Upper Peninsula gardeners practice patience

I'm a lower peninsula gardener and I sometimes rush things a bit to see how early I can get stuff growing in the garden. I would fail miserably if I was growing a garden in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Ironwood Daily Globe has an article about how residents of the U.P. cope with the much shorter growing season. Most folks start their plants indoors and transfer them to outdoor cold frames in order to get a jump on the June 15th deadline that marks the last day for a killing frost in the U.P.

As if the weather isn't a big enough obstacle, Yoopers must also contend with herds of hungry deer and wild turkeys chomping away the fruits of their labor. Strands of electric wire keep most deer away, but not the turkeys.

You have to be a dedicated gardener in the U.P. I tip my hat to them and salute them with my trowel.

Low Lake Superior levels means lighter loads for Great Lakes freighters

Folks along Lake Superior are seeing land where there used to be water. "Islands" are popping up as water levels continue to drop among all of the Great Lakes. This creates problems in harbors where the freighters plying the Great Lakes with loads of iron ore, grain, and coal must lighten their loads for safe passage. The Mining Journal reports that "For every inch the lakes recede, ships must reduce their loads between 50 and 270 tons." Last shipping season those lighter loads meant that "ships lost about 8,000 tons per trip."

Visit www.boatnerd.com for more information on the freighters that run the Great Lakes. My favorite feature is the "Vessel Passage" that has a map of the Great Lakes with data points showing the locations of ships.

Use these books to plan and take care of your garden this year

Even though winter has returned for a few days and you can't work in your garden due to the snow and the cold you can still research and plan your 2007 garden. I've come across some great gardening books and all of these are meant just for gardening in Michigan. Consider adding these gardening books to your library:

Perennials for Michigan Gardening Month by Month in Michigan Michigan Gardener's Guide Annuals for Michigan Best Garden Plants for Michigan Landscaping With Native Plants in Michigan Tree and Shrub Gardening for Michigan

It won't be long and the cold will all be behind us and the warm sunny days of spring will be back. Meanwhile, there is a lot of garden work to do with seeds to start, perennials to thin, shrubs to prune, and much more.

The first Robin of Spring has arrived!

I know that technically spring does not officially begin until next week on March 21, but we have had some warmer weather the last couple of days with highs tomorrow reaching the mid-60s. Next week when spring officially begins the forecast is calling for winter weather with temps in the mid to upper 30s. So celebrate spring early. The Robins already are. My son spotted the first Robin of the year this morning.

If the Robins are back can spring really be too far behind? I hope not.

Video of the Outhouse Classic in Trenary

Last year, I wrote about the Outhouse Classic that takes place up in Trenary, Michigan. I was fortunate enough to come across a video of the 2005 event on YouTube. Some of the outhouses people made for the race are quite well done and could stand on their own as Upper Peninsula works of art. People wear crazy getups and have a tone of fun by the looks of things.

If the video player does not appear, you can watch the video here.

The ice (not the sky) is falling!

A combination of sun and today's wind is causing large chunks of ice to fall off the trees in our yard making it hazardous to partake in any outdoor activities that do not involve playing "dodge the falling ice." The past couple of days the trees have been serenading us with their strange creaks and cracks as they moved their ice-laden branches with the breeze. Today, they are shaking their icy exoskeletons loose and pelting the ground (and our house) with them.

It is an odd sight and sound to see and hear chunks of ice whistling through the air and breaking into hundreds of separate shards upon impact.

Just before I hit the 'post' button on this a large bluejay was either chasing another bird or disoriented due to being hit with falling ice and slammed into the side of our house. He is still in a bush that he flew to after getting off of the ground. He appears to be alright, but it sure looks like he is still disoriented.