To Blacksmith Bayou and Beyond

 I took a little NCT hike today with a side walk down into Blacksmith Bayou. The bayou itself is a backwater of the Manistee River. Someone was actually fishing there today.

But you can see the actual river from a bit deeper into the campground.

The piece of NCT I hiked is mostly along the bank on the south side of the river. Today, these tall pines looked nice in the late afternoon light.

This blue-stemmed goldenrod, Solidago caesia, grows along the trail. Most of the time, the stems are darker purpleish, thus the name. Gray goldenrod also has flowers along the stem like this, but the leaves are different.

This is fun. It's the fruit of a mapleleaf viburnum, Viburnum acerifolium. Supposedly you can eat these, but they are better (like many fall berries) after the first frost. I guess I need to find some then and try them. But since they are popular with wildlife, I may have a hard time finding any!

Here's another nice picture of the Manistee River. You can tell that fall is on the way.

The reason I was up that way was to meet with a fellow Michigan Outdoor Writer Association member, Dave Foley and his wife Cyndy. He's doing a feature on me for the Cadillac paper before I speak at the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy in October.

In other news: I managed a little editing in the morning before leaving for this adventure.

Miles hiked in 2024: 436.5. NCT miles in 2024: 130.8

North Country Trail, Manistee Co, MI, from Highbridge to Chicago Rd and back with a side trip to Blacksmith Bayou. 3.6 miles NCT, + 1.2 side trip miles

See Old Trail Section, New Season

Scottville Fall Festival 2024

 Scottville will never completely be able to bring back the "glory" that was the Harvest Festival. Those were huge and deeply rooted in the area's agricultural heritage. Everyone attended. It was a 3-day event with parades, an ox roast, a midway, music, contests, and I don't even remember what all. The streets were packed so full it was even difficult to walk around most of the time.

But the city is trying to recreate some small-town pride and enthusiasm with a one-day Fall Festival. From my perspective, it was moderately well attended. I'll have to wait to hear how the city feels about it. There were lots of activities for kids with pony rides, face painting, games, etc. There was music (the famous Scottville Clown Band, of course, and another group too). there was a dunk tank. I don't know how that was run this time- it used to be that a local celebrity would take the seat and folks would pay for throws to try to drop the person into the water. There were softball and cornhole tournaments. And there were vendors. That's how I got involved. The vendors were not on the main drag, and I suspect there were a lot of people who didn't come all the way to our end.

That said, I did OK. About what I thought I'd sell, but definitely in the black. I got to explain about the North Country Trail to quite a few people.

This was very cute. It's a remote control car operated by the Sheriff's Department. It played various musical numbers, and the dog opened and closed its mouth.

It was a fine day, my only complaint was that it was blazing hot. I took all the food I needed, but I ended up having to buy one extra drink, and that was even after a friend brought me a bottle of water. Thankfully, I was right beside a convenience store, so that was easy.

No walking happened other than setting up and tearing down.

See Wild Blueberry Festival

The Vermin Inspire a Personal Record

 Never in my life (I'm pretty sure) have I deep-cleaned a room twice in one year. However, the mice led me to a complete room cleaning and re-do in February, and the whatever-they-are have caused the cleaning to happen again, just 7 months later. Here is my sports equipment. (Well, OK, not the toaster.)

I took the suggestions of a couple of people and added a spacer between the two layers of mattress and box spring in the car to better distribute the heat. Today there were about 6 hours over 120 degrees inside. I'm hoping those little buggers (literally) baked to death.

I cleaned the whole room, and sprayed with a product made to fight bedbugs (I still don't think that's what I have, but this also kills ticks, fleas, and mites- basically arachnids), and it's stronger than most products. It's only been in the last few years you could buy a home product strong enough to kill bedbugs.

Then I put it all back together again.

If it is some kind of small spider, spiders really don't like peppermint. So there are now cotton balls with peppermint oil in the corners of the room, and it smells like a candy shop. I hope it doesn't drive me out as well as the spiders. Strong odors bother me too.

This was a total shotgun approach, so if there are no more bugs, I won't know what kind they were. But I wasn't going to try one thing, then another, and keep tearing the room apart between each attempt to identify them.

One piece of good news is that I could get the spray and the oil in Scottville, so I didn't have to drive anywhere. I couldn't! To get the bed parts in the car I had to move the seats as far forward as they will go. That made it tight for even shorty me to drive. Thus, another 3-mile walk.

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be selling books at the Scottville Fall Festival.

Miles walked in 2024: 431.7

See The Project - Done See There are No Bugs on Me

There Are No Bugs On Me (I Hope)

 What am I up to now?

Well, when I came home in August, I learned that there was some sort of biting nuisance that had taken up residence in my bed. It does not seem to be bedbugs, although I can't rule that out completely. We (Marie and I have been trying to puzzle it out by phone) thought maybe the mites that affect bees were the problem since I have about 100 new dead bees in the house every day, but apparently that kind of mite doesn't bite humans. I have eliminated about all the logical choices except some kind of mite.

Spray that kills arachnids (ticks, lice, mites) did not get rid of them.

Spray that is supposed to kill ants reduced the population to something less awful, but I'm sure if there were ants in my bed I'd see them.

I was thinking I'd freeze all the bed parts this winter, but if it's bedbugs, they have to be below zero degrees F for four days. Unlikely.

However, any of the bedding-type pests can be cooked at 120 degrees.

Meet my new large oven.

With the temperatures hitting the high 80s today, I thought I'd give a closed car a try. It was over 125 degrees for 8 hours. I'm leaving everything in there one more day for another 6-8 hours of cooking tomorrow.

I washed all the bedding, pjs, etc in 140 degree water. I sprayed the room really well, and will clean it all thoroughly tomorrow after the smell subsides a bit.

Hopefully this will work. I'm really tired of waking up with a whole new set of bites (mosly in unpleasant places).

In other news: I walked to the post office. Didn't accomplish much on my usual projects.

Miles walked in 2024: 428.7 miles

See Bees

Most of the New Plants

 There's purple in my future, no doubt about that. But the only purple you'll see today is my nearly yearly sharing of New England Aster, growing on a roadside.

The rest of what you'll see are all but one of the plants I bought on Saturday at the Mason County Garden Club sale. Three of them will have purple flowers. That wouldn't have been my first choice, but I was specifically looking for tallish plants that would tolerate at least partial if not full shade. I came home with 6 different plants for what I would have paid for the one I was going to order. So, I'll see what is happy here. The ones I'm showing you today have all gone in the Front Bed.

The one I put in the deepest shade is 'Winky' Columbine. It will also get the tallest. This is one of the large ornamental columbines, and the flowers are purple and white. Spring bloomer.

I got a big pot of garden allium (onion), and split it into three clumps. This one, I think, will not get over 2 feet tall (there are giant ones). It went in partial shade at both ends of the front bed. Purple balls of flowers in spring.

The other purple bloomer is Lirope. This gets spikes of purple flowers in the fall. I've never tried any of this, but what the heck. It went in mostly sun with a little shade. There are two species, and I don't know which this is, so that will be next season's surprise. It gets about 18" high. I put it in a space that is kind of empty once the daffodils die back. That should work pretty well.

I have wanted to get another Brunnera. This is the 'Jack Frost' that I have and is established. The one I like best is 'Frostbite,' but oh, well. Not only do these have bright foliage, but in the spring they have tons of tiny blue flowers.

The new one isn't looking very happy yet, but it was probably only dug up last week and then moved twice. The other plants were well-established in their pots. I think they were dug earlier in the season. (and some of the plants were donated by garden centers because it's the end of the season)

My other plant for the front bed was a freebie because it was so sad. This is a 'Mouse Ears' hosta. Indeed, it had two leaves, and one of them fell off on the way home. But if the root is OK, it will be back in the spring. The leaves are small but rounded, and the color is quite blue.

In other news: I worked in the morning and part of the afternoon. I walked the summer taxes to the town hall. Total walking 4.2 miles

Miles walked in 2024: 425.1

See Purple Parade

Refrigerator and Friend Soup

 I made the soup. This was a lot of things from the refrigerator: onions, 1/2 a cabbage, hairy carrots, 2 yellow squash, a small eggplant. From Neva I added 6 tomatoes, some parsley, part of a red pepper, some green beans.

It's really good. And I have plenty for the next few days.

Today was the first bell choir practice of the season. I like the pieces we are starting to work on.

As often as I can make it happen, I try to walk before bells. The School Forest is right across the road so it's very convenient. A picture can't convey how nice this was today. The temperature and humidity were perfect. The use was light and it was quiet.

I also did a couple of errands in town in addition to working on required stuff in the morning. I may have made it to tired. I might go to bed soon.

Walked 2.7 miles, mostly in the School Forest.

Miles walked in 2024: 420.9

See Will Walk for Vegetables

Will Walk for Vegetables

 I've been trying really hard to walk almost every day, but it's hard to motivate myself to do roads. Also, I'm trying not to drive very far. Today's compromise was that I drove part of the way to a friend's house and then walked there and back to the car.

I went for a few tomatoes, but look what I came home with! Tomorrow... soup.

Neva did not want to be in the picture, but here is a tomoato plant. I'm telling you, there are not many smells better than veggies picked fresh from their plants. She wanted me to take more, but I don't want to get more than I can reasonably eat.

She also has a beautiful row of zinneas.

Moving on to local agriculture. Here's an asparagus field gone to seed. Very common here- lots of asparagus farms.

And more on the ever mysterious passtime of identifying wild asters. These are very similar except the white one has smaller flowers than the blue one. Yes, the second one is light blue. The blue of flowers often doesn't register well with a camera.

The white one is probably Small White Aster, formerly Aster vimineus or Aster racemosus, now Symphyotrichum racemosum. The flowers are larger than Calico Aster and the leaves are different. The stems are smooth and dark purple, and the leaves tend to curl downward at the edges. I'm never sure I'll remember all these details. And... so much for my opinion. The Michigan Herbarium does not show that species in Michigan. Possibly Panicled Aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum although that one does not seem to have purple stems. I guess if I really care, I'll need to go back with a hand lens and take better pics.

Aster ID is fraught with issues. Decided I would leave my thought process as instructive.

Pretty sure this is Bushy Aster Symphyotrichum dumosum. Anyway, it's a pretty shade of light blue.

You know how it goes. I worked in the morning on projects, then walked in the afternoon. My gardens are being watered right now. I'm sure I won't walk as far tomorrow, but today I did 7 miles. Thankfully, there were patches of shade on some of the roads because it was pretty warm. Oh, and I did a load of laundry.

Miles walked in 2024: 418.2

See Bushy Aster

Just a Few Scottville Pictures

  I walked down to Riverside Park today. The trail I used to walk there has fallen into complete disrepair, but there is still a small loop. They do have a new sign.

This huge glacial erratic rock used to be in town, but it was moved down here a number of years ago.

Someone's late garden has pure pink gladiolas, and one of the hostas with large white flowers.

Growing in the "wild" was this Trumpet Vine (or Cow-Itch vine!), Campsis radicans. It's very showy, and it's native.

In other news, I worked on required things in the morning, and walked and gardened in the afternoon. This is really the schedule of a perfect day in my opinion. I'm trying to make it the general plan of my "normal" life.

Miles walked in 2024: 411.2

See Walking Tour du Ludington

Walking Tour du Ludington

 As promised, I went to the Mason County Garden Club fall plant sale. I bought several plants that I'll show you over time.

Then, I walked a big loop mostly around the north side of the city. I wanted to get in more miles today without driving farther away, and I managed 5.3 of them. Here's some of what I saw. I was particularly interested in gardens that still look good in September.

This is a formal setting, completely hidden by a hedge when walking one direction, but from the other way it's like a secret nook. I like it, even though it's completely green. Everything just works well.

These dark hydrangeas are stunning. They are set off nicely by the hosta, although I see that the deer have been keeping some of those trimmed. (I'm told the deer in town are out of control.)

This kind, panicled hydrangea (the flower clusters are conical) have become quite popular, and the blooms seem to last well.

The beach was deserted today. It was windy and chilly. The red light- for no swimming- was lit.

The marina isn't deserted, but it's certainly not full.

I thought this was a really nice-looking garden with various textures and colors- both of flowers and foliage. I used to have some of that Red Baron grass, but mine was never happy. I would think the ferns in the back would prefer more shade, but they seem OK, except they are drying out now- not surprising for September. Most allium (the purple in the front) bloom in the spring, but this is nice. It may be 'Ozawa,' a fall bloomer. The bushes with pink in the middle are probably a spirea. I'm surprised they still have flowers, but I'm sure there are lots of varieties.

Here's a more typical commercial planting of annuals in front of the bank. Canna lily, impatiens, dusty miller, marigolds, and petunias. Nothing "interesting," but it's been kept nicely, and it still looks great.

This is the 37th year of the Ludington Petunia Parade. 30,000 petunias are planted each year along most of Ludington Ave, and along the Marina. Soon the plants will be pulled to keep the soil in good shape for the next year. There is some specific biological reason for this that was printed in the paper after a lot of complaints about the locals not getting to enjoy them very long after the tourists leave, but I don't remember what it is. Right now, they are still looking lovely. This is at the water treatment plant, and it just shows the colors nicely with a sign. Most are down at curb level.

But. It is September. Hints of what's to come.

I gave myself a break today and mostly goofed off after I got home. Shower, eat, etc. Played with garden records, and didn't do much that was required. A day off (on purpose) is good once in a while.

Miles hiked in 2024: 406.4

See Mini Tour du Ludington