9/20/08 WINTER FIREWOOD, MORE SCARECROWS

Saturday, 8:00 AM. 50 degrees, wind NNE, strong. The sky is mostly clear and the channel is crawling. The barometer predicts partly cloudy skies.
There are signs of fall now all around, maples turning, flickers congregating on the roadsides, and the hummingbirds have gone south.
I had two face cords of firewood (oak, maple, ash, birch, ironwood) delivered yesterday by Don Sullivan, who has a huge firewood operation out on Hwy 13, west of the Rez. He does a great job, keeping aged, split wood in a huge Quonset building. It was $140 for two face cords, split and delivered. A full cord is 4x4x8, a face cord a little less than half that. It will take a while to stack it in the shed. I will burn perhaps 4 face cords in a year. Our metal insert fireplace is not as efficient as a good wood stove but is fairly efficient if one is careful to use the glass doors as a damper. Many folks hereabouts have sophisticated wood heating systems, with outside wood furnace and hot water heating.
Thought everyone would enjoy a few more scarecrows. The dancers, tepee and boat are at Peterson’s Foods, on the Rez, and Elvis at The Winfield Inn and Gardens.

9/18/08 STRAW MEN ARE SOMETIMES FUNNY, SOMETIMES NOT

Thursday, 7:45 AM. 44 degrees, wind N, calm. The channel is glassy, the sky has a few puffy white clouds and the barometer predicts sunny skies. It is a repeat of the great morning of yesterday, complete with geese and woodpeckers.
Andy and Judy came to dinner last night, but our mutual friends Paul and Joanne from Three Lakes bowed out. Judy went to the Town of Russell Board meeting Tuesday evening where the Compton Road development was on the agenda. There was a full house, with many very concerned property owners, who basically got nowhere, and the rezoning goes on to the County Board where it will probably be approved.
There are a number of reasons rampant development is often approved in small rural communities: the lack of experience by officials and citizens alike, the usual lack of legal counsel, the general attitude of farmers that “nobody’s going to tell us what we can do on our own land,” and sometimes more sinister reasons as well. Developers can usually push their way through the process, often with disastrous long term results, and specific development plans are often just a “straw man” for some other scheme. An argument in favor of development is a supposed increase in tax revenue and corresponding decrease in property taxes, but we have owned eleven homes in four states over forty years, and not once have our real estate taxes gone down for any reason, so I consider that a mute argument at best.
On a lighter note, the Bayfield Chamber has an annual Scarecrow Festival, and it is a hoot. Two years ago I made a little flower girl scarecrow, but it got wet and fell apart in a storm and being an old softy, I was greatly saddened by her untimely demise. Won’t do it again.

9/17/08 "IT WAS ONLY A PAPER MOON..."

Wednesday, 7:15 A.M. 48 degrees, wind W, calm. The channel is glassy mostly, the sky is blue and the barometer predicts sunny skies.
It is a fine quiet morning, bathed in a golden glow from the rising sun. The full moon still hangs suspended like a stage prop, 30 degrees up from the western horizon. I encountered a pair of pileated woodpeckers on the corner of 9th and Mannypenny, and from the height of 11th and Manypenny, looking south, I spotted a raucous flock of geese rising up out of the marsh along Pikes Creek.
We have to go to Ashland to the dentist this morning, the compensation being a beautiful trip with the possibility of the top being down on the way back if it warms up a bit.

9/16/08 PRETTY BERRIES AND A BUDDING CONTROVERSY

Tuesday, 7:30 AM. 46 degrees, wind SSW, calm. The channel is wrinkled from even a light wind coming across 20 miles of open water from the southern end of Chequamegon Bay. Pictured here because of its pretty red berries is false Solomon’s seal, Smilacina racemosa, in the lily family. This is a pretty common woods plant throughout mush of eastern and Midwestern North America. The European species and probably this one as well were formerly much used in folk medicine for its healing effects on broken bones, bruises and skin problems. In Italy it was used as a cosmetic for its effect on the skin. I have no personal experience with it.
We have a local controversy over a proposed development project in the very rural Town of Russell, a few miles northwest of the city of Bayfield and on the border with the Town of Bayfield. A change from agriculture, forestry and residential zoning has been approved to permit the building of condos, town homes, a hotel and landing strip for private airplanes on 380 acres. It would be a gated community next to County Forest land and orchards and berry farms, and certainly not in keeping with the rural character supposedly protected in the Town’s comprehensive plan. Last night, at a packed meeting of the Bayfield Town Board, that board passed a resolution to ask the County to delay review of this development for one month, to allow more public input. The area is littered with failed developments large and small, which have a very negative effect on the landscape and character of the region. There are political, economic, environmental and philosophical issues herein which are difficult to address, and much more will be heard of this and similar developments in the future. When the dust settles a bit I will write more about these matters.

9/15/08 A POETIC PLANT

Monday, 7:40 AM. 49 degrees, wind ENE, calm. The channel is slightly wrinkled, the sky is mostly clear and the barometer predicts sunny skies.
The plant pictured is the somewhat common field and roadside weed, burdock, Arctium flava (or a closely related species). The burdocks, of which there are several species, are Eurasian plants commonly associated with agriculture. The burr seed heads cling to clothing, fur, etc. and spread the plants widely. In the past it was a somewhat important medicinal plant as a stimulant, diuretic, and antidote for scurvy and skin problems but has pretty much fallen out of use. In Colonial times the unripe burrs were sometimes prepared with sugar or honey as an after dinner candy. The juice of the burdock, rubbed into the skin, is an old antidote for the stings of nettles, which we mentioned a few days ago. "Dock in, Nettle out," was an old English children's rhyme, and this use of the burdock was related a number of times in various Shakespearean plays. In any case, if you spend much time in the field you will come across the burdocks, or rather they will come across you.

9/14/08 AS THE SONG SAYS, "THIS CAN'T BE LOVE"

Sunday, 8:15 AM. 50 degrees, wind WNW, light with gusts. The channel is m0stly glassy and the sky overcast. The barometer predicts rain, which we got six-tenths of an inch of yesterday afternoon.
Note the orange vine growing on the ornamental plants in the large pot. It is a parasitic flowering plant, without green leaves or any chlorophyll at all, and I thus thought it would be of interest. It is in the genus Cucutus, in the morning glory family. There are perhaps a dozen species of these plants native to North America, and more in Europe and South America. This plant, variously called dodder, strangleweed, hellweed and love-vine, can be a very noxious weed on some agricultural crops and is a very nasty thing one would not wish to escape into a garden, even though many species of dodder need very specific host plants to survive. The species are very difficult to key out and I will not try. I was called to identify it and my recommendation is to destroy it before it flowers (it is about ready to), burn or bury the ornamental plants it is growing on, and sanitize anything that could harbor seeds.
My supposition is that the seed that produced this plant survived in improperly sterilized potting soil. Composted soil or manure, etc., must reach a temperature of above 180 degrees for a good length of time to kill seeds and spores, or must be properly steamed or chemically treated. With a “lover” like this, who needs enemies?

9/13/08: LEAVES OF THREE, LEAVES OF FIVE

Saturday, 7:30 AM. 46 degrees, wind WSW, calm. The channel is like glass with light fog. The sky is blue with some mare’s tails. The barometer predicts rain, the advancing remnants of Hurricane Ike, up from the Gulf.
Pictured here are the woodbine, or Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquifolia, previously described, and poison ivy, Rhus radicans. It is easy to see how they can be confused, but just remember the old saw, “leaves of three, let them be.” Five leaflets are harmless.
Well, we have phone service for the next few days at least, and will keep our fingers crossed.

9/12/08 GREAT FALL COLOR, LOUSY PHONE SERVICE

Friday, 8:00 AM. 48 degrees, wind NW, calm. The channel is glassy, and there is fog on the waters. The sky is clear and the barometer up, predicting partly cloudy skies. We got one-half inch of rain yesterday but I managed to get the lawns mowed.
Fall color is becoming apparent, the rusty orange leaved shrub is one seldom seen, it is mountain maple, Acer spicatum. It has typical maple opposite branches and leaves somewhat resembling red maple. The species name spicatum refers to the spiked inflorescences of small white flowers, quite attractive, which bear typical maple winged samara fruits. It is native to northern woods and should be used more in the landscape.
The purple leaved vine is another native, woodbine or Virginia creeper, Parthenocisus quinquifolia, which occurs throughout most of the eastern half of North America and beyond. Its purple fruits are quite decorative, and the fall color outstanding. As the species name indicates it’s compound leafe has five leaflets, and unfortunately it is often confused with poison ivy, which as you know has three leaflets (leaves of three, let the be).
It promises to be a beautiful day, uninterrupted by pesky calls from friends and customers, as we do not have any incoming local phone service.

9/11/08 GOOD PARTY, SAD MEMORIES

9/11/08: Thursday, 8:00 AM. 50 degrees, wind SSW, calm. The channel is calm, it is drizzling rain, the sky is overcast and the barometer predicts rain.
Judy’s birthday cake party turned into a campfire dinner, with “dessert first.” Andy and Judy, Joan and me, Myron and Mike talked about everything but religion and politics until dark (no party should encompass those subjects). Our only regret is that we forgot to sing Happy Birthday (next time, Judy).
This morning, anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks is fittingly somber. I was fishing that day when I heard the news and got home in time to witness the accounts of the second tower collapse. I was sickened by it all, particularly since I had been in the Twin Towers on business often (did you know that on a windy day, you could feel the towers sway on a high floor?), and if we had still lived in New York we would be mourning friends and neighbors. America is one of the largest and certainly the most powerful of nations on the planet, economically, geographically and in population, but we are just a small town in many respects, connected with each of our fellow citizens in myriad and mystical ways that I do not think others understand.
At present Joan and I are not that well connected with anybody, as we have not had local telephone service in a month, due to the gross incompetence of several companies who cannot or will not get their act together. If Nippon Telephone offered service here I would sign up. In the words of the bard, “A pox on both their houses.” Where is Ma Bell when we need her?

9/10/08 GOOD DOGS AND A SOMETIMES BAD TREE

7:00 AM. 42 degrees, wind WSW, calm. The channel is dimpled. The sky is mostly cloudy and the barometer down, predicting more of the same.
I walked Erick’s dog, and of course Lucky, and Roxy tagged along. All are good dogs, at least as long as one has a pocket full of treats. It gets light later and later each day now, so it was kind of a dusky walk.
The hawthorn tree pictured here is Winter King hawthorn, Crataegus X ’Winter King’. It is a very handsome, smallish tree, with deep maroon fall color and attractive berries which last the winter. Most of the hawthorns are hard to use as street trees due to their spreading habit and sometimes vicious thorns. As a young nursery worker I hated them, because digging one was like tangling with a wildcat. I may still have some scars on my backside from the three inch long thorns of the cockspur hawthorn.
The geese are starting to flock up to move further south, and their honking V formations are commonly seen every morning now.
There is a surprise ice cream cake birthday party for Judy at camp this afternoon and we will be happy to attend, and maybe pick some blackberries and collect some more wild carrot plants as well.

9/09/08 READY TO LOAD UP THAT BIG BUCK

Tuesday, 7:30 AM. 41 degrees, wind WNW, moderate with gusts. The channel is crawling. The sky is mostly sunny and that is what the barometer predicts.
Joan and I are going to Duluth today for a doctor’s appointment and I will stop and look for a tailgate cargo carrier for the pickup. Joan suggested it for deer hunting as when hunting alone I would have a hard time getting a large deer up into the bed of the truck. I hope all this anticipation does not cause jinx the hunt.
Later: the trip was all good, and the carrier, purchased at Gander Mountain, is assembled and on the truck (I will have to remove it to put the trailer hitch on for the boat). There were lots of signs of fall along the rout to Duluth but I saw nothing that I thought would make an effective photograph. Have to walk Erick’s dog Morgan tomorrow morning. He is in Florida helping parents deal with the hurricane’s and his wife Nancy has an early morning meeting.

9/08/08 A WONDERFUL VISITOR CENTER AND A GREAT TREE SYMPOSIUM

Monday, 7:30 AM. 41 degrees, wind W, moderate with gusts. Te channel is crawling and the sky mottled blue with high gray clouds. The barometer is up and a strong high pressure system is coming in.
Today is the tree symposium at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center west of Ashland on Hwy. 2. This is a wonderful tourist information facility with interactive displays an movies on local history, and is a must-see for visitors to our region. It has a unique gift shop as well.
Later: the program was absolutely great, even for an old pro like myself. It concentrated on the common mistakes made in planting and selecting trees, the bottom line being that most trees fail because they do not match their planting environment (ecological error) or that they are planted too deep (not as easy to determine as one might suppose). It was very hands on, with a good balance of lecture and hands on. I saw no one nod off, which is a feat in itself.
The photos are of the facility, with two tree board members at the entrance, and some of the lecture and demonstration activity.
Tomorrow I must accompany Joan to Duluth for an eye doctor appointment.

9/07/08 CONTROLING SOME PESTS AND DISEASES

Sunday, 7:45 AM. 47 degrees, wind SW, light to moderate. The channel is dimpled. The sky is almost cloudless, and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies. We had a fire in the fireplace last evening, it felt and smelled good. I hope to keep the furnace off for a few weeks yet, but the woodshed needs to be replenished; there is no such thing as a free lunch, or free heat.
Speaking of fires, there have been some obvious sign of fire blight, a bacterial disease affecting members of the rose family, around town. I lost a large branch on the old apple tree, and the damage pictured here is on a mountain ash tree on 9th and Manypenny. The disease affects mainly apples, crabapples, hawthorns and mountain ash, but can attack roses and others in the Rosaceae as well. The symptoms mimic the name, the leaves and branches looking as though scorched in fire, the young branches becoming brittle and the bark sunken. The spores can be spread in many ways, and when diseased material is removed it should be burned, buried or taken far from susceptible plants. Pruning tools must be sterilized with alcohol or bleach after each cut to prevent spreading the disease. Orchardists may use antibiotic sprays but that usually is not practical for the homeowner, and sanitation is the best preventive.
The paper wasp nest pictured has been on the deck all summer and seems to be effective in keeping wasps and hornets away from the environs (wasps have always tried to nest under our eaves and I have had to spray them). These insects are territorial and it is thought that the presence of a nest will keep others away. The summer, paper nests do not contain over wintering larvae or adults, and can be safely kept inside the house. I have always found them decorative, and I am now pretty well convinced of their utility as well. I will look for additional nests this fall and will keep the experiment going next summer.
I have been very busy, and will be so next week, starting with a tree symposium in Ashland tomorrow morning, so today is going to be a day of church and rest and not much else.

9/06/08 BEAUTY AND UTILITY, WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?

Saturday, 8:00 AM. 49 degrees, wind NW, light. The channel is slightly wrinkled. The sky is overcast and we got a trace of rain last night. The barometer predicts mostly cloudy skies.
The Hydrangeas, some pictured here, are among the most valuable genera of ornamental shrubs. They have been long in cultivation throughout the northern hemisphere, and as a group they are mostly quite hardy, and although many die back to the ground each year they grow vigorously every spring from the roots. Hydrangea arborescens and H. grandiflora are hardy to zone 3, and most of our hardy hybrids are of one or the other of these species. The Hydrangea ‘P.G.’ is probably most often grown, it is the big “mop head” Hydrangea we all know. That said, everything is pretty confused in the nursery trade, and if you see a Hydrangea you really like, ask to take a root division of it and you will get what you actually want. Hydrangeas are very sensitive to PH, and many if fertilized with an acid fertilizer will have pink flowers, and if with an alkaline, blue flowers. There are now hybrids that flower blue or multi-colored without the application, but I think all that rather superfluous. There is also a beautiful climbing hydrangea, H. quercifolia, oak leaved H., native to the southeast. It is hardy to zone 5, but I have not tried it here. One problem with the Hydrangeas are heavy flower heads which often bend to the ground, necessitating tying, etc. but they are beautiful nonetheless.
Hydrangeas are known in herbal medicine as gravel root, and along with Joe Pye weed and corn silk are an effective preventive/cure for kidney and gall stones. As always with herbal comments, you have to do your own research. But this works!

9/05/08 A GREAT PARTY FOR GREAT PEOPLE IN A GREAT PLACE

Friday, 7:45 AM, 46 degrees, wind W and changeable, light. The channel is dimpled. The sky is mostly clear, with big storm clouds in the east. The barometer predicts rain.
The Chamber of Commerce farewell party for Curt and Ruth Johnson was well attended by members, friends and neighbors. Curt is an ordained Lutheran minister and members of various churches he has served were also there.
The Johnsons have been entrepreneurs as well as people of faith and charity, growing flower and vegetables at their Good Earth Gardens. Ruth is a talented flower arranger, and Curt an equally talented agriculturist. They have lived an active life, living and serving the church and the military all over the country, including serving an Inuit community in Alaska for a number of years. The established Kinship, a Midwest nonprofit that arranges mentoring for young people. They are the very embodiment of faith in action, and we all know that wherever their lives lead them, they will continue to serve, perhaps in ways not yet revealed to them.
The party was held at beautiful Blue Vista Farm, a premier orchard and berry farm with a great view of the Bay and a wonderful old red barn which now serves as their store. Eric Carlson and Ellen Kwiatkowski are young folks working hard to make their living from the land, and their apples, raspberries and blueberries rank with the most delicious anywhere. We thank them for their service to the community and for hosting the Johnson’s farewell party.

9/04/08 GOOD ENOUGH AFTER ALL

Thursday, 7:30 AM. 48 degrees, wind WNW, just enough to make the aspen leaves tremble. The skies are overcast with ominous dark clouds, and the channel is almost calm. The barometer predicts partly cloudy skies but it looks and feels like rain, and the indicator red maple tree has some leaves turned up.
The garden, which I have despaired of all summer, is really quite nice in an unkempt fashion: purple cone flower, yellow yarrow, red sedum, pink and red phlox, purple Joe Pye weed, white Hydrangea and multi-colored hollyhocks are blooming profusely as are all the bargain basement roses, and the New England asters are ready to pop.
The pine, sumac and Juneberry all need pruning to allow more light, the weeds need to be pulled and the Iris divided, but looking past all that, the garden is more than O.K.
Tonight is the Chamber’s going-away party for Ruth and Curt Johnson, who have sold Good Earth Gardens out on Hwy. J and are moving to a retirement community in Minnesota. We are happy for them, as it is what they feel they must do, but we will miss our friends greatly.

9/03/08 IMPATIENT FOR FALL

Wednesday, 7:45 AM. 46 degrees, wind SW, moderate with gusts. The channel is crawling. The sky is mostly clear, and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies. We had a brief, hard shower yesterday afternoon that left four-tenths of an inch of rain, and brought much cooler, less humid air.
The white flowered plats are of course the elephant ears, the Japanese knotweed we have discussed before. One can almost forgive the USDA botanists who first saw it covering Chinese mountainsides for introducing it. All we can say is, here is a prime example of the law of unintended consequences.
The delicate orange flowered plant is jewelweed or touch-me-not, Impatiens biflora, a native plant of wet places, damp ditches, etc. The genus and common names both allude to the fact that the ripe seed pods, when touched, shoot the hard little seeds forcefully out quite a distance, and little kids and big kids alike get a kick out of firing off the little artillery pieces. The ample juice of the stems is an effective antidote for the discomfort of poison ivy, a fact that should be known by all who spend a lot of time outdoors. All parts of the plant are toxic, however, and should not be ingested.
Whereas yesterday seemed the last day of summer, today seems the first day of fall.

9/02/08 SUMMER'S LAST HURRAH

Tuesday, 7:45 AM. 68 degrees, wind WSW, calm with gusts. Skies very hazy. The barometer predicts rain. The holiday weekend was truly filled with “those lazy, hazy days of summer,” that Nat King Cole used to sing about. The channel and the Island are pretty well obscured by fog.
The picnic last evening was a great success, enlivened by two much younger guests of Myron's, Nonelle and her daughter Mary, recent immigrants from the Ukraine who live in Madison. They have adjusted well, Mary being a typical high school senior, her mother now successful in a banking career. That’s a lot to accomplish and absorb in a mere five years.
The fish boil was wonderful, even with headless fish. The recipe is simple: boil new potatoes with the skins on, with onions, add salt and pepper, boil until tender, add fish (chunks with bones in and skin on) and continue boiling for several more minutes, drain and serve with plenty of melted butter. We also had roasted corn on the cob, and Judy’s fresh apple and blackberry pies with ice cream for desert. A vodka toast topped things off.
Our Ukrainian guests are city people and I don’t know what they thought of the rustic setting, but they sure liked the fare.
Lucky and J.D. got lots of fish boil over their dog food and were happy puppies.
Today I have to get myself back into some semblance of a productive life.

9/02/08 BEARLY NUTS

Monday, Labor Day, 8:15 AM. 62 degrees, wind SSW, calm. The channel is wrinkled. Te sky is blue and hazy with a few thin white clouds. The barometer predicts rain, the advance notice of the landfall of hurricane Gustave, almost 1500 miles to the south.
We had a bit of excitement last night around 9:00 PM. Neighbor Sherman shouted from across the street “Ode…Hey, Ode...” and I could tell from the sound of their little Harrier (looks like a somewhat bigger version of a Beagle) Pebbles that she had a bear treed. I grabbed the camera and scooted out the back door into the dark. Joan wouldn’t let Lucky come along so he missed all the fun. Sure enough, Pebbles had a young bear (bigger than a cub, about 100 pounds, a yearling) up in a poplar tree in their back yard. He just sat there impassively looking at all the noisy creatures unable to climb trees. I took a few flash pictures but only one turned out, and that very poorly, only showing a black blob in the crotch of the tree.
Pebbles would look at the bear, and satisfied it was properly treed, she would go howling of into the woods and we would hear some crashing about, so maybe mama bear was out there keeping an eye on things, although yearlings are usually on their own. None-the-less, we stayed close to the open back door to the garage, just in case she decided enough was enough.
The American chestnut up the street has borne fruit and when it is ripe I will ask for some to propagate.
This evening is the fish boil out at Andy and Judy’s. We picked up the fish at Halvorson’s fishery in Cornucopia on Saturday, but they wouldn’t leave the heads on so Andy will be disappointed, as he insists that the fish should be boiled whole. I am just as happy the heads are off. There will be eight of us old fogies, and we will have a good time. Who says you need to be young to have fun?