Nordhouse Dunes Hike

A group of us went out to Nordhouse Dunes for a hike today. There were actually 9 of us. Two people didn't want to hike as far as some of us did, so they went out and back.

We did one of the longer loops which includes a fair amount of loose sand, coming near Lake Michigan.

I guess I like this tree. I've taken its picture before.

Hoary Puccoon is in bloom all over the dunes.

We came back to the parking by way of Nordhouse Lake, still with lots of water in it right now. It often dries up in August and Septemeber.

It was a lovely 67° when we started, but was 81 with 70% humidity by the time we finished. That was brutal. I haven't done much else today. But if I'm going to hike this fall, I have to get in shape.

Miles walked in 2026: 195.1

Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness- old road to Lake Michigan, north to Lake Michigan Rec Area, Arrowhead Trail, Nipissing Trail: 6.9 miles.

See Nordhouse and Bells

The Other Verbena

I'm too hot to post anything very spectacular today. I'll just show you the other Verbena in my flower beds. Verbena stricta, Hoary Vervain. It starts blooming at the bottom of the flower head and work its way up to the top (the most common pattern).

I mentioned last year (link below) that a couple of these had reappeared, having gone missing after years of not weeding that garden. This year there are lots, and I've even dug some up to give away. They are popping up all over and I move the little ones to places I want them.

This is a wildflower- I dug this out of a ditch years ago.

I managed a tiny bit in the gardens today, and watered everything. It's supposed to rain Thursday, but things were looking wilty.

Did a fair amount of editing, and a lot of reading and trying to stay awake. Even though it's not as hot as a couple of days last week, I had a hard time today.

See Purple Hidden Amoung the Blue

I Think I Suceeded!

This little beauty is growing in my rock garden. OK, it's not too beautiful, but I'm pretty happy to see it.

This is the weed native plant I've been trying to get to seed itself in the rock garden, Bigbract Verbena. You might recall that I first identified it in 2106 growing along the shoulder of the road. Then it disappeared for a few years.

Then I decided I wanted to try to get some started in the rock garden. But it's an annual so I need seeds. Thought maybe I got those last year.

And, I am prety sure that I have some growing!

I showed you the tiny flowers last week, but we'll have to wait and see if it really develops those runners with the bracts all around.



I didn't get a lot done today becuase I still had people here for a while, and then others came later. Got in some garden time, but not much in the way of computer work.

Also, annoyingly, Google has changed the links to older blog pix, so almost every place where I showed an older photo on the blog for a second time to illustrate some point, the link is now broken.

I forgot somewhere I was supposed to be this morning. Hoping I'll be more with it tomorrow.

See Tiny Flowers

2026-1976 = 50, Yes 50 Years

Today was a reunion.

A few of you have known me long enough to know that about 3 lifetimes ago, Omer led bicycle trips for young people in the summer.

In 1976, at the 200th Anniversary of the USA, we put together a group of 35 guys, all high school age, to ride across the country, Washington state to Delaware, Pacific to Atlantic Ocean.

There were 35 riders, I drove the bus you can see above (support vehicle, kitchen, repair shop, etc.) Baby Steve (not quite 2) was a "bus buddy." Two other females went: the mother of one of the riders who was also a nurse, and a high-school girl. They helped in the bus and helped care for Steve.

A couple of the guys started planning a 50th reunion about a year ago. Today, 17 of the participants and a lot of family members gathered. This is just those who were actually on the trip.

Lots of memorabilia was brought to display, including some original shirts and jackets. Ed, the primary organizer, wrote to a number of the towns we went through and got them to send a letter celebrating the trip. Albums of photos, patches, two media shows made from photos were shown, story telling, jokes, singing and prayer. Oh, yes, and food!

I didn't get a lot of good pictures. The lighting was bad and people were moving a lot, but for example, here is one of the jokes. So, Ed is in the center, and he is awarding boxes of pancake mix to the winners of the popular annual pancake-eating contest from that trip. Ed humbly admitted that he thought he had won with a total of 50 pancakes. But, no, Rick (on the left) ate 55, and Rudy (on the right) managed 48.

Many of the stories were more serious, heartwarming, or spiritual in nature. Lifelong friendships were formed on that trip for many of these guys. A few of the participants have died.

For the conclusion, Ed had brought a flag that actually flew over Arlington Cemetery. We all stood around it and sang "God Bless America." Then another of the guys closed in prayer.

There were a lot of damp eyes and hard-slapped shoulders and hugs.

And that's all for today. I'm still processing the event. There are a few of the families we've stayed in touch with (You may notice good friends Doug and Cathy in the picture, and bus-helper Wendy is the daughter of my good friend Betty), but some of the ones who came today we haven't seen for those 50 years.

See Another Trip in the Way-Back Machine

Babies, but No Guests Yet

Lookie, lookie! The Sempervivum 'Gold Nugget' is having babies. This is the first that either clump of it has made an attempt to spread.

And I told you the Donkeytail Euphorbia finally had babies. I've found 6 so far. I gave two away, have 2 in a pot to hold for contingencies, and these two are planted where I want them. One doesn't look great because something already dug it up once. Sigh. But succulents are tough. I'll see if it revives.

Guests are not here yet. One should arrive soon. The other is delayed and will be here in the middle of the night. Also sigh. But worse for him.

I figured out how to clean the filters on the vacuum cleaner after discovering there were two of them. That made it work much better. Some of the boxes of stuff are reordered and stacked, dishes are done. It's as good as it's going to get for me at this time.

Worked a tiny bit on gardens. The air was really oppressive today. But I got the Gaura out of its pot and into the ground. Finished weeding the driveway beds, did a few little tweaks here and there. Not sure if any gardening will happen tomorrow although I really need to get a couple of things out of pots.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's event.

See Rock Garden Report 2026- #2