10/10/09 PRETTY EARLY

A RED MAPLE SEEDLING IN THE SNOW
MOUNTAIN ASH, COULD BE A CHRISTMAS TREE
FRONT YARD OF GARDEN VIEW
ENTRANCE TO GARDEN VIEW LODGING
Saturday 8:30 AM. 30 degrees, wind W, moderate. The channel is crawling, the sky is partly cloudy, with dark clouds blowing in from the west. We have more than a trace of snow covering rooftops, lawns and trees. It is too early for snow, but very pretty!

10/09/09 REQUIEM

Friday, 8:00 AM. 36 degrees, the wind is W, calm. The channel is calm, the sky is blue except for dark clouds on the eastern horizon, and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies. There is frost on the rooftops and lawns this morning. I finished bringing the plants in yesterday afternoon.
Jack Erickson, of Rocky Acres Berry Farm died last Sunday. I had not heard that he was ill. Like the eagles he loved, Jack was a tough old bird. He was not afraid to speak his mind and could swear like a sailor when the situation warranted. We bought all our raspberries and strawberries from him, mostly because I enjoyed his banter. I learned more about eagles from watching them congregate in his trees and swoop over his fields in the winter (he fed them fish guts from the fisheries) than I ever did from a book. Our friends at the DNR of course couldn’t stand being upstaged by old Jack, so they shut him down on one pretext or another, and Jack cussed them out good and proper. Jack was a curmudgeon, no doubt, and there are too few of the species left. In my youth all the old guys were curmudgeons and society was the better for it, and I aspire, with time and practice, to help fill the current void.
The paper birches have suddenly turned to gold. It’s as though they simply decided last night that the time was right to do so...kind of like old Jack.

10/98/09 FALL COLOR, SPRING COLOR

Thursday, 8:00 AM. 42 degrees, wind W, light with moderate gusts. The channel is wrinkled, the sky overcast but the barometer predicts sunny skies,
4,500 daffodils were planted yesterday and the rest should be planted by noon today. Then they will be top dressed with compost and fertilized, and all previously planted bulbs will be fertilized as well. We are using a mix of Milorganite and bone meal, both low nitrogen organic materials, at a rate of about 2.5 lbs. to 1,000 square feet.
The fall colors are beginning to be pronounced now, the sugar and red maples and aspens approaching full color, the oaks just beginning. Put dogwoods, mountain maple and other minor elements into the mix and it is all quite stunning. I find it difficult to take good photos of broad landscape views of fall color, it never seems to do it justice. Some things just have to be experienced first hand.

0/07/09 PLANT DAFFODILS WHILE THE SUN SHINES

Wednesday, 7:20 AM. 38 degrees, wind W, calm. The channel is dimpled, the sky is partly cloudy and the barometer predicts the same. Another .75” of rain is in the gage.
We are planting daffodils today, 7,000 of them. They can be planted up until the ground freezes but we will take advantage of good weather while it lasts. An experienced crew of four can plant several thousand bulbs a day, using an electric drill and bulb bit. We received a significant donation from a property owner along Hwy. 13 on the north side of town, so there will be a spectacular display of 6,000 bulbs all in one location. We will have planted 30,000 or so bulbs in the last five years.

10/06/09 HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

Big Buck Track
Bear Track
Deer Dance Hall?
Tuesday, 8:45 AM. 45 degrees, wind NW, calm. The channel is calm, the sky is overcast and it is raining, and the barometer predicts more.
It being time to start checking out deer activity, Lucky and I went to my stand yesterday to scout, and in the process flushed two grouse one of which I got a shot at but missed. We came across a shallow sandy depression in the woods, which was crisscrossed with deer tracks, as though they were holding a dance, with bear tracks thrown in for good measure. There were some good sized tracks, probably a big buck. I saw no signs of the rut starting; no rubs or scrapes. Anyway, hope springs eternal.
We went to the mouth of the Sioux this morning, made a few casts but no strikes. We surprised an adult and an immature eagle fishing so I think the Coho are starting to run up the river. Lucky is so stiff from yesterday that I will have to give him half an aspirin with his breakfast.

10/05/09 IT DIDN'T RAIN ON OUR PARADE

Monday, 8:00 AM. 45 degrees, wind NNW, light. The channel is dimpled, the sky partly cloudy with rain clouds, and the barometer predicts the same.
The parade started yesterday about 2:30 PM but it was a long wait in line for Joan, Lucky and I (we were #62) and the first bands were coming up Mannypenny as we turned down the main route of Rittenhouse. There were lots of good bands and floats although we couldn’t see them all. Crowds lined the entire route from 6th and Rittenhouse and all the way down First Street to the Coast Guard Station.
While we were waiting to start I talked to Seth, the manager of the hardware store, who is a tribal member and was drumming for the dancers who were behind us in the lineup. His sister was wearing a beautiful jingle dress and I asked where she got the hundreds of bells on her dress. She makes them out of rolled up snuff can lids, they have no clapper but jingle when they bump together. An Indian acquaintance once said to me, “White people think Indians just lay around all day. They don’t know how much work it is to be an Indian.” Very true, as there is a tremendous amount of time, energy and artistry that goes into these costumes and all the rituals they still perform. The same is true of the traditional activities which they continue to do…the hunting, gathering, sugaring and on and on.
Anyway the parade did not get rained out and was an evident success. Afterwards I took the contents of the trailer to the Tellfords who will compost them, and dropped the wet hay bales off at Blue Vista Farm where they can make good use of them, and took the trailer back to Eric’s. Next year I will have a better float, although this one was O.K. and even got a few cheers and a thumbs up here and there along the route.

10/04/09 JUST SINGIN" IN THE RAIN

Sunday, 8:45 AM. 46 degrees, wind NW, light. The sky is overcast but the sun is shining through. .4” of rain fell since yesterday morning, and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies.
I walked about Apple Fest several times yesterday, and despite the wet weather plenty of people were out and about, and evidently spending money. The tribe participated this year with singing,dancing and drumming, which was very colorful and seemed to be much appreciated by the crowds. The grandstand on Rittenhouse had continuous music and crowds. I have to be in the parade line up by 1:00 PM with the Bayfield In Bloom float, so it will be a busy day. The beautiful maroon leaves are white ash, Fraxinus Americana.

10/03/09 A PICTRE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Saturday, 8:15 AM. 43 degrees, wind NW, moderate. The channel is still crawling but less roiled than yesterday. The sky is overcast, and there is 1.8” of new rain in the gauge from yesterday’s deluge. The barometer, however, predicts mostly sunny skies.
The first day of Apple Fest was drowned out, but the weather seems to be better today. Hopefully it will be sunny for the parade tomorrow. Yesterday was a true fall nor’easter, the kind that sinks ships, and a big lake freighter took shelter in the lee of Madeline Island for twenty-four hours but is probably now gone. I can not see it from the porch. Its’ photo tells it all.

10/02/09 LIFE'S SHORT, EAT DESERT FIRST

Friday, 8:30 AM. 48 degrees, wind NE, gale force. Skies are overcast with dark rain clouds, and the channel is rough, covered with whitecaps. The barometer is confused. It is going to be a rough opening day for Apple Fest. A ferry trip today will be better than a carnival ride.
I was a judge at the annual pie contest before dinner yesterday evening, there are a number of categories, I was a judge of Commercial Baked Pies. All pies are judged on appearance, taste, and crust, and assigned a grade of one to five on each trait, five being the highest grade. Most pies I tasted were very good, one or two were wonderful. I take pie judging seriously and have done it for several years. From 6:00 to 8:00 PM the public was invited to have pie and coffee at the Pavilion, a great bargain at $2.00.

10/01/09 ANTICIPATION

Thursday, 8:15 AM. 47 degrees, wind WSW, light to moderate. The sky is blue with high, thin white clouds. The barometer predicts rain, but I think not.
The preparations for Apple Fest are evident everywhere now, the “No Parking” signs in place; the stage is up on Rittenhouse Ave.; and the carnival rides and game booths are in place across from the Egg Toss. The chamber office is all abuzz with activity, and visitors and vendors are pouring into town.
As a local resident, I look at this with a mix of emotions: excitement, pride, maybe a bit of greed for the last tourist dollar of the season…but mainly with anticipation, first for the event, and then for it to be over for another year.

9/30/09 LEMON TREE, VERY PRETTY

Wednesday, 8:15 AM. 42 degrees, wind NNW, very light. The channel is calm, the sky mostly cloudy and the barometer predicts sunshine.
About 10:00 PM last night I looked at the thermometer and it was 39 degrees. I went out on the back porch and the poor Hibiscus looked like it was shivering, so I brought it in, and decided the lemon tree, the fiddle leaf fig and the Cycad all would be grateful for a bit of warmth. The lemon tree is blooming profusely, and as the song says, “Lemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet..,.,” and fills the room with its fragrance. The banana is tough and can stay out a few more nights. It probably got down to 37 degrees before dawn and that’s about the limit for the more tender tropicals.

9/29/09 TOO EARLY FOR GOBLINS

Tuesday, 8:00 AM. 42 degrees, wind W, moderate. The channel is crawling, the sky overcast but the barometer predicts fair weather. There is another .65” of rain in the gage.
We hope the weather improves for Apple Fest, especially for the parade on Sunday. Eric is loaning me his trailer for the float so that problem is solved. The weather has turned a bit nasty but hopefully we will still have a nice fall, the colors having just started. A neighbor covered his tomato plants and it looks like Halloween, but it is too early for either frost or goblins.

9/28/09 GREAT IDEAS FROM GREAT MINDS

Monday, 8:15 AM. 52 degrees, wind W, strong. The channel is rough, the sky is overcast and it has been raining hard. We have gotten .75” of rain so far. The barometer predicts partly cloudy skies.
Andy and Judy came to dinner last evening, they are trying to break camp in the wet and get back to Cedarburg Wednesday for a memorial service for a friend. They won’t be back until maple sugarin’ and we will miss them.
The flowers pictured are baskets and planters collected for a Bayfield In Bloom float for the Apple Fest parade. I also borrowed six bales of hay from Myron to stage them on, and he made me promise I wouldn’t get them wet. I haven’t decided as yet whether to use a borrowed trailer or simply take the top off the pickup bed and make the truck the float. Andy suggested I get a couple of gallons of ice cream and root beer and put them in my old milk can and it could be a “root beer float.” I added that we could pass out straws to the crowd and invite them to join in. Ah, great ideas from great minds! I haven't had a root beer float since high school.

9/27/09 THE GOLDEN WHITE PINES

Sunday, 8:30 AM. 57 degrees, wind W, light. The channel is crawling slightly, the sky is overcast and the barometer predicts rain, which we have had a trace of. It is very quiet, all God’s creatures sleeping in this morning.
The older needles of the white pines are beginning to turn to gold and will soon fall, creating a golden blanket beneath the trees and prompting many telephone calls asking what ails the pines, when nothing does. Needles usually remain green and on the tree for two years before they are shed.

9/26/09 APPLES, APPLES, APPLES!

Saturday, 8:15 AM. 57 degrees, wind SSW, calm. The channel is calm, the sky overcast and the barometer predicts rain.
It is hard to imagine a better apple harvest! Even the wild roadside trees are laden with fruit and have few blemishes. We stopped at Hauser’s Orchard yesterday afternoon and they had Wealthy, Macintosh, Dudley, Cortland, and Honey Crisp apples, as well as Kerr crabapples for jelly. The Honey Crisp is sweet and crunchy but my favorite is still the Mac for eating. The orchards will not sell out with Apple Fest, but will have apples at least through October. I well remember the old apple storage cellars, where one could go all winter and buy fresh local apples. They were half in the ground for insulation, and half above for ventilation. Carefully controlled, they would stay at 45 degrees all winter without energy cost and the keeping apples would remain fresh. Few of those are grown any more. The Spitzenberg was a favorite of mine, hard as a rock until after a hard frost and then lasting until spring in storage.

9/25/09 FALL COLORS

Friday, 8:15 AM. 60 degrees, wind WSW, moderate. The channel is dimpled, the sky is blue and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies. A beautiful day awaits.
The purple New England Aster, A. angliae-novae, and the pink New Belgium Aster, A. novae-belgae, are in bloom. Both are tall, floriferous native plants. The mountain maple, Acer spicatum, is a beautiful rusty orange now in the woods on the corner of Ninth and Old Military .
The mottled pagoda dogwood leaves are also quite nice.
Apple Fest is next weekend, and we are all gearing up for the yearly extravaganza.

9/24/09 AN ELEGANT, SIMPLE LANDSCAPE FOR A NINETEENTH CENTURY HOUSE

Thursday, 8:30 AM. 56 degrees, wind S, light. The channel is calm, the sky blue and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies.
The Nelson job on north Third Street turned out nicely. We removed a lot of inappropriate volunteer trees and shrubs, and replanted with old-fashioned plants. Bridal wreath and gold flame Spirea were planted along the front foundation, and a setting of weeping flowering crab and spreading evergreens creates a focal point in the front yard. A planting of hardy white azaleas and an oak leaf Hydrangea creates beauty in a shady spot by the back deck, and a red oak and a mountain ash front the two city streets. The grove of young oaks was trimmed up. We created a landscape which is easy to maintain, is simple but rather elegant and respects the architecture and era of the home.