A Cold Weekend 3-11-2017

Cabin Fever! Winter has most definitely returned to the Thumb. The temps are hovering near zero - Farenheit. The dogs don't actually want to stay outside for long! My mini-pond has thawed, frozen, thawed, and frozen again. The fish and frogs must be confused. Clicking on photos enlarges them.

Producers of maple syrup are unhappy: when the temps rise in the winter the sap starts to flow from the roots up to the buds and they start to swell. That first rush of sap is sweet, high in sugar. Returning cold temps stop the flow mid-stream. When temps next rise, the sap has less sugar and is bitter and therefore not good for making syrup. Climate change may make real maple syrup a thing of the past or a luxury item for the rich.

Over 800,000 people lost power in the Detroit area because of the winds from last Wednesday''s wind storm. Many have had power restored but about 250,000 are still without electricity. One wonders how this could happen? Can nothing be done to secure our lines? Rhetorical.

Speaking of trees, my large ash tree that had partially fallen over in a windstorm back in late December-ish was finally cut down, sections of trunk left on the ground to return to the soil. And then last week, three days after the ash was finally sectioned, during the storm another dead tree, this time an aspen, was blown partially over. It's as tall but not as big so I think I can do that one by myself but it's precipitously leaning over a farm fence and the bluff. Could be interesting. I have lost an amazing number of trees since relocating.

I have been looking for a mate for Kit but have been disappointingly discouraged. I'll trudge on.

Spectacular sunrises still lift my mid-winter blahs every morning. Even when it's overcast, Lake Huron is 'mecurically' beautiful (below).

The sunsets (below) are nice here too but I rarely notice them. Before this latest reappearance on winter there were several days I was able to work on clearing out the overgrown Russian olives (autumn olives) on the land west of the pole barn - aka 'Sans Souci'. It's slow going but I'm not in a rush. I'm thinking that when things warm up, I may plant some small rhododendrons, which are supposed to be unappealing to deer, in small clearings amongst the pines and spruce trees in that west forest. Nothing ventured, eh?

I watched a special about something and saw this shot of Sutro tower in San Fran and was pleasantly reminded of Wayne Quinn's painting of same. A gift that I didn't appreciate at the time. I'm so sorry. Guess I wasn't ready then. Am now.