Could This Be Summer?
Sunny and warmer. Windrider cleaned and partially reassembled. Coreopsis planted. First time on the porch…and first time on the water.
All Day Rain
But, spur of the moment, Mark, Lysanne, and kids over for dinner. Everyone glad of a rainy day diversion.
Morning Rain…
…so coffee and reading followed by lunch and naps. Chilly and damp, thus a slow fire in the stove all day.
Afternoon devoted to getting the griddle cleaned and operational. Blew out the spider webs with the compressor. Then discovered that the propane tank was out of gas. Quick trip to Mindemoya for a refill, but when back home discovered that the tank had been over filled. On first start-up the regulator froze and started leaking—which impeded progress. I had to bleed the tank (which was a first) and replace the regulator (a spare hanging in the garage, of course), and then, presto, onion rings, hash browns, and smash burgers.
Trillium Time
Just beginning to bloom.
Trillium like damp maple forests, and they have to grow and flower early before the maples leaf out and steal all the sunlight. Notice the ants in the top photo; trillium depend on ants for seed dispersal (myrmecochory). And, deer are said to love dining on trillium, but you would not know it from visiting the maple forest along the Lake Kagawong shoreline at the end of Mud Creek. Seems to me the deer prefer the cedars and white pines on Serendipity Lane.
Perfect Weather…
…for chainsawing downed trees and raking fallen leaves. On the cold side of cool, with a brisk breeze, so black flies banished. Lots done, but by late afternoon work in the sun was warm, so…the first outdoor shower of the season.
And now…
Another frost warning.
North Wind, But Still Buggy
Too chilly for an outdoor shower, which was hooked up today, and who knows if the black flies would even permit it.
Sandy Beach still Sandy
To avoid the bugs, over to JD Nursery for coreopsis and lunch. Chance of frost tonight.
Stacks Stand The Test of Time…
…and, it looks like everything else has wintered well.
Roaring fire this morning, and roaring wind this afternoon. No fire needed now.
Got It Done…
…although it took longer than it should have.
Hot and cold running water. A fire in the stove. And only one leak. Fire and Water…the two necessities
Big Lake water low, but not seriously low, and coming up. Black flies plentiful and annoying. Calling all flycatchers.
Pasties, Fudge, and Smoked Fish
…yes, we made it to St Ignace.
First fifty miles beautiful, and last fifty miles. In between, mostly annoying. Who knew that Iron Mountain was such a big, sprawling place, with lots of stoplights? And then there were the insects, lots and lots of bug splats on the windshield, usually right in the line of sight.
Anticipation for tomorrow.
Wildlife Wonderland
Birds, frogs, beats, but at this time of year not so many bugs. A little split-rail fence repair, a little pizza on the deck.
Packed and Loaded
Departure tomorrow—on to the next phase.
Second 80 degree day in a row here. Ruby-throated hummingbird observed in the redbud.
Japanese crab, neighbor to the north
When Lilacs Last…
Beautiful time of year here.
High of 80, so full summer. It’s going to be odd to go back to early spring when we head north.
Beets and tomatoes planted, some tools loaded into the truck.
Explorations
Sally and Glenn up this way for some random wandering.
Coffee in the odd coffeeshop in the old Carnegie library on the campus of the long defunct Milton College. The significant underground railroad site, Milton House, was closed, so we went to the native Mississippian culture site at Aztalan. Lunch at Paddy Coughlin’s Irish pub in Fort.
Rain Day
Good for planning, and organizing things like tools, in preparation for the upcoming location switch.
Photo by neighbor Anna
Thinking the rain had ended I went on late afternoon bike ride, only to find that it hadn’t.
Lucy Rehomed
She was a fine guest. Summery day. Rain needed.
Siete de Mayo (or something) party going on now in the park. I’m practicing my appreciation of the music.
Yesterday’s recipe updated.
Rhubarb Cake…
…along with substantial garden prep.
Copious amounts of rhubarb, and a very old-time recipe from Manitoulin. The cake looks good, and smells good. Let’s hope it tastes good. Recipe, subject to modification, below.
Otherwise, we turned 5 rows of soil in the garden, put down landscape fabric, and cut slits for beets. This summer is dedicated to weed control—after last summer’s weed fiasco which caused a complete crop failure. Tomatoes too, but my home-started seedlings may be too wimpy to pant in the time remaining.
Rhubarb Cake
Cake Batter
••
1 stick butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups rhubarb, finely chopped
Topping
••
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup brown sugar
Procedure
•••
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In another bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, soda, and powder.
Add sifted ingredients alternately with buttermilk to creamed mixture.
Toss rhubarb with I tablespoon flour, and stir into batter.
Spoon batter into buttered 9 × 13 inch pan, and smooth the surface.
Blend together cinnamon, etc. and brown sugar; sprinkle evenly over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes.
A Day of Many Things
Garage door painted, Catrike sold, dog walked, among various other bits and pieces.
Above, neighbor across the street is observing No Mow May. On this side of the street the lawn service came yesterday… and our backyard was almost a foot deep.
Suddenly Summer…
…in fact, almost too warm to work. But a few things got done.
Compost fully turned.
Perfect For Planting
Sunny, warmer, and when working in the sun, almost hot.
Photos by Sue
Lucy helped?
Three little hazelnuts in our front yard, and in Vi and Anna’s—bald cypress, pussy willow, speckled alder, and swamp white oak. If even some survive, our yards will be more interesting and beneficial.
Turn, Turn, Turn…
…the compost.
Bin three over the side—about a good wheelbarrow full—to be used for various purposes. Bin two over into bin three. Tomorrow, bin one (this year’s detritus) over into bin two. And then we start over with bin one. Quite an astonishing amount of material goes into bin one. And what comes out of bin three is sweet, fluffy black, and useful.
Still very windy, and when the sun occulted by cloud, quite chilly.
