Kathy and Andy - Tornado Woods

My cousins' Golden Retrievers just had a litter of puppies at their farm in Washtenaw County, Michigan. So needing a puppy fix, I visited them yesterday. Kathy said that this would most likely be her last litter of "TorWoods" pups and that might be so.

"Red in the morning, sailors take warning. Red at night, sailors delight." Or so the phrase my father taught us went back in olden times. Now every morning is red - or at least pink - probably a result of air pollution. Are we a terrible species or what? And now  it seems there's red every night too. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

Kathy and I had a great visit; although we talk often on the phone, I wished we lived closer so we could visit in person more often. We are alike in many ways which makes it possible to discuss politics, religion, life, personal and family relationships, gardening, dogs, etc. stress-free.

Many of my nest box tree swallows are fledgling their babies. This shot shows the results of one family. It's safe here. There are plenty of bird box homes for raising families. And lots of insect food for the adults and their babes. In the past, after the swallows leave their boxes, some bluebirds move in. I don't know whether I should clean the boxes before they do or let well enough alone. I don't want to micromanage their lives; they have managed for hundreds/thousands of years without human help.

More than a year ago there was a fire at Tornado Woods farm which completely gutted their 150 year old family farm home -which was insured by State Farm Insurance - the claim has not been fully processed. Still. It's the usual insurance company routine/scam. Delay, deny, delay, don't call back, delay, deny, go silent. Not all insurance companies are our friends. Avoid State Farm Insurance. Their TV ads are not how they actually seem to operate.

The bearded irises are nearing the end of their season, however, the Siberian irises are reaching their prime. Years ago I stopped trying to take photos where dogs hadn't breached the shot. Camera hogs!

Last winter all the fish, frogs, and tadpoles in my pond died. That has never happened in the thirty years or so that I have had fish ponds. I think I know the reason why which might mean I have to replace all the water in the pond. August sounds like the month to do that. Maybe.

The plants made it. And maybe one tadpole did too and has changed into a frog? Or perhaps this visitor hibernated somewhere else or is a newly arrived refugee.

I was expecting a visit from the business that did my ravine fix last year to tweak a small problem before it becomes a big problem. This was the second promised and missed visit.

I have a beach well issue and the guy was supposed to come this past week to discuss possible solutions for that problem. The waters of Lake Huron are at an all time high which has flooded my beach well which supplies water to the possibly inappropriately named Sans Souci (the pole barn).

My architect also failed to come this week as promised. Second missed appointment for him also.

Not one of them called to cancel or re-schedule. Disappointed doesn't come close to my feelings. But surprised? Nope. Not. At. All. Let the planet take a few spins. Think flowers and dogs.

Does this look like something out of Harry Potter?

Garden Shots

I'm a little afraid to say it. It looks like summer might finally, at long last, have arrived. An old favorite, old fashioned Ranunculus rescued from between two buildings in downtown Port Sanilac a few years ago. It has since disappeared from that location. It's not exactly my mission or my obsession to save old garden plants but I do like doing it. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

Two favorite Irises, also rescues. The old ones have lovely old fashioned scents. Have they bred that out of the modern varieties in favor of larger, more showy flowers, I wonder.

This Iris was growing in a roadside gully or ditch, Was it planted? Perhaps. Or perhaps when the ditch was enlarged and improved maybe a plant was moved along with soil. Regardless, It's in a cool location now.

This great Baptisia has dark purplish buds that open into lovely yellow flowers. The stems are strong and remain upright after the flowers are spent a fact with endears them to me.

Have my Rhododendrons finally established themselves. It's beginning to look like they have settled in for the long haul at last.

I'm kind of surprised that I continue to find barn quilts. 

Here are a couple more.

And, of course, ships.

The Emergency Ark - Scott Hocking - Monday, June 24, 2019

The informational sign was finally installed this weekend at the site of Scott Hocking's art sculpture called The Emergency Ark located by Oak Beach Road between Caseville and Port Austin, Michigan. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

I brought back the old sign to hang in either Sans Souci or San Salvatore (my pole barn or my home).

After we were finished with the installation of the sign, a couple and their dog Nashville (Nash) came by. We pointed out that if they said something in the spot where they were standing on the road into the site, there would be an echo. That's apparently a "sweet spot" where conditions are just right to hear voices bounce off the Barn Ark.

They mentioned that Bob Sestok, a Detroit artist and sculptor, has one or more structural pieces up here in Michigan's Thumb; they had been looking for it (them?) unsuccessfully. If anyone knows where Bob's works are, I would love to look for them to add to my collection of major art works in the Thumb.