May 22, #2

Other than the temperature, the other big difference between summer and winter in the atmosphere is the types of storms that come through. Summer is filled with thunderstorms while the rest of the non-snow year tends to have long, cold, slow rainstorms that may last the whole day.

Here is the start of a storm from last Saturday.

May 22

My mother, way off

We took kayaks out last Saturday, and went from a boat launch in Monona, across towards Upper Mud Lake and into the Yahara river, to go up Nine Springs Creek. It was high 70s and cloudy. No real biting insects out to speak of. The water was cool and high. We went about 3 miles upstream, went past the Lussier Heritage Center and through Lake Farm Park. There was a lot of waterfowl out - loons, mallards, canadian geese. They were all paired off. We would follow mallards down the creek, and they would get spooked and fly about 30 yards further down the stream, whereupon we would get up close to them again, they would fly about 30 yards again, over and over. Red-winged blackbirds were the most common land animal we saw.
There were lots of fishing boats out in Upper Mud Lake and the channel that we went through to get to out destination. We saw one other kayaker and a group of canoes near the end of our day. You have to go underneath a low railroad bridge and I had to get into the bottom of my kayak to scrape through.

This past monday I went out again, into the Sugar River in Paoli. I tried to go upstream a ways, but the water was too high and too swift. I reached a small riffled area where the river narrowed and I could not beat the heavy current. I got pushed against a strainer and the boat rocked and filled with water and I bailed out. Thankfully I have a rope attached to the boat so it doesn't float off, but I learned which parts of the boat and my gear are waterproof and which are not. It makes me think that I need some type of shoes that I can weare in the boat that I'm not afraid to get wet. I dragged the boat up on the shore in order to pour all the water out of it. The shore grasses are getting quite high by this point, at least a foot. Then I floated downstream, at one point I thought, I'm not going to make it back up this, am I? Went down a ways, turned around, got stuck on some sand, jumped out of the boat to pull it to another part of the river, and when I stepped back in, I tipped the boat again and got wet. Dragged the boat to someone's yard and poured the water out of it, again. Then the spot I thought I couldn't get back up, I was right, and I had to get out and drag the boat upstream before getting out of the water. In doing this I realized I was a little more vulnerable in this boat than I thought, especially in this high water environment.

We've hit the point where you can tell if a plant from last year is dead or alive. Either it's already started to put some kind of buds out, or the stems are dry and brittle.

Shrubs don't get any respect. We care about trees, big and majestic, we care about sweet-smelling and colorful flowers, and we care about anything we eat. But if you are a shrub and don't have anything more than nice green leaves, you're ignored.

Early beans and grassy weeds

Garden update:
Our rhubarb plant has exploded and has already put out the seed pods.
Asparagus - picking daily.
Beans have all sprouted (green, wax, haricot, kidney, pole.) They were in the ground maybe a week.
First planting of sweet corn has sprouted.
Some lettuce is barely starting to come up.
Onion sets I planted two weeks ago are showing.
Potatoes are doing quite well, much better in actual soil this year rather than in just straw and compost. Most, but not all, have sprouted.
Peas are starting to grab on to the trellises with their tendrils.

May 15

It's getting to the point where the lilac bushes outside are just about ready to pop open and release their aroma. I rode my bike to work today and smelled a hint of lilacs a couple of times, but not the full-blown warmth of their aroma.

Went kayaking yesterday, got the first wood tick of the season. The water on the inland lake was quite cold but not Lake Superior cold.

It's getting to the point with a lot of the trees where the leaves are getting past bud stage, not quite fully grown, but you can see a little deciduous grove and say that it's starting to fill out and not look so barren. Some of the trees are dropping their buds on the sidewalk, leaving a big fluorescent yellow patch. I also saw a little bit of cottonwood seed dust lining the edge of a sidewalk.

Two of our apple trees have leaves and blooms. The third is a different variety that has the closed buds yet. I hope they all pollinate each other this year! Last year a late frost after a big March warm spell wiped out nearly all of the apples in this state. Our plum and cherry trees are also full of flowers right now.

The frost from a couple days ago did in fact affect some of the tomato plants in the back. I am keeping my eye on them. Some look damaged but not fully killed. I am hoping they come back and start to thrive again, because if not, I'll need to replace them pretty quickly.

I planted two varieties of potatoes this year, one of them came up like gangbusters and the other one has been coming in more thinly and a lot slower.

I ate lunch next to a creek. The garlic mustard has come in and already flowered. In our backyard it has come in thick and with a vengeance. I sat under a big tree and watched mallards head downstream.

May 12

Today I planted green beans, yellow wax beans, haricots verts, kidney beans, pole beans, and the first planting of sweet corn. The normal average date of last frost for this area is May 9th, but we might get close tonight. I covered my tomato plants just to be careful with tarps. I have several big tarps specifically for this reason. The san marzano tomato plants look so small right now, about 3-6 inches off the ground level at their crown, but I know they'll soon hit 7 feet by the end of summer. It's amazing every year for me how big they get and how much fruit they put out.

I will have to trellis the peas in the next few days. There are six rows, both shelling peas and snap peas.

I saw two wood thrushes at the birdfeeder today, had not seen them before here and had to look them up.

I saw corn sprouting in a field down the road, starting on Thursday. There's still standing water in the corners of some of the fields, but there were tractors and combines out today, disking, tilling, spraying god-knows-what.

I ran a half-marathon yesterday, it was about 50 at the start of the race but with terrible wind gusts right into our faces for the first half of the run. I was cold for the whole race. The race was up near the Merrimac bluffs area and was one hill after another. There was about 1 mile of straight, flat land in the middle of the race, that was it.

Had to mow the lawn for the first time this year. I do not enjoy this job. There is always social pressure to keep it trimmed, to drive a green-and-yellow way too expensive "lawn tractor" and cut in perfect diagonal weed-free stripes. I would prefer the grass be replaced with prairie, or garden beds. But neighbors would whine and complain, we would get less money for our house when we eventually leave it, and the status quo is always easier. Growing grass is better for the environment, at least, than growing nothing at all.

May 8

The peas are coming up in rows. So are the arugula, spinach, and radishes. I planted them all maybe a week ago. Tomatoes I put in this past monday are well established and thriving.

We're hitting the point where dandelions are taking over. Many plants, some have their yellow flowerheads out, none have hit the point where they are white and have put their seed pods out for the wind to take them. Some of the corners of the untilled corn fields are covered in them.

Alfalfa is growing well in the fields already. Expect a cutting sometime soon. I wonder if they need to reseed that every once in a while, or if it's like grass, just comes up and you cut it like hay?

I've seen a lot of white-crowned sparrows at the bird feeder, they like to peck around at the ground and not really fly up onto the feeding tray. It would be a good idea to get out my hummingbird feeder, even though I haven't seen any around. If they know you have nectar in the past, they will come back to the same location and look for it. I wonder how they find my house after migrating.

May 6

Today I planted green onion, red onion, and leek shoots.

The potatoes are starting to come up a little bit. They are still getting dug up some by the animals, I'm presuming.

The peas I planted a week ago are just barely starting to come up. The grass I planted in patches throughout the yard is coming up through their compost beds.

I saw bats flying around at night a couple days ago. There have been boxelder bugs getting into our windowsills, but no real pests to speak of yet around.

Spring turkey hunting season is over and we haven't seen much of the group that hangs out in the corn field across the street.