Looking for Some Color

I'm certainly not trying to rush the season. But after bell choir practice I took a walk in the Ludington School Forest (as I so often do because it's right there). I thought there might at least be a brightly colored fallen leaf or two. Nope. Only color is this tree that always seems to turn a little earlier than everything else.

Found one lonely berry from a Lily of the Valley.

Best thing is that they've put a sidewalk along Bryant Road beside the forest. That's because a few years ago they took away about a quarter of the forest and built a new elementary school. Finally, there is a safe way to walk there.

Again, I spent a lot of the day running around. A couple of the things I found out are good. The news from the dentist... not so much. To fix the problem correctly is going to cost about $5000.

I'm working on some book marketing materials.

Miles hiked in 2025: 365.5

Ludington School Forest. 1.5 miles, various loops

See Ludington School Forest in the Fall

Visiting Margaret's Garden

I am going to try to get some plants going for the gardens over the winter. I do not have a track record of being very good with this, although I did OK last year. I'm going to try some coleus this year. Friend Margaret gave me cuttings from two different ones, a dark purple and this interesting variegated one. Look at the scalloped edges on the leaves.

She has a huge fenced garden- her whole back yard. She has vegetables and all kinds of flowers. A lot of them are tubers and bulbs she has to take in every winter. I don't have the patience for that at all. These are begonias that should only be good for one season. But she says she takes them in and every year they come back.

This is her back porch. Look at all the plants! She apologized because it's not at peak beauty. Hey, it's September. I think it looks great.

This is a really healthy Jimsonweed. She called it a moonflower. Common names are all over the map. It's Datura stramonium. Ingesting any part of the plant can cause severe altered mental states and even death. So, enjoy looking, but don't get the sap in your mouth!

There were lots of other things I could have taken pictures of, but I didn't. Oh well. These are the annuals along her front walkway. She says the petunias have bloomed all summer even without very consistent deadheading.

I enjoyed the tour! I'm glad she was home to show me. We had left it that I would come snatch some coleus from the front whether she was there or not. But I got the full tour.

I spent a big portion of the day doing errands. There weren't any big glitches with any of them, so that's good. I have a preliminary dentist appointment tomorrow.

I also edited and answered various correspondence, blah, blah.

See Margaret's Garden

Mid September Garden Color

Things are looking really good! We haven't had a frost yet. In fact, it's a little warm this week, but at least I don't have to watch to see if things have to come in or be covered.

This is a rock garden space you've seen fairly often, but this is from a different angle, and the Hylotelephium 'Rosentaller' is almost in full bloom. Behind it is 'Wildfire' and some Lamb's Ear.

This one maybe doesn't look quite as nice, but I'm pretty happy that it's this good. In the center is 'Lime Zinger' and around it is the Moneywort, Lysemachia nummularia 'Goldilocks.' The moneywort was a bad choice for this rock garden because it's so dry. But against all odds, the plant is actually spreading a bit. The leaves stay bright yellow-green all season. There is also a tiny puddle of Sedum hispanicum, but I can no longer tell which is 'Pinkie' and which is 'Blue Carpet,' because they have migrated all over.

Now we'll move out of the rock garden for just a minute. This is probably the best the Marigolds are going to look, although there are still a couple of plants with buds. The Coleus I stuck in there are practically invisible. If I do Marigolds again I need to start the seeds about a month earlier. I'm going to try some Coleus cuttings from friends this fall. Need to concentrate on ones with darker leaf colors.

Now back to the rock garden. This is kind of a fluke. It was a couple of days ago, and on the left are a few blossoms of pink Moss Phlox (a spring blooer) and the bright magenta Bloody Cranesbill (a summer bloomer) that decided to pair up with the not quite yet blooming Sedum 'Autumn Joy' on the right. Just an unexpected combo to bring a smile at this time of year.

This one is hanging out by itself, but I am loving watching how the flower progresses since I've never seen it bloom before. This is the dark purple-leaved 'Oriental Dancer' that I bought this spring.

Finally, another one you've seen often, but from a new angle. I continue to be amazed at how long the beauty lasts in this space. In the front is, again, the Sedum 'Coraljade.' Behind it, the white is an Artemesia 'Silver Mound.' The green is Sedum 'Weihenstephaner Gold,' and the orangey is Sedum 'Angelina,' which did not bloom this year, but the foliage gives good color.

A few people have told me this year that they like that I explain what all the plants are and show details. That encourages me. You know who you are. Thank you!

I tried to give myself a rest day today. I did some things but didn't work too hard at any of them. And I watched a movie.

See Late Summer Color

A Little More Swag

I found a couple more things I bought on the North Dakota trip- another North Dakota patch and a stick medallion from Fort Abercrombie.

Also, if you give a monetary gift to the NCTA in September, you can get the patch on the right. Those of us who love patches therefore have no choice!

I worked on many of my projects today including writing a bit on Vacation. That's up to 40,964 words. I'm beginning to get a feel for how to get to the ending. This is always the hardest part for me. I have a clear story line for about 2/3 of the plot. I have an ending. But connecting the two is often difficult.

My tooth still doesn't hurt, but it's very sharp. I bought a sports mouth guard and fitted a small piece of it to cover that section of my teeth. Annoying, but it keeps me from cutting my tongue to ribbons, and constantly poking at it.

I managed to work a bit on a number of projects, but I'm feeling highly unmotivated this evening.

See Hiking Swag for 2025

Victory Township Park

I am flabbergasted to discover that I've apparently never blogged about Victory Township Park. There is a short trail out there which I manage to hike every few years. Cathy and I went there this morning.

It's on Upper Hamlin Lake. Here's a view from the parking area.

There are a few trails. It's always a guessing game when I go out there to see which ones are in good condition. However, this time, things seemed marked quite well, and the trails are being used.

One nice feature of the park is a Veteran's Memorial which is always well-kept. It honors those from Victory Township who were killed in WWI and WWII.

The Stiff Aster is in bloom. It's much prettier than the picture. The flowers are clear blue, but the camera just can't seem to grab the color.

We hiked every inch of every trail possible, even checking out some dead ends. I'll be writing about this and Gale's Pond in my Ludington Daily News Column this month.

Managed a bit of computer work this afternoon. One of my back teeth broke a piece off today, so I'll need a dentist appointment, but they are closed until Monday. So far, it doesn't hurt.

Miles hiked in 2025 (this includes some hiking out back of my house that I don't bother reporting every day): 362.

Victory Park- red, green and blue trails. 1.7 miles

See Views of Hamlin Lake

Little Blue-Purple Flowers

Three nice little blooms to show you today, although none is native to this area.

The first was near the Lincoln River last week. I'm pretty sure this is Water Mint Mentha aquatica. If so, it probably escaped from someone's garden, and it has not been recorded in Mason County before. I have a request in to check the ID. Not native to the US.

Next up is the Liriope I bought at the Garden Club plant sale last fall. Sadly, I missed this year's sale. There are two choices of species, but now that it's blooming, I'm pretty sure its Liriope muscari. It is native to Asia and is considered invasive. I guess I'll need to watch to see if it starts to get out of control in the garden. Just two little stalks of flowers this year. I don't mind having ornamental garden plants that aren't native as long as they don't escape and become a problem. (That has happened to me once and it's fairly embarrassing. Maybe I'll tell you sometime.)

Finally, I consider this a semi-success, although it's really native west of here- more in Minnesota. I think it came in as a hitchhiker in something Betsy gave me because she says she has some in her garden.

This is the plant that had a bud earlier this year, and then the wind broke the stem. But it came back and has two tiny blossoms. I'd really like to get this to go to seed and then move it to a different location. It's Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum. Most plants with "foeniculum" in the name are aromatic, and this smells strongly of anise/licorice.

Had another pretty good work day today. Also made bread. It came out mediocre- more like my usual bread-making attempts. But I'll eat it.

See More Blue and Purple

Gale's Pond Botany

There is a lot of quality plant material around Gale's Pond. Every one of these specimens is native. Although I didn't see any brand-new-to-me plants, I've added to my knowledge base. First, the plants I see fairly often but are still nice.

This is white turtlehead, Chelone Glabra. Fairly common wetland plant.

Here's another we are more used to seeing in the spring. This is the seed head for Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum. Don't be confused by the fern leaves behind it.

Next up is Purple-leaved Willow Herb, Epilobium coloratum. What I hadn't previously realized about this is that it's in the same genus as Fireweed. Fireweed gets a bunch of curly split seed pods at the end of the season, and so does this plant. I'll have to watch for those. I think that's the more interesting time frame for the plant rather than these tiny flowers because of the interesting texture.

Now we get to things that are more interesting to me because I am less familiar with them. Next is Horsebalm, Collinsonia canadensis. I first saw this plant right here at Gale's Pond in August of 2019, but the flower wasn't in full bloom, so I never shared it.

Here it is this week, going to seed.

Here it is in 2019, with the flowers just opening. The thing is, I saw it somewhere else, perhaps later in 2019, because I remembered the name to tell someone. No clue where or who, and my photo sorting has not reached that year even if I took a picture. Yesterday, I could only remember that it had "horse" in the name.

Here's another plant that I've seen elsewhere, but I have no idea if I have other pictures of it, and I couldn't remember anything about it, except I could tell from looking that it is some kind of nettle. It's Wood Nettle or Canada Nettle, Laportea canadensis. Yes, the kind of nettle that has little stinging hairs if you touch it.

You could easily see the stinging hairs on these stems. But the most interesting thing is the flowers. They are little palmate clusters of greenish-white blunt petals. I believe these are the female flowers. The male flowers are separate but will grow on the same plant.

I don't think I'll forget this one again, although I may not recognize the male flowers if I see them alone.

Finally, we get into some semi-informed speculation. I THINK this is Marsh Fern Thelypteris palustris. That is based on where it was growing, the shape of the pinnules, and the shape and placement of the ruptured spore cases. Well, that's part of how you'd identify any fern, but it's late in the season, and I should have had a fern book with me to really ID this. Anyway, it's a nice picture.

I got myself back on track today. Laundry, editing, other computer projects, and I wrote 585 words in Vacation from DMS. Current total is at 40,418. I guess there's hope I might finish the book. Now I'm going to go make a gallon of yogurt before I crash.

See Gale's Pond

Gale's Pond

I need to visit some places with short hikes for my next newspaper column. For Oceana County, I decided to go to Gale's Pond. It's a lovely place, but I haven't been there for several years. There was Covid, and then there was the big NCT hike, and just like that, my last visit was in 2019. Cathy and I went there today. We've both been busy and haven't had an adventure in a while.

It was a highly worthwhile trip. For one thing, there used to be just one picnic table, and no latrine. Now there are multiple tables and a porta-potty. There is also now a new brochure to go with the interpretive trail. It's well-done- talking about ecosystems and getting the user to observe things, not just identifying trees or whatever.

This is one of the stops on the interpretive trail with a nice bench.

The area is an Oceana County Park. The trail was originally developed with Michigan's Recreation Trust Fund money. This paid for a long boardwalk through the marshy area. This part of the trail from the parking lot is all accessible. The entire loop is only a half-mile long. We walked it twice. We also took a sack lunch to eat at the picnic tables.

There are some lovely views. The trees are just barely starting to turn, but soon it will be very colorful.

This cutie (don't touch ones with tufts of spines like this) is an IO Moth caterpillar. Nice find!

You know I'm always looking for water patterns. This is reflections in the creek.

And on the way home, we did one mile of another of my favorite things- Seasonal Road! It got quite a bit more dicey than this. But it was short and we had fun.

The best thing was that it was a great botany day! There is quite a bit of quality plant material at Gale's Pond. You'll see that another day- there is definitely enough for a whole post. I saw some familiar things, and a couple of plants in new seasons for me.

Before we left this morning, the time was filled with communicating with several people about various things. After the hike, I ate a little more, and cleaned up the kitchen. This took up all the time until the first bell choir practice of this season. So... not much happened on my ongoing projects, but I'll get back to them tomorrow.

See Oceana County Adventure

All Those Recreated Pictures

This is basically a duplicate of a post from 15 years ago. For some reason, Facebook has been serving me dozens of those pictures where people re-create family pictures from their youth or childhood. I don't have siblings. The few cousins I know of are too scattered and distant, and the pictures too few. But I did make one attempt.

I tried to re-imagine a family classic a long time ago, and it turned out pretty well, so I thought I'd share it again. The first picture is my grandmother, Emily M. Rowe, taken around 1940. She was a very active and athletic woman in her younger days- canoeing, hiking, playing tennis in bloomers (shocking!), riding horses, etc. She is snowshoeing here on snowshoes made in Maine by Native Americans, although she wasn't as active by that time in life.




I still own the same sweater, snowpants and snowshoes. Actually, the boots may be around somewhere, but I didn't try to find them for the re-creation, and I haven't seen them since. But I don't exactly remember throwing them away.




The bulk of my day was taken up with getting a new phone, getting it set up, and getting my apps working on it. I MAY have everything in working order. Probably not, but I can hope. Then, just in case I wasn't irritated enough, I went grocery shopping.

Came home and made a really yummy apple-cranberry coleslaw. That will last me a few days. Picture taken before I mixed it up. The dressing has dijon mustard and a little honey. It's really good!

So, I didn't manage to do much on my work projects today, just a little. Forgot to tell you I actually wrote 218 words in Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp yesterday. I'll see if I can keep that going.

See Can You Go Back Again?

Name a Movie that Changed Your Life

This morning something caught my attention - conversation starter: "Name a movie that changed your life." I had to think about that.

One of the most memorable was the missionary film Through Gates of Splendor. Although it was remade in 1967, the first version came out in 1961 just five years after five missionaries were killed by the Auca indians in Equador.

Of course I had been raised with a succession of missionary speakers who brought slides showing pictures of smiling dark-skinned people. I understood that the message of love and forgiveness had changed them, but it was somehow rather fakey.

But this movie was the real deal. I was in junior high, a time of life when everyone makes some important decisions about the kind of person they are going to be.

Here was real movie footage of naked people (we could hardly believe the church allowed this to be shown, right?) interacting with foreigners for the first time in their lives. It is not a fictionalized account. The camera was recovered and film salvaged from the actual initial encounter.

Here were young husbands and wives with children putting their lives on the line to bring caring and hope to a tribe who had an astronomical murder rate. Other tribes wouldn't even go near them. And the missionaries paid the ultimate price. After the initial friendly contact, the next day the Aucas killed the five men: Jim Eliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Roger Youderain and Pete Fleming. This wasn't the kind of happy missionary story we were used to. This was brutal and demanded that I think about what I was going to be willing to do if God asked something like this of me.

Here's the original movie. It was remade in 1967 with some small additions. You can watch it for free (only 35 minutes long). It is age restricted. I'm including a still shot from the film so there is an image in this post.

>

Some of you may know the end of the story. Surviving wife Elisabeth Eliot with young daughter Valerie, and Rachel Saint (sister of Nate) went back to the Auca and in just a few months, God changed their entire culture from one of constant murder to caring and helping.

Two more movies were later made with more of the story. They can both be found on YouTube.

One is Beyond the Gates of Splendor, narrated by Nate Saint's son, Steve.

The other is The End of the Spear, also narrated by Steve Saint. The title has a double meaning, as Steve learns the identity of the tribesman who had killed his father. Mincaye demands that Steve spear him to avenge his father, but Steve forgives the man. This is the dramtic "end of the spear," as the solution to disagreement.

Elisabeth Eliot became noted as a Christian author, often taking a hard stance on obedience and morality. I've always thought she had every right in the world to take such a view, having been "tried in the fire" of personal experience, and she found God's strength sufficient. In the cultures of "Prosperity Gospel" and "God wants us to be happy," she was a voice for higher standards.

Name a movie that changed your life.

See The Staircase