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A piece that I wrote for the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor in December, 2001. A Clay-colored Sparrow wondering where our feeders are, instead eating caterpillars and moths behind the cabin. Walking home from watching some migrating waterfowl this morning I stopped along some paths to collect blueberries. Two cups of wild blueberries should beContinue reading “Blueberries and memories”

There were a few birds around when we arrived at Whitefish Point yesterday, like this young Broad-winged Hawk. But the plants were covered with bees and flies. Crab spiders were ambushing insects on many of the plants. Looking back at the point from the tip we could see what was becoming a beautiful sunset. ButContinue reading “The full moon and a rare bird”

I just thought that this was a cute cartoon. If you’re in southeast Michigan get your bivalent booster and mask up when in public places. But this, with the heat was enough to get us to head north. All the way north on I-75 we passed trailers with tractors. There were a great variety –Continue reading “Back at Whitefish Point”

Elizabeth was queen of England for 70 years. Her father George VI was king when I was born. Presumably, the next monarch will be Charles III. But we shall see how that all proceeds. Yesterday afternoon I went to get a flu shot and found out that I could also get the latest bivalent covidContinue reading “Getting vaccinated and the death of a queen”

After breakfast we took the bus downtown to go to the farmers market. We wanted to get falafel, green onions, olive oil and cauliflower. We even got to listen to some music while shopping. I highly recommend getting falafel here, it is excellent. She also has a great variety of Middle Eastern foods. From theContinue reading “Shopping, then into the kitchen and more”

Wave goodbye to other activities. Today I picked tomatoes, beans and peppers. It took several hours just getting the tomatoes processed and ready for canning. Then cooking the sauce for several hours. Finally, canning after dinner. And now eight more pints waiting to cool before going into the cupboard. Tomorrow will be a day forContinue reading “Another day with tomatoes”

Hopefully she’s correct. The truth can be painful. The moral is don’t drink and prank dragons. Interestingly, I have not seen a Cicada killer this year. I miss having them along our driveway. Exactly eleven years ago I found this female Chinese mantis at Point Pelee in Ontario. I’ve never been bitten by a mantis,Continue reading “Labor Day comics and a mantis from the past”

Our day started at Northside where we had breakfast with Mike and Linda. Then Susan and I headed over to Nichols Arboretum. Ailanthus webworm, a charming little moth. It was nice five or six of these. These are Feather-edged petrophila, another moth. There were 14 on this goldenrod. We had many thousands of them. I’mContinue reading “Breakfast, insects and the garden”

Dinner last night was a a mix of lots of different things. There was pita with falafel, humus, lettuce, pickles, pickled onions, tomato and green pepper. We also had tabouli, gardiniera and kimchi. Truly delightful. Today it was back into the kitchen with canning. Pickled red onions that will go into the refrigerator. Tomato sauce,Continue reading “More time in the kitchen”

This is what we did in early September 2018 – zucchini pickles, pickles jalapeños, giardiniera, and tomato sauce. Notice that the majority of canned goods were pickled. Quite different from this year. No zucchini pickles or pickled jalapeños yet. I am making the giardiniera fresh and storing in the refrigerator every few weeks. But todayContinue reading “A day in the kitchen”