Arcadia- Authors and Animals

The final day of Arcadia Daze was shorter and calmer, with a little more time to do things besides interact with potential buyers.

John Wemlinger is an author I met at an event a couple of years ago. He told me I should try to get into Arcadia Daze, and that was good advice. I did well. I finally felt I had a comfortable enough margin that I could buy one of his books I wanted- The Cut- an historical fiction concerning the momentous and contentious cutting of a channel from Portage Lake in Onekama through to Lake Michigan. It dropped the water level of Portage Lake by 20 feet. I've just started reading it, but I can heartily recommend it.

He bought my sampler book, Accidentally Yours. I don't know if he's started it yet or would recommend it, but I'll tell you it's an eclectic collection of all the kinds of things I write. You may not like all the entries, but you'll probably like some of them.

John's wife Diane helps him with "marketing" (and moving all the crap around that one needs at these events). They make a great team. We had a good block of time before people really started coming through to talk about editing and publishing and all that sort of authorly stuff.

Since the vendors did not have to stay as long today, I popped over to Arcadia Marsh for a walk. The middle section of the marsh boardwalk is closed from April 15 to July 15 when birds are nesting, and I'd never managed to get there except during that time. But today, I got to walk all the way through.

I got some nice plant pictures but none of anything very unusual, so I'm going to show you animals because animal pictures are harder. Critters are more mobile than plants!

Who doesn't love turtles? Painted Turtles, and I chose this picture because their reflections are also in focus.

There were several Cedar Waxwings flitting around a space of open water.

Female Wood Duck swimming around.

And although this is just a female mallard- probably our most common duck, she's doing some nice contortions to get her preening accomplished, and notice the spread tail feathers.

I'm always tickled to get a good picture of a dragonfly. I've shown you this one before, but not very often. This is a male Widow Skimmer.

A nice Muskrat working its way around the same place of open water as the Cedar Waxwings. There was a lot of watercress here, and although cattails are their primary food, they will eat the cress too, so maybe that's what it was doing.

I thought that was probably going to be it for the wildlife. Another couple saw a green heron, but it was gone when I got to that spot. I walked the boardwalk trail twice to get in some miles, and almost at the end of the second time, I spotted a family of Trumpeter Swans. OK, it's getting so I see these fairly often, but I still love finding them.

An excellent day and weekend. The weather was neither too hot, too cold, nor too windy for an outdoor event. Developed a good relationship with a fellow author, made some money, and had a great hike. Can hardly improve on any of that!

Miles walked in 2026: 248.5
Miles walked for Onekama Challenge: 60.3

Streets in Arcadia 0.7 miles. Arcadia Marsh boardwalk twice 4.6, for a total of 5.3 miles.

See Arcadia Daze

Arcadia Daze

Today was 100% Arcadia Daze. It's a huge 3-day festival in Arcadia. The vendor row was open for 7 hours plus set-up and travel and all that.

I have a schedule of events, but I didn't get to see anything else for real because I was tending my booth. I mean, that's fine, that's why I was there, but I don't have any other interesting pictures to share.

A trail acquaintance was going to let me sleep at her place, but I decided I had to come home anyway. I did well- sold out of the copies of North Country Cache that I had with me. But I have cases more at home, so I came home to get another stack for tomorrow. There is no rhyme or reason to what particular title seems to sell at any given event.

Anyway, I did quite well, and tomorrow will be all profit except for the extra gas.

I thought there might be a new flower open here to show you, but nope, so you just get boring pictures of vendor tents.

I had to get up at 5:45 this morning. Thankfully, tomorrow won't be as early. But I need to go lie down soon.

Yarrow

Here's a tale of 3 yarrow, Achillea milliflorum. The basic plant has feathery leaves and white flowers. Here, it's growing among a bunch of grass and you can't see the leaves very well. This is the wild, native one. I have some tiny ones starting in the Moon Garden

Here is a good picture of the leaves.

Those leaves are in the rock garden, and although it was just planted last year, I got one flower! Variety 'Cerise Queen.'

Now, let's take a stroll down to a road corner near my house. Since 2011, I have been observing light pink and mottled yarrow along the road. I believe this has to be escaped from someone's garden that is reverting to white.

Here's a more typical one with very light pink and white flowers, mixed. I'm pretty amazed that there are still pink ones there 15 years later.

There are a number of cultivars. I tried to grow one long ago called 'Paprika,' but whatever I got it wasn't 'Paprika,' and it finally died out.

I am just about ready for tomorrow. Just a few final things to do. Took a 5-mile road walk.

Miles walked in 2026: 243.2
Miles for Onekama Challenge: 55

See Revert

The Case of the Attempted Coleus 2026

Today I trimmed all the faded flowers off the Seven Sisters Rose which allowed the attempted Coleus to be more visible. I think the results are the best I've managed yet, but not spectacular. The Coleus are planted among the remains of the Violet and Sweedish Ivy leaves. I trimmed some of those back so they aren't obstructing the view either.

Basically, I have 4 different ones. The solid bright one is 'Inferno' that I bought this year. There are 3 dark ones (only one is very visible) and those are 'Black Dragon.' Of the other two, one has yellow edges and a maroon center, and the other is mottled green.

This view catches all four, although the dark ones are small.

How do I feel about this? Meh. I think I learned things about keeping them over the winter and can probably do a better job of having them a bigger size to plant in the spring. I'd need a ton more to really fill in that area. And I'd need to remove the violets- probably an ok idea, and cut the daffodil stems down early- not such a good idea. Plus, I really think I'm going to dig up this whole section this fall to divide the dafs and add the alliums. Also, this area honestly gets a bit too much afternoon sun for the Coleus.

However, I could do a planter for the porch, or put them in the deep shade on the other side of the birch tree. I really do like them.

For your enjoyment, here are three other Coleus planters I've encountered this summer that I haven't already shared. The first two are a set.

This is another from the Garden Club tour.

I decided I needed a bit of a rest today. I puttered around- did a little editing, a little gardening, finished writing one of my columns, but I didn't work very hard.

Tomorrow I have to get ready for my first big vendor show of the summer (yeah, I haven't done as many this year), so I have to stick to a work list and a schedule. Then Saturday, it's off to Arcadia Daze!

See Coleus Capers

From the Woods

I got myself out to my section of trail today to do some general cleanup. What I did was very easy- flicked sticks off the trail and clipped some encroaching branches. No problems to report. I have a few pix of interesting things from today, and a couple from the other day.

This is the bottomland hardwood swamp along one section of my trail. I know I've showed it to you when there is lots of water, and also when it is dry. But here it is in between all full of mud. The plants love it.

This small paper wasp nest must have come down in the wind we've had the last couple of days. Oddly, when I flipped it over, it's completely hollow- no hexagonal cells. I don't know if they somehow broke out, or the wasps never finished the nest.

This is wintergreen, Gaulthera procumbens, in bloom. Usually you see the red berries which last for months, so finding the flowers is nifty.

I found yet another blue/purple mushroom. I'm NOT a mushroom expert, but I think with the white gills and smooth stalk in the second picture that is has to be Purple Brittlegill, Russula atropurpurea.

Finally, this is just fun. Every once in a while a plant will produce variegated leaves. This is an oak sapling. I love it! Once, before digital photos, I found a variegated poison ivy. I wonder if I have a picture of it somewhere.

The trail work took all afternoon. I got some editing done in the morning, but didn't get out of bed fast again, so other things slipped through the cracks.

My dad would have been 122 today, and he died 50 years ago yesterday. I can hardly believe that.

Miles walked in 2026: 238.2
Hike 100 Challenge: 86 miles
Onekama Challenge: 50 miles.

North Country Trail, Lake and Mason Counties, Freesoil TH to Koenig Rd and back. 6 miles.

See Beauty in the Details