Journal

Baby ruby throated hummingbirds started coming to the feeder in the last ten days - there is no other way to say it - they are soooooo cute! They are slightly smaller than the adults and their bodies are slimmer. The adults land at the feeder exactly at the right spot to poke their beaks into the feeder hole but the babies don't get it quite right. They land on the feeder bar and then have to scooch over a tad to get their beak in the hole. One we were watching last night kind of leaned to the side to get his (or her) beak into the nectar.

We have really been enjoying all the fresh, home-grown tomatoes. We have 4 plants plus some volunteer cherry tomatoes and we're getting more than we can handle so yesterday it was tomato press time. The first year I processed tomatoes to freeze I peeled and seeded them and that is a time consuming mess!! Pat found this tomato press and it is wonderful. Just a 20 second blanching, then the tomatoes go in and the little machine pushes the juice and pulp out one opening and the peels and seeds out another opening. Froze 16 cups of juice yesterday which will be used for spaghetti sauce.

Last Friday we flew to Minneapolis, rented a car - a nifty PT Cruiser (but not as nifty as Jfer's original edition) - and drove to Manitowish Waters to spend the weekend with T&G in their cabin. The weather was incredible - be jealous all of you Texans! - high in the upper seventies and blue skies.

T&G very nicely have enough bikes for their guests and on Saturday we rode the 2-3 miles to town on the bike trail and bought veggies from the farmer's stand and P&C bought a drawing at a local artists' coop store. We drove to Minocqua, an island in the middle of lakes, in the afternoon, browsed the shops and had dinner outside. C had walleyed pike, a regional delicacy and it was excellent.

Sunday after biking to town to buy a newspaper we went back to the cabin and took turns paddling around the lake in a kayak. Kayaks are really relaxing and easy to maneuver - of course there weren't any rapids on the lake. (Pictures: Figuring out how a kayak works, Out goes Patrick, Trying to get out without falling in, and Cynthia can do it) Then, three in a row boat (thanks to G for rowing us) and one in a kayak, we toured the lake in front of the cabin and found carnivorous pitcher plants, wild cranberries and of course a beaver dam. Later, Pat complained that he hadn't seen any birdlife. Within 30 minutes we saw elegant Cedar Waxwings and two lifers - a brown creeper hopping all around the tree and an evening grosbeak. To top it off while sitting on the dock, a bald eagle flew directly over us. We heard loons and barred owls but no sightings.

P also visited a local woodworker that he had met in the artists' coop store. C and T rode bikes around the area and critiqued the lake houses.

The first time we were at the cabin was 29 years ago - we know that because Pat dated the inspection tag on the fire extinguisher in the cabin! E was four years old and we backpacked in the Porcupine Mountains to a cabin on Lake Superior. The only way to reach the cabin was to backpack in or take boat on Lake Superior. That same trip we drove to Chicago and spent the night with my college roommate who I am delighted to say, I am now back in touch with.

It was a delightful, relaxing weekend.

My lovely pussy willow is history. Pussy willows are a rite of spring in the midwest - when the weather is just hinting that it will warm up, the little furry catkins emerge. (Plus it's worth having a pussy willow just so I can see Pat's face get red when I say in the spring, "Oh, look at all the little pussies.")

Anyway, when I planted it I thought the information said it was not like other willows with invasive roots. But it had grown to about three feet above the deck, so I checked again and the article said don't plant around water pipes or septic systems. I cut all of the branches on Sunday and Pat made them into mulch with his shreader. We're determined to have a Japanese maple so that's what we'll put in the spot. It should get enough water there.

Pat waxed the drip spouts on our solar cascade fountain and the water flows much more smoothly now. What a nifty idea! He also cleaned it out while I was in Iowa this week so it looks much better. Since the pussy willow is gone, the fountain is much more exposed and the birds love it. There were several bluebirds there and some of the birds sit in the little pots. It's pretty cute.

For any that are interested we finally got our vacation "journal" posted with pictures and links. Click on May Travels on our home page. It was a great trip and it was fun to relive it while putting together this entry.