Fall Scenes and Learning

Autumnal splendor continues at the Prospect Gardens. Here are a few scenes as we proceed through October.

The Japanese Sumac has just about replaced summer green with a reddish golden color that soon will turn to yellow.  We planted this one nearly six years ago. Perhaps it's time for a pruning.

 Several Asters have already lost their color and gone to seed but not this one.  The pinkish/purple blooms will also soon turn brown. In the meantime, I enjoy its warm welcome and especially on a cloudy day like today.

 The Saw Tooth Daisies are at their prime. Bright yellow blooms greeted me on this quiet morning as I returned from the gym. My weekly routine, during the late fall and all winter, includes at least three days (sometimes more) at the Shell which is part of the Camp Randall complex.  A ten minute walk from home.   I look forward to those winter walks when the gardens and the path are covered with fresh snow.

A few raspberries from the autumn crop are still available.  With each passing day, the number decreases.  This year, I will wait until spring to prune and cut the plants back.  We usually prune in November.  On Sunday after a church (First Unitarian Society), I happened to talk with the former Director of the Olbrich Gardens  and I mention the upcoming task of pruning the raspberries.  She informed me that spring pruning is much better since sometimes November can have warm temperatures that result in the plants sending out shoots. So I learned something new, as is usually the case in gardening.

Raspberries, Kids , Football, Pink Pig

Yesterday, with sunshine, cool breezes and wooly caterpillars making their way to who knows where, several neighbors, Ann and I began preparing the Prospect Gardens for winter. A beautiful day much like today.

Ah, the luxury and beauty of Wisconsin late summers. A perfect day for gardening and watching life pass by on the commuter path and within the neighborhood.

Before we started working, I noticed a neighbor and his children strolling by. After exchanging warm greetings, I sensed that the children wanted more of the raspberries. The fall crop is quite abundant. It didn't take much encouragement for the kids to increase their intake of these tasty treats.   Here are a few photos of the family.

 The family lives nearby and are new to the neighborhood.  Here's Dad showing the delicacies to his daughter. It didn't take her too long to start picking by herself. I missed a shot where she was leaning out of her stroller to get at the berries. Dad pointed out her Green Bay Packer's hat and Wisconsin pullover.

 Here she is enjoying the fruits of her labor. I know, it's really a bad pun. Take a look at those rubber boots. She's ready for the fall rains and maybe even for winter.

Here she looks like she is not so sure about all the fuss I am making about her and eating raspberries on a sunny day.

  
Here is her brother. He charged up the terrace to get at the berries higher up the bank.  The young boy remarked that the raspberries tasted just like those from his Grandmother's garden.

A few years ago Dave, another neighbor, and I terraced the bank. We created steps just so kids and adults could have better access to the berries. Our intentions were indeed fulfilled.

We have a spring crop and a fall crop.  Initially I opposed planting raspberries and I am now happy that we have the patch.  The patch attracts so many people and offers opportunities for conversation.

Like his Dad and sister, the young lad was also wearing his Badger gear. UW-Madison played some unknown school, Troy, from Alabama yesterday.

Some of our more enterprising neighbors make some extra income through selling parking spaces.  Here is two with front lawns full of vehicles at $25.00 a space.  It is quite remarkable, that Camp Randall, the football stadium, does not have a parking structure. The 80,000 plus fans somehow find parking spaces on the streets and on private lawns in the nearby neighborhoods.

 Badger football offers plenty of opportunities to showcase and advertize Wisconsin products and business.  Here are two on the way to the stadium from Jones Dairy Farm, Fort Atkinson.

A man in a pink pig outfit passing through Prospect Gardens is a first. I received a ticket to enter the "Porkchop Photo Contest."  I could be the lucky winner of a "mini stuffed porkchop" if  I took my picture with the guy dressed as a pig and posted it on the farm's Facebook page or on Twitter or Instagram.  Tomorrow is the deadline. I think I will pass up this opportunity while posting this photo.

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 We accomplished much despite all this activity along the path. Activities also included many bike riders speeding by. Indeed it was a great day for a  bike ride.

Here are pictures of two of our co-workers and long time volunteers:  Steve and Joyce. Both are from the Regent Neighborhood.  About six years ago, Steve wrote the grant that initially provided some city funds that officially launched the Gardens.  Prior to the grant, I along with Ernie, another neighbor did what I called "guerrilla gardening."  That is we planted without the expressed approval of the authorities and without a plan. With the grant we achieved a flexible plan plus funds for the shrubs that are now fully grown and funds for seeds.      

Ann, my wife, also pitched-in plus made the delicious cheesecake squares for our break.  Laura also helped before leaving to take her car in for a check up.

Tomorrow morning I will email my city contact to pick up the huge pile of plant material.

We will back on October 17th for another session to continuing preparation of the Gardens for the upcoming winter. Come join us...anytime between 9am and noon on the 17th !

Winter will surely return.  In the meantime, the sweet days of late summer and fall are to be enjoyed.










 

Bike Ride and Asters

I need a dictionary or a thesaurus to adequately come up with superlatives for today's weather. As evening descends, allow me to just say today is one of those incredible late Wisconsin summer days that will linger in my memory: blue skies, temps in high 70s, low humidity and a cooling breeze. Perfect for my mid-morning bike ride.

Madison has so many great bike paths with many routes. I traveled west on the Southwest Path to the roundabout (yes a bike roundabout) and then onto the Cannon Ball Path.  The Cannon Ball takes you past the southern side of the Grady Tract and Greene Prairie; part of the University's Arboretum and south of the Beltline. I ended at Fish Hatchery Road, turned around and headed back home.  I would say it was about a 16 mile trip. I never keep track of my mileage and especially on a day like today.

 Okay, let's now focus on the gardens. September brings the  asters. Their pastel colors are a lively contrast to the fading foliage, while signaling that fall is arriving and winter is just around the corner.

Here are three pictures of asters for your enjoyment. Tomorrow will be another beautiful day. The asters will continue to show off their blooms while ignoring for now their impermanence. 

Electric Car and Fall Flowers

A quiet Labor Day after a visit from David, a long-time friend. About 40 years ago Dave and I met in Portland, Oregon. He was one of the individuals who interviewed me for a special education resource room teacher. Now that is a lifetime ago.

David traveled from Kansas City, Kansas in his all electric car; Nissan's 2011 Leaf.  The car's range is approximately 60 miles, which means a recharge for every 60 miles traveled.  I will leave it up to you, if you wish to calculate the number of recharges needed between Kansas City and Madison, Wisconsin. It's more than I would be willing to do.

David is a consummate planner. Prior to his trip, David had everything laid out in a spreadsheet. To maximize mileage between charges, David often traveled at lower speeds, sometimes as low as 25 miles an hour, but he can go faster and does.  Traveling at low speeds saves energy but requires using less traveled back roads. Generally, David stays off expressways. He left for the return trip this morning at about 1 AM.  David devoted yesterday afternoon to planning his trip back home with bedtime at about 5:30 PM.

 I will miss this adventurous and patient friend. An early morning email from David informed us that he arrived in Janesville at about 3:30 AM,  traveling the back roads at about 25 miles an hour. Police officers stopped him twice to check if he was all right.

So how is David's visit related to the Prospect Gardens?  The process for developing the gardens was not as intentional as David's trip planning. We started with a basic plan but without a detailed route to what now has emerged. Ours was a more organic and emergent process, as opposed to a detailed set of steps.  Here are seven pictures of those results as of today and as we move from late summer into fall.

The above picture and to the right is of Sneeze Weed (Helenium Autumnale). Beautiful yellow flowers and which of course blooms in late summer. I have no idea why the common name is Sneeze Weed. I transplanted this one from my backyard garden.

This one (to the left) is in the cone flower family. I don't know its specific name. Maybe I should look it up? Its "parents" came from Janice's rain garden. Janice is one of our neighbors.We have several rain gardens along our street, all contributing to reducing rain water runoff while adding beauty to our surroundings.

Bottle Gentian (Gentianna Andrewsii), the plant to the left, as you can see, has a soothing purple flower.  I love the bloom's shape and color. This one started as seeds nearly six years ago when we first developed the garden.

Ever  since that first year and at this time of the year, I look forward to seeing this beautiful graceful plant. May it continue to thrive.

These are Tall Coreopsis hanging over the shabby chic picket fence. The picket fence serves as the northern border of the gardens. These flowers were planted about five years ago. Percy donated them.

While they add late summer color, these plants can be quite aggressive. Every spring we pull many seedlings. Also to prevent them from getting too tall and toppling over more than what they already do, I gave them a haircut in June.

The Japanese Sumac, like all sumac, has already developed stags of brownish seeds. Shortly the green leaves will turn into a golden hue, adding color to gardens until late fall.

This Jack-in-the-Pulpit is having a healthy and productive summer. The waxy seed pods of  compact shiny red beads will eventually break apart dropping hundreds of seeds. When the seeds are ready to break apart, I offer Mother Nature a hand by scattering the ruby red seeds. I will do this again this year and the result will be more Jack-in-the Pulpits next season.


I am now wondering how David is doing on his adventure while enjoying the quiet of this last summer holiday. Perhaps there will be another email form him this evening. Sure hope so.

Edgewood Freshmen: What a Crew!

Nearby Edgewood College on Monroe Street requires their students to do community services or action projects.  Included in the Freshmen orientation are opportunities to engage in community service. On this sunny and cool day, with a hint of Fall in the air, I met the seven Freshmen and an assistant on campus at 1 p.m. After a brief orientation and opening activities, we sauntered across campus, crossed Monroe Street and made our way to the Prospect Gardens. We meet Sandy, my garden co-leader for the day, and walked the half block to the site. I followed with a wheel barrel. Inside was an ice chest with bottled water and a bag of granola bars for the crew.

We arrive and Sandy Gives Some Directions

Today's goal was to plant milkweed and butterfly weed as part of the national initiative to improve the habitat for monarch butterflies.  Their habitat is disappearing in part because farm land is highly cultivated which reduces the right habitat.

We planted slightly more than 200 plants in a terrace near the Commonwealth butterfly and pollinator garden. The site has the newest garden on the Southwest Commuter Path. This fantastic garden resulted from the energies and foresight of David and Jeannette, owners of the home bordering the butterfly and pollinator garden.

We saw several monarchs enjoying the year old habitat made up of plants that butterflies love. Several of us assisted the red milkweed seeds to disperse by blowing them into the air with our exhalations, giving nature an assist that wasn't necessarily needed.

I always so enjoy planting with the Edgewood freshmen. This is the second year students have been involved with the gardens as part of their orientation to Edgewood College life.  All seven Freshmen were either 18 or just turning 19 which makes me just over a half century older than these 21st century youth.

We worked diligently while enjoying small talk, and some laughs. It was great to be out in the sunny, cool air of late August day. What a splendid way to spend the waning days of summer while lending a hand to the Monarch butterflies and other creatures that share this commuter path with us.  Thank you  Edgewood college students!!  Here are seven more  pictures of the crew in action.

Bryan and Steve In Action

The Coeds Know How to Plant

Steve Spreading Mulch

The Crew In Action

The Happy Crew

Break Time

Kelly In Action: What a Great Smile.

Today's Crew

 Another productive and fun work session focusing on weeding the gardens happened this morning and before the heat really set in. Mercifully, most of the time we were weeding in the shade. Pictured to the right are today's happy crew: Ann (top left), and from left to right are Joyce, Ken, Laura and Claudia . We were all enjoying a break that included Ann's delicious date bars. Bob, Mulch Man, is absent due to a injured foot. We missed him and hope to garden again with him next month.
 
Unfortunately, Ann encountered  nasty bees and was stung several times. She is still recovering from a bite that caused her ring finger  to swell.  Ice cold water and Benadryl are finally reducing the swelling.  For awhile, we were concerned that a trip to urgent care would be necessary to cut and remove her wedding ring. Not necessary. Ann is now resting after a dinner of fresh sweetcorn and tomatoes from the West Side Saturday Market and chicken sausage from Trader Joe's. Ah the comforts of living on the near West side with farmer markets and stores nearby. Here's two more pictures.

Ken and Claudia Discussing Something

Joyce and Laura Tackling the Weeds

August Scenes and Cat Stevens

Impatiens in the Foreground

 Time has slipped away from me since my last entry. We have ventured into mid-August and the slow but sure turning of the seasons. Here are a few summer scenes from Prospect Gardens. I have been busy putting together a presentation about my ancestors for an August 30 family gathering.  While writing about my ancestors and being aware of the rapid movement into August, I am recalling the message from one of my favorite songs from the 1970s, the then Cat Stevens: "Oh Very Young."  Perhaps you recall this first verse from "Oh very young"

"What will you leave us this time. You're only dancing on this earth for a short while.  And though your dreams may toss and turn you now
They will vanish away like your daddy's best jeans
Denim Blue fading up to the sky
And though you want him to last forever
You know he never will
(You know he never will)
And the patches make the goodbye harder still"

Cardinal Flower in Full Bloom

Let us continue to dance while mindful that yes we are here for a short while. Likewise, the August blooms of Prospect Gardens will be with us for a short while. In the meantime, I rejoice in their splendor and am grateful for this warm Wisconsin summer day.

This evening we will go to the annual summer ice cream social just down the street. I will savor the ice cream while enjoying our neighbors.

 

Elderberries just about ready.

Nodding Onions

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