Early August Events

This is August and there's a lot to do around here. I just finished mowing the trails so they shouldn't be too hard to walk.

First, the State Fair is just 26 miles from our gate; it runs from August 7th thru August 17th. However, we don't have any availability during the fair.

That brings us to Nature and wildflowers. Rain & heat sure help the plants grow, and there's much more green than you'd normally see this time of year. The Cottage is energy efficient with a ground source heat pump.

Orange - The tiger lilies are done for the year, but a few butterfly milkweeds are blooming in shaded places. Yellow - the blackeyed susans are still blooming away, and I noticed a few gray goldenrod blooms starting - they normally bloom later. Purple - the purple coneflowers are fading, as are the rough blazing star, but the tall ironweed and tall thistle are coming on; red clover blooms summer-long.

Our native grasses along the lane to the cottage are doing very well, with some of the big bluestem starting to head out. Some people call this grass "turkeyfoot" because the seed heads are splayed much like a turkey's foot. We see lots of deer tracks in the creeks, which are down and very walkable despite the 2.5" rain last week.