Category Archives: Uncategorized

Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

We spent yesterday at the wildlife drive of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. It’s always a wonderful place to visit. The small parking area at the start is always a nice place to begin our adventure here. This huge live oak is truly an introduction to the south. Our first large sulphurContinue reading “Savannah National Wildlife Refuge”

Thinking about the garden and more

I had a nice conversation yesterday with somebody about having an Italian mother, the garden and cooking. That got me to thinking about growing up with an Italian mother, grandmother and all of the pasta that I ate over the years. It seemed that we had pasta at least 2-3 times a week, and alwaysContinue reading “Thinking about the garden and more”

Valentine’s Day – 2026

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and we were traveling from Whitefish Point back to Ann Arbor. This covers the day perfectly for many people. Susan showed me snow fleas and I considered that my present. Our day started with a Common Grackle which is extremely rare in the Upper Peninsula in winter. The I suggested thatContinue reading “Valentine’s Day – 2026”

An interesting start to the year

Every year I keep track of what I seen. This includes plants, animals and fungi. Typically, by this time of year I’ve seen 2-300 total species. This includes starting the year in Oregon. This year I have vowed to be more observant and pay attention to the “little” things such as lichens and fungi. InContinue reading “An interesting start to the year”

Regaining my sanity

Sometimes it takes a long walk to go shopping then stopping at a favorite bakery for a pastry and coffee while listening to the person working there talk about their hard days commuting in the ice and snow to help with your sanity. Yesterday we took the long walk to Knight’s Market, mostly to getContinue reading “Regaining my sanity”

Sitting inside after breakfast

I made blueberry pancakes this morning for breakfast. Since it’s currently -11F (-24C) I don’t seeing heading outside soon. But have been thinking about art, drawing and painting. In two weeks we’ll be back in the Upper Peninsula looking for birds with friends. What will we find? Who knows? Regardless, it’ll be interesting and fun.Continue reading “Sitting inside after breakfast”

A special visitor

We always appreciate visitors, both friends and animals. In the past couple of weeks we had friends with or without a dog visiting and it’s always nice. But our feeders also have nice visitors. While they are meant for birds and always have bird visitors we also get an array of other animals. In AnnContinue reading “A special visitor”

May you live in interesting times

Well, we sure are living in interesting times, but so were Germans in the 1930s. First tariffs, then vaccines, ICE, Venezula and now Greenland. He’s trying to start World War III in order to cancel the mid-term elections, but that’s still a few months away. Hopefully, Congress will stop him. Now on to some editorialContinue reading “May you live in interesting times”

Influenza and other viruses

I hope that everybody reading this is vaccinated for influenza because the flue season is pretty harsh this year. Of course a lot of people throughout the country have little idea that this is happening due to slashes in the CDC by MAHA (Make America Hurt Again). The most disturbing aspect of this flue seasonContinue reading “Influenza and other viruses”