By the Lake

A few pictures taken on today's bike ride. I shot these with my phone. 

Last Year's Amaryllis

I'd heard it was possible to overwinter amaryllis so I decided to try. This is an Aphrodite amaryllis. When fully open, the blooms are ten inches in diameter. 

This is what I did to get a twofer out of last year's bulb.
When the flowers dried up, I cut them off. Similarly, when the flower stalk dried up, I removed it. 
I put the amaryllis in a sunny window for the rest of the winter. The leaves are graceful, curving structures. 
In the spring when the nighttime temperatures were reliably above 40 degrees F, I moved the plant outside to our sunny porch. 
The amaryllis went a bit feral outside. Weeds grew in the potting soil, and a spider took up residence in the leaves.
I intended to give it some liquid organic fertilizer, but that didn't happen. 
If the leaves wilted, I removed them.
In the fall when the thermometer started to drop below 40 F, I brought it inside. 
After a while, I cut off the few remaining leaves and moved it to the basement. I didn't water the bulb while it was in the basement.
I'd read that the bulb was supposed to stay in the dark for 6-8 weeks. 
At 7 weeks, the bulb had grown a 10" stem with a flower bud, so 6 weeks seems right. 
I brought it upstairs, watered thoroughly and put the plant in a warm, sunny spot. 
Flowers happened. 

Surprise! Pictures of Ice: part 2

Here are the rest of last weekends ice pictures. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

The last two are the same ice formation from different angles. 

Surprise! Pictures of Ice: part 1

I hike in the winter when it's too cold to ride my bike, so winter pictures tend to dominate this blog. This has been a warm winter, but we had a cold snap followed by a rare sunny day. I took enough pictures for two blog posts. As always, click on the picture to enlarge. 

 

Please stop by later in the week for more pictures.

This Year's Amaryllis

Nothing like bright pink blossoms to ward off the gray skies of Michigan winters.

Please drop by again  in a few days. I found a number of interesting ice formations by the Red Cedar River last weekend. As soon as I sort and crop the pictures, I'll put up a couple of posts.

For posts on writing, check my website blog.

Change of Seasons

This year, we didn't have many bright, sunny days when the leaves were changing, so I couldn't get those lovely yellow, gold and red reflections in the river. The leaves are down now, and we've had our first snow. 
Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Fairy Ring

Our neighbors have a nice crop of mushrooms this year. (Click on the pictures to get a bigger view.)

It will probably take a walk in the woods to find more varieties. 

Frost

 frozen ripples

What are fidget spinners anyway?

hoarfrost

Frozen puddles and frosty weeds

Red Cedar Mist

Fall has come to Michigan. The crabapple blossoms I featured in my last post have borne fruit. 

A heavy mist floated above the Red Cedar River this morning. 

Crabapple Blossoms

My favorite time of year is when the crabapple trees are pink and white at the same time. 

Mouse

A friend is sketching mice for her newest project. While I realize that excellent photos of mice are available on the internet, I wanted to give her a couple of mine. Here is one of the six mice that decided to live in our kitchen last winter. My husband trapped them in a live trap. We released them in the woods several miles from here. The woods are on the other side of the Red Cedar River and a highly-trafficked four-lane road. We don't think our mice will come home again. 

Mice are difficult to photograph. They don't pose. Once this one was clear of the trap, he or she dashed for cover.

Sea Lions and Pelicans

We were in San Diego last weekend. When we went for a walk along the ocean, I forgot to bring my camera. (I know!) These pictures were taken with my phone. People sell fresh fish on the pier, and one stand cleans the fresh fish. The extra bits are thrown into the water where a couple of  sea lions beg like dogs at the table, and the pelicans squabble over scraps. 

Click on the pictures to enlarge them. 

In the Bleak Midwinter

As the water level falls, some ice is suspended above the river. 

leaf patterns

more leaf patterns