Wisconsin summer

Mark belongs to a book group that meets the last Sunday morning of the month. I join in when the book interests me and I'm willing to give up time in the garden. I went along this week as the garden is too wet to work in. The drive was absolutely lovely and reminded me again of what I love about where I live.

Drive ten minutes outside of Madison and you're in the country. We saw fields and terraced hills of corn as far as the eye could see. 

This natural area, however, was almost as far as our friend's house about an hour from town.

The roads were lined with Queen Anne's lace and Chicory, a site that says summer in Wisconsin to me.

We also saw some low lying fields that were water-logged and the crops planted there had rotted away. A very sobering site. I may complain about my wet garden but it's not my livelihood like these crops are for farmers.

We could also see where the high winds had come through in the recent storms. Lots of huge branches and big old trees were down by the roadsides. There were a couple of downed trees where I hoped the vibrations from our truck driving by would not cause them to fall onto us.

It made driving on twisty and hilly roads with tree canopies meeting overhead a little disconcerting this time instead of its usual charming.

But our journey proved safe and uneventful. We arrived home to discover a little rainstorm had visited while we were gone. And we ended the day with a turkey play date in the garden. We've discovered the turkeys are nesting in the black walnut tree in the neighbor's yard. 

A pair of moms (yes, two of them!) came for an evening stroll in the garden with a hoard of little ones. I guess that's what happens when you spend twenty years creating a beautiful habitat around your house — there are always visitors stopping by.

 

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

I love this time of year when you drive through the country and the chicory and Queen Anne's Lace are blooming together along the roadside. I have tried to replicate that in my garden. Of course when you want it to grow in your garden it doesn't happen. Ha I can just imagine the turkeys having their daily sashay through your garden. I bet the poults are getting big. I have read that if they live the first 4 weeks they are likely to be able to survive into adulthood. You must have a peaceful neighborhood for them to be roosting in your neighbors trees.

[Kristin]

Love, love, love the southern Wisconsin countryside. Missouri can't hold a candle to home.

[Peter/Outlaw]

Beautiful countryside and a turkey play date to boot. What an enjoyable way to spend a day too wet to play in the garden.

[Loree / danger garden]

Thanks for sharing a beautiful look at a part of the country I've never visited. Congrats on your new neighbors!

[Phillip]

It looks so peaceful and serene.

[Erin @ The Impatient Gardener]

I had to drive to Marshall yesterday and took the state highway instead of the freeway. The entire thing was lined with these plants. I just love chicory.

I have to look through the posts of yours that I've missed to see how your garden is doing in this soggiest of summers.

[Susie]

Beautiful countryside. What was the book? My club just finished Alice Hoffman's The Marriage of Opposites, historical fiction based on life of Camille Pissarro's mother.

[Elizabeth]

It seems that you've come to appreciate the neighborhood turkeys?Our wooded 1 acre (in a village) hosts quite a variety of wildlife; residents and those just passing through. Some are more interesting and welcome than others (namely deer and woodchucks who graze on the finest plants...) I have seen a single turkey here once. I've heard that they can be aggressive, yet watching a growing family must be charming!

[Frank]

So summery, I just love those open fields with wildflowers allowed to co-exist with the grasses.
I hope the turkey's don't do much damage. We are into a wildlife year here too with occasional deer, skunks, a fox or two, several snake sightings... it keeps it interesting!