The contractors packed up for the day at 4:00 PM.
They were a mile ahead of me as I drove to Hammond Farms Landscaping Supplies to pick up fill-sand to contour the outdoor area they had been fiddling with. They very graciously agreed to pause their work in that area so I could do that.
While driving to Dimondale, I noticed that the goldenrod is starting to bloom. According to Michigan Flora, there are 23 species of goldenrod that are native to Michigan: Tall, White, Bluestem, Canadian, Zigzag, Late, Hairy, Houghton's, Early, Missouri, Gray, Ohio, Rough-leaved, Upland White, Riddell's, Stiff, Rough-leaved, Seaside, Gillman's, Showy, Bog, Elm-leaved and Voss's. They are all the same to me. They are all pretty and the bees love them. They are a marker of the passing seasons.
The extent of my gardening yesterday was to pick an eggplant fruit and to dig three hills of potatoes. As reported earlier, I did not add any fertilizer to the potato patch this year, I relied on the nutrients released by the heavy over-layer of vegetation that I tilled into the soil in the spring. The vines did not aggressively canopy over the tilled areas. The tops also stopped growing sooner and died back sooner. The upshot is that I can start harvesting them now because they are not going to be adding any more mass.
The contractors come back today AND I get to watch Quicksilver. The upside is that Mrs ERJ doesn't have any commitments so I will be able to run some errands.
Bonus political meme
You sure are an Early Riser Joe. Good for you ! I had no idea there were that many varieties of Goldenrod. I learned something new which at my age gives me one more thing to try and remember to impress the neighbors with. Have a good and safe day. God Bless. ---ken
ReplyDeleteMy mother, a born and bred Vermonter, always said "6 weeks until frost when the goldenrod blooms."
ReplyDeleteGoldenrod is indeed very important for the bee population. I had no idea it was this involved until I became a beekeeper... but specific types of pollen (from specific plants), is required for the bee's to make the one's that last the long winter months! Normal bee lifespan is 30-45 days, but the one's they make on the fall pollen, last months. It's the proteins and other goodies specific to the plants that bloom in the fall, fed to the larvae, that generate those kinds of adult bee's. Wonder if there's a human fractal there?
ReplyDeleteIt's also a signifier winter is coming. Time marches on... Its very early for us in my AO, too. Wonder if there's a human fractal there? Winter is coming.