amphibians of the week

meet Jackson (above)and Evan, named by little Julia (Maya and Chris's 2 2/3 yr old) for her friend at preschool and her cousin. Maya and Julia came out to feed the fish and meet the frogs. the frogs were so friendly that they stole the show.

here's evan. he was calling "glunk-glunk" in hopes of attracting a mate.



they are both green of course, and in the species Green Frog (Rana clamitans), so named for the clamorous noise the males make calling for females at night. the raucous ancestors of these guys inspired my father to describe our place as "just an ole frog bog."

the reptiles and amphibians field guide notes that green frogs are "not as wary as other species of frogs." this was certainly true of Jackson and Evan, who let us get very close to them. we know they are boys, because males have yellow chests and the more demure females have white chests.

a very charming little Common Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) is up under the eaves of our house, too high to photograph.

we didn't name this place frog bog for nothing.

making hay

the summer has been a very wet one, and while this is good for the backyard tomato crop, it is really bad for the hay crop. the old saying 'make hay while the sun shines' really should read 'make hay while the sun shines for three days in a row.' you need the first sunny day to cut it, the next to turn it in the field to dry it out, and the third to bale it and get it under cover. our ten-acre field is planted with a mix of alfalfa and orchard grass, the right balance for most horses. for our european and british readers, alfalfa is called lucerne. and it is interesting to know that the word comes from the arabic "alfacfacah,' meaning 'the best kind of fodder'and came into american english from spanish. the plant itself originated on the iranian plateau, and while well appreciated by the greeks and romans as animal feed, its cultivation was lost in the middle ages.

yesterday our neighbor and farmer jack briggs drove his tractor to our field, and started to bale the hay he'd turned the day before. but it had rained in the night and the hay was a little too wet and kept jamming up in the baler, so he had to quit.



in spite of this and other weather-related setbacks to harvesting, jack flashed his great smile as he was heading home. he's come back to turn the hay twice today, and if it doesn't rain tonight, he should be able to bale it tomorrow. a horse might eat half a bale a day in addition to some grain or 'sweet feed. like everything else, the price of hay has gone way up to over $7 a bale, so it is a very valuable crop.

visiting swedish folk culture: midsummer

here we are, two americans (jay-jay is from alaska) enjoying the swedish folk tradition of dancing around the midsummer pole, wearing luxuriant flower wreaths in our hair, made by jay-jay. and we hadn't even started drinking yet. (the gray smoke in the background is from a fire in the industrial district.)




and here are ingrid and her friend inga, singing and making music for the traditional songs at the midsummer festivities. the sequence of dances around the midsummer pole is much enjoyed by children.



ingrid in her traditional dress from the northern area of westerbotten; julia; emma; mimmi; jay-jay. jm had lovely flowers in her hair too, but she was taking the photos.

afterwards, we went to inga and mats' house for the traditional feast of herring, salmon, new potatoes, and many other treats, with skåls of aquavit and beer and drinking songs to accompany them. and of course swedish strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. then we went outside and played a game of 'kub', an old-fashioned game said to be of viking origin. it involves trying to knock down the opposing team's blocks of wood by throwing sticks.

we were chased inside by rain, so while inga played the violin, with her husband mats (a professional musician) on the piano, ingrid and lars danced. then lars played the violin and mats and ingrid danced.



inga also plays a peculiar old-fashioned instrument called the nyckelharp. and she composes music and writes songs as well. their son arvid plays the trumpet and piano, and daughter ingrid the flute.



needless to say, a good time was had by all. we rode our bikes home about 11 pm, when it was still a bit light out. our friends wouldn't dare drive a car after drinking even one beer (the fines and penalties are severe), but you can ride your bike as drunk as you like.

coming as i do from such an a-musical family, i am in awe of them all. i see our swedish friends thoroughly enjoying their midsummer traditions and happy to share the occasion with us. growing up a WASP in america, i feel i have no tradition of folk culture. which makes me a little jealous and a little sad. but penny says i DO have a folk culture, even if i think i don't, so i will be considering this idea in another entry soon.

blogger on vacation

hello faithful blog readers. there has been an outcry from a few individuals asking what has happened to the blog. as you know, your blog mistress and her trusty design educator have been traveling in distant lands and there were just too many exciting things happening every day to keep up you up to date, informed, and amused.

now mid-july in michigan is warm and humid and all i really want to do is knit. however, the time has come to start reflecting on our visit to Norway and Sweden. a few photos may help suggest some of our adventures.



there was some bad museum behavior in Oslo. American tourists are so embarassing.



the snow-covered mountains on the far side of the fjord looked majestic from our hotel window. yes, it was cold; yes, it rained; yes there was reindeer jerky on the hotel buffet.

our intrepid friend Jean came from London to meet us in Stockholm for a few days. we went to see the Milles Garden and all decided we don't much care for Milles' sculpture but he had an interesting house and collection of antiquities.

then we were warmly welcomed back to eskilstuna by our perfect hostess and lovely friend Ingrid, who made us feel entirely at home. there are delicious strawberries in the pots under those white covers. svenska jordgubbar:the best.



Ingrid's kind and amusing husband Lars has recently taken up golf. an imaginative recycler, he converted a baby stroller into a golf cart. he is a highly accomplished gardener, with two greenhouses full of such unexpected things as an olive tree, lemons, and oranges. of course they have a Volvo station wagon. i didn't ask about the gun.



that's a start. more thoughtful commentary and more photos to come.