Thursday, June 13, 2019
The trip to the Camp allowed us the opportunity to keep abreast of ongoing issues.
Issue One: Mice!
After not catching any mice for many weeks, we arrived at the Camp to find the mouse trap had captured one mouse. Disappointing. This means there is still an undiscovered entry point, undiscovered by us, not by the mice. Back to the drawing board we go on keeping the little monsters out of Grace, where they don’t belong.
Issue Two: Army Worms
Spring at the Camp has, for three seasons now, included several visits dominated by killing army worms. They find the camp very enticing. So far this spring, we have destroyed four webbed nests in the Dogwoods and Sumacs, and only a few dozen masses of them on tree trunks, mostly on Maples this year. This diminished population may mean their numbers are waning, or it may mean that their season is late, and one of our future visits will reveal that a huge population remains.
That is it, all the issues so far this year.
The Bright Side:
At the Camp, the Black Flies were not too bad, and their season appears to be over. The Mosquitoes are around, but there don’t seem to be a lot of them, yet. The Dragonflies are numerous, very, very active, and beautiful to behold. The bird population is higher this spring than ever before, of course ever before, for us, is only three summers. Hardly definitive, but wonderful nonetheless.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
An exciting day here at Mist Cottage, visitors! My Mom, and sisters made the trip, we had a lunch date. We had a great time, and good long gab session. My Mom brought me a few jigsaw puzzles, my family enjoys having a good jigsaw puzzle on the go. Thanks Mom! Luckily the weather was on our side, although a little on the chilly side, at least is was sunny. We toured the garden, my raised beds and Attila’s traditional garden beds. We looked at the Heliopsis and Rose plants that I have from my Granny’s garden, the garden where my Mom grew up, they are both thriving here, thank goodness. For lunch we had Taco Soup (Instant Pot!), and homemade 100% whole wheat bread, made from the flour I milled myself. My sisters enjoyed the Dandelion Jelly, a sweet treat on a slice of homemade bread. Time flew and before we knew it they had to be on their way, it is quite a drive. They had a long day, and I sure enjoyed seeing them!
My sister brought her camera out just before they left, and Attila took a picture of Mom and her three daughters.
“Look”, I said, “My Mom is the best looking of all of us!”
Attila replied, “You are all pretty good looking to me.”
I pointed out, “Yes, of course, but when you consider Mom looks as good as we do, and she is 88, well, I think that supports my premise.”
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Another lovely day! It was so beautiful that we decided to take a run out to the Camp. There were lots of army worms, but only about a tenth of the numbers we saw last year at this time. The spray consisting of Dawn detergent, water, and wee bit of bleach killed them effectively. There were no mice in the tap, hurray!
We enjoyed our day there, and decided to stay overnight, so that we could stay up very late watching the camp fire. We retired happy after watching the stars come out, and the fireflies flickering in the forest all around us. In the morning, as I was standing at the kitchen counter making myself a cup of coffee, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. It was a doe, she was standing behind the trailer watching me through the window. We made and held eye contact for the longest time, I did not move, not wanting to break the spell. She slowly grazed around the perimeter of the Camp area, occasionally stopping to gaze into my eyes again, and after a half an hour or so, wandered off into the forest.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Attila had the day off work today, and spent his time working happily in the garden. If only a small proportion of our garden yield fruit or vegetables, we will be well set up for the winter!
A small project that has been on my list for a very long time was tackled and completed today. We had new windows installed a year ago March. At that time Attila was working on replacing the garage roof, and had no spare time to consider other tasks, and all of the equipment for small jobs was buried in boxes, stacked and stored in the basement while the garage was under repairs. The kitchen window is above the sink, so I used painter’s tape to put up plastic wrap film over the trim, so that it would not be damaged by splatters and water. Today was the day that the plastic came down and Attila applied two coats of finish, over the course of the day. The smell is terrible, all the windows are open, and I am very, very glad that this project has at last been accomplished!
Worldly
Weather
12°C
Date: 1:12 PM EDT Thursday 13 June 2019
Condition: Light Rain
Pressure: 100.8 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 12.3°C
Dew point: 12.3°C
Humidity: 100%
Wind: S 17 km/h
Visibility: 4 km
20°C
Date: 8:00 PM EDT Tuesday 18 June 2019
Condition: Partly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.1 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 20.1°C
Dew point: 12.7°C
Humidity: 62%
Wind: SW 8 km/h
Humidex: 23
Visibility: 24 km.
Quote
Quote for Thursday, June 13, 2019
“Our great weariness comes from work not done.”
Eric Hoffer
1902 – 1983
Quote for Tuesday, June 18, 2019
“If it weren’t for history everything would happen at once. If it weren’t for geography, everything would happen to me.”
Anonymous
1990
Toilet stall, cafe basement, Bloor and Brunswick, Toronto, Ontario
I read this sitting down, and as a Geographer, I loved it. After almost 30 years, it still tickles my imagination.
You guys get more done in a weekend than we get done in a decade!
Bex, we surely are “doers”. Growing up on a farm, mornings were early and every day was a work day, from the time I was very small. If we weren’t working in the fields and orchards, we were playing in them. No radio, but we had a TV which we watched a bit every day, mostly Captain Kangaroo and Spanky and Our Gang. No cell phones, no iPads, no video games, nothing electronic in our lives. So by habit, I am active. So too Attila.
But I think of you Bex, and the beautiful hats and scarves, and mittens, and blankets, you create daily, and I think the same of you, you get more done in a day than I get done in months!
I agree with Bex! The visit with your family sounded wonderful. I loved the story of connecting with the doe. That happened to me once on a hike in the woods on Chincoteague Island in Virginia. It’s a national wildlife refuge where the wild ponies and deer etc are all protected. I came on a deer that was eating grass. I stopped and we stared at each other. Then he went back to eating. Finally, he ambled off. I didn’t even take a photo because I didn’t want to scare him/her. I remember it like it was yesterday 🙂
Sandy, I agree, those moments connecting with wildlife are unforgettable! I hadn’t heard of Chincoteague Island Refuge before, so I looked it up, what a wonderful place, I’d love to go there for a visit!
Maggie it was a wonderful place to visit. Bring bug protection if it’s mosquito season though. The wild ponies are the big attraction. They live on Assateague Island most of the year. Then riders round them up and they swim across the channel to Chincoteague. At the end of the summer, the ponies swim back to Assateague Island. Because the herd has been growing, they auction off a lot of the foals to control herd size. I have mixed feelings about this because it means the majority of the ponies are older which could impact survivability in case of illness.. But I assume they have wildlife experts controlling the process. The ponies are cute but kind of scruffy looking. You also can’t feed them which is good. They have more than enough natural grazing land there. If I lived closer, I would definitely visit again.
Maggie, check out the books “Misty of Chincoteague”, “Stormy, Misty’s Foal”, and “Sea Star of Assateague” by Marguerite Henry for some colorful reading. They were children’s books in my youth, but oh the special culture of those islands.
Sounds like your summer is getting busier. And at least your work on the camp infestations seems to be slowing things down.
We we’re out at the cottage to plant some bearberry bushes last week. There’s been so much rain that Lake Huron is too high to use parts of the beach at our cottage!
This weekend we’re taking a trip to Mackinac Island for my birthday. I found out a year or so ago that one of my ancestors lived at the fort, Fort Michillimackinac, over a century ago. I’ll always see that place differently, now.
Teri, thanks for letting me know about those books, I will check them out!
Summer is a lot more active for me than the winter months, the snow and ice really slow down my outdoor activities. So I like to make the most of the fine weather while I can. The infestations are not taking up as much time as they have in previous years. This taking over derelict properties to make our own really takes a lot of effort to bring back.
Wow, Lake Huron is high too, I hadn’t thought of that! Lake Ontario is very high, so it makes sense the other lakes are too.
Mackinac Island sounds very interesting, and based on where it is, it must be very beautiful. That is interesting, having an ancestor who lived at the Fort, how things have changed, they would be astonished!
Tent caterpillars (are army worms the same thing?) must come in non-yearly cycles. After the summer I spent spraying them with Dawn and water (no bleach required), they haven’t returned — which surprises me. So I’m surprised to hear they’re back at the camp again so soon. Guess I’ll have to do some duckduckgoing — but I’ll put it off till next time there’s an infestation. -Kate
PS sure would love to see that photo of you and your mom and sisters! i know, i know … can’t …
Kate, I’ve been living in and visiting the Ontario Canadian Shield bush all of my life, and I’ve only ever seen army worms in numbers several times… until we bought our camp! This is our fourth summer at the Camp, and we have had a serious infestation all four springs. This is surprising to me, but there it is. I didn’t think they would be this bad four seasons in a row, although I will say that this spring was a lot lighter than the previous three. For some reaon they love our Camp.
I tried just the Dawn detergent and water, but the large nests have a high survival rate with that mixture, it did kill individual worms and small groups, but not the large clumps. By adding a bit of bleach or vinegar, the survival rate was zero.
Too bad about pictures, but it is what it is. That better world could just hurry up and get here!