Almost Autumn - Contact Info

It's hard to believe it but autumn is almost here; the leaves on the trees have that dry rustling sound that happens around this time of the year and the fall crickets are courting with sweet symphonies.
It's now dark when the dogs wake me to go outside and it's getting dark earlier. The heat persists so I've not started working outside; I take a long summer break from gardening when the sun is strong and the temps are high. There will always be time in the fall to enjoy putting things to bed for the winter.

Sunset last night.

I went down south to Sandusky to get groceries; I swear I spend more on the dogs than I spend on myself. Why not, eh? The air was so clear and crisp on the way back up north that the windmills stood out against the sky. There's a controversy up here re: windmill power. Some don't like it but those farmers that allow the huge wind turbines on their land seem to prosper.

7470 Lakeshore Rd. N.

Palms, MI 48465

jaimehansen1@frontier.com

989-553-5995

Visit to Port Huron

Went to nearby Port Huron this morning for breakfast, a visit to a park, watching the boats enter the St. Clair River through which all the water from the Great Lakes passes on the way to the St. Lawrence Seaway, Niagara Falls, and the Atlantic Ocean. Immediately across the Blue Water Bridge is Sarnia, Canada.

Below is a sidewalk sculpture in downtown Port Huron.

A Port Huron riverside park  -  lovely on a hot day.

The Blue Water Bridge connects Port Huron, Michigan in the foreground and on the left with Sarnia, Ontario on the right. Lake Huron is visible in the distance under the bridge. The current in the St. Clair River is really fast. Below in the foreground is the Hollyhock, a coast guard ship.

Messages - Confusing and Hidden

My eyesight is not as good as it once was, which is not surprising actually. For example, I cannot make out the letters of what is obviously a message from above. Can you please help? First word seems to start with the letter E in cursive. Eugene? Eugenia?

I Ching (pronounced "E" as in the letter E) and Ching as in the sound we say a cash register makes (Ka Ching), was MIA for several days but has reappeared. She has not eaten since reurning and is sleeping a lot.

(an older photo)

My favorite day lily and a wonderful Helenium. Fall is a sad-ish time but every season has its delights and these two help lift my SADD spirits.

As I wrote the above, a hummingbird was sipping nectar from the orange throat of a jewel weed just outside my office window. Jewel weed is actually an annual invasive weed producing offspring in the hundreds every year. Fortunately it is very easy to identify and remove the seedlings in the early spring. I always let a few orange flowered individuals survive just so I can enjoy my hummers as they build strength for their amazing annual migration back over the Gulf of Mexico to warmer southern climes each fall. Clicking on photos enlarges them.

Most of the original butterfly bushes I bought several years ago have died out but there are several volunteers around that the bumble bees, honey bees, various species bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and hummingbird moths (aka sphinx moths) enjoy. The one below is spectacular because it has such a huge flower head at the end of each branch. I don't know if that's a function of nature (genetics) or nurture (really good soil, water, sun).

Sunset looking west first and then three looking east. Where, oh where is Ed Duff? Perhaps with skies like these I don't really need him.

I was hoping and planning on having more visitors this summer; perhaps it's been too hot. I blame myself for moving so far away from the familiar. I love sharing my good fortune. "Point de roses sans epines." eh?

Monday, August 15, 2016

I went to Eckert's Greenhouse in Troy this morning because their Hosta are on sale and I wanted to expand my garden. I'd forgotten how long the trip is. Traveling on Van Dyke takes a long time and it's not a pleasant trip. Returning  with my van full of new Hosta I took 16 Mile (Metropolitan Highway) over to I-94, a much much easier trip.

These Rudbeckia, which I brought with me as small divisions, are a really happy canary yellow. They have prospered and are now more than five feet tall. I will think fondly of J. J. my recently passed yellow canary every time I look at them. He was a happy companion. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

Next to the yellow rudbeckia are these Silphium perfoliatum, a different shade of yellow but also very happy, large plants.

The smaller rudbeckia below are a first time experiment.  I think they'll look much better next summer.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Last week this was the sunset looking west.

Sunset looking west.

Same sunset looking east at the reflection in my windows.

(The small rectangles are my east windows on the other side of the house.)

I bough wild flower seeds and scattered them around the property. Some did well, some probably fed the birds. Click on photos to enlarge them.

My favorite super-hardy "wild" clematis. Clematis virginiana - I think.

MSU - Breakfast on the Farm - Part 2 Vehicles

I was in awe of the size of the farm equipment/vehicles. The last photos show how large farm machinery was when I was a kid!