Spiderwort in bloom

Likely one of the most eccentric flowers in our pond garden, the grass-like leaves of the Western Spiderwort can make it easy to confuse with crabgrass when it sprouts from the ground. It grows quite tall in the right conditions (ours is just under a yard tall) and are a haven for pollinators, including native and imported bee species.

Common to much of the midwest, Spiderwort is extremely resilient, and has been known to spring up on lawns between mowings in areas in which it grows native. It has the peculiar nickname "Cow Slobber" for the gooey quality of its sap. The entire above-ground portion of the plant is edible, and the leaves and stems are often added to stews or even (so I've heard) juices. The flowers are actually very short lived, each blooming for only one day, but a single stem can produce around 20 blossoms.

Temperatures have been warmer lately, holding in the high 70's and low 80's, with moderate to high humidity. Last of the Columbine have gone to seed and Tomatoes are growing in the vegetable garden.

Harebell blooms along the retaining wall

With its distinctive flowers, shaped (in my opinion) like one of those tasteless bonnets they make babies wear in Easter photos, perched atop grassy stems, Harebell is a hard one to miss. It is a widespread flower, predominant in both North America and Europe, where they are known as Witch's thimbles on one hand and dedicated to St Dominic on the other. It is one of the many flowers attractive to hummingbirds (they generally go for purples, blues, and reds), and a variety of pollinating insects.

Harebell is an extremely hardy flower, growing quite well in a variety of lighting conditions, and in both nutrient-rich and poor soils. I have heard that most harebells do not do well in damp soils, but I have seen the Minnesotan varieties growing quite well in seasonal wetlands (those growing next to our pond do quite well). They are fickle when it comes to flowering. I've seen one specimen bloom for only a week in June, while another (not eight inches away) may explode with blooms from late Spring to early Autumn.

Weather's taken a turn in the last week, pitching up into the mid-upper 80's with the sort of humidity that makes just about any shirt feel a few sizes too small.

Garden Report:

Wildlife Spotted:

• American Toad


• Baltimore Oriole


• Black-capped Chickadee


• Blue Jay


• Cedar Waxwing


• Chorus Frog


• Cottontail Rabbit


• Crow, Common


• Goldfinch


• Grackle, Common


• Gray Catbird


• Gray Squirrel


• Hairy Woodpecker


• Loon, Common


• Mallard Duck


• Mourning Dove


• Northern Cardinal


• Nuthatch


• Pileated Woodpecker


• Purple Finch


• Red-bellied Woodpecker


• Red Squirrel


• Red-winged Blackbird


• Robin, American


• Ruby-throated Hummingbird


• Sandhill Crane


• Tree Swallow


• Virginia Opossum


• Wood Frog

Natives in Bloom:

• Aborted Buttercup


• Blue-flag Iris


• Canada Anemone


• Columbine


• False Indigo


• Harebell


• Prairie Ninebark


• Spiderwort


• Prairie Smoke


• Swamp Buttercup

The Hjordis, a 50' gaff-rigged Schooner owned by the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN. The name is taken from a Norse goddess who allegedly sharpened warrior's swords between her breasts. The Hjordis, as related to us by Captain Ben, had an interesting history of its own, having spent time in both the Great Lakes and the Caribbean.

Sorry things have been quiet for a bit. Took the North House Folk School's one-day Craft of Sail course aboard the Hjordis in Grand Marais, MN. Fascinating course; have been a fan of nautical history and nautical historical fiction from Homer to Melville and Patrick O'Brian, but you don't get a real feel for the art and science of sailing until you're out on the water, at the wheel or tending the rigging. Had an awesome day of it with just enough wind to make things interesting. Pulled back into harbor just as a sudden storm hit.

While the Great Lakes may not get as many age of sail buffs as the Mediterranean or Trafalgar, Superior was once host to the largest sail-borne fishing fleet in the world. In Moby Dick, several of the Pequod's fictional hands were Great Lake fisherman, and Melville himself made mention of their prowess and seamanship. The truth is that Great Lake seamanship can take more skill than ocean sailing, not only because the winds are less predictable and there's far more lee shore to be had, but because waves, as cited by our captain, are typically more severe. Rollers that, on the Atlantic may be three feet high and three seconds from peak to peak, would likely be the same height, but one second across on Superior.

The Hjordis tacking in Grand Marais Harbor.

The sustainability and almost nonexistent carbon footprint of sailing is an awesome thing; the ability to spend days on the water, to even travel around the world, without burning a single drop of petroleum seems a romantic fiction in this post-industrial age, but perhaps, as evidenced by the adoption of kite-powered shipping vessels, old things will become new again.

Grand Marais was awesome; the Summer solstice festival was getting underway just as we left, and the town was packed.

Came back to find our first pinkish-green strawberry vanished; likely the victim of a bird or the cottontail we've seen hanging around our backyard. That's fine, really as we've put a small mesh cover around the remaining strawberries.

Harebell are blossoming, and the non-native in the yard have responded to the sprays, giving us hope that, with care, we won't have to stray much further from our ordinarily organic ways.

Prairie Ninebark, a native shrub, in bloom

Saw a Kildeer in Roseville this morning, picking through wrappers in a hotel parking lot. The last Kildeer I can remember seeing was years back in Stillwater. It was March or April, the snow had gone from all but the thickest stretches of the forest, and the ice had receded several feet out (still probably an inch or more thick in the middle), exposing a sandy shoreline littered with fish and waterborne insects that had been killed as the ice moved in. The kildeer was hopping along, here and there nabbing a dragonfly larva (fat and green, like a raw olive), or pecking at the ribs of a dead sunfish. It took off when it saw me, piping its distinguishing cry as it wheeled over the ice.

It's not the first time I've spotted what would typically be distinguised as rural wildlife in Minneapolis's very urbanized suburb. I remember once doing a double-take as what I thought was a dog ran along the train tracks that cross County Road C. It was a red fox with a cottontail rabbit in its mouth.

Four strawberries by last count between two plants. The last of the Wild Geranium went out of bloom last night, and the Harebell and Monkey Flower look just about ready to pop.

Canada Anemone in bloom

Canada Anemone is a species common in wet forests and seasonal wetlands. They have multiple white blooms per plant and large, serrated leaves. Natives were aware of its medicinal properties, and often used it to stop bleeding and treat bug bites and other conditions.

Loons could be heard in the house with the windows closed this morning. Baltimore Oriole and American Robin were seen drinking from the pond, and Prairie Ninebark has started to bloom in the front yard.

First strawberry of the year growing in the vegetable garden. Spent much of the weekend weeding, cleaning the filters, and working on some more hypertufa "rocks" to cover the pond liner.

First mixed the ingredients; I was doing a large modular block and needed it to be strong, so used:

• 1Xportland cement
• 1Xsand
• 1.5Xpeat moss

Here's the solution mixed together with water. Didn't want it runny, so only added in about a gallon of water.
Spread the mix over a 1/2" mesh hardware cloth that I'd previously bend into shape to fit into a corner of the pond and hide the liner. The hardware cloth provides both shape and reinforcement for the hypertufa. Placed logs underneath to help the cloth hold its shape under the weight of the mixture.
The hypertufa creates a pretty natural-looking texture on its own without a lot of shaping. Inserted wire reinforcement where I wanted to create rocky extensions to break up the shape of the pond and provide perches for frogs or birds.
Finished it off by spreading some peat moss on the still-damp hypertufa mixture. This will add a little texture, and create a bit of traction for pond-dwelling wildlife.

Now must wait three days for the cement to completely dry, as I do not want any lime leaching into my pond.

A Monarch Butterfly scouting out our Swamp Milkweed

The clouds mosquitoes have attracted predators; Dragonflies and Damselflies that attend the garden whenever the sun's out and the skies are clear. When they're not darting through clouds of mosquitoes or gnats like a whale shark through plankton, they're either sunning themselves on our rocks or retaining wall, or hawking; crouching like aerobatic leopards on the dried husks of last year's Bergamot and Goldenrod.

A cool and damp end to spring; currently 65 and extremely windy with a severe thunderstorm watch over most of Minnesota. The Columbine are taking to seed, and the Rue Anemone are just about to peter out for the year, while Prairie Ninebark is just about to pop. False Solomon's Seal just petered out, though they will be recorded in this week's phenology report.

Garden Report:

Wildlife Spotted:

• American Toad
• Baltimore Oriole
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Cedar Waxwing
• Chorus Frog
• Cottontail Rabbit
• Crow, Common
• Eastern Bluebird
• Goldfinch
• Grackle, Common
• Gray Catbird
• Grey Squirrel
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Loon, Common
• Mallard Duck
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Cardinal
• Nuthatch
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Purple Finch
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Robin, American
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Sandhill Crane
• Tree Swallow
• Virginia Opossum
• Wood Duck
• Wood Frog
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

Emerging Wildflowers:

• Brown-eyed Susan
• Butterfly Weed
• Early Meadowrue
• False Dragonhead
• False Indigo
• Harebell
• Monkeyflower
• Purple Coneflower
• Showy Goldenrod
• Swamp Milkweed
• Tall Boneset
• Virgin's Bower
• Wild Bergamot
• Wild Grape
• Woodland Goldenrod
• Woodland Sunflower

Wildflowers in Bloom:

• Aborted Buttercup
• Canada Anemone
• Columbine
• False Solomon's Seal
• Hooked Violet
• Jacob's Ladder
• Prairie Smoke
• Rue Anemone
• Shooting Star
• Swamp Buttercup
• Wild Geranium
• Yellow Violet

A Junebug perched in a tree in our pond garden.

Heard a pair of loons last night as the thunderheads rolled in and the Tree Frogs chattered in the swamps. Hearing crickets now along the retaining wall and in the garden. No frogs seen in or near the pond yet.

Still relatively cool with temps in the low 70's. Isn't supposed to heat up into the 80's until the weekend.

Prairie Smoke covered in morning rain

A very damp, cold start to June. Only 63 outside, with sporadic thunderstorms. At least four days of the last weeks have seen rain, with Superior's water level rising, and there's flooding in some areas of Iowa. Good time for the garden; Columbine's grown about 2 feet tall, and is filling in many of the unplanted areas along the retaining wall. Haven't heard peepers for over a week now; only heard Tree Frogs last night.

Vegetable garden's taking off, with the tomato plants shooting up, the raspberries building up thick clusters of foliage around the base, and the strawberries are blossoming.

A Wild Geranium blooming in our pond garden

Nasty year for invasives. The Swallow I took to be tending her nest proved to be dead, her eyes poked out. Placed her and her nest in the woods. Have read about a "halo" put around the entrance to the Bluebird Houses; it is supposed to keep House Sparrows out.

The Creeping Charlie in the back lot is over a foot tall, and the dandelions are overtaking the edges of the lawn in thick, spreading clumps. Sadly, we've had to resort to using a preventive and a spray this year. I would rather do things organically, but have not heard of anything that has much effect on the dandelions. We'd be less militant against them if their airborn seeds and deep, resilient taproots didn't make them one of the most ravenous invasives to compete with native fauna.

Won't allow the chemicals anywhere near the native gardens, so spent several hours pulling out crag grass, dandelions and other non-natives.

Prairie Smoke in full bloom

First Monarch Butterfly spotted. Tree Swallow seen in other nest. Unfortunately couldn't check for eggs or young as the mother was very ardent about us not opening it.

Saw a black-and-yellow dragonfly (believe it was a darner) hunting mosquitos near the pond, and a number of delicate light-blue damselflies in the tall grass.

Raided Bluebird nest

Opened the bluebird house to find each of the eggs penetrated with a jagged hole and swarming with ants and small flies. Classic sign of a House Sparrow raid. Sadly, while death is part of nature, this is not nature's way. House Sparrows are an invasive, non-native species, introduced (both intentionally and accidentally) by European immigrants.

While many birders use glue traps or even electricity, we can't stomach killing them, and have attempted more passive measures, such as controlling what we put in the feeders and pairing bluebird houses in the attempts to draw Tree Swallows, a native species that can coexist with the bluebirds, but often repel House Sparrows. Will have to try monofilaments to frighten them away the next time a Bluebird makes its home in the box.

If you ever see this in one of your bluebird houses (from what I've heard, it can be a lot more gruesome than this), clean the house out, and keep an eye on the house to make sure the House Sparrows do not move in. If House Sparrows do enter a nesting box, it is perfectly legal and advisable to remove the nest immediately.