Our Flower-Yard!

We've been having a blast at "Ketelsen East" in St Charles, IL!  Experiencing another Spring after the all-too brief appearances in Tucson and our visit to the Carolinas last month has been very restful.  Add to that many opportunities to visit friends and family makes this loads better than our trip in February when we were both sick with the flu... We even saw our groundhog neighbor (living under the building next door), who we've called "Bruce", though I think this version is likely an offspring.  Didn't get a picture of him though - he is pretty shy.  At left is a photo of the house lit up in the evening to make it look homey...

So we've been enjoying the cool weather and the first arrival of Spring.  Last year, it hit hard and a lot earlier, so was a joy to see all the blossoms and flowers in this year's edition.  The Fox River was flooding just a few weeks ago too, so the mowers haven't been over the yards here, so we've been enjoying the "yard-flowers" too.  We wouldn't dare call them weeds!  Besides the ever-present dandelions, we've got several colors of violets, and two types of Trillium too (white and red)!  We've even got tulips that have broken free of the flower beds, and are starting to come up willy-nilly!  Shown at left here is towards the north and other structures, where they mow a lot.  Just dandelions and violets in that direction, but to the south of the house is more of a jungle of other flowering plants, including big patches of Trillium, as shown at right.

Now the Trillium we have in our yard is a less-common recurved red trillium.  It is a pretty plant, but not showy like many other flowers because the petals curve inwards and hide the flower.  It is also hard to make look very impressive - the only way is to get down in the dirt and shoot it at its own level.  Then you can peek into it.  I'm working on some 3D shots of it too, so look for that coming up.  The White variety (Trillium grandiflorum) is showier, different but definitely related and shown at right.

And even the dandelions are spectacular when looked at closely!  A year or two back I took a macro shot of one that still serves as my wallpaper on my laptop, though didn't make it into a blog post.  Here is a triple-header on the left, each at slightly different ages, so show a slightly different general appearance.  Interestingly, our second day here was a cool one - it never got over 50, and NONE of the dandelions that were open the previous day made an appearance!  After all taking a day off, it warmed up a little and they all returned...  Even after going to seed, the macro lens reveals a wealth of details that are generally little-noticed.  While the seeds are wind-dispersed, the seeds themselves also have little thorns on them that would likely also stick to clothing for transport as well...

So I was shooting the tulips scattered in our yard...  Mostly they are near flower beds, but they seem to be migrating out towards the open yard...  I suspect that the later in the Spring that our "yard" is mowed, the more likely they'll keep on moving towards the exit!  So how do you shoot a tulip in a new way?  How 'bought straight down with a macro lens?  Looks pretty cool, even with the white tulip with subtle color variations...

So a day or two later, after the above shot came
out, I was shooting another the same way - straight down, stopped down considerably so that a good portion of the flower would be in focus with the larger depth-of-field.  This one was a yellow tulip with red highlights - beautiful colors...  But wait, what is that little green particle hiding among the flower parts near the center - aphids!  In fact, if you look closely at the white one above, you can spot one of the little buggers there too.  On this yellow one, I went in for an oblique closeup for more details.  You can see little legs, perhaps some eye dots - perhaps a probiscus with which they suck plant juice.  Will have to keep an eye out for more of these little microscopic critters...

This Bud's for You!

We had an uneventful flight to Illinois the other day. We got in 30 minutes early, but then had to wait for our checked bag for about that long, so it evened out... We were excited (as were the local residents) when temps hit the mid-80s a couple days before we arrived. Would a true Spring be waiting for us? Well, it was a bit premature - trees are mostly still bare, though the ornamental flowering trees and shrubs are just waiting for a day or two of warm weather to truly declare the start of the season. The only cultivated flowers in bloom are the daffodils, even tulips are a week or two away.

There are a number of small "belly flowers" (you've got to get low to get a good look). In particular the grape hyacinth and blue scilla have turned sections of the yard a beautiful sky blue. Mixed in with them are budding prarie trillium and others I've yet to identify.

As I said, trees are mostly bare, though the flowing branches of the weeping willow are taking on some green. A closer inspection reveals not only the narrow leaves pushing out, but the flowers that I've never noticed before! While a few more warm days will advance the new growth, they may not get it while we're here - forecasts say cool temps and rain for our remaining days here...

Iris Season!

Everyone is asking "are you enjoying our Spring weather?" After an early spring thaw and warm weather in April, it has been cool and wet here lately, but has finally settled into the mid-70s. But the amazing display we're seeing upon our arrival here is the wide variety of Iris flowers currently at the peak of their bloom. The word itself is from the Greek word for "rainbow", referring to the wide variety of colors they display. That is sure true, because all of the pics here were taken today within a few minutes drive of our place here. Because of their hardy perennial show, they are a standard addition to the Midwestern garden. Enjoy the show!

Thoughts from Melinda

Dean has been so good at keeping the blog updated, whereas I've been a real slug! I just down loaded my pictures from the Grand Canyon, and of course that was weeks - and miles - ago.

The GCSP was a lot of fun this year! It was different than the previous years that I've been there (this was only my fourth). First time we've had clouds - but managed to get some good things for people to see anyway. First time I've set up my telescope there - the first night was filled with frustrations as the new star pointer wasn't aligned even close to the telescope. Once that was remedied it was great, though! First time I haven't "worked" the star party (no digging in the van for t-shirt boxes, no moving pylons at the end of the night, etc.). First time we weren't camped with the rest of the group - and I missed them! It was a lot of fun though, and was especially exciting when we saw the deer and elk roaming around! It was sad to leave the group early, too. I think Dean and I both felt that. Both ends of the trip were marked with dining at the Polakis home - breakfast at the start, dinner on the return home to Tucson. It's always good to visit with Tom and Jen!

After the star party it was home to a few nights of work, then pack up and set the course for Illinois! We did a commendable job in getting on the road, this past Wednesday. I got home from work (hadn't packed yet), and we still were pulling out of our driveway by 12:30pm! I dozed in the car for a while, but perked up as we neared White Sands in New Mexico. We arrived there in time for sunset, and enjoyed every minute of climbing on the beautiful white sand dunes and enjoying the quietness. Standing on top of the dunes I was reminded of the book, "The Little Prince". It was a nice break from riding in the car, as well! From there we hit Alamogordo, NM to spend the night. The next morning, feeling refreshed and ready for a long day on the road we grabbed some breakfast and took off. We stopped, however, to visit the Valley of Fire recreation area, just north of White Sands. It was incredible to see the white dunes on the distant horizon, and yet be standing in an area of black lava flow! Typically, we have done most of the driving through New Mexico at night, so this seems like it was the first time I've seen much of it during the day. It was great! After a very long day on the road we arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma - our goal city for the night. Oklahoma is a very pretty state - coming from the midwest, as we do, we enjoyed seeing the fields of farms blowing in the breeze - the very hot breeze, I might add. I will also state that Oklahoma has the best vistor/welcome center of any place I've ever been! Leather couches....huge, clean, bathrooms...it's great! All through our drive we were touching base with sister, Maj, as her husband was flying her to Joplin, Missouri to join us in our visit with our Aunt Erna. Aunt Erna, who we have stopped and visited a couple of times in the past year, is having health problems and is currently in the hospital. Our timing was perfect on arrival in Joplin on Friday morning, as we were a few miles from the airport when Maj called to say that she and Jeff had landed! We picked her up and Jeff was on his way back to Illinois! It's always bitter-sweet when visiting an older relative in the hospital. There is the fear that this will be the last visit; and this was no exception. We spent a lot of time sitting and talking with Aunt Erna; spent some very valuable time with 4 of her 5 children; and while we hated to say good-bye, we left with even more wonderful memories than we already had. We stayed in Joplin until Sunday morning, when we hit the road early for Sugar Grove and St. Charles, IL. That leg of the trip was punctuated by the a/c in the van quitting! Fortunately, for us, it had cooled off and was a delightful day to drive with the windows open! We had breakfast in Springfield, MO and lunch in Springfield, IL (we didn't waste much time, in otherwords!). After dropping Maj at her home in Sugar Grove, we pulled into our little oasis on the Fox River around 8pm! Ahhh!!! The time is already going too quickly here! Today I did a little bit of work in the guest room (soon to be the master bedroom) while Maj and Dean cleaned out the shed - getting rid of what we no longer need. Dean is also having that a/c in the van fixed today. It will be a long hot ride back to Tucson if he doesn't!

Last evening I was invited to join 4 of my Nurse friends for dinner, a "girls only" event. We enjoyed talking "Nurse talk", and catching up. This evening is the last night of "Dollar Burgers" at our favorite, Rookies, so we are meeting a group of friends there for dinner! Our friend, Roger Ceragioli will be arriving from Vancouver on Thursday, and will visit with us for 6 days; and we will be spending the July 4th holiday with our Iowa family! It's so nice to be back with the family for a while!

Midwest Springtime Recap

As our previous post indicates, we really spent too little time in Illinois. Springtime was just starting in earnest and the trees were just leafing out. Since our return to Tucson, we've gone 101F Thursday, 102F yesterday, and it is supposed to be over 100 again today. Our temp sensor says 109.9F, but is mounted under the eave of the roof, so I think it is catching rising warm air in the afternoon. A dry heat, yes, but I do not enjoy getting into a 150F car to go somewhere! At left is an IR shot of "Ketelsen East" with geese (non-domestic)!

So yes, the 70s of Illinois were very pleasant, and there were many flowers and trees in bloom, even if the trees were not all green yet. I don't want to bore you with endless pictures of tulips (at their peak), and the large number of planted flowering trees - would prefer to show the more native species we spotted on our walks.

In our exploration of the nearby Tekakwitha Forest Preserve, besides the violets (white and yellow besides the normal blue kind!) and dandelions, the trillium was in bloom. Besides the white variety, my favorite was the Trillium Recurvatum, also known as Red or Prairie Trillium, shown at left. Never having spent much time in any natural woods growing up in Iowa, these flowers were new to me and they are quite striking. Evidently the odor of the seeds attract ants, which then help distribute them. The White Trillium, also in bloom in the woods and in our back yard, serves as the state flower of the province of Ontario and of Ohio.





Another striking "bloom" is shown in this series. What looked initially like an about-to-open flower, is actually part of the leaf bud of the Shagbark Hickory. We first spotted the closed bud on the left, but then noticed some that had recently opened, and eventually an adult tree with new growth on it. According to naturalists at the Forest Preserve, the area we live in there is officially called a "Declining Oak-Hickory Forest", declining because the maple trees are slowly shading out the Hickory and oak trees. However, once we realized these buds pointed out the Shagbarks, they seems quite numerous and widespread.


Normally, there are trails in the Forest preserve we like to take to get us away from the bike path and civilization, but the river had been out of the banks recently and the trail was too muddy to follow very far. However, I didn't have to follow it far to observe signs of larger animals - here deer tracks can be seen over some muddy bootprints from another hiker. In addition, the Canadian Geese eggs have hatched, and there are goslings everywhere! We saw several groups as big as 9 little 'uns near our house, and I ran into these 3 staying near mom on my short time on the trail.

During our short stay at "Ketelsen East", we even ran into our neighbor groundhog Bruce, not once or twice, but 3 times over 4 days! Last year he was mostly absent until nearly fall, but he was certainly there to welcome us last weekend (though I didn't get a photo this time). Our house is occupied, though, even if we aren't there - we found this robin in a well built nest over an exterior light on our door facing the Fox River. By the time we get back for another visit, the babes will just about grown up and ready for flying lessons!





A commenter points out that the Ohio State flower is the Scarlet Carnation. Actally, the White Trillium is the Ohio State Wildflower. Sorry for the confusion.