Author Archives: makielb

Left Detroit early this morning heading to Los Angeles. Leaving the low clouds in the Great Lakes getting to the Rockies. Here’s one of the reasons that there are water issues in the west – farming in the desert. Arrived in Los Angeles for a few days for our nephew Nick’s wedding. More tomorrow…

Right now our gardens are down to mostly flowers, some non-native, like nasturtium; others like the New England aster are native. There are still a few hot peppers and lots of green tomatoes. Susan is canning green tomato chutney again today. And in the future I will be canning pickled jalapeños and making another batchContinue reading “Season of the witch!”

A the end of October I’ll be celebrating Dia de los muertos, “the day of the dead.” Montelobos is a favorite mescal that I can fortunately get in Ann Arbor. I learned about this celebration in Mexico. Anything that happens in the U.S. or Canada pales in comparison to how it is celebrated in Mexico.Continue reading “October 2022”

House plants are now back in the house, just before the temperatures dipped below 40F. Green cherry tomatoes have become green tomato chutney. There’s probably enough to last until next summer. Last of the Roma tomatoes, slowly ripening and will become a last batch of tomato sauce. Green chilis that will be dried and jalapeñosContinue reading “Slowly emptying the garden for the year”

Day-1 “Gargoyle.” This guy sits on a shelf near where I am writing, along with about ten others. Usually I’ll sketch something then ink it in.I have found that with age and neurological issues my hands are not a steady as they once were. Regardless, I am having fun with some new fine tipped pens.Continue reading “Inktober first drawings”

I’l try to see what I can do with this. It should be interesting. Obviously I won’t be posting something every day, since it’s already the second. I’ll try to post some drawings 2-3 times a week. We watched the actual event last week. It’s the only time that the folks watching the event wereContinue reading “Getting caught up for the week”

First – yesterday the Charles Schulz Peanuts stamps came out. They cover first class letters. Now on to A night with moths. Susan was asked to do an evening presentation about moths at the NAP (Natural Areas Preservation) office in Ann Arbor. We started setting up sheets around 7PM. It took about 15-20 minutes toContinue reading “A night with moths”

Our vegetable garden, as well as other peoples gardens in the north are slowing down with most vegetables. Right now we are getting mostly peppers – jalapeños and chili de arboles. So we are drying and preserving peppers and canning jalapeños. I think that we will have one last batch of canning tomatoes, as wellContinue reading “Hot peppers and cicada killers”

Hold on tight there’s a storm on the horizon. The left image is the “projected” path of hurricane Ian. The right is actual storm passing just north of Cuba. Lots of friends and family in Florida, all with experience dealing with these tropical events. Songs from when I was a teenager. 1972 Team Canada whoContinue reading “Hurricane Ian”

Today’s adventure took us to Osborne Mill County Park. I hadn’t visited the site since the mid-1980s, when we went there with Maxine Miles, who purchased the land with money raised after the death of her husband Vaden. A friend had alerted us to a rare and endangered plant that was blooming there. Here’s theContinue reading “Fall fungi among other things”