Indian Feathers and other small triumphs

Evening primrose. Don't remember planting these

Patio: not quite as lily filled as I want no thanks to lily eating rabbits

lots of callas though. I guess they taste bad

Forgot what this is called

Red yarrow and lavender

short lived dahlias

Whole fence now covered with impatiens. Noone wants to buy them because of some virus they could be carrying

Indian feather This has spread all over my rock garden. I thought it may be a weed until it finally flowered.
The blossoms look like butterflies as the stems sway in the wind. I notice it comes in bright red too. Maybe next year

campanula

I had been discouraged this year as so many of my plants did not survive the winter such as my CA poppies, forget-me-nots, red mullein, rosemary, many lilies, etc. I had planted 90 (!!!!) dwarf iris bulbs. Guess how many survived? Well the squirrels and chipmunks ate well. And one of my peonies failed to sprout. However, I still have some flowers as can be seen above. Also in bloom, for the first time, are my gentian flowers. So pretty.

Finally a not so humid day. Yesterday even at 8 am, it was 80 and 100% humidity. Even so, I biked. So far this year, I have 700 miles under my belt, 55 miles in the last few days (though on the very first day, that is how far we will be going) My biking buddy flies in overnight . Can't wait to see her!

Yesterday I biked within arm's length of 2 deer. They were sort of trapped as the forest was very dense on one side and I was on the other. They just froze. I could have touched them. And the turkey field was full of turkeys again. I didn't stop this time.  Last time I did, they scattered very quickly as I fumbled for my camera.
Finding turkeys all over the place in Southern Michigan seems to be new. I never saw one before down here 5 years ago.

Still have to deal with my tents (packing them up) and handling last minute errands. At night I have gone out with friends for the past 2 days. Another will come tonight.

I have been enjoying myself.

Wedding Dress regrets

What I wanted:  a larger version of Maya's dress only in coral
What I picked out: this silly thing that I got at the last minute

This is what I found this morning in a store window and it was in coral. Not sure if it was in my size. Silly Sue! Plan ahead.

This was an easy-peasy wedding for me as no planning was involved. All I had to do was buy a dress. I scouted one out a few weeks ago at a store that features natural fibers. Alas, when I went to buy it at the last minute, it was gone. I settled on what was pictured above, which perhaps was a little bit too casual and tent-like.

This morning, adjacent to the Farmers' Market (I get there at 7 am, free parking and no crowds) I see the dress I really wanted in the store window. Argh!!!!

No more dahlia bouquets. So pretty but it lasted only 2 days. This time: sturdier sunflowers.

Unusual food item? Artichokes!!!!
There is a rule that all things sold have to be sourced locally so I was surprised to see them. They were very small however. We have our own Amish at the market. However they charge more than twice as much as the PA Amish for similar items.
Ah Ann Arbor.

Wedding photos: Part 2

with mom and sister

The ceremony

Add caption

signing the license

My lovely daughters

Just married

Wedding photos part 1

Julie's photographer is amazingly fast. If family members want a specific photo, let me know

The mink and the mystery mice

As we were driving into the botanical gardens complex for our pre wedding photos,a  mink darted in front of us. What does a mink crossing portend? Hopefully good luck.  I have seen only one mink in the wild before and that one was probably too big to be one (a fisher? even rarer) And weasels are much smaller and aren't uniform in color.

Minks are not nice. There is that chestnut that Man is the only animal that kills for pleasure. (Did they ever see a cat in action?) Minks apparently relish killing sprees. They even stack up their kills for all to admire, sort of like the Dexter Deer Pole. The only animal successful in killing them is the Horned Owl as other predators are in for a big battle with the minks' sharp teeth.

In the lobby of the conservatory is a stuffed massasauga, Michigan's rattle snake, with a warning that they are out and about the grounds. This thing was only about a quarter of the size of the timber rattlers I came across last week.

There was a double rainbow in the sky right after the wedding. This should offset the mink crossing. Julie stopped to look at it and a doe and twin fawns appeared at the same time. Too bad she isn't as photo happy as myself.

Late at night at home, Steve shut the lights and immediately heard mouse noises. (as he is partially deaf, these noises were loud) Was this my phone? (it does make cricket noises when a get a message) He turns on the light to investigate, nothing to see. Shuts the lights and the mice squeak. Repeat a couple of times. WTF?

Turns out that Maya had been playing with the Talking Puzzle and the guinea pig piece was missing. The puzzle has light sensors. If you block the sensor, animal noises happen. If it were the horse piece, perhaps the mystery would have been solved faster as we never had horses in the house. But we have had mice and chipmunks.

Still in training for my big ride that starts Sunday. Yesterday I went mainly downhill with the wind on my back. Does that count?

A Teacup Wedding

We had pre wedding photos taken at the botanical gardens. As it was raining, we went inside where it was kept a comfortable (not!!!) 95 degrees with extra misting to ensure the humidity would not drop below dewpoint. The men in suits were especially appreciative

Some outdoor photos were tried with the help of an umbrella as the bride did not favor the drowned rat look

Such a pretty bride

The venue: a 150 year old farmhouse specializing in small (teacup) weddings

altar

bouquet

The minions: max cap = 10

The married couple

My kids before the ceremony

There was an official photographer who seemed to have better equipment than my iPhone so when I gain access to those, I will share.

So 30 % chance of showers turned into 100% (and today, for my long bike ride: 0% turned into 100%)

The bride's colors were coral and beach blue so my nails, a pretty coral color reflected that. Our group wedding shots had to be done in the conservatory instead of the gardens. At least there was nice, soft lighting but to keep the tropical plants happy, they reproduce the tropical conditions. The little kids could come to pictures and to the dinner afterwards but not to the wedding itself as the venue was very tiny.

The ceremony took place in the parlor of an old farm house with a very mellow officiant who rang soothing chimes at various intervals. It was the first secular (or maybe the 2nd) secular wedding I ever been to in sharp contrast to Josh's first wedding where his holy roller grandfather-in-law officiated. But the ceremony was sweet. Lots of tears all around.

Josh's buddy and fiancee were in town and joined us for dinner. This friend inspired me to start blogging in the first place. He is a well travelled young man with a knack for writing.(http://www.blogger.com/profile/05584611722565297152) The most interesting blog was his 6 month stay in South Africa (where he is from) and his travels within the continent. He just got back from Turkey. He and his to be wife will return to South Africa and blogging next year.

Dinner was very tasty with lots of interesting things to try. I tried some concoction of oranges, pistachio liqueur and amaretto.Shanna had The Lolita with lots of cherries, Naomi went for a mango Bellini. Julie's best friend and her husband joined us too along with all the  parents, Josh's sisters and Julie's sister. (along with Ramy and Shanna's kids..Maya was with her father)

A nice night and now I have a new daughter (and in less than 12 weeks, a new baby girl).

The Michigander versus The Greenways Sojourn

Despite my fellow riders loving riding on trails, very few of them had heard of the Michigander. I was a riding poster for the Michigander ride as the jerseys I wore are from past Michiganders. There doesn't seem to be that many organized trail rides. There is one that rides along the Erie Canal so I could recreate the long route 90 ride I took numerous times going to Shanna's. There is also the Katy Ride which goes on  the longest  rail trail in the country,which weaves through Missouri.

Price: Advantage M with a cost per day less than half of the GS.

Coffee: Advantage M with a dedicated gourmet coffee provider up before dawn to ensure coffee as soon as we wake. GS coffee often ran out and was never on time (except the first morning).

Steel mills, coal mines, long bridges, tunnels, rattlesnakes: Advantage GS

Clear information: Advantage M

Sag stops with goodies: Advantage M

Food: Advantage M

Waterfalls and canyons: Advantage GS

Amish Markets: A tie. In past years, the Michigander has gone through Amish country (lots of pockets throughout the state) but the far north is Amish free.

Cute towns with upscale shops: Advantage M

Great Lakes and inland lake shores: Advantage M

Interesting geological stuff: Advantage GS

Sand dunes: M

Presence of trains: GS

People: A tie. Most of the people I met last week seemed to live around the Philly area though Rash Sister lives around Pittsburgh, Vet lady in WV, Mia aAmica , Westchester county NY, Store Man: NH, Lawyer Lady VA, The Professor: FL. The Michigander attracts Michiganders though there are a few out-of-staters that find us. There were a few Californians on the ride and 2 other clumps of Michiganders.

Mia Amica is a wonderful Italian lady from Puglia that I spent most of one day with and on and off the rest of the time. She used to be a chemist too. Coincidentally, she has the same name as my favorite roommate from my monastery days chose for herself. That roommate also had ancestors from Puglia (which she met up with during our stay). My nom de guerre was Valeria, which turned out to be the roommate's daughter's name. Way back in junior high French class, we got to chose French names for ourselves but I was told that I had to use my real name as it was French already so I felt cheated. Josh chose "Guy" as it was the shortest one on the list, plus easy to pronounce. Store Man, Lawyer Lady and The Professor came on the field trip with us and later to dinner. Interesting life stories. I met lots of other enthusiastic people too so I never felt lonely. The night I hunkered down in my tent hoping not to be a lightning rod, I listened to NPR to keep me company.

The most common name of riders must have been Sue or Susan. I guess it was our age

So it a few hours, Baby Boy will be married! Stay tuned for pictures.