, we met the buyer in the parking lot while walking Pax, and contrary to the normal run of things, she was not going out to lunch. Nice chat later in the store, and she now has the book for evaluation (scientific accuracy, etc.). I’m optimistic.
Demoiselle crane
When back home I checked the garden and found this:
Which is proof that squirrels are smarter than I am. My sole germinating shagbark hickory seedling, in a fenced garden and in a wire cage, scarfed down in less than a day. Frustrating. Next season, a carefully thought-out and engineered plan, perhaps including some kind of fortress. I am determined to grow hickories.
Two tasty little green beans from the garden. One of the 30 shagbark hickory nuts gathered last fall finally sprouted and now in a protective environment (or what I hope is a protective environment). Big rhubarb (still plenty) cake baking merrily in the oven. And the bottom of the pulling boat wet sanded and waxed to remove the little paint blisters recently discovered. (Should move even better as a result.)
…from Flambeau.
After a laid-back day of finishing projects and slowly packing up.
And one last row. Had to seriously bail the boat once back to the garage. How nice to have rain issues.
…in memory of Niki. A great many stories and memories, all coming together to paint a rich portrait of an amazing person.
And very nice to catch up with cousins Sherm, Art, and Mary Jane.
…after a little kayaking and swimming. Katy and Will found a tame fish in knee deep water which they named “Fishy Mac Fish Face” and Katy discovered a school of toe-nibbling minnows.
And even a few drops of rain.
…plus tie-dying.
Perfect weather. Chilly nights, swimmable days.
…among other things.
And, rock stacking. This one by Will.
…after a swim, a walk, and a row.
And after dinner, Katy demonstrated her new percussion rhythm.
…nary a gnat. Haven’t been bit yet. There are upsides to a drought.
I’ve been studying up on the historic Wisconsin Idea, as part of my Real Wisconsin effort. Here are a few excerpts from the book Renewing the Wisconsin Idea.
…if you water it.
Tomato plants are getting big, and flowering—thanks to irrigation. And watering has now become a regular routine—garden, bushes, even trees, all around the house.
Otherwise, mostly indoor projects today, hiding from the sun and heat. Thinking we need to install solar panels to run the air conditioning.
We saw clouds, we heard thunder. And then, actually, we got a little rain. Not enough to do any good, but proof that it can happen.
Having blown out a rear bike tire yesterday, today a drive to the special bike shop Pewaukee for repair. After dropping the bike off we headed out of town to a little sandwich shop where we bought a big sub (cut in half) and a couple of bags of chips. Well supplied, we found a picnic table in a park along a stream and had a picnic. The bike was ready when lunch was finished.
Not a bad way to handle a blowout.
Independent soul, loving heart, dear little sister.
Thunderstorm weather, thunderstorm forecast, but, when the time comes, the clouds go. SE Wisconsin now in extreme drought. Plenty of heat and humidity in the atmosphere, but for some reason, the pattern refuses to produce precipitation.
A few drops on sedum the last time it rained several weeks ago.
Nice upgrade, and much less stuff. And, there will be no more salty drip down to the garage basement.
Below, the remains of my recently planted, deer and rabbit resistant shrubby St. John’s Wort. Someting not only chewed it off, but actually dug it out. Meanwhile I have to continually battle with volunteer mulberry and buckthorn.
New sandbox, some play time, a few shade, breaks while Renee got the butterfly garden installed, all wrapped up with Bri’s Green Egg ribs and Mimi’s potato salad.
