Door County Wildflowers

Watercress

Watercress © 2008 Bo Mackison

Watercress (nasturtium officinale) is an aquatic plant, this one found near the shores of Lake Michigan. It is edible – the leaves are high in Vitamins A and C and iron, and was a popular plant with the early settlers of North America as it was a successful treatment and preventative of scurvy. The ancient Greeks and Romans thought eating the plant increased mental functions. It is still widely used in cooking – added to salads and sandwiches for a spicy and tangy flavor and also made into watercress soup. The flowers are savory and used as edible garnishes.

Dwarf Lake Iris

Dwarf Lake Iris © 2008 Bo Mackison

This 3 to 4 inch high Dwarf Lake Iris (iris lacustris) is found near the northern shores of The Great Lakes where it grows in the limey soil and in the cool climate. It only grows in the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. I probably saw a thousand of these flowers on my recent visit to Door County in northern Wisconsin, but the flowers are actually rare and on the threatened list of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It has a very limited habitat and that is shrinking because of shoreline development and the use of off-road vehicle and chemical pesticides.

Wild Strawberry

Wild Strawberry © 2013 Bo Mackison

This is Wild or Common Strawberry (fragaria virginiana) a variety of the plant which produces the familiar bright red strawberry. The cultivated plant is a hybrid of this native plant and the South American variety. Native Americans used the juice of the strawberry for an eye remedy, and herbalists still use the roots to treat kidney stones and gonorrhea. It is a common plant in Door County, flowering in May and June in meadows, fields, woodlands and setting its berries in June.

Warehouse Graffiti

Anderson Warehouse Graffiti

Anderson Warehouse Graffiti © 2008 Bo Mackison

When I was in Door County, Wisconsin last weekend, I stopped in the village of Ephraim and visited one of the more famous buildings on the peninsula. (The county is the northeastern bit of Wisconsin that sticks out into Lake Michigan like a thumb.) The building is famous enough – it’s even on the National Register of Historical Landmarks.

Historically, here at the Anderson Warehouse – built in 1895 – visiting boaters have “signed” the warehouse walls with their boats’ names and the year or years they have docked here.

The city fathers of Ephraim have even posted a sign which “encourages boaters and visitors to continue the tradition by being creative but tasteful when adding nautical names to the walls.”

They give some instructions: “Inappropriate words or symbols will not be tolerated. Do not use spray paint, carve or scratch the wood.”

And then they give a warning: “Persons caught defacing public property inappropriately will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

NOTE the word inappropriately. You have everyone’s blessing to deface the public property all you wish, as long as you do it appropriately.

Anderson Warehouse Graffiti

Anderson Warehouse Graffiti © 2008 Bo Mackison

I love some of the boats’ names: Desire III, My Sin, Big Bender III, Easy Rider. I really do understand the temptation to be creative when naming your craft. I own half of a little fishing boat and I have always wanted to christen it King Lure, but the other owner refuses. I don’t understand why . . .

Graffiti

Grafitti © 2008 Bo Mackison

Lots of birthdays, marriages, anniversaries are noted. It’s rather fun to read.

Graffiti

Bo © 2008 Bo Mackison

And look, I even found my own name! I’m thinking every town should have a graffiti wall of their very own.

Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush © 2008 Bo Mackison

I found large patches of Indian Paintbrush on the grassy fringes of the shores of Lake Michigan in northern Wisconsin last weekend. It grows throughout the temperate zones of North America from May through July, especially in the prairies or meadows and in sandy areas.

Native Americans from many tribes used the plant for medicinal purposes. Chippewa brewed its leaves for a tea for rheumatism, Hopi women used the entire plant in a tea as a contraceptive, Navajos made a tea from the blossoms to treat burns and insect bites.

And according to a Native American legend, a young man was painting a picture of a sunset, but was unable to capture the vibrant orange hues to his satisfaction. He asked the Great Spirit for aid and he was given many paintbrushes dripping with vivid orange and red paints. When the artist finished his painting he tossed the brushes on the ground, and wherever a brush touched the earth an Indian Paintbrush plant appeared.

Car for True Collectors

Collectible Car Hood

Collectible Car Hood © 2008 Bo Mackison

I saw this beaded car in a parking lot hemmed in on all sides, but I took lots of photos anyway. Have you ever seen quite such a vehicle? Do you think the car’s name is Claire?

Collectible Car's Door

Collectible Car’s Door © 2008 Bo Mackison

Here’s the driver’s door. Wonder what kinds of comments and donations the owner gets?

On the Roof of the Car

On the Roof of the Car © 2008 Bo Mackison

In case you can’t tell, this is the roof.

Collectible Car III

Collectible Car III © 2008 Bo Mackison

And here’s a take on the rear. Check out the Viking ship along the bottom of the window. If I were following this car down the road, I’d have a hard time keeping my eyes on the road, that is for sure.

Just one more reason to keep a camera available at all times. You really never know what you are going to see next. And how would you ever describe this car without photo proof? Who would ever believe you!

Happy Birthday to My Daughter

Apple Orchard Sunrise

Apple Orchard Sunrise © 2008 Bo Mackison

I haven’t been a woman in this state of affairs for a long time. For the last 7,469,280 minutes of my life I have been a mother of one or more teenagers. But today the streak ends. My younger daughter, the baby of the crew, turns 20 today. Today I lose my title of “parent of teenager.” All my kids are now twenty-somethings.

Happy birthday, dear, and I wish you a day that brings you much laughter and love.

A Door County, Wisconsin cherry orchard bathed in pink dawn light.