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.