New Retaining Walls

Michigan winters will do this to concrete after many years of thawing and freezing. It was past time to get this structure looking presentable again.


This repair was actually on my "B" list and I wasn't even going to think about it until spring. Then I saw an ad in the Flashes, our little free advertising paper, and since I was still on my post-death adrenaline high I called, they came, I liked what he proposed to do and signed up to have it done.



Two weeks ago when it was time for the guys to actually come and do the work, I no longer had any adrenaline keeping me going. In fact, I was wishing I had never signed up to have this done and muttering about how I should have followed the standard advice, "Don't make any unnecessary major decisions for at least a year."

Thankfully, it turned out to be a good thing. The workers were very professional and knew what they were doing. Now I have a nice, fresh front to go along with the beautiful new chimney in the back and this is one less thing I need to concern myself with in the spring.

The Last Willow Makes a Mess

This has been a summer of many storms. Living where I do, that means power outages and branches down.

Last Saturday the last willow tree on our property (we're not counting all the willow shoots that are popping up where there used to be willow trees), split and thirty feet of it fell the length of the creek.

Two years ago I got an price for removing this tree. $2,000. It's location and all the surrounding water made for a difficult project. I decided to let it stand in hopes it would hold up until I moved out. Lost that gamble.


The lower right of the top picture is the bridge to the back three acres. There is about a foot wide where the dogs and I can still get across.

Everything is too heavy for me to move. The tree service has been called. They're swamped with urgent work and the owner is on vacation, so I won't get a price until next week sometime. Then the work can be scheduled and I hope it won't be too long.


This last picture was taken from the bridge looking down the creek.

Glory, who loves to wade into the creek multiple times a day, can no longer get down the bank. She's very unhappy about that. All the other places she might go in require walking in mud and/or muck and getting rinsed off with a hose before being allowed back in the house. Neither one of us likes that.

It could be worse. This tree was in power line range but fell in the opposite direction. Always something to be thankful for.

October If, Young Phoebe, and Sedum

It's October 2. If I cheat a little and back date this post to October 1, I might be inspired to post every day in October. At least one picture.

No promise, no pressure. Only if it's a pleasure, and I'm thinking it might be.


The migrating birds have all abandoned SW Michigan for warmer climates now.

The young Phoebes were among the last to go. Until a few days ago they were still practicing their dart-out-and-catch-a-bug skills from the tops of the bluebird nest boxes.

Now the flying bugs can safely enjoy the time until the first hard frost, which could happen any time now.

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With hosta eating deer overpopulating our property, I've been experimenting with various kinds of sedum to fill in a few of the garden gaps.

The deer don't touch them, they multiply rapidly, they don't require much care, and they don't seem to mind if they don't get much sun. I admire their spirit as they try for an autumn bloom while the falling leaves are attempting to bury them.

Wednesday Weeds - Milkweed

Milkweed blooms late June/early July, scenting the entire neighborhood with a strong sweet fragrance.


By the end of August, the flowers have turned to pods.


Because we've had an extended autumn with few frosts and no snow, the pods scattered their seed in November this year.


Last autumn with early frosts and early snowfalls, the pods held onto their seeds until spring.

This picture was taken on a snowy day last February.

Little White Asters

The field of goldenrod has all gone to seed making the birds and little seed eating rodents very happy.


The only thing left in bloom are the flat-topped asters (Aster umbellatus) nestled inside the tall remains of goldenrod and other field flora.

They are widespread through our three acre field. Too many plants to count.

The delicate little flowers are less than an inch in diameter.


When we moved here from the city eighteen years ago I bought many plants from mail order nurseries for the densely shaded, wooded front yard where it was impossible to grow grass.

One catalog offered the white asters with a glowing blurb: Will bloom in the fall after everything else has stopped blooming, blooms even in dense shade, grows even in sandy, dry soil. How could I not buy these? So I did.

Imagine my chagrin when they bloomed the next autumn and I realized I had a field full of exactly the same thing.

The purchased ones remained in the front yard for fifteen years, performing as advertised. I liked to pretend they were just a little better than the white asters in the field. But they weren't.

Willow Tree Removal

Thursday a crew of three workers and one boss arrived with a crane, a chipper, a Dingo (mini forklift type thingy), and a huge cart to haul away wood too big to be chipped. It took them four hours to get the big fallen willow tree off the barn, off the septic system, and out of my life.

When there was about eight feet of stump left to use as a lever, the Dingo pushed the upended rootball back into its original hole along the creek bed. Then they chopped off the rest of the trunk.

Pappy was kind enough to sit on the stump for a photo shot.


It was four hours of VERY LOUD NOISE.

The chipper was chipping in the driveway, chainsaws were busy making manageable pieces, the crane was lifting out sections of tree as they were cut, and all the equipment went "Ding Ding Ding" each time it needed to move in reverse, which was often.

Sunny almost had a nervous breakdown. Glory had to be shut in the back bedroom so she would stop barking. Only Pappy thought it was interesting. He sat outside with me and watched most of the process.


Because the tree had fallen over our expensive and delicate above ground septic system, the removal was challenging. When I first saw where the fallen tree had landed, I wondered if it was going to be possible to get it out without septic system damage.

The Action Tree Service guys did a great job. They put plywood down on the drain field for the times they had to get across it and mostly used the little Dingo to drive on the mound.

They took over an hour to clean up the mess, even raking by hand to make sure they got everything.

Why Is the Barn Wearing A Wig?

Thursday night while trying to get some sleep after a tense day in the hospital while Mom had surgery, Mother Nature decided to deliver a whopper storm with much thunder (all the better to freak out the dogs), wind (all the better to blow down branches, trees, and take the power out), and lightening (all the better to light the house after the power went out.)

When we got up the next morning and looked outside, there were (still are) sticks and branches all over the yard and the barn was wearing a wig.


A walk behind the barn disclosed a huge old willow tree blown over complete with root ball.


Since the hospital half promised Mom could come home that morning, I packed my clean clothes in a bag (no power = no water = no shower), picked enough branches out of the driveway so I could drive to the road, picked the large branches out of the road so I could head for Kalamazoo.

Most of the debris in the road I could drive around. This tree I drove under, but not before seeing another car do it successfully.


Mom was in fine spirits and ready to walk the halls to prove she could go home.

She's rolling her eyes because I just told her how lovely she looks in her blue hospital gown with the lovely heart monitor wires poking out of the pocket.

That classy bracelet makes the outfit, don't you think?

Flashback Friday - Home

On the second (or sometimes third) Friday of each month I go back five years to pick out one of my favorite blog posts for that month and repost it here on Flashback Friday.

This post was originally written in May, 2004. Some things have changed since then.

Two years ago the county widened and paved our dirt road. They removed the huge oaks in the front yard along with dozens of other trees along the front of our property. The front yard is now grass.

It's actually nice to have some sunny lawn. We still have plenty of other shady areas. The hostas and other shade plants have been moved further back on the property where they can be happy.

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Home (Written 5 years ago.)
When I was a child I fell in love with nature. My two favorite books were the Golden Book of Birds and Golden Book of Insects.

We lived in a small town. There was very little diversity in the urban ecology. I dreamed of seeing the real birds and bugs instead of just pictures.

I remember one childhood evening when a rarely seen hummingbird visited the flowers while we were playing. I wanted the other kids to be still so I could watch, but I was the only one interested and the hummer quickly went elsewhere.

Many of my childhood dreams of seeing nature have come true since DH Bob and I moved to a home in rural SW Michigan thirteen years ago.

Now the hummingbirds buzz us at the window if we don't keep their feeder filled.

We have so many hummingbirds in the summer it is hard to remember when they were new and novel. They are part of our life now. We share our home with them.


Our home is five acres on a narrow dirt road in a swampy woods. The road has a canopy of trees overhead. The leaves are so thick in the summer that a light rain never gets the road wet.

There are various types of wild violets growing on our land. I encourage them to multiply and I call our property Violet Acres.

There is usually something new and interesting going on at Violet Acres. This spring we have a pair of yellow crested flycatchers. I think they are nesting in the woods across the road. They come over into our front yard to catch insects for their young family. I see flashes of yellow going across the window and occasionally they perch where we can see their beauty.


In our neighborhood, no one cares if the lawn is mowed. In fact, no one cares if we even have a lawn. This picture was taken out the front window.

The front of our home is planted very informally in ferns, hostas, lily-of-the-valley, Solomon's seal, and other wild flowers that grow in the shade.

There are cement stepping stones that go around in a large circle. I like to go out, walk around on them, and see everything green and growing.


Violet Acres is narrow and long. The front two acres is mostly wooded except for the spring fed pond and the small brick house where we live.

The pond is for the wildlife. It houses small fish, water snakes, snapping turtles, and muskrats. Kingfishers and herons come to find dinner. Deer come to drink.

This time of year the frogs are so loud at night that sometimes it's hard to get to sleep. I lay there and listen to them calling for a mate and wonder over my good fortune to have a home in such a beautiful and noisy place.


The front two acres and the back three acres are divided by a fast running stream.

Glory the lab mix, Queen of Violet Acres, loves to wade in the stream. This mystifies the two little dogs. They prefer to stay dry at all times and always stare at Glory in amazement as she splashes around and climbs out soaking wet.

The back three acres has some woods, but is mostly open field that we let grow natural, complete with a few large brush piles to shelter the wildlife. This is where the nest box birds raise their babies and Pappy the Papillon, Prince of Violet Acres, meets up with his blue racer snake friends.

On the property next to ours there is an oak forest, so this field is what naturalists call an "edge" area. It's perfect for seeing a variety of birds and wildlife.

Today we learned that our neighbor has seen a mink. I'll be watching for it. Something new to love about my home at Violet Acres.

Wednesday Wings - Buzzing Goldenrod

Most of the spring and summer our field has a variety wildflowers. By September it's totally yellow with goldenrod.

I've never cared enough to identify the goldenrod species growing here. There are at least three. The tallest is five feet tall, the flowers just at my eye level.

The Goldenrod is covered with various bees and wasps gathering the rich golden pollen and nectar.


Honey bees with loaded pollen sacks on their hind legs.


Bumble bees are also pollen collectors.


The Bald-faced Hornets don't have pollen sacks on their legs, but they still like to visit the goldenrod and suck the sweet nectar.

Bald-faced hornets are not real hornets. They're wasps in the same genus as Yellowjackets.

The Road is Now Paved

Our dirt road got paved while I was in Idaho.

The last layer was applied this past Saturday, so I got to see some of the action. I'm guessing it's last layer because we now have yellow tape to mark the center.


This may be a poor county in an economically struggling state, but there is now pretty pavement running though the swampy woods.


The deer seem to like it.

They're bringing their fawns out to try the smooth new path.

Chat for July 12

Babbling on about various things on my mind this afternoon.

I've been knitting and blogging less than usual because I've been spending more time enjoying the summer working outdoors.

It takes a bit of a twisted mind to enjoy digging out well established Lily of the Valley plants. That's my main project as the front yard transitions from a shade garden with stepping stones and no grass, to a sunny grassy area thanks to the county taking down all the huge trees in our right of way.

If you've never dug out Lily of the Valley, let me tell you it's not a quick and easy task. The runner root system goes about a foot down and the dirt needs to be sifted to get out most of the pieces.

To the left and back of the cart is what remains of a large old Rose of Sharon tree which needs to be dug out. My goal is an hour a day on the Lily of the Valley, a half hour a day on the stump digging, and at least five minutes to remind myself that it will get done eventually if I just keep at it.

Meanwhile, the weeds in other beds are flourishing and I'm thinking maybe some of the garden areas should be turned into grass. My gardening dreams have always been bigger than my back is strong.


There's enough Lily of the Valley in various places to last through the entire summer, but when I get bored with digging it there are always sticks to pick up. We had several severe wind storms earlier this summer and I've spent many hours picking up sticks.


Did anyone else get excited when they saw the gorgeous sock yarn on the cover of the July Knitpicks catalog? And then disappointed because it's not for sale?

The picture shows results we can supposedly achieve by dying undyed yarn. For myself, I doubt it. There's so much pretty yarn on the market I don't plan on giving it a try. But - if anybody is able to dye yarn like that center pair of socks, I might be interesting in buying some.


I found the missing sample skein of fingering weight bamboo mentioned here. It was in the laundry. Probably scooped up in a nearsighted spasm of tidiness.

I've learned from the Ravelry forums that my Continental style of knitting contributes to yarn splitting. Fine. There's plenty of lovely yarn that doesn't split and I'm not going to change my style of knitting.

That said, this yarn exceeded all splitting expectations. See that awful knot on the lower left corner? That didn't even happen while I was knitting. It happened while I was winding the sample skein. The plies split apart and tangled up around each other so that it was impossible to unknot the mess. I left it so I could show it here.

The yarn is very pretty and I'll be happy to admire any project knit with it while wondering how the knitter managed to tame this yarn.

Bamboo doesn't like me, and this little skein was no exception. It slide around on the needles and split. Being fingering weight, the splits were nasty to correct. On the other hand, they aren't very visible because the stitches are small.

Watch Where You Put Your Feet

There's always a need to watch where you put your feet at my house. In the winter, it's ice. Spring, summer, and fall it's critters.

Yesterday when I hauled a cart full of weeds out to the compost pile, there was a huge Blue Racer snake sitting on top of the pile sunning himself. He was coiled, so I can't be accurate about his size but I'm sure he was five feet long minimum.

So beautiful. (Yes, I'm a nature nerd. I think snakes are beautiful.)

I tried to look invisible so he wouldn't leave and went back to the house for my camera. When I returned he was gone.

Here are some June foot placement challenges I was able to catch on camera.

Since our yard is an insect wonderland, the toads are big and fat.

They patrol on the front part of the property where the grass is mowed, the garden soil is cultivated and loose, and the cement is warm.

The dogs walk around the toads with respect. They know toads are a terrible thing to taste.


Frogs live by and in, mostly in, the creek and the pond.

Last weekend we had an ugly thunderstorm with high winds and too much rain. The creek was high, fast, full of sticks, and muddy. Some of the frogs, like this one, went for the high ground until their habitat returned to normal.


The one and only time a Snapping Turtle is cute - when it's still too little to snap around one of my appendages.

This little guy was out walking on the dog path. I threw a quarter down next to him to show how small he is. Still cute for now.


Soon these Robins will be on the ground. I watch for them each time I walk in their area.

Hope that Blue Racer isn't hanging around to make one of them his dinner.

Chat Back for May 10

Answering questions from comments and email.

Shirley asked . . .

Which variety are yours?

(Shirley is asking about the apple trees with the Morel Mushrooms growing underneath mentioned in this post.)

Think fungus. Fungus doesn't thrive in well tended apple orchards.

With the magic of photo cropping, I was able to show you a healthy branch full of blossoms. The majority of the branches are not so pretty.

The apple trees are very old, maybe from the farm that originally sat on this land. They have many dead and rotting branches and should be taken down. However they have an extended life expectancy because they're important to the Morels.

The apples are no variety a person familiar with sweet apples wants to eat. We don't spray or help them out, but the trees do produce apples. The apples fall to the ground. After the apples ferment, the deer come in the middle of the night to eat them causing the dogs to bark and the deer to get a bit tipsy.

Since no one is sure how Morels decide where to grow, any of these steps could be important to their environmental happiness. Except I doubt they require barking dogs.

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Dorothy asked . . .

What a handsome couple - are you able to get a
photo of any of their nests?

(Dorothy is asking about the Northern Oriole nests mentioned in this post.)

A difficult assignment. If I spot one I'll be sure and get the best picture possible without a helicopter.

The Orioles build their nest way way up high hidden by the foliage in the tallest oaks.

Once the oaks leaf out I occasionally see a flash of orange in the tree tops, but it's been several years since I've spotted an oriole nest.

I've read that the young walk around on the outside of the nest before they learn to fly. Wouldn't that be something to see?


Right now the Orioles are still coming around and gobbling up the oranges. I just love seeing them so close knowing it's only for a little while.

Apple Blossom Time and New Yarn

The old apple trees in the back yard get the deepest respect. In the spring we don't clean up the leaves under them and we don't mow under them.


In return, the shade of the apple trees provides the perfect conditions for Morel Mushrooms.

I have a fantasy that someday someone will offer us more money than we ever dreamed to buy this land just for the morel patch.

We won't mention the black flies and ticks, both of which are out in full strength looking for a blood feast this spring. A minor detail. When you live in nature, you get all of nature. It's not for the faint hearted.


Still thinking I want to knit some easy care short sleeve summer sweaters, I ordered some Comfy (75% pima cotton, 25% acrylic) from Knitpicks.

This color is Lilac Mist.

Comfy had good reviews on Ravelry. They said it was light weight, smooth, and super soft, which it is.

The day after it arrived late last week, I found Sonya's post about the Comfy sweater she knit. The killer sentence: "It was pilling by noon."

Great.

I'm pretending I didn't see that post and looking forward to knitting my Comfy as soon as I get a few other little projects done. Two CIC sweaters are only missing the last half of the last sleeve. Daughter Heather's birthday socks have been packed away with only the cuff done, and the party is a week from Saturday. I hope to have all three projects completed before the weekend is over plus the blocking on the She Said sweater and some modeled pictures.

Chat Back for April 26

Answering questions from comments and email.

Shirley asked . . .

Do you knit the "2 socks on 2 circular" method or "Magic Loop"?

I like to knit both socks at the same time - knit some on one sock, catch up on the second sock - because I have serious Second Sock Syndrome if they're not both done at approximately the same time.

Each sock has its own two 24" circulars. I use four circulars a pair with a fifth extra circular for the gussets.

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Sharon asked . . .

I was wondering if there's a particular reason why you seam up the sweater as you go along?

There are many reasons I like to sew up as I go along. I've been known to throw pieces of a completed sweater in a bag and not sew them up for months. Especially if it's the wrong season to wear the sweater.

I have short arms and don't like sleeves that dangle down on my hands, so I'm shortening the sleeves on almost any sweater I knit. I find the best way to get the sleeves the right length is to seam the shoulder seams, finish the neck, wash and block the partial sweater, and then knit the sleeves from the top down.

That's how the She Said Aran ended up with a blocked body and an unblocked sleeve, and how I know I'm going to like the fit of the sweater when it's done.

For the She Said Aran, I decided to knit the sleeves top down in the round, so I needed to stitch up the side seams as well as the shoulders.

I can't count the number of sweaters I've knit in my life that didn't fit. It's turned me into a swatcher and a top down sleeve knitter whenever possible. Then, when there's a problem with fit, I know it early enough to do something about it.

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Peggy commented . . .

A few years ago, the American Ornithologists' Union split the rufous into two different species--

Pipilo erythrophthalmus (Eastern Towhee)
Pipilo maculatus (Spotted Towhee)

I didn't know this and thank you for the information. It may save me from sounding old-fashioned when I communicate with other bird folks.

Privately at home, I'll go on called our Eastern Towhees their old name, Roufous-Sided Towhee. Or, as we usually say, "I see Rouffie".

I'm a lumper, not a splitter.

These two species interbreed and I can't imagine why they needed to be separated because some have a few more white spots than others. Does it make sense that a nest might contain two different species coming from the same parents?

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Elaine asked . . .

We called those Marsh Marigolds "cowslips" and cooked the leaves as greens in the spring. A little bitter, but good. Sort of a rite of spring. You had to pick them before they flowered - why?

Curious, I looked this up on Google. To summarize, in general the plant is moderately toxic and sometimes intoxicating especially the flowers and the "older parts".

There are varied cautions on how it needs to be prepared for safe eating depending on the source of the information.

My conclusion: Eating Marsh Marigold is not something one should try if feeling healthy and clear headed is important.

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Vickie asked . . .

I read your blog daily and confess that I come for the bird pictures as much as the knitting. Are you willing to share what kind of camera and lenses you use to achieve such clear close up shots?

I have a Canon Powershot S3 IS, 6.0 megapixels, 12 x 15 zoom lens, and image stabilizer - all standard with the camera.

Mine is over a year old. I see they're selling for under $300 now.

I take lots of pictures, select the best and delete the rest.

And I admit to not knowing how to use many of the camera options because I get such good results with the point and click. I do use the zoom, of course.

Here are some previous blog posts where I talk about the camera:

• New camera.
  
  
• Loving my camera.
  
  
• Taking bird pictures through the window.