284: Settling in for a bit

Waves on the pond

Home again, home again.  It’s good to be back in the Bogs.  I am, as usual, way behind when it comes to email and visiting other blogs.  My apologies for that.  I very much appreciate all of the lovely thoughts, prayers, energy, words, and hugs on my previous few posts.  Thank you all so much.

While the reason for the trip was a sad one, it was good to spend some time with family, especially those we haven’t seen in a long time.  We said our goodbyes to Jane on Friday morning.  It was a small, casual service with mostly family.  Although we’ll continue to mourn, funerals have a way of releasing some of that tension and sadness.  I suppose it’s a form of closure.

Flagstone artwork

M and went out for a pedal around the pond after arriving home yesterday afternoon/evening.  (With sunset coming so late these days, afternoon and evening are kind of blending together in terms of light.)  It was very peaceful out on the pond.  Nobody was mowing or setting off fireworks.  The Green Frogs, however, decided to serenade us with their banjo plucking call.  The Bullfrogs joined in occasionally.

Shadow of an empty chair

After our boat ride we sat on the porch and watched the sunset, staying up and talking well into the night, watching fireworks blossom in the sky somewhere off in the distance.  Our resident Great Horned Owl was whoo-whoo-whooing in the woods.

At the top of the first big hill

This morning we went for a bike ride around the countryside, starting at Quail Hollow State Park.  It was quite warm and very humid, the sky hazy around the edges (the horizon).  The nice thing about cycling is that you create your own breeze, at least on the downhill and flat parts of the ride.

It is mostly farm country out that way, with big fields of wheat, corn, and soybeans.  We passed by one of the farms with the dark black, very rich looking soil.  When we first moved to this area our real estate agent gave us a tour of the area and told us about the black soil.  There is name for it, but I can’t remember it (or find it on the internet).

Black soil

We rode about 7 miles in about 50 minutes.  It felt great to get out and exercise again.  We did a lot of sitting during our travels, most of it in the car driving out and back.

Purple coneflowers

After our ride I took a walk around the pond to see what’s new and what’s in bloom.  The purple and yellow coneflowers are just getting started.  The chicory, which grows prolifically along the roadsides, is going full force now.

Chicory

Did you know that only a few Chicory flower heads open at a time, and that each lasts only a day?  I didn’t until I looked up the flower today.

Queen Anne's Lace

The Queen Anne’s Lace is blooming in spots.  There will be plenty more as the summer continues.  It’s not even near its peak yet.

Black Eyed Susan

There are legions of dragonflies and damselflies dancing around the pond, in the meadows, and back in the woods.  I did get some photos of them, and will post them tomorrow.

Cattails

For the first summer season ever, I have been watching the flowering spikes of the cattails form.  It’s as fascinating as the other processes I’ve been watching since early spring.  I’m sorry to say I had no idea about the stages they go through before they form that fuzzy thing that eventually bursts open with seeds.

Timothy Grass going to seed

The grasses continue to grab my attention as they go from green to purple or brown or red or yellow, depending on their seeds.

Heal-All and Yarrow

That’s about it from the Bogs for today.  I’ll be back tomorrow with some dragonflies and maybe a few photos from the trip.  Most of what I took on the trip involved family so I’m not sure I have any I can post.  We did get to see some fireworks (very up close!) on Saturday night, having decided to do things that we know Jane would want to do if she were still alive and well and able to do them.  I took photos but without a tripod (I didn’t take it with me on this trip), and we were so close that I think everything came out overexposed and with lots of camera shake (blurriness).

Happy 4th of July to those of you celebrating it!  (In other words, to all of you here in the U.S.)

Today's view of the pond

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