Moose and Other Things...

We've had some really foggy mornings lately.  Probably because daytime temperatures have been getting up into the 80's....  but night temps drop into the low 50's.  A lot of days we have a shower or two during the afternoon.

It got daylight around 4 am when we got here in late May, but now, even at 5 am, while not dark enough to need headlights, visibility is still limited.

When the sun rises over the tree line, the whole area looks kind of surreal.

A couple of mornings ago I was taking my morning drive...  the fog was dense enough that I never did get good shots of what I came across...

The first critter I saw was...

A big Bull Moose...

Standing along the patrol road...  all alone.

He watched me for a while then walked off into the woods.

I continued my drive along the patrol road.  This road loops around the perimeter of the old Weapon Storage Area.  When the nuclear bombs were housed here, the road was always congested with traffic...  vehicles and sentry dogs... constantly patrolling the area for intruders.

I rounded the bottom part of the loop and to my total surprise...

There were 5 moose browsing in the field below the bunkers.

Here I could get 4 in the same shot...

There were 4 cows and 1 young bull (in the center).

I have never seen this many moose hanging out together in one place.

The big Bull Moose I'd seen just a couple minutes earlier was no doubt very much aware of the group just below him, but it's nearly 2 months before rut, so maybe he was just curious.

At any rate, I drove the same route at nearly the same time the past 2 mornings and haven't seen a thing.  Guess I just got lucky that they were together there that morning.

You can tell we've turned the corner and are heading into autumn.  The trees are still green, but the leaves just don't seem as vibrant as they were.  Goldenrod is starting to bloom.

There are fields of Queen Anne's Lace...

So lovely and delicate...  swaying gracefully in the breeze.

It's time to look for the Turtlehead flowers...  another late summer bloom.

I got caught up mowing the trails this past week, but the grasses and many of the wayside weeds are starting their decline in growth.

Two of my tomato plants have "almost" ripe tomatoes on them.  They all have tiny green tomatoes now...  and lots of blossoms.  Maybe we'll get some homegrown tomatoes yet.

We haven't gone into Presque Isle for the Saturday farmer's Market yet this year....  so that's on this morning's agenda.

In Ohio, we plant peas in mid-March and that's one of our first crops.  Here, peas are just coming on.  There's nothing tastier than freshly picked and shelled peas...  lightly steamed and served with just a little bit of butter.  

Off to the market we go...

That's All For Today!