Greetings and welcome!
We have a mostly clear 80 degree day going on today. There is a little bit of wind but nothing too troublesome.
The green explosion is slowly going off. Most trees are getting full with leaves. The color pallet of the different new green leaves is very pretty on hillsides and valleys. The ferns started unrolling their fiddleheads this week and some are turning into real plants. The cherry trees and flowering crab trees are in spectacular bloom.
The trillium are a different story. Around here and between here and about Amberg they are just getting started. When I went to Wabeno yesterday I found a much different story. About the time that I crossed into Forest County it was like walking through a doorway. The woods and roadsides were just littered with trillium blooms.
I expect that the major trillium bloom will spread east and we have some scenic beauty coming here any day now.
We have been getting a lot of smoke from Canadian wildfires over the past week. That has made for some very strange sunsets with the reddish brown haze. That isn’t going away any time soon.
We currently have high fire danger here. That isn’t going to get any better by the weekend. There is a strong cold front coming through tonight, but not much rain is expected. After that the next rain that I see on the GFS forecast model is June 1st, a week from Thursday. It will be plenty dry by then. I would not be surprised to see high or very high fire danger for this coming weekend.
ATV/UTV riders will want to remember their dust masks. The forest roads and trails are plenty dusty right now.
Our wet spring has come back to haunt us. The mosquitoes are incredible right now. Forget the lawyers, guns, and money, send Repel. This is the stuff that I use. Repel Sportsmen Max 40. I know that a lot of people don’t like DEET. I don’t either. Sometimes it is just a good idea to suck it up and spray. When I took the sunset picture it took about 2 minutes to drive us back into the car. https://www.amazon.com/Repel-Sportsmen-Aerosol-Insect-Repellent/dp/B07DNKF34T/
There are an assortment of other bugs, gnats, midges, and so on. No big deal. The gators (mosquitoes) are the star of the show today. Maybe I should start calling them sky piranhas.
Those will get a lot better soon. The dry weather will limit future hatches. The bats are starting to do their job, they eat their body weight in bugs every night. Soon the dragonflies will hatch and start their feast. For now bring Repel.
The deer along the roads have become more scarce. Their food sources in the woods are coming into play and they don’t need to be up by roads. They are also getting into fawning season. I haven’t seen one yet but they will be having fawns any day now. You still need to watch for deer along the roads, but it isn’t insane like it was a couple of weeks ago.
Last night I was sitting on the back porch at sunset and just digging the quiet and the sounds of nature. I sure wish that I could bottle that.
I have some events this weekend and there are likely more that I don’t know about yet.
Saturday- The Crivitz Museum will be hosting a Craft/Vendors Show and Flea Market on May 27th the Saturday of Memorial Weekend. $15 for a 25×20 lot. 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Vendors can set up at 7:00 a.m. The fee will be collected during the event. No need to register, just show up. We have plenty of room.
The Crivitz Museum is right behind McDonalds.
Sunday there is a memorial service followed by a picnic at the Silver Cliff Memorial Picnic Grounds. I have conflicting information on times and I will have to track that down. I believe that the service is at 10 and the picnic to follow at about 11.
Parkway Inn is having a HUGE bluegrass music festival Saturday and Sunday with the pre-party Friday night. They have two stages with about 20 music acts and a lot of acts that I have heard of.
There are a ton of bars that are having live music this weekend. I could spend all day tracking them down and still miss some so you are on your own there. I know that Rapids and Rustic are having live music. Lil Tipsy’s in Townsend is having a big name act. After that places like Uncle Mikes, Woody’s, and others will be having entertainment.
There memorial services in Crivitz, Middle Inlet, Amberg, and most other towns. Remember WHY we have this holiday.
Gas companies are in the habit of cranking up gas prices for the holiday weekend. I paid $3.39 in Carter yesterday. The TV said that it could go to $3.50 or maybe a little beyond.
I saw on TV yesterday morning that the AAA said that it would be the busiest Memorial Day weekend in 20 years. They didn’t tell us WHY they though that, but that is their story. Of course I wish everyone to be safe and have a great weekend, but OK, lets have a little fun with that.
From Facebook..
And my favorite..
That’s all fun and games but please be safe in your travels. The cabin will still be there if you get there 15 minutes later because of traffic.
One final thought.. The grass needs cutting. I have held off because of No Mow May, a plan to let the beneficial bugs and pollinators that live in the long grass and leaf litter emerge. It is time now to get cutting.
I am off to do just that. Mr John Deere is in for a workout today.
Have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB