gardening, holidays, Nature, Uncategorized

Country Mouse, City Mouse

45 Comments

Today’s post comes from Reneeinnd.

We had four inches of rain the week leading up to July 4. That probably doesn’t sound like much to most Baboons, but out here it is really something.  The rain came perfectly, an inch at a time every other day or so.  The weather on July 4 was also perfect. It was a comfortable 75 degrees with a slight wind, just enough to keep the biting insects off.  My best friend was visiting from the Cities, and we decided to take a hike in Theodore Roosevelt National Park,  just a 40 minute drive.

We have lived here for 30 years, and I have never seen as many wild flowers and berries as I did on our hike. The rain led to perfect conditions for plants to show off their petals.  There were the usual wild roses, clematis, tiny bell flowers, flea bane, and sunflowers.  We missed the flowering prickly pear cactus by a couple of days. They had all set fruit.  It was amazing to see less common  flowers,  especially ones that have a counterpart in our garden in town.

There were tons of wild Monarda.

Here is our city counterpart.

We also found wild lupine.

Our city lupine is currently spent , with nothing but leaves.

Cone flowers are showy natives.

The City ones are somewhat over the top.

We found lots of buffalo berries and this old fellow all alone, without a herd. He seems to be ancient.

We don’t have buffalo berries in town, but we have red currants.

Some of the wild flowers stay where they are, like the country mouse. Others make the leap to be like the city mouse.

What kind of mouse are you?

 

45 thoughts on “Country Mouse, City Mouse”

  1. Looks like a lovely hike! I’m absolutely a city mouse, but if you judge by my yard, I must have a streak of country mouse. I have an absolute riot of color right now – mostly lilies right now.

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  2. Only Superior hiking trail was a better hike for me. Wish I had hiked north unit. Clever post.
    I’m country mouse stuck in a city, like that surprises anyone. After last two days wish I could go full country with technology log you.

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  3. I was on a bluff high above tbe Little Missouri River when a Golden Eagle flew about 10 feet over my head. It was silent. The prairie dogs were busy.

    There was a group of younger people from a conservation corps group from Montana removing asphalt from part of a trail. They said the asphalt warmed up and attracted rattlesnakes, who liked to bask on it.

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      1. snakes always brings george w bush to mind. his little chuckle reminds me of the snake hissing. i cant help feeling that w has breathed easier than the rest of us as trump makes w seem like less of a dumb ass than he was before, we have such a better example of both dumb and ass in the slot today.

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    2. There is a phenomenon called “desert bloom.” In deserts rainfall is even rarer than where you live, Renee. I’ve heard that when deserts experience a rare wet period or event, the bloom of flowers is utterly spectacular. Your nice story makes me wonder if you witnessed what might be called a “dry country bloom.”

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  4. I grew up a town girl. My best friend grew up on a farm. I live in a smaller city. She works as a security Guard at General Mills. She has found a good middle ground, though. She lives in rural Winstead, and lives on a hobby farm as a caretaker. She gets room and board on the farm, doing her caretakng before and after her day job. She finds the goats somewhat annoying, but loves the horses.

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  5. Daughter and family are back on Mackinac Island, or whichever way that word is spelled for the island. They will be hiring bikes and circling the island. I told them to ride the trail over the top. We will see which they do.

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    1. it is so pretty there. a little contrived and state fair like and i ma not a fudgie so that aspect of the glory is lost on me. i like the up. feels like northern minnesota with a cultural defect. bowling shirts are dress up on the up

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  7. OT: today and tomorrow we “get” to prepare our friend W’s apartment to be de-bedbugged on Sunday. 😐 This means moving everything out from the walls at least two feet so that the edges and corners get sprayed with some powder, and the heat turned way up. Then he sleeps elsewhere Sunday night (Motel 6?) His neighbor apparently picked them up on a recent trip to Florida.

    We just have to be careful to not bring them back here with us. Any tips?

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  8. City or country mouse? Neither, or maybe both. I grew up a small town mouse, which is right in the middle. Migrated to the city for an education and a job, but my heart was always in the country. I became a city mouse who owned a place in the country, which was close to ideal. These days I’m happy to live anywhere.

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  9. Always been a country mouse.
    When we got married and my folks moved to a house in town, I don’t recall them having too many issues with that. But when they were preparing to move out of the house and into the Sr Living apartment, well, that was a tough summer. Dad was grumpy for months.
    Once in it he was OK. But it was a tough choice. And I understand that. And when the time comes, I’m pretty sure I’ll act the same way.

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    1. I worked with a woman once who lived her whole life on a farm, then moved to Roland, Iowa. Living near so many people spooked her. She pulled every shade in the house and slunk about trying to hide from all those eyes. At the time Roland was so small you could stand in one spot and see every home or store in it.

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        1. Wow, now that is a challenge to memory, BiR! Her name was Lucille. She was a small person in her 60s, slowly growing plump and gray. Because of her age and sweet disposition, I called her “Grandma.”

          Why Roland? She and her husband had farmed near Roland all their lives. When he had a heart attack they felt a need to live a less strenuous life in a place where emergency medical help wasn’t so far away.

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  10. i am a country mouse observer. i love being in the country and have always said this as i drive through the middle of bumfuk anywhere … if there was a way to live in this part of the world and feed your family i would love it. i think today i could live anywhere. i need only a wifi hook up to navigate the things i need to do to be in touch. i might miss theater and concerts but i feel like i could deal with it if i could pipe in the cultural voids to tide me over.
    today i am a city mouse and love to sneak out for a weekend or two to see the other side with camping and sightseeing as the top distractions and therapies.
    i am never at a loss for things to interest me and the option of city vs country is a less concrete issue.

    i love wild flowers and have the firestation around the corner to cview as last year they installed a wildflower replacement for the lawn that sat in formnt of the station. what a wonderful improvement. i hate lawn these days . what a stupid waste. time energy fertilizer and the plus is that you have an apple pie order that emits no dandilions or creeping charlie? i miss my yellowstone visits with the wildflower walks and the natural surroundings.
    i love teddy rosevelt and all the hikes i have done there. the petroglyphs are cool and unexpected and in multiple locations. i think of the indians who did it as my people and i think thats cool.

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  11. RIse and Find Your Place, Mousy Baboons,

    I am a city mouse who grew up country and still loves to visit country. But I love living with other people on a large suburban lot with my flowers.

    But not the rabbits. Those call out my inner Farmer McGregor, that most countrified of bullies.

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  12. I am a city mouse. I like the density, I like the proximity to museums and theaters and good cheese and wine. I like the coffee shops and seeing neighbors when I walk the dogs. I am a bit spoiled in that I live in a city with a lot of green space (and lakes, and a creek, and…). I might feel differently if I lived in Brooklyn. I do appreciate the quiet of the country, but I think I will always be a city mouse.

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      1. I will swear on my grandmother’s Complete Works of Shakespeare that honedt-to-gosh it was a selling feature of the house that we are so close to the library.

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        2. Now that’s a risky proposition considering how restaurants tend to come and go.

          Did you watch Wimbledon?

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    1. Are you doing anything about it, Wes? I don’t think they’ve found a cure, but they can make it more tolerable to live with the symptoms.

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  15. City mouse that likes country excursions.

    Very lovely pictures on this weekend’s blog. Monarda is a great plant – up close the blossoms remind me a little of a Dr. Seuss creature with wild hair.

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