Full Moon Over Michigan's Thumb

Well, we thought all week that we wouldn't see the full moon this month. The weather has been rainy, damp, and quite cold. No frost, just dreary November.

There were clues, though. At night the clouds seemed to glow and we knew that there was a big, bright moon up above just wanting to gleem down on Michigan.

The skies cleared on Thursday afternoon and a big wondrous November moon with its soft white almost halogen glow rose in the northwest. The big wind generators reflected the light of the moon. Newly harvested cornfields light up like dull tan patches of shining ground.

The herds of white tailed deer probably moved hither and yon; hopefully, their days are somewhat numbered here in the Thumb as firearm deer season starts tomorrow and there have been way too many car/deer accidents this fall.

So, how come we saw the moon even though weather has held the Upper Midwest in its cloudy grip this week? I checked the Modis Imagery this morning and found the answer -- a big sucker hole that drifted right over the Thumb yesterday afternoon. The photo above was taken about 3PM EST.

Cool! Mr. Moon shone down on us last night and it felt so good!

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Click on the photo in this blog post to see the satellite photo up close and personal. I check this website often, especially in the winter months when it is fun to track the formation and movement of ice on the Great Lakes.

Here's the link to the Great Lakes Modis satellite imagery:
http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/region_map.html

Perennial Bash

The Plant Farm in Bad Axe tempted me! Josh Roggenbuck, proprietor of the Plant Farm, is offering all leftover perennials for $1 a pot. Josh and his staff have offered an extensive selection of perennials all summer, so there is quite a selection left. He says he's done well with perennials and is offering the remainders to his customers for fall planting.

Fall planting! Who would have ever guessed that during the week of Election Day we'd be thinking about (and doing!) golfing and gardening?

So, I spent one and a half wonderful hours in the gardens at Cedar Bluff yesterday afternoon. I planted three new spring and fall blooming irises that Josh helped me pick out. Then I added three daylilies (including one named "Bella Lugosi" which was named to the Top Ten by the Wisconsin Daylily Society and is pictured in this post) to ever the increasing varieties of daylilies at Cedar Bluff. These will be my "In Honor of President Elect Obama" daylilies.

I moved some hostas and pulled out the now frost bitten geranium. I've been row composting rotten garbage, so I dug another trench in the garden and buried rotten pears and leftover kitchen scraps. I replanted daffodil bulbs and took a chance on planting a bulb selection that's resided in the frig for over a year.

The back hatch of the BNB (Big New Buick -- the Rainier) is filled with pots of hostas for the farm, bone meal, and planting tools.

This morning is rainy. Intellicast's radar shows snow over Minnesota. The reports from the Dakotas include blizzard warnings. Still, Ed and I ordered more daffodils from Jung's in Randolph, Wisconsing this morning. We put them into the cedar naturalized areas around Cedar Bluff.

Are we late gardeners? You betcha!

Halloween With the GRAND Boys

Halloween was busy and joyful and a lot like I remember it when I was growing up. We spent the afternoon and evening in Howell at Max and Finny's house. They couldn't wait to get into their costumes for trick or treating.

Lots of trick or treaters came to the porch where Ed handed out candy. John and Liesl and I took the kids and roamed down Riddle Street where the sidewalks were crowded.

Will and Wendy and Pete came for a late supper. It was a great evening together with the grandsons and our kids.

Photo captions:

--Grandma WJ with Finny The Cow

--Max and Finny with their neighbors, Emma and Emma's Baby Sister

--Waiting At The Front Door for the Great Pumpkin