Author Archives: makielb

My friend Aimee got a delivery of peaches that she wanted to share, so I let her know that we would love to. This morning she brought them over and we sat and talked for two hours. It was wonderful catching up after not seeing each other for several years. If you photograph birds youContinue reading “Peaches and cartoon birds”

Went down to campus today for some shopping. Meandered a bit waiting for Ulrich’s to open. Back in the late 1990s I had an office in the Dana Building. Then we went down to the Museum. This is a photo of the old museum building. For a couple of years I had office space inContinue reading “Korean food, music and dinosaurs”

Mike and I went to Pt. Mouillee today looking for a Common Redshank, a Eurasian shorebird that was found yesterday. We met others and scanned the mudflats, without luck. There were a lot of shorebirds and Caspian Terns. We watched Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, both species in the same genus (Tringa) as our target. So,Continue reading “In search of a rare bird”

For weeks now we have been using mint from the garden for cooking and salads. But now the is so much mint that we have started drying it. We have left some that has started to flower because of the pollinating insects that are attracted to them. The dill has also started to flower. IContinue reading “Spending time in the garden”

While both Susan and I love fireworks, our former and beloved dog, Bruno did not. Fourth of July was a nightmare for him. When over half the people of the nation lose a right it’s hard to celebrate freedom. Of course some corporations are celebrating the right to profit from a devastating war. We’re definitelyContinue reading “Meme Monday”

We met our friends Mike and Linda for breakfast at Avelon in downtown Ann Arbor. Afterwords we walked around town and the University of Michigan campus. The Vault of Midnight is a game and comic book store. Here’s a place I didn’t know, sounds like my kind of place. We haven’t been to Tíos inContinue reading “Breakfast in downtown Ann Arbor”

We spent this morning at the Eddy Discovery Center in western Washtenaw County, Michigan. We walked through the prairie trail then down to the bog. It was nice finding both the male and female of Libellula cyanea, Spangled skimmer in the prairie. This is the trail map for the main trails at the Discovery Center.Continue reading “Orchids and insects at Eddy bog trail”

My day started with reading the latest news about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That and the admission of Sweden and Finland to Nato. A soon to be identified beetle in the genus Calligrapha. Orange hawkweed and Day lilies along M-123 on our ride from Whitefish Point to Ann Arbor. Back in “hot” Ann ArborContinue reading “A hot day to travel”

World-wide the number of new cases have increased by 18% in the course of a week. While numbers have decreased slightly in the US, numbers in Europe, especially Germany, France and Italy have increased dramatically, with an equally disturbing increase in the number of deaths. Johns Hopkins has put out an interesting set of graphicsContinue reading “The latest on the pandemic”

Platanthera orbiculata, Large round-leaved orchid that we found at Sawmill Creek Park in Paradise on the way to Naomikong. Listeria convallarioides, Broad-lipped twayblade at Naomikong. We found three of these in bloom which was our major target for the day. These orchid flowers are about 125mm tall (approximately 5 inches) Plantanthera huronensis, Green bog orchidContinue reading “Naomikong and more”