The Liefies

A beautiful pink trillium, taken at the highest point of Washington Island, Door County, WI, in late May, 2008. I saw far fewer of these than I did the white variety.

Door County has a bunch of wineries, most of which make/sell fruit wines as there is a LOT of fruit grown there. Places there also grow their own grapes for grape wine. There is a mildly famous picture of an vineyard in CA in early spring showing the mustard blooms between the barely-getting-started grapevines; this is my Door County version, only a few days late since the dandelions have all gone to seed. (Yes, those are rather young grapevines.) Taken late May, 2008, a year where spring came very late.

Is the wine any good? Well, I didn’t care for nearly any of the dry reds I tried, although there was one winery that had a few I really liked (but made from grapes grown in CA). I do like sweet fruit wines, especially blackberry wine, and I found a WONDERFUL example of that. Wish I had bought half a case.

Washington Island is a large-ish island off the tip of the peninsula that is Door County. It was actually settled before the rest of the peninsula, presumably because the way people got to these parts 150 years ago was by boat. Nowadays, it is an easy ferry ride from the northern tip of the peninsula. On the top of the highest hill on Washington Island is a tower you can go to the top of. It offers a nice panoramic view of most of the island. Here is part of that view. Still looks like fall, but trust me, this was late May. Spring came late this year.

This was taken on Washington Island, Door County, WI, near the end of May, 2008. This was in a relatively heavily forested area on the highest hill on the island. I really like the contrast. Also, this reminds me of one of our summer projects. We are growing some trees from seeds found in the neighborhood with the intention of doing some bonsai. We have a couple different kinds of maple trees, a few elms, one conifer (came up almost by accident), and a bunch of cottonwoods (many of which planted themselves). The young shoots look similar to our young elm trees.

Here’s another Door County, Wisconsin, wildflower. Alas, I don’t know what this one is called, either. Taken near the end of May, 2008.

Here’s a purple wildflower blooming in Door County, WI, in May. I should know what this is, but I’m experiencing a brain fart.

Saw a ladybug in a tree and thought it made a good picture! Taken near the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County, Wisconsin.

Taken from atop the watch tower in Peninsula State Park near Fish Creek, WI. This view looks roughly NNW. I think the island is Horseshoe Island. The tree colors make it look like fall, but this is late spring (end of May) after a long, tough winter. Note how clear the water is; near shore you can easily see the different colored rocks beneath the surface. Lake Michigan historically was never this clear. I think introduced species cleared out whatever was making the water murky.

I suppose this is what many think of when they think about Door County, WI. Sure, there are pretty trees (especially in the fall when they show off their colors), good fishing, fresh air, hiking/biking trails, good restaurants, art, wineries, fruit tree orchards, etc., but this county is part of a peninsula that sticks out into Lake Michigan, one of the largest bodies of freshwater in the world. Boating and boaters abound. This was taken from the top of the watchtower in Peninsula State Park, near Fish Creek, WI.

There were plenty of wildflowers in Door County in late May. White trilliums were one of the more common ones. Three-petaled flower, leaves in groups of three,…trillium. We also saw many blue forget-me-nots, just like in Newfoundland. But no pitcher plants here, as far as we saw.