Mystery Plant!

My plants at work always seem to flourish even as those at home wither and droop. That's no mystery, at work I have windows and sunshine and a schedule of watering and care. At home available windows look out on brick walls which block any hope of sunshine entering to nourish houseplants. Watering can be sporadic and cats contribute to the general malaise.

Consequently, I get comments at work on my green thumb and my healthy plants - to the extent that at my last job several co-workers asked me to nurse their failing plants back to health. One person finally just asked me to take over her plant - until it died, that is. Then she said I could have the pot and the dirt, if I wanted. I really did not want but I took it anyway and let it languish in a corner by the window. Imagine my surprise when months later, green shoots appeared, growing a few inches weekly, until they were tall and slender. Until I left that job, took the pot home and let them languish.

I brought the pot to my new job along with my other "office" plants. They love the Northwest window and the regular watering and feeding, spritzing in winter and occasional trims. I had no immediate plans for the unknown plant other than to let it sit in a corner of the window until needed.

Imagine my surprise when months later, I again noticed little green shoots. I noted their progress with weekly photos and sent them to friends to see if they knew what the plant might be. I kept sending photos and they guessed "it looks like a hosta" or "I think it's ginger". I knew it was not a hosta and I was pretty sure it was not ginger.


Week by week I watched it grow, wondering what it could be and why it spent so much time pretending to be dead, only to start all over again. I hoped this time I would not kill it, whatever it was. I christened it Junior Bonaparte and encouraged it with plant food and water. I thought it was in the orchid family (that's what the original owner thought) so I treated it like an orchid.

Today the mystery was solved. I came to work and prepared to water plants and was greeted by what was unmistakably a calla lily. Click on the pictures and see for yourself! I did a little reading and found that calla lilies are tropical and like moist soil. They go dormant after blooming and can be allowed to dry out, especially when grown in pots. Apparently I had been doing it right without knowing. Next time I won't worry and I'll hope they bloom again!

Quotable quotes; in the category You Knew I Had To Go There, Didn't You?

"The calla lilies are in bloom again."

Katherine Hepburn in the MGM film Stage Door.

Sit alone and talk . . . and watch a hawk . . .

Bill saw hawks fledging. That means babies learning to fly. He was driving home and saw a strange looking bird sitting on a garbage can in an alley. As he got nearer the bird hopped onto the fence and Bill saw that it was a hawk. Then he realized it was a juvenile. Then he saw its brothers (or sisters) in a nearby tree. Being Bill, of course, he stopped to watch. He was rewarded by the sight of young hawklets (hawklings?) on their awkward early flights. He watched until he felt he could legitimately linger no longer. As he pulled away, he looked around and saw the neighbors across the street, sitting quietly in lawn chairs, enjoying the show. They silently acknowledged each other and their fascination with the raptors, and Bill drove home.

Quotable quotes; in the category Yes, I’m Sure That’s What I Saw!

“When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.”
William Shakespeare: Hamlet

Deer, Deer!

Imagine my surprise when I came out of church last Sunday to find two deer standing on the lawn near the walk.

There had been a congregational meeting that morning so nobody had left the church yet, except for a few members of the choir. Bill was waiting in the car for me and he had left a good 20 minutes earlier (I had to file some choir music and pull more for the upcoming Easter season) so when I left it was likely there had been little foot traffic to disturb them.

I knew deer had come into the neighborhood because I had seen their tracks in the snow on my way to choir practice a couple Thursday's ago, but I never expected to see them so close, in broad daylight, at 11 am on a Sunday morning.
I should explain I live in a densely populated area (Chicago, IL) and that one does not usually expect to see deer in a busy metropolis. But I also live near the forest preserves which serve as picnic areas and parks to area residents. There has been a thriving population of White Tailed Deer in the area for as long as we have lived there. But it is still a surprise for a "city girl" to come across a pair of deer only a few feet away.

We usually see then in the evening when we drive home past the forested area. They are usually in among the trees but sometimes we see them crossing the road or grazing in the yards of the houses along the road.

It had been quite cold in Chicago, and we have had snow on the ground for the past several weeks. I'm sure the deer in the area are having trouble finding enough to eat, prompting them to be a little bolder in their search for food. That's probably why they were willing to venture through this settled neighborhood during the day.

I stopped, surprised, and stared at the deer closest to me. He (she?) stared back and seemed a little affronted. Probably he (she? it?) expected me to keep walking and was taken aback when I stopped and stared.

After a moment he moved his head side to side (not sure if he was trying to see me or to see past me) and then stamped his front feet in the snow. I continued to stare (am I rude or what?) and he waved his head and stamped again.

His companion began to look uneasy as well so I moved slowly to the car hoping to call Bill's attention to the deer. Bill loves to see deer. Bill was dozing in the car. I pressed on the bumper to wake him and he seemed to nod to tell me he had seen them. But when I got in the car, he said he had not noticed them.

How can you not notice two full grown deer less than 10 feet from your car in broad daylight?

As I walked past, the deer retreated a few feet to stand between the two giant pine trees on the church lawn and stayed there until we drove away. We did not see any more deer on our way home that morning. I think the two I saw, so close, was enough!

Quotable Quotes; in the category There's No I In Team!

"They run like deer, jump like deer and think like deer."
Charles Barkley on the Portland Trail Blazers.

Hawk Sighting

Yesterday Bill and I went to his favorite store for big & tall jeans and shirts to see if I could find a hooded zipper sweatshirt. They did not have any that I liked (and I secretly don't really want one anyway, I guess) so we left.

This shop is located in a place that is pretty easy to get to, but quite a challenge to get home, as are many places in Chicago. We turned the corner and there in the middle of the block was a red tailed hawk plucking its catch - a pigeon - in preparation for its Sunday meal.

Bill and I see hawks when driving on the expressway and we have seen a variety of wildlife in our little urban wilderness - deer, skunks, opossums, raccoons, chipmunks and yes, even hawks. But this is the first time we have seen one in somebodies front yard!

Earlier this spring Bill watched a hawk building the beginnings of its aerie in the top of a tall tree on someones yard, but the nest was never occupied and he never saw the raptor after the initial sighting.

This bird was apparently at ease and intent on its pending supper, in spite of a row of cars trundling up the street past its dining spot. We resisted the urge to go "around the corner" since in reality it would mean going around several corners, and contented ourselves with this rare and rewarding sighting.

So I didn't get a sweatshirt - I got something better, a happy memory!

Quotable Quotes; in the category I'm Sorry, I Guess I Wasn't Paying Attention.

“The bird hunting a locust is unaware of the hawk hunting him”

Old Proverb

Not So Lazy Circles In The Sky

My office is on the 6th (top) floor. Today about 5 pm I noticed the crows flying around in an agitated way. The reason? A group of falcons were dive bombing them. At first they were near the trees, whose tops came up to the 4th or 5th floor, then they gravitated over to the 4 story building a little ways away.

I believe I counted four falcons. I think they're the type known as Sparrow Hawk or American Kestrel. Most likely it is a family out for a fly with mom and dad and the folks just want to keep the big birds away.

Watching them is not unlike watching otters on a mission. At times playful, at times all business, they swoop and dive, soar and roll, coming to light on the building ridges or tree tops before taking off again.

I usually don't work this late. Makes me wonder what else I may be missing.

I know hawks are becoming more prevalent in this area. Bill and I watch for them when driving on the expressway. There are at least four different hawks that live about a quarter mile away from each other and that we often see perched on the tall light posts at the expressway exits. Bill has named them. I just like to watch.

We have seen Sparrow Hawks in the alley while sitting in the backyard. At the old house, I once saw one land on the bird feeder, sending a few dozen sparrows in all directions, as I sat on the back porch.

Of all the beautiful birds, we like the raptors best, especially the hawks. Dunno why. Maybe because when I was taking flamenco dancing lessons, our teacher told us our arms were meant to mimic the wings of a hawk. Or because, as cartoonist Gary Larson of The Far Side said, they know they're cool!

Quotable Quotes; in the category What He Said.

"The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim."
Sun Tzu

My Oh My Oh Mio!

Let me confess right up front the only reason I'm writing this entry is cuz I have PICTURES TO POST! And that's such a rare occurrence for me, I just had to do it.

We travelled to northern Michigan a few weeks ago. If you ever want to spend an entire day driving a straight line to nowhere get on US 131 just north of Grand Rapids MI and keep going. Or get on US 127 south of Houghton Lake and do the same thing. These are the kinds of highways that cause hypnosis and put you to sleep. especially when it's in the upper 80s and there are no clouds in the sky and you don't have air conditioning. If you have a cat with you, barfing in the back seat, so much the better.

Once there, though, the trip became worthwhile. We checked into our motel and drove over to the public access site on the Au Sable to meet Johnny and Tony and Mary. Sadie was with her, of course. After the guys got out of their waders we headed over to the restaurant that had the Friday Night Fish Fry (read every restaurant in Michigan). Only Bill was hungry enough for seconds. I love it when you ask for "a couple more pieces and a few fries" and they bring you another entire order.

Out motel was not the Ritz. I am told that the motels in the area are frequented mostly by hunters and fisherman, less often by vacationers, like us. I am further told that hunters and fisherman are less inclined to concern themselves with amenities like clean showers and floors. They apparently care more about a fridge where they can keep their perishable bait. And their beer.

Bill and I were vacationers. We would have preferred cleanliness over fridgeliness (although we did have a bottle of capsules for Otis that had to be kept refrigerated). Yes, we brought Otis with us. We were unwilling to leave him kennelled at the vet for four days and could not find anyone able to give him his injections so he came with us (thus the previous reference to a barfing cat in the back seat).

Otis hated the drive to Mio. He did not seem to mind the motel. Being confined to one room, we heard him eating and drinking in the middle of the night, which he did several times. He had his pick of beds to sleep on and had the whole room to himself while we were touring during the day. It seems the only thing he did not like was the chair, which had probably served as a dog lounge to previous tenants of the hunter variety. In this picture, he shows his disdain in the way he knows best. Animals and children can express things we are often unable to say ourselves.

We drove over to Harrisburg where we stopped to walk on the shore of Lake Huron, site of many past camping trips and fond memories. In fact, Harrisville on Lake Huron may be the first place the Brents all camped together as a family, but I'm not sure. There are certainly family movies (Brentwood Productions with the famous Pink Privy logo) featuring a be-diapered Madeline toddling along the shore eating pebbles ("those aren't petoskey stones", dad would always say when we watched the movies). But I'm not sure - I think the family may have camped at Rollway's Resort, wherever that may be, the year before.


Sadie had fun trying to herd the ducks and geese swimming in the lake. We had fun watching her. Like most dogs, Sadie loves water. Unlike many dogs she does not lap up water from a lake or river. Instead, she wades in just until her chest touches the surface of the water, then she squats down until it's up to her chin and she "bites" the water to get a drink. Sadie is an awesome dog.

Mio is the place where the Kirtland Warbler makes his summer home (he winters in the Bahamas). This little bird nests only at the base of a tree called a Jack Pine which, as far as I know, grows only in this area of northern Michigan. The Kritland is sometimes called a Jack Pine Warbler. The pines are scruffy looking trees not unlike the pitiful example Charlie Brown chose for the pageant in the cartoon we all know and love. The pine cones will only burst and go to seed when the trees are extremely old, or under intense heat. Thus the forestry department stages controlled burns to ensure the pines continue to reseed and grow, and the warblers will have a place to nest.

Dad and the boy scouts did a giant exhibit on these warblers at one of the scout expos. Mack Lake in the Huron National Forest became our favorite place to vacation and we returned again and again.

It was fun to go back. We had a good time. I hope we'll do it again.

Quotable Quotes; In the category Damned if you do . . .

Camping is nature's way of promoting the motel business.
Dave Barry