Look Who's Feeling Better

 
I stopped this morning to visit with Miki who has finally been released from the hospital. (She should have been out quite a while ago, but finding a facility that will take a rehab patient is not as simple as it should be.)

She can't even try walking for many weeks, but she can sit up, and she's pretty mobile in a wheelchair.

If you know Miki, you know the inactivity is really hard for her. But I learned that she also likes jigsaw puzzles, so I took a 300-piece one that we could probably safely finish in the time we were going to have.

Well, not only does she like them, she's very good at them, so we finished this, no problem! Had a fun time.

The facility she's in is interesting. She's only going to be there a few days and then has a place at a real rehab center. But this is a respite facility. It is set up very similar to the place my cousin Jean is involved with. It's more like several small apartments than a hospital. (Jean's is much more homey though)

In case you don't know, Miki was in a terrible motorcycle accident about a month ago. She's very fortunate to even be alive, She broke an arm and smashed her pelvis, but everything should heal given time and care.

I'll tell you about my dental experience tomorrow. For now, I'll just say that I'm home and in good shape without too much pain. I'll probably go to bed early. I was out all day long.

And now I'm having computer troubles, and can't do anything about that till Monday. Blogging on the old computer, which fortunately still works to do basic stuff.

See Solace House

500 Species of Plants

Some of you know that one of my never-will-be-finished projects is to build a database of my photos so I might actually be able to find things. I keep working on it, usually a little bit each day.

One of the categories of pictures is, of course, plants. So yesterday, I hit 500 different species entered. This is out of a total of over 3000 photos entered so far. There will be lots more than 500 ultimately. I thought for today, I'd just pick some of my favorite plant pictures from the photos that are, so far, in the database.

I'll start with this bromeliad from the 2010 Philadelphia Flower Show. Of course, these are used in displays a lot because they are so colorful and showy, but that doesn't keep me from liking them. Genus Aechmea variety 'Blue Tango.'

Not all of the favorite plant pictures are going to be exotic things. For example, here is a large white oak tree, Quercus alba, that is found along the Finger Lakes/North Country Trails. It's named for the family that owns the property it's on, the Yorski Oak. With few of the leaves out yet, you can see the great bones of this tree that is probably 200 years old. Picture taken in May 2010 on the hike on which I finished all of the NCT in New York.

This one is last fall in my rock garden. This is the Sedum 'Dazzleberry' making a large bumblebee very happy. See the full pollen baskets?

This is also last fall with late afternoon sunlight on Ostrich Ferns, Matteuccia struthiopteris, Near Round Lake.

This one is a little more exotic in that it's not commonly found, but I did find some very near my house in 2010. This is a Grape Fern, sometimes this group is called Moonworts. But those are both just names for a whole group of ferns. The Genus is Botrychium, and I think this is matricariifolium, or the Daisyleaf Moonwort. It's one of the more common ones in the group. That said, I've only ever seen two of species in real life. I'm pretty pleased that I found this one on my own. You can see why they are called "grape ferns" because the fertile leaves look like a small cluster of grapes getting ready to ripen. This whole plant is maybe an inch-and-a-half tall.

I'll end this collection with another from last fall. In the database, I've been alternating entering more recent months with older pictures, so the dates are all over the place. This is just Virginia Creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, in full autumn color, with berries, and contrasted with some ash leaves.

Aren't plants great?

Today I found out that I can get the dental work I need started tomorrow! And that I have to only eat very soft food for two weeks. So, I went shopping because I don't want to have to face that if I feel really bad when I get home tomorrow.

Worked on all the usual projects. Vacation from DMS is up to 41,630 words.

See Best Photos of 2020

Almost a Boat Ride

We were going to have a pontoon boat ride, but it got too dark. We'll just have to have another meeting that starts earlier!

This was our first Spirit of the Woods Chapter of the NCTA board meeting under recently elected President Dan Driesinga. We had a lot of important things to cover, and he did a great job of keeping us on track. We decided we needed to finish the agenda rather than have playtime on the water.

I'm really happy to have our chapter getting things put together and so many people stepping up to fill roles.

Got a fair amount of other things done today too.

See This is Also Trail Work

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