Fall Colors

It's raining as I tap this out on my old laptop.

While nowhere close to peak from our walk yesterday were some nice fall colors to be observed.  

I predict they will be peak, around here anyway, in seven to ten days.

 

Pupper

A walk is only a walk.

However, when overnight rains bring out all of the scents and there is a deer bone to be had, then a walk turns into a run.

Menace

Today is General Mark Milley's last day as our nation's highest-ranking military officer; and it would appear that he'll have to ramp-up his security detail as he heads out the door.

At least that is what can be gleaned from Milley's appearance on 60 Minutes a couple of days ago where he was asked about former President Trump's comments accusing him of treason and suggesting that he be executed.

Milley's response:  I wish those comments had not been made and I'll take appropriate measures to ensure my safety and the safety of my family. 

Just my opinion, but it appears to me that the former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman was fulfilling his oath of allegiance to the constitution.  At least we'll know where to place the blame if some nut job member of Trump's personality cult makes an attempt on the general's life.

This goes beyond Trump just being Trump.  The former president is menace to law and order and his reckless rhetoric not only places someone in danger.  Furthermore, it is an insult to those who serve in the military.  The silence of his followers when he suggests that a top-ranking military officer be put to death speaks volumes.

Friday Music

 

 

Concert yesterday evening after dinner out with some Brussels neighbors.

A most excellent performance of classic old school country, country rock, rockabilly, folk with some surf music tossed-in.

Tight performance with each band member standing on their own merits.

Third visit to the peninsula with a promise to return for the 2024 concert line-up.

Count me in.

September Night Sky

The September full moon is called the Harvest Moon.  

NASA Photo

The Harvest moon can occur in either September or October because it coincides with an astronomical event – the autumnal equinox. The full Moon that occurs nearest to the autumnal (fall) equinox - or the start of astronomical fall.  (September 22 or 23 depending-upon your time zone) takes on the name Harvest Moon.  If it occurs in early October - like it did in 2020 - it is called the Full Corn Moon or Barley Moon.  

The name comes from this moon’s ability to shine light when it is needed the most – to bring in the harvest.  In the Northern Hemisphere and in our time zone the Harvest Moon rises after sunset and will reach peak illumination at 4:58 AM Friday morning.  

This Harvest Moon is the last of four Super moons appearing this year.

 

Fall Colors

While on my daily walk with the dog I've begun to notice some of the trees are beginning to turn on their fall foliage.  Nevertheless, the fall colors are not restricted to tree leaves.  The fall flowers are really pulling-out the stops with a color palette that is attracting the bumble bees, honey bees and other pollinators on the landscape.

From one of our recent walks there was this...

Morning

We rotated a new coffee maker into the kitchen on Saturday.  For any of you that live in rural America, and obtain your life-giving drinking water from a well, you know of what I speak.  The struggle is real.

Sure, our water is clean and tastes terrific.  Not at all like the water city folks have to tolerate.  City utility water that smells and tastes of bromine anti-bacterial chemicals when you raise a glass to your lips.  

An additional reason my water tastes great is because it is rich in calcium having originated 267 feet deep in the dolostone rock formation of the Niagara Escarpment upon which we sit.  Dissolved calcium eventually clogs the works of your Mr. Coffee machine.  And with the passage of time no amount of cleaning can reverse the impact of calcification on the slow brewing of a cuppa joe in the morning.  Yeah, first world problem.  And I digress.

Fall mornings are a terrific way to start your day with your pup and a steaming mug of black coffee.

These are the views I wake-to....

Swamp gas floating just above the ground

And the morning sun peeking-over the machine shed

Life sucks in flyover country, eh?

Fall Colors

Our daily walk is now a mile for the human. It is anybody’s guess what it is for the pup as she’s here and there, forth and back, in and out, all over the place.  She is a joy to watch.

This time of year is when the asters bloom adding their own colors to the fall palette.  

And from one of our walks this weekend there was Oligoneuron rigida - commonly known as stiff goldenrod or stiff-leaved goldenrod.  It is a native North American plant belonging to the vast aster family (Asteraceae).  Canada goldenrod is far more common but this was included in our pollinator mix planted decades-ago.

Found east of the Rocky Mountains this plant grows stems that branch at the top into multiple small yellow flower heads.  Named after a stem and leaves that are hairy and rough to the touch differentiating this flower from other goldenrod species.  

Insects gravitate to this plant for its nectar to feed in late summer and autumn.

 

And, no, it doesn't cause you to sneeze.  Common ragweed is responsible for that.

The Garden Chronicles

The tomato avalanche has possibly begun to peter-out.  The nights are incredibly cooler and even the days not so hot any longer.

Nevertheless, we're eating these delectable fruits daily and canning them while I go.

Obtained from the Pioneer Pantry in Brussels This is my first year raising San Marzano tomatoes.  Tasty and plentiful!  I'll do these again.  Maybe even exclusively.

Come February ordinarily normal individual would commit high crimes and misdemeanors for fresh, homegrown tomatoes.

Seven pints of San Marzano sunshine!

A Little Bit Slutty and A Little Bit Nutty

Fresh on the heels of her vaping, groping, crotch grabbing and general bad behavior that got her thrown out of a Denver theater, Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has been outed by the Fact-Checkers over at The Washington Post over a wacky claim about payments to undocumented immigrants - which also happens to be almost a couple of decades old and irrelevant to the US.  According to Boebert:

Biden is giving each illegal family $2,200 per month plus a free plane ticket and free medical care.  If you come to this country illegally, you get everything handed to you on a silver platter.  If you're a struggling American citizen, you get nothing.  You actually just subsidize this foolishness. 

Of course all of this is made-up.  Under US law, documented migrants who have made a valid and successful claim to have fled persecution or war receive a one-time payment of $2,375, of which $1,275 may be used for critical direct assistance such as rent, food, clothing and furnishings.  That's it.  If you are undocumented you get nothing.

As it turns out, variations of this hoax have been circulating on social media for more than seventeen years; originating with immigrant policy in Canada.

Alas, this is what passes for intelligentsia in the GOP nowadays.  I suppose if you are a little bit slutty, being a little bit nutty gets you more clicks and a thumbs-up amongst the performative politics crowd.

Just The Facts Ma'am

If you're old like me you may recall Jack Webb's portrayal of detective Joe Friday  in the television series Dragnet.  His famous line:  Just the Facts, ma'am made those episodes a cult favorite.

As a general rule I don't watch Sunday morning television; but I did last week.  Not to watch Dragnet but to watch the Kristen Welker Meet The Press interview of former president Trump.  While watching, it was Joe Friday's famous line that came to mind.  I'm not making this up.  

A link to the entire interview is included in this post and I've summarized a handful of Trump's distortions, hyperbole and disinformation for your erudition and entertainment.

Immigration and border control

I saw some statistics, and it said in 2019, there were no terrorists.  They caught no terrorists.  And now this year, it's a record number like they've never seen before.

While US Border Control agents are interdicting more individuals on the terrorist watchlist; as of July for fiscal 2023 the total is 216.  For the fiscal year 2022 the count was 165.  When Trump was president the number was at its highest - 280 during fiscal year 2019.  

Millions of illegal immigrants are coming into our country, flooding our cities, flooding the countryside.  I think the number is going to be 15 million people by the time you end this by the end of the year.  I think the real number is going to be 15 million people.

Border Control has interdicted and turned away more than 2.5 million people during the 2023 fiscal year.  For fiscal year 2022 apprehensions topped 2.7 million.  This number is likely imperfect inasmuch as some migrants make multiple attempts to cross.  And not every attempt is successfully interdicted and turned back.  In any event, Trump's figure exceeds the total estimated number of undocumented individuals who have arrived here under the combined tenure of presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden.  That figure is estimated to now total 11.4 million.

Withdrawal From Afghanistan

We gave $85 billion worth of equipment to the Taliban.

No, we didn't.  The DOD estimated that the Afghans had in their possession about $7.1 billion of US-funded military stuff when it fell to the Taliban. Since the war began in 2001 over those years of occupation the US spent an estimated $83 billion training and equipping the Afghan military and security forces. It is possible Trump was confused.

2020 Election Denial

If this were ever before a court, we would win so easy.  There is so much evidence that the election was rigged.

Nope.  This is The Big Lie.  Trump and his supporters brought more than fifty lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 election; none of them succeeded. 

The Wall

I built almost five hundred miles of border wall.

Only about 80 miles of new barrier was constructed during Trump's term of office.  This included 47 miles of primary fencing and 33 miles of secondary fence.  Mexico did not contribute a single peso to build it.  It is estimated that it would require an investment of $25 billion for a Great Wall. 

Record Deficits

We had the greatest economy in history, and then we got hit with COVID.  And we had to keep this, this beautiful; thing going.  We had to do things that were very severe.  We had to let some money come out.

Nope.  Before (and after) the pandemic struck in 2020 the national debt increased each year of Trump's presidency.  We were never even close to paying down a single dollar of our debt before Congress authorized trillions of dollars of COVID relief.  Yes, the relief checks with Trump's signature on them.

Cost of Bacon

Things are not going right now very well for the consumer.  Bacon is up five times.  Food is up horribly worse than energy.

Yes, food has risen in price.  In 2022 the price of bacon temporarily spiked about +30%.  Nevertheless, the price of sliced bacon has risen by 2% since its peak under Trump.

Capitol Riot

These people on January 6, some of them never even went into the building and they're being given sentences of many years. 

Ringleaders like Enrique Tarrio (Proud Boys) and Stewart Rhodes (Oath Keepers) did not enter the Capitol  but received significant sentences as they were convicted of seditious conspiracy.  Seditious conspiracy is serious-bad stuff.

Those who committed violent acts also received significant sentences.  Others received the equivalent of a parking ticket for trespassing with everything else in-between.  Details here.

I have a suspicion if I and my posse dressed-up in ballistic kit and assaulted the Door County Government Center, breaking-down doors and smashing windows, followed by attacking responding sheriff deputies with bear spray, axe handles and pike poles we'd be shot dead on the spot.  Any survivors would be chilling-out in prison following a swift trial by jury.  My CC instructor had sage advice:  If someone hosts a riot - run the opposite direction.

Murdering Infants

The radical people on this are really the Democrats that say after five months, six months, seven months, eight months, nine months and even after birth, you are allowed to terminate the baby.  You have a New York or California governor who said after the baby is born, you will make a determination, and if you want, you will kill that baby.  

It's hard to unpack this; however some Democrats do support broad access to abortion without regard to gestational age.  The bottom line is that only one percent of all abortions are performed after twenty-one weeks.  Infanticide is a crime and Trump is untruthful.   Either way, if the GOP is convinced that this subject is the path to winning a general election; I say, Bon Chance!

Russia's Ukraine War

They don't report about the war anymore.  You don't find much reporting.  That means that Ukraine's losing.  OK?  I see very little reporting from NBC, your network.  I see very little reporting from NBC, ABC, from CBS, from anyone about the war. 

Nonsense.  As a matter of fact it is difficult to avoid a fire hose of daily news about Russian aggression against Ukraine. If you Google: "volume of coverage of Ukraine war 2023" you will get about 16,600,000 results in .43 seconds.

Conclusion

In the interests of keeping these posts digestible that's just ten items.  My personal fave is the bacon.  Who knew?  Feel free to fact-check these and other tidbits from the full interview.  I have to say that having watched Welker's inaugural interview my initial impression was that she failed.  The interview came across as inadequate.

Upon further reflection over the past week I've modified my conclusion.  Arguably, is there any need to interview Trump?  What new enlightenment and illumination would be revealed?  Quite predictably any news outlet will record a mix of grievances about how unfairly he is being treated, curious absurdities and misinformation, lame equivocations and outright falsities.  Seriously, any effort to fact-check him live is akin to nailing jello to the wall.  This is how Donald Trump rolls.

Candidly, since he lost the election I've sorta missed the kooky Trumpian word salad of sophistry and jive.  If he wins reelection I suppose I'll be immoderately entertained.  In the White House spotlight possibly even over-served.  And there will be fresh subject matter to talk about here on a regular basis.

Sunday's broadcast...

Pupper

Obligatory puppy photo.

Astronomical Arrival of Fall

September brings us another astronomical event - the equinox - when day and night will be approximately equal in length. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this marks the tipping point where the sun will rise later and nightfall arrives sooner.  As things have grown cooler around these parts you don’t have to remind me that there has been a whiff of autumn in the air. 

Equinox (Latin for equal night) the amount of daylight is nearly equal to the hours of darkness. 

 

Even though the equinox happens at the same moment worldwide the precise time for you depends-upon your time zone. Translation: this equinox arrived early today, September 23, at 1:50 AM CDT.   Meanwhile - south of the equator - spring has begun. 

It has been interesting to observe the transit of the setting sun as it has moved from its furthest advance to the north to now set in the west.  The sun only rises due east and due west on two days of the year - The spring and fall equinoxes.

Sunrise today.....

Porch Setting

Whether it is coffee in the morning to watch the sunrise.  Or a glass of Merlot or a beer at the end of the day; the new pup is a natural at porch setting.  Although I suspect she is going to grow out of the part about sitting on our laps...

 

 

Friday Morning Currywurst

On our trip to eastern Europe earlier this year I had an opportunity to dine-upon a currywurst.

Heretofore, I had assumed that this was a German sausage infused with curry before stuffing into a casing.

Wrong.

Turns-out it is nothing more than a pedestrian sausage (bratwurst) covered in curry-flavored ketchup.  It wasn't bad as much as it was uninspiring.  Reminiscent of a brat served-up at the Milwaukee ball park with Secret Stadium Sauce. In Germany it is a popular street food.

In any event I did return home with a bottle of the seasoning that I can mix with ketchup to make my own German version of secret sauce.

Maybe guests while have a higher opinion of it..... 

Growth Spurt

When I was a kid my folks used to measure the growth of my brother and I by having us stand with our backs against a closet wall where annual height measurements were penciled onto the drywall documenting our growth spurts over a period of years.  I wonder if that's still there or if someone has painted over the hieroglyphs? 

As much as I'd like to do the same for our precious little bundle of puppy energy that is impossible.  So, on the advice of the Frau, I'm going to use the trail cameras to measure and document the progress of our growing puppy.

First shot at it are these photos taken eleven days apart by the same camera at the same location. 

August 31

September 10 

Stay tuned for more progress reports....

Return of the Mantid

Meet Mantis religiosa – the Praying mantis or European mantis. Named for prominent front legs that fold together suggesting prayer – this is a fascinating member of the insect world. This specimen was just under a couple of inches in length sporting bright green coloration.  The size suggests that this is a male.

The life stages of this large insect include egg, nymph, and adult. Egg masses overwinter attached to twigs, hose bibs, deer stand ladders or anything else above the snowline. They hatch in late spring and the nymphs are dispersed by the wind or eat one another. Depending-upon the species, survivors grow larger as they molt 5-10 times before reaching the adult stage. After the final molt, the wings on most species appear, while some remain wingless. One generation matures by late summer or early autumn.

Praying mantises possess stereo vision (they see in 3D) and thanks to the placement of their eyes, they also have a wide field of vision. They’re also the only insect capable of turning their head from side to side without moving the rest of the body. This is an advantage when hunting - allowing for minimal movement when stalking prey.

This critter is a carnivore and dines-upon live food. As a gardener I suppose this presents an opportunity for helpful pest control but as prey generalists they also eat beneficial insects like bees and butterflies. Besides, their propensity for cannibalism keeps their numbers few and far between.

Around 90% of the predatory species of mantises participate in sexual cannibalism.  Adult males typically outnumber females at first, but their numbers may be fairly equivalent later in the adult stage.  This is possibly a consequence of females selectively chowing on the smaller males.  The female may begin feeding by biting off the male's head (as they do with regular prey).  If mating has commenced prior to the beheading the male's movements may become even more vigorous in its delivery of sperm.

In many cultures a mantid is a symbol of stillness. And as a consequence it is associated with meditation and calming of the mind.

 

Daily Ritual

Since our bundle of red-headed energy entered our lives I've never been witness to this many starry evenings and sunrises in a long, long time.

Here's a couple from this week.

Yesterday

 

Today

Recipe Of The Day

Tomato Risotto

 

Time 30 minutes

 

If you’re like me you likely have an abundance of tomatoes from your garden or the farmers market this time of year.

 

This is a David Tanis recipe courtesy of New York Times Cooking. 

 

A basic risotto recipe that you can build-upon for various versions throughout the year. This iteration is built-upon red, ripe tomatoes from the garden, but if you want to ramp-up the tomato quotient, garnish the finished dish with cherry tomatoes or slices of multicolored heirloom varieties. 

 

Best as a first course or vegetarian main course.   It also pairs nicely with a main course — chicken or fish, for instance.   I roasted a four pound chicken as the main.

 

I’ve adapted it slightly as follows:

 

Ingredients

 

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ garden onion, diced (about ½ cup)

• Salt and pepper

• 1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice

• Pinch of red-pepper flakes

• 2 garlic cloves, minced fine

• ½ cup white wine

• 2 cups ripe red garden tomatoes, diced

• 3 – 4 cups boiling vegetable broth

• ½ cup grated pecorino (or Parmesan) plus more for serving

• Additional tomatoes for garnish

• Chopped parsley and/or snipped basil, for garnish

 

Preparation

 

1. Pour olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the onion and season generously with fresh-cracked sea salt and pepper. Cook until softened.

2. Add the rice, continuing cooking and stirring, until the onions and rice are barely brown. Add red-pepper flakes, garlic, white wine and diced tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

3. Ladle boiling broth and adjust the heat to a brisk simmer stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.

4. As the liquid is absorbed continue to ladle boiling broth until the rice is creamy yet firm (al dente). Taste and adjust with salt and pepper, adding additional broth as necessary to loosen the mixture. Turn off the heat, stir in the pecorino and 2 more tablespoons olive oil.

5. Transfer to a low, wide serving bowl. Surround the rice with tomato slices and season them with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and basil. Pass more grated cheese at the table.

 

Wildlife Selfies

From the trail camera trap line there are velvet bucks, a coyote, a brood flock and a groundskeeper....

Gourd

Introduce a new object to their life and watch the reaction.  

All of our dogs behaved identically.

September Night Sky

September is a terrific month for planetary viewing with both Jupiter and Saturn to spot in the evening.  Look for Jupiter in the east and high in the night sky.  You will locate Saturn after sunset in the southeast.  The elusive Neptune will be rising in the east at sunset and will be visible all evening. 

Fortunately, Neptune will be in opposition to the earth - when earth is precisely between the sun and the other planet.  When in this position a planet appears larger and brighter and remains above the horizon for a longer period of time.  It gets better.  While in opposition Neptune will be making its closets approach to earth.  This is called perigee.  Even with all this going for it a pair of binoculars or a telescope are recommended for viewing this planet.

At the moment of opposition on September 19, Neptune will be rising in the east at sunset and visible all night reaching its highest point in the sky around midnight.

 

Socializing

Saturday was a busy day of schmoozing and socializing for the new pup. 

 

We decided to introduce her to busy crowds of people and other dogs. So we hung out at the Sturgeon Bay Harvest Festival, Farmers Market and Auto Show before heading to Carlsville for an Arts and Antiques event.

 

The pup is a people magnet…

 

 

Blockade

These are observations made by Peter Zeihan on the blockade that Alabama Senator Tommy "Coach" Tuberville has made on armed services promotions.  I've been following this as it is fascinating to me that a single US Senator can single-handedly block promotions within the ranks of the US military establishment.

Obstructionism is hardly new to the political scene in Washington.  And while Tuberville is entitled to his opinion on abortion I'm struggling to see a connection to filling key defense and security positions.  The system is hopelessly flawed when one individual can bring the filling of critical national security positions to a grinding halt.

Zeihan claims that under normal circumstances if you learned that high-ranking military personnel were losing security clearances and access to critical information, you'd probably expect to hear some sound rationale. Unfortunately, that's not the case because the current greatest threat to our national security is orchestrated by Tuberville over abortion policy.

Senator Tommy Tuberville has placed a unilateral hold on nominations and confirmations of military officials because he doesn't like the Biden administration's current policy of allowing service members to travel for abortion services. Consequently, the affected military personnel cannot access the classified information necessary for strategic planning.

Abusing power to manipulate outcomes is nothing new for American politics; however, political deadlocks that impede military operations are detrimental and problematic for the country's security interests. Given the context of the Ukraine War and rising tensions with China does this pose a potential risk?  Is is something that as Tuberville characterizes it, no big deal?  Or is it a perfectly acceptable not to jerk military leadership and their families around for political theater?

Does Zeihan have a valid point?

And, BTW, Alabama Senator Tuberville lives in Florida.  Apparently that's not a big deal for the people of Alabama.  I have to wonder how us Cheeseheads would feel about one of our senators living in Chicago or Rockford....

Morning Skies

These photos are from yesterday at 5:15 AM.

I cannot recall seeing so much of the night sky and morning sunrises as I have lately.  Oh yeah.  There's a puppy in the family now and potty training is foremost.  When in doubt, we go out.

Anyway, here is the view east of Venus in the pre-dawn horizon...

click on any image for a larger view

And my familiar pal, Orion (the hunter) in the southern sky....

And sunrise an hour later...

Make a point to check-out Venus and all the other wondrous stuff in the skies.

September Night Skies

Technically this is a morning sky viewing opportunity; something I've had the opportunity to indulge since the arrival of our puppy last month.

If you happen to be an early riser for any reason, even if you have to get out of bed to pee, this is worth a look.  The planet Venus in the east before sunrise.  This Morning Star can be viewed with an unaided eye into the morning twilight before sunrise.

She's been there awhile and virtually impossible to miss.  Our early morning view of Venus is only getting better because this very bright planet is going to become brighter as it reaches the height of brilliance the morning of September 19. This is a consequence of the the greatest portion of the planet will be lighted with reflected sunlight.  Enjoy this opportunity while it lasts as with the passing of time Venus will transition to its position in the evening sky.

In case you're wondering why planet Venus appears as the brightest star in the morning horizon it is because of phenomenon known as a Superior Conjunction.  Commit this Word Of The Day to memory as there may be an exam.  I digress.

A superior conjunction occurs when the earth and a planet are on opposite sides of the sun and all three bodies are aligned in nearly a straight line.  Referring to the diagram (below) when Venus is located at the far side of its orbit from us it is behind the sun when viewed from earth.  When that happens its daylight side faces us directly.  The last time a superior conjunction occurred was October 22, 2022.  It will not happen again until. June 4, 2024.

Fingers-crossed for clear morning skies.  Bundle-up and enjoy the show while you can.

Cheers!

Adapted from an image by NASA/ Chmee2/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0

 

Friday Music

Last weekend some neighbors and I caught this concert at the High School in Gibraltar (Fish Creek).

If you like blues, blues rock, soul and funk this is a difficult act to follow.  

Sell-out crowd and because Jill had to stay home with our new puppy the venue sold her ticket for me at the last minute and issued a gift certificate for next season's line-up.

Have I told you lately why I like living here?

Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives are on deck...

Quote Of The Day

 

Higher Intelligence

In case you've ever wondered about the source of my frustration; nowadays, this is what passes for GOP intelligentsia....

September Night Skies

This month's new moon arrives tomorrow and with the illuminated surface of the moon facing opposite from earth the night sky will be exceedingly dark.  Dark skies such as you'll find tomorrow are excellent for taking-in cool stuff in the night sky.

Here's a suggestion if you're viewing with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars.  

The Andromeda galaxy.

2.5 million light years distant, it is the brightest external galaxy and the most distant celestial target that we can view unaided. 

 

Helpful tips:  begin by locating the constellation Cassiopeia (the Queen)  the W-shaped pattern in the northeast sky.  Andromeda will appear as a glowing smudge.  Binoculars are helpful.  A telescope better-yet.

I keep my Celestron scope  in the three season room on the north side of the house so it is a small matter to fetch it and place it on the patio adjacent to the brick oven.  Andromeda will be directly overhead.

Good luck and fingers-crossed for dark skies...

Fall Blooms

 

The pup gets a half mile walk every day before lunch trailing a check cord. This gives her ample opportunity to follow her nose and explore.  And we work on fundamental field commands.  Afterwards the both of us nap for an hour.  Yes, no shame in a snooze. 

There is most definitely a whiff of autumn in the air and according to my records these are behind schedule for 2023. 

In any event from our walk this morning there was this. Further evidence of the changing of the seasons….

Native Grass

Meet  Sorghastrum nutans.  Indian Grass.

 

From our walk the other day I am pleased to announce that the Indian Grass is flowering.

 

Yes, grass does bloom.

 

One of the earliest warm season grasses to set seed, this prairie tallgrass forms upright clumps with blue-green summer foliage that turns gold in the fall.

 

It is tolerant of a wide range of soils including the crappy heavy clay farmland around these parts.

 

Many species of grasshoppers and caterpillars feed on this species. In turn, these insects are important food sources for upland game birds and song birds, where they will also find ideal nesting habitat in stands of tall prairie grasses.

Damn, it sure feels good to be back to walking a  dog again.