• Wednesday-What'sUP May 25 - 03:19 am

You either love 'em or you hate 'em... dandelions that is. Most of us recognize these flowers when in full bloom, like the first shot from Z-Man or once they've gone to seed, like the second shot from Frederic W. Koski. Many U.P. folks consider them weeds and a nuisance, but the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I prefer to think of them as a precious gift, handed to me by the sand covered hands of my Grandson, hard at play outside. From what I understand, the more you try to weed them, the faster they grow, unless you remove the taproot completely. They really aren't around that long anyway and turn to the seed head that can blow away in the wind, overnight. If you need more reasons to like dandelions, just think about the different ways to eat, drink or use them for medicinal purposes!

Good Morning Everyone

Almost Good Afternoon... Your friendly neighborhood webmaster got called away to several interesting places this morning - like the old radar tower building at Mt. Horace Greeley, and the Calumet Theatre clock tower. Lightning in the region, and some power surges in the Keweenaw made it necessary to kick start some of Pasty.NET's community access points.

It's been quite a busy day. And thanks to the webmaster's wife for reminding him that the world was waiting for installment number 3,007 in these daily consecutive visits in cyberspace. But then, who's counting?

Dandelions are expensive, I pay a company to get rid of them, several hundred dollars a year to keep them out of the yard. Up behind Hubbell on the golf course road there is a large field that has dandelions and when they are blooming they are really beautiful, but not in my yard. When the brown eyed susans bloom they are in the same field. One of my favorite sites in CC, not a nice as Hungarian Falls.

Hi
I don't mind dandelions but then I'm not that interested in lawns--our place up north is natural ground cover (the first plant I learned to identify as a child was poison ivy, & no, not the hard way).

Speaking of up north & plants, I have a question for any pasty-camers in the northern lower, specifically the Straits area. Are trillium and ladyslippers out in the woods?

This has got to be my favorite Pasty Cam picture ever!!! Yahoo! Dandelions are my all time favorite flower. I know, I know - everyone tells me they are a weed but I have a special place in my heart for them. I can remember picking them out of my grandma's field when I was just a girl. She was always so kind as to put them in a dish of water keep them as a centerpiece on her kitchen table. : ) Don't mean to ramble, just had to share that memory that the picture above evoked!! Heading to the U.P. tomorrow - can't wait!!! Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Debrajean, Recently my daughter and I were in the car...stopped at a traffic light...when she spied an entire corner lot filled with dandelions that had gone to seed. "You know mom," she said to me, "wouldn't it be fun to just go running through that field of dandelions, to see them go flying through the air." Found myself wishing there was a place to pull over my truck, so we go play in the dandelions ;)

Sur5er,

Nothing better than running through a field full of dandelions.......or flying a kite through them, or having a picnic in them, or laying there daydreaming in them....you get the picture. What a calming feeling they have - at least for me since I only have dirt for a yard so far!!

WEED: A plant who's usefulness has not been discovered yet, that has probably mastered every survival skill...except to grow in rows.
Gabby Hays mused that the Lord put tumbleweed and dandelions here to show us how the wind blows!
SPRING: When Mother Nature begins to liquidate her frozen assets..ecosystems are more complex than we thought...they're more complex than we can THINK!
Henry David Thoreau: Man can not afford to be a naturalist, to look at nature directly,
but only with the side of his eye. He must look through and beyond her.

I've told 'helpful' neighbors the lawn care companies pay me to raise the dandelions in my lawn to induce the folks around me to have theirs treated. ;)

Dandelion roots make a very good salad when dug up before they bloom in the early spring. This is a favorite of the Italians.

Dandelions are also used for wine making, Very potent stuff, They are a headache in some ways.

I heard that dandelions are native to China, not here. They do a service by pushing their roots deep allowing water and nutrients to get deep into the soil, aiding the soil building process.

How Funny! My husband Nate and I were discussing our favorite flowers recently and Nate made me keep guessing until he finally told me it was a Dandelion. I told him that was so silly because it's a weed, Not a flower! Well, I guess he's not the only one who likes weeds! :)

Debra and Sur5er,

While I don't disagree that a field of Dandelions is very inviting, I seem to remember getting stung by a bee running through a patch of them when I was younger. But, Debra, if you're still inclined, you can run through our yard full this weekend!

KathyL asked around noon today if trilliums and ladyslippers
were out yet. When we drove up to Esky last Thursday, the
trilliums were out in force along U.S. 2 from the Straits to Esky.
When we drove back on Sunday, there were maybe even more. I
remember the woods along U.S. 2 near Blaney Park were just
white with all the trillium blossoms. What a sight!

My colleague photographer Z-man is quite a photographer and even a greater person to learn both photography and life. I appreciate Pasty Central noting his special works. His attention to detail is exquisite.
Regards,
Donn de Yampert,PT, DPT.
www.deyampert.com

Nice pic Z-man

I agree with Donn. The detail of the dandelion body looks 3 dimensional on my screen - a frequent characteristic of Mr. de Yampert's scenes as well.

I like dandelions. They are cheerful in color and form...graceful in the wind. Very nice picture.

Hey guys, Nice picture. My grandchildren pick them for me all the time and I don't have the heart to tell them that they stink so I put them in water for them to see until I know I won't see them for a little while. I like dandelions (in somebody else's yard to look at). Maybe some pink flamingos would dress them up some. I bought a couple with moving wings that look real nice in my snapdragon flower bed.

Wow... great shots of the dandelions by both fantastic photographers! I love dandelions! And I chuckled when I read what Notroll told his neighbors about them. Too funny! Rather than use chemicals, I rely on the rabbits to chew them down or if they are too invasive, I take my weed popper and pull them up. Nothing cuter than seeing a child blowing the seeds in the wind, or even a puppy like Gus ...

I worked at our school for awhile. I asked the principal if my husband & I could pick all of the dandelions out in the playground. He looked at me with that wondering why look. I told him Rick makes dandelion wine. He told us to take all of them if we wanted. Rick made a great batch of dandelion wine that year. He also makes buzzick wine(spelt wrong)that comes from elderberry flowers. His friends really like the buzzick wine. He's trying all kinds to make. He gives it away as gifts at Christmas, birthdays,etc.

That's a great shot of Gus!