Category Archives: Uncategorized

Ashes to ashes, chicks to hens

With apologies to the Book of Common Prayer that directs “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust” many of the tall but dead ash trees on and around the Bluecircle were felled last week.  All were victims of the emerald death (ash borer) a couple of summers ago.  When the first 10″ trunk snapped in two in a recent storm, leaving a fifteen-foot stump and thirty-foot mass of broken limbs across the path, it was time to get the rest safely down and converted to firewood. That second step will take a lot longer than the first.Peeps 1 mo.

Meanwhile, first in the cottage kitchen and now in the coop five little hatchlings have grown feathers, big feet, tiny combs and a little courage.   “The peeps” are buff Orpingtons and I’m sure they are looking forward to  weather warmer than we’ve had the last few days.  The coop is connected to a wire run but so far the little flock hasn’t ventured more than a few steps from the security of their coop and its heating pad.

 

 

Shadowed snow invades inland

IMG_1833Downwind of Lake Michigan Winter brings many kinds of snow … tiny grains like white millet, wet flakes that hurry down, or light, dry rafts of giant flakes that swirl around the trees.   When the air is cold,  dry and gusty and the blue sky is cloudless the sun can burst from behind a lake-effect snow band bringing sudden blinding whiteness.  Just as quickly it can be enveloped by the snow cloud and dimmed – temporarily.   Yesterday a brilliant morning sun encountered the lake effect and painted gray shadows on the shaded side of falling flakes, making them silent grey invaders headed for the pristine drifts below.

When the cold checks out early

A rainy afternoon made the lake ice into a splash pond resembling mid-March instead of midwinter.  This month the cold was like a guest  you prepared the house and cooked for who then departed prematurely – days earlier than expected.   The snowshoes, long underwear and mittens are collecting dust but at least the refrigerator isn’t full of leftover food.  IMG_1807

Squirrels recovering buried treasure where there was a foot of snow last week look delighted while all cross-country ski tracks around the BlueCircle are either icy or washed away.   The greenhouse lettuce succumbed to persistent clouds and freezing temperatures so gardening season is finally over.

I prefer a snow-covered dog to a wet and muddy one and she would rather delve into snow piles then almost anything else so maybe the next puff of Winter will bring at least enough for that.  Meanwhile there’s time to catch up on indoor projects and plan for Spring.

An arborist’s nightmare

IMG_1671 In the tail-end of a hurricane wind the saw-wielding climber was roped high in one of the “old trees” of Smith’s Landing a.k.a. the Fairview Beach neighborhood. At first view the towering Maple looked sound, and despite the obvious skill (and courage) of the suspended man it seemed cruel that this tree had been selected for removal.IMG_1668 Of the dozens of Ash trees lost here in the last 3 years many still stand as leafless skeletons. Last year extensive removal of mature shade trees and old pines that had the misfortune to grow within “a threatening distance” of power lines further depleted our green space.
Sadly, this tall old Maple had now begun to split between its two main trunks and become unsafe.IMG_1673

Time for a change in the weather

On windy days the shore of the “big lake” gently erodes into the dunes.  The water is still warm enough for wading but a series of crisp, clear nights will soon encourage boots on the feet.   The calendar shows the Equinox has passed and the hours of darkness are again in the majority.  For a while longer the grass will still need mown.  A few red raspberries are scattered on their canes although the “berry patch” has grown wildly and today is a briar thicket.  Pruning, thinning, and restoring order there will wait until frost clears away the weeds and yellow jackets.
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Recovering vines and a dusty bicycle

A vine with battle scars

A vine with battle scars

After a short bike ride on a sultry evening it’s time for an update on the vineyard.   Two rows of grape vines won “official” status by gaining their own trellis wires, and two more short rows are ready to make this step next year.  Frequent spraying apparently left a discouraging taint on the vines since by mid-July the beetles were mostly feeding on nearby weeds and more distant wild grape vines.  The new leaves that emerge after the onslaught of beetle savagery are always small and pale, but vine growth has resumed.  A nearby organic gardner blogged that the thumb and forefinger pinch of their well-gloved hand was the favorite weapon in the bug battle.   I felt overwhelmed by the number of targets and resorted to a pump sprayer and non-organic “perfumes”.

Growth on the new trellis

Growth on the new trellis

So cautious optimism is the tone for the outcome of this year’s war on the beetle and also for my long-delayed return to a touring bicycle.  Wiping the dust off the neglected bike was prompted by the sale of a well-loved motorcycle, hanging its gloves and helmet on the “used to do this” hooks in the garage.  Now 2-wheeled cruises down the country road and the circle home will be shorter, leisurely, and provoke less anxiety from loved ones.  A once-fantasized solo tour of Michigan by motorcycle has been forgotten before it was planned, but cycling opportunities from various campgrounds can substitute so long as there’s air in the wheels and wind on the road.

First gregarious bees, then berries and now the onslaught of Japanese beetles

The entry of Summer in the garden was a-buzzin’ with docile, but abundant ground-nesting bees known as Colletes inaequalis.  Hundreds of females built their sand castle nests in villages in and around the corn patch and adjacent field while males buzzed and swarmed and circled above them through most of June.  Then the first few quarts of Bluecircle black raspberries ripened and were enjoyed immediately – only a cup or two found their way to the freezer.  The swarms of mosquitos that usually pester the picker of wild raspberries were absent from these trellised bushes at first, but as the 4th of July weekend approached an army or two arrived to celebrate the arrival of Chicago visitors to the lake.  At least this year poison ivy, the other hallmark of wild berry patches, has not made its way into the rows.  Fireworks frenzy, as the 4th has now become, appeared to wake the Japanese beetles from their pupae and they marched straight for the succulent new growth leaves of the grape vines.  A precautionary spraying of the vines diverted the first wave to other targets like flowering weeds but today a counterattack with the pesticide sprayer was required.

A quiet evening at East Paw Paw Lake

After strong winds this morning the day turned hot and calm, an early taste of Summer.  It’s been a busy week for “nature events” at the Bluecircle, ranging from a midnight visit from a bullfrog to the little snake who stared down my string trimmer. sunset
Spawning carp are noisily churning the shallow water in the channel as dozens of turtles sun themselves and look on silently.
The new weather station “East Paw Paw Lake” has been viewed 2200 times since June 1.  The rain gauge briefly fell victim to a large beetle blocking water flow – a second layer of screening may be needed here.  This image from the station webcam shows the sunset reflected by windows on Bowe’s Landing.

Watching the winds and counting the raindrops (updated with weather cam link)

Weather Underground PWS KMIWATER21Cedar and spruce seedlings are thirsty their first few months, so keeping track of local rainfall is a requirement this time of year.  When Nature doesn’t provide the only alternative is the “water wagon”, a 30 gal. tank and dispensing hose strapped to the bed of our Gator. The Gator is the Bluecircle’s all-purpose “go-fer cart” (my wive wanted a golf cart & I misunderstood ), tool carrier and coffee holder.
Perhaps carrying this weather-watching to extreme, the Bluecircle now has its own weather station “East Paw Paw Lake” posting to the Wunderground family of web sites.   Since just graphing the rainfall and wind speed wasn’t quite enough we added a webcam view of Paw Paw Lake.   An updated link to the cam brings up a 24-hr recording of its images. The camera location looks west above Fairview Beach and shows parts of Bowe’s Landing and the south shore of the main body of the lake.  The changing wind conditions from day to day are reflected by the waves, or lack thereof when there’s no wind to watch.

Spruce flowers above, garden labyrinth below

Norway Spruce flowers, early May

Norway Spruce flowers, early May

Last week construction of a small garden labyrinth topped the active list of Bluecircle projects. The old Norway spruce over the site was in full bloom and every breeze carried a smoke-like puff of pine pollen to bless the work.
First a compass was used to place the labyrinth entry due east of the center point. A tape measure and spray marking paint were used to lay out 6 concentric circles (radius = 50, 74, 98, 122, 146, 170 in.) and then a 24-inch string attached to the spray can was used to mark the turns connecting the circles. The sod along both sides of the marked circles and turns was cut with a gas-powered edging tool. The grass strip this created was discarded and replaced with half-round 4-inch plastic drainage tile. Landscape staples were used to anchor the tile and keep it in place. Finally about a ton of 2-inch river rock was placed in the tile to complete the project. The total cost for tool rental, two 100 ft. rolls of drain tile (cut with a saber saw at 12:00 and 6:00 to make the half-round tile) and the stone was approximately $130.

30-foot garden labyrinth laid with river rock

30-foot garden labyrinth laid with river rock