Mon 21 May The grass loves the rain... and the geese love the grass, which being young and new must be sweet and tender to goose sensibilities... so one can see up to 15 geese grazing at a time... with as many as 13 goslings. They have also started to work on the lower branches of the big mulberry tree. Although mostly green, some of the berries are starting to get that raspberry color. It must be reported that the geese are indiscriminate and appear to have no taste for selection of the better berry. One can imagine the entire gaggle trying not to notice the ripening berries... but as soon as the first opportunist crops the first berry a riot breaks out as they all run squawking so as not to miss out... and every berry is taken regardless of status in a "get them while you can" frenzy. Actually... it is hard to imagine any berry making it to its prime ripeness. A ripening wild raspberry on this Island must receive many covetous looks during the day as it receives many visits a day from area birds checking on its condition. It must be like a great game of chicken... to see which bird will display the least taste and make his move before the others... willing to accept less in a berry to ensure that at least he gets something and does not show up to find it gone. We humans have learned regarding wild raspberries on the Island that to think that one more day will result in perfect ripeness is tantamount to giving it away. Surely any watching birds must be thinking that if the Island's big animals are showing interest it is certainly time to take it.

Tue 22 May There are several on-going experiments being conducted on the lawn. For instance, as one walks past the canoe shed towards the bottom of the Island there is a circular un-cut area of lawn just before the path begins. When the present caretaker arrived following the '96 floods and there was a great attempt to re-seed the lawn with grass, this small area was set aside and never seeded or cut to see what would happen. Four years have passed and this area now represents what the main lawn would most likely look like in its natural state without the application of the hand of man. Perennial wildflowers have established themselves... primarily wing stem sunflowers, Michaelmas daisies (asters), and green headed coneflowers. Only this year have small saplings become significant, and these only the much scorned box elder. One can see dead leaves trapped among the crowns and emerging leaves of this year's growth, and how significant this is can be measured in the winter, when the natural area can be seen as a mound at the end of the dead lawn. Each fall the dying, un-mown tops of these plants trap falling and blowing leaves and other detritus, and the following spring it decays but leaves the ground level higher. One can see the same effect at the edge of the lawn, as where the vegetation starts there is also a small and growing berm skirting the yard.

Wed 23 May The river is up... no surprise with all this rain... and the geese are happy because the higher water allows them to reach and strip the lower branches of the mulberry trees that hang over the water. Early this morning there was a herd of morning doves grazing the lawn... well... maybe there were only six, but we have never seen them flock before. Yes... they are merely pretty pigeons, so flocking should be normal... but we have only seen them in what appears to be devoted pairs and, always eager to anthropomorphise, would rather think we were seeing only an extended family breakfasting together.

Sitting out with morning coffee and watching the brilliant sunlight fall on the river on the towpath side... a sudden bug blizzard blew up. The air between the Island and the towpath was filled, literally, with small white flying thingies blown horizontal by the moderate north wind. Occasionally a large, fluffy "flake" would blow by... as though there were a cottonwood tree up wind... although it would be unusual to find them in this area. It was as though today's sunlight was causing a massive hatch of insects to rise from the water. And then suddenly... it was all gone.

Thu 24 May One of the experimental projects underway on the lawn is the Possner daylily bed surrounding the base of the large sycamore tree that stands in the middle. You may recall that after the '96 floods there was a pronounced and ugly depression in the ground surrounding the base of this tree. During the '99 spring Workfest Stan Wiggins and Karen Possner transplanted these daylilies in attempt to create a skirt of them around the tree... one of the reasons being that with various ball games being played on the lawn... and this tree being so in the center... it was deemed prudent to surround the tree with a soft barrier so that it would not be so easy for someone to go out for a pass and catch a tree. Your Caretaker is actually experienced in this... and has the stitches to prove it. Although it took three years for the plants to fill in and, being perennials, reach their intended prime, today the daylily skirt stands tall and looks handsome... and the beautiful flowers to come are mere ephemeral frosting on the cake. But the real lesson is of the proverbial seed... and how the tiniest amount of forethought can be planted with a little dedicated effort and watered with time to manifest as great improvement and significant beauty.

Fri 25 May And the answer to the question is... holly. Yes... so you do not have to find the Caretaker with your question, we give you the answer here. Those of you who find yourselves near the middle of the Island wondering what that wonderful, subtle fragrance is... and wander around futilely looking for likely suspects among the wildflowers at the edge of the lawn... it is the flowering of the large holly tree between the workshop and the lawn.

Another of the experimental lawn projects to note is of the bed of violets stretching between the hawthorn tree and the two black walnut trees in front of the canoe shed. Originally this flower bed was a happenstance of the Caretaker's mowing technique... certainly that sounds better than saying "caretaker laziness"... in which this area was initially left alone with the thought that the area between the trees could be done later. But next to the mowed lawn the violet bed looked so striking... and it is hard to get anything to grow beneath walnut trees anyway because of all the tannin in the roots... and in fact absolutely nothing else was growing there... so constructive laziness seemed a good idea.

Mon 28 May Sitting on the Captain's float after dark, a single goose approached... hopped up onto the float like she owned it... but eyed the Caretaker tentatively. Moments later two more geese swam up... and after some conversation decided to also hop on. Things were still tentative by their behaviour... and one could imagine the chatter between them... "What is the big animal going to do"... "When will the big animal get the hint and leave so that we can bed down"... "The big animal knows full well this float belongs to us when the sun goes down". Well... there was a certain tension until the largest of the geese started to groom himself as a sign of being at ease. Suddenly... the darkness erupted with animal chatter... the whole drama had been played to a large, unseen audience... it was as though the goose grooming had been a signal that everyone could come out and act normal. Talkative ducks appeared out of the darkness on all sides. Herons hidden nearby announced their presence. Even the beaver swam up to the float and dived majestically without slapping his tail. The Caretaker felt as though he had been accepted into polite society... and thus humbled... having been certified by a preening goose.

Fri 1 Jun Unfortunately, early this morning the Caretaker was rushed to the Sibley Hospital Emergency Room where he was diagnosed with serious cellulites, a severe infection of the connective tissue, resulting from another insect sting. Serious is defined here as being kept at the hospital so that intravenous antibiotics could be administered.

Tue 12 Jun There are many wonderful reasons to come to the Island... but surely one of the tops is the aural treats that await. It may seem we are often complaining about the noisy and argumentative geese... but the sound of goslings evokes warm feelings and teddy bear cuteness. Why this should be so is a mystery... is this the feeling it conveys to adult geese or something completely different. Could it be happenstance or design that such sounds can engender such reactions across species' boundaries? Accordingly, there is something sentimental about hearing a mourning dove... and the sound of a pileated woodpecker conjures an image of deep jungle... whereas the call of the great blue heron when disturbed is reminiscent of a grouchy old man. So come on down... surrender to the bird song.

Thu 14 Jun It is moulting and mulberry season for the geese... so the Island appearance suffers accordingly. Large goose feathers litter the landscape... and while little children love to collect them... it does make the Island look somewhat like a working farm. Added to that is the effect of the mulberries. The grass is probably safe from munching geese... that this is so is because the geese can now be found only beneath mulberry trees or travelling between them. Walk up to a gaggle and look up and you will note you are beneath fat and tasty berries... and also that you are being watched by the geese expectantly. The geese have now taught so many humans to tug at the branches and dislodge treats for them that they expect every big animal to know what they want. Even swimming geese are congregated beneath overhanging mulberry limbs awaiting a passing breeze that might precipitate food. The downside to this cuteness is that goose poo is now runny with juice... and everywhere.

Wed 20 Jun Ferrying the Caretaker's Wife early this morning we disturbed an osprey lurking near the mulberry tree just upriver from the ferry landing. Now... everyone is hanging out near mulberry trees this time of year... squirrels and birds in the tree... geese and ducks on the surface of the water beneath... and all kinds of fish waiting below the surface to scarf up anything that gets to them. As we stepped on the ferry a large flotilla of ducklings beneath the tree was startled and started swimming upriver. We have two large families of ducks on the Island of approximately ten surviving ducklings apiece... one of mallards and one of wood ducks... and when the flotilla looked to be composed of maybe fifteen ducklings it begged the question of whether or not the two species had combined their children. But the Caretaker cannot say... we are talking early here, folks... as in before focus could even be augmented by caffeine. Now... the osprey had flown to an overhanging branch just upriver... and while the first thought had been that he had been lurking for the fish drawn to the falling mulberries... as the large duckling flotilla approached him in open water we started to wonder how much eaglet was in him. And it turned out to be none! He was clearly visible to the approaching ducklings as he was perched only about five feet up on a bare branch... and as they passed underneath he had only to fall into the water to land amongst them... so they were clearly not on his menu... at least this morning. The texts must be consulted on this.

Marge Combs has informed us that her 17' Browning flat bottom aluminium cruising canoe, in good condition, is for sale for $375 or best offer at 301-929-3316.

Excerpted from the Caretaker's Log at sycamoreisland.org

-- Doc Taliaferro, Sycamore Island Caretaker