The trumpet vine growing up the utility pole at Georgetown and Yorktown is starting to bloom, which is a real treat for birds, bees, and people. The trunk—and, yes, I do mean trunk—of the vine is approximately as big around as the utility pole itself. The foliage is so thick that it hides untold numbers… Continue reading Along the Sidewalks
Author: Nancy J. Moncrieff
Walking Grand Rapids
Janice and I went on an adventure this week. We drove a couple hours to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and walked and walked and walked. Our first stop was the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, a hundred and fifty-eight acres of luscious plantings and monumental art. I’d been to the conservatory there a number… Continue reading Walking Grand Rapids
Smoke and Laughter
Parts of Canada are on fire. That, all by itself, is terrible news for our neighbor to the north. Even worse, smoke from the wildfires is affecting life on Earth, making the air hard to see through and hard to breathe. Californians are familiar with these problems. So are people in the Rockies. Those planning… Continue reading Smoke and Laughter
Smells and Scents
Our skunk is back. We can tell it’s the same skunk, because it’s a bit of an outlier when it comes to color. It’s not so much black with a white stripe as it is white with a black stripe, with the white extending right up the sides of the tail. Except, the white parts… Continue reading Smells and Scents
Lucky Us
Southeastern Michigan’s weather, this spring, is still figuring out what it’s doing. We’re at the tail end of May, and Dave Rexroth issued another freeze warning on Wednesday. The flowers have loved the spring. Magnolia blossoms in this area usually last a couple days. This year, they’re lingering so long on the trees that not… Continue reading Lucky Us
Cat Show
Ann Arborites had a host of events to choose from last Saturday. Birding enthusiasts, from beginners on up, could help take a census of birds in the county as part of the annual International Migratory Bird Count. The Ann Arbor Dog Training Club offered agility trials. The Anthony Wayne Cat Fanciers presented its Annual Allbreed… Continue reading Cat Show
Summer Light
The temperature reached eighty degrees today and, judging by the purchases at the Thrift Shop, this was the day people finally snapped: they would not wear their winter clothes one more day. They pulled their summer clothes out of storage, put some on, and set off for the Thrift Shop to look for more. They… Continue reading Summer Light
Winter to Spring
Last weekend, Anne invited Tanya and me to sit in the front yard of her house and sip wine. This surprised me some as the temperature only reached about fifty degrees that day and the wind was blowing. One doesn’t turn down such invitations, though, so I pulled on my winter jacket and gloves and… Continue reading Winter to Spring
Redtail and Cygnets
A glance out the kitchen window, Tuesday morning, revealed high drama underway in our back yard. There on the lawn was a hawk the approximate size of the mastodons whose bones are on display at our natural history museum. Not only was the bird large, but it seemed to have at least four wings, all… Continue reading Redtail and Cygnets
Blossoms, Birds, and Quarters
You never know what lies ahead in the spring. Around the neighborhood, people with broken magnolias have chosen not to remove branches that are still in any way attached to the trees. Massive limbs resting on the ground are in full glorious bloom—bloody, but unbowed, to use Henley’s words. Who knows what the owners will… Continue reading Blossoms, Birds, and Quarters