The Tiger Lilies Are In Bloom

 Sunday, July 19, 2026

Dale and I were talking about this year's tiger lilies and both of us think this is the best they've looked in a few years. 

Our Return Home

 Thursday, July 16, 2026

We were gone for about a week and a half. Here's what the yard looks like.

I admit it's a little overgrown in spots but it's not as bad as I anticipated.

The annuals did really well despite the heat we had. Dale said we got a pretty good amount of rain while we were gone. That helped. 

Sunday Afternoon Cigar

Sunday, June 28, 2026

This is supposed to be the last nice day before we're blasted with heat and humidity starting tomorrow and lasting for most of the rest of the week. 

Great day for a cigar. 

Here's me posing in front of the rhubarb. In all the years we have been in this house I haven't done a good job of utilizing the rhubarb we've got growing by the garage. 

It's been years since my former collegue, Carol M., gave me the recipe for her rhubarb crisp. I've probably made it 3 or 4 times over the years. I haven't made it much due to my never getting serious about making it until it's a little to late in the season. I've heard it starts getting kind of reedy after the 4th of July but I'm never sure if that's really accurate. Another reason that's kept me from making it is all those summers Dale was up on Madeleine Island. The recipe makes a lot and it's too much for me and even some guest to handle without having to waste some of it. 

Anyway, I'm hoping to actually make it this year. Maybe for the 4th of July.

Dale set out this bowl this morning to measure the rain. It absolutely poured around 10 am today. It's hard to tell but the bowl is actually pretty full. You can see it more on the left side near the rim.

                       

Was surprised to see the sun out this afternoon. Wasn't expecting that. 

An Unusually Warm Day for March

 Saturday, March 21, 2026

Beautiful day.

Bought some cigars at Stogies On Grand earlier today. The woman at the register and I were reminiscing about St. Patrick's Day back in 2012 when it got to 80 degrees. Not only did it get to 80 degrees but on top of that it was sunny AND it fell on a Saturday. I remember Dale and I sitting out in the backyard having cocktails.

Well, it didn't hit 80 but it was very pleasant out. 

Started a new book.

VERY pleasant. Had an Old Fashioned while Dale had some red wine.

Falling Leaves

 Tuesday, November 11, 2025

The leaves started falling around the middle of October. 

They fell very slowly and steadily. 

They seemed to start accumulateing a bit more by Halloween. 

Dale raked the day after the above photo was taken. 

We had a hard freeze early morning of the next day. It brought a lot more leaves down. Dale's gonna mulch what's still on the ground. 

Cigar Time

 Sunday, September 29, 2025

Smoked a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur this afternoon. It was fantastic. 

Gorgeous afternoon. 

Although I heard tons of blue jays squawking this season I didn't see one until today. It landed on Josh and Breanna's porch. 

By the way, Josh and Breanna had us over for dinner last night. We ate outside on their porch. Everyone had brats except Bran. Josh grilled him us some venison which he loves. 

Ada was sweet. She picked some flowers for me and put them in a jar. She also made menus for the dinner which was very cute. 

Stayed till after dark. The sun's setting just before 7 pm these days. The kids made s'mores and the grownups talked around the fire. We got home around 8:30. It was a very nice evening. 

Dale came out to join me this afternoon. We both had some wine while I finished up my cigar. 

Lots of loud, obnoxious crows flying back and forth and squawking at each other. They went on for quite a while. It reminded me of all those mornings on Madeline Island and sitting on Dale's porch while 3 particularly bitchy crows did the exact same thing every day. 

 

We also heard a very chatty rodent. At first I thought it was a squirrel but Dale saw it in Andrea's tree next door and said it was a chipmunk. I looked and he was indeed correct. My gosh that thing was squeaky and active. It darted back and forth and carried on for quite a while. 

Today was the first day I noticed our pine tree is starting to drop its needles. The are a pain to rake up because they get stuck in the tines. 

Listened to Chet Baker as we sat outside. Went inside around 6 pm for snacks and then dinner of leftover lasagne. I really was a lovely afternoon. 

The State of Our Yard - Thursday Edition

 Thursday, September 18, 2025

Dale went with me to Bachman's today and we bought some more flowers. 

It's nice to get a bit more color in the yard.