Mother's Day: lilac season starts #phenology

Up the road from our house, about a mile or so, there's a thicket of feral lilac bushes in what is now part of a wildlife management area. Flower buds are now visible. We expect flowers in the next few days. Mid-May brings Mother's Day, walleye fishing opener, wild plum blossoms and lilac blooms. Our pear tree hasn't yet set flowers but our hopes remain high that it will, maybe this week. The usual pattern is a few days of gorgeous blooms then destroyed by one of the season's first thunderstorms. Such is life on the Southern edge of the North Woods.

late May lilacs past prime

Photo by J. Harrington

It looks like our local black bear is continuing to visit neighborhood trash cans as s/he makes the rounds foraging. Our plastic can, which contained not much more than a few empty flower pots, was tipped over last night. A few days ago we noticed which might have been a paw print in the soft soil under the deck feeders. The trash can is back in the garage, no worse for wear, and we bring the feeders in each night. So far, we've managed a relatively harmless mutual tolerance and the dogs have had interesting and exciting scents to explore on our daily walks.

better for us than time on a riding mower

Photo by J. Harrington

After several days spent fly-fishing for trout without doing serious damage to our aging bodies, the Better Half and I returned home and promptly proceeded to mildly cripple ourselves with yard work. To me that strongly suggests the advisability of spending much more time fly-fishing than raking leaves. That's the strategy I'm going to follow for the Summer. I suspect it might not be too hard to convince self-same Better Half to follow a similar pattern. If only bears or deer or rabbits or turkeys ate oak leaves, this place would be darn near ideal, except for the pocket gophers.

To any and all the mothers, past, present, wannabe, want-not-to-be, or otherwise, who may read this, Happy Mother's Day. Let's all make a promise to be kind to mothers, ours, others' and Mother Earth, for the next year. Just think about where any of us would be without them.

On Mother's Day

By Bruce Lansky

On Mother's Day it isn't smart

To give your mom a broken heart.

So here are thing you shouldn't say

To dear old mom on Mother's Day:

Don't tell here that you'll never eat

A carrot, celery, bean, or beet.

Don't tell her you think smoking's cool.

Don't tell her you've dropped out of school.

Don't tell her that you've drowned the cat.

Don't tell her that she looks too fat.

Dont't tell her when you're grown you'll be

A starving poet—just like me.

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