gardening vegetable gardening 21:19
a study thereof. Now if only I could recall which garlic did so well and which failed so completely….if the bulbs match the stems of these though, I think I will likely reserve most of them for replanting and build a bit of stock up. They are a solid half inch plus in diameter, without coddling or irrigation. My suspicion is that they are from the set that I got from a friend and they are not the expensive commercial bulbs.
gardening 20:17
the vegetable garden, drip irrigation is a wonderful creation. We actually might get something from it this year, which I didn’t really expect. I’ve already thinned the beets and chard, along with a few early peas and some garlic scapes. The parsley is coming along nicely, as are the beans and the onions. The squash is a bit slow, but hopefully it can catch up. We would starve if we were relying on it, but it isn’t a bad addition.
And chasing off some exuberant young things coming across from the neighboring vineyard. A wedding I think. I always feel oddly guilty about doing the ‘Get off my lawn’ thing. It isn’t that they mean harm, usually, and they deflate so. I don’t like deflating people. But, ‘Get off my lawn’ nonetheless. Ah well.
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The rain and the wind didn’t do them any favors, but they remain lovely. They are one of those flowers that don’t really fit into our neat modern world: large, unruly, long lived but slow to get there, full of ants, shedding petals, and wildly fragrant.
And there is nothing more glorious than a huge bouquet of them or seeing them scattered through the garden. I’d like to figure out where to put a few more of them, since there are some that are definitely in too much dry shade these days. There is one place that would work well, but it would be a daunting bit of work….
gardening and Modern Photos photography, roses 10:15
Since I really haven’t managed a better picture of the old roses in the four! years since I posted this one….better quality perhaps, but not the feeling of the rose, if that makes sense. They are doing pretty well this year, though all flopped over since I never staked them and the rain of course has pulled them over. Very like peonies that way. They never grow sturdy stems and with so many flowers they really can’t stand up, especially when wet. Not at all like our modern roses that way, which have been bred for the cut flower/exhibition trade. But they have a lovely light floral scent, they are not bothered by disease, and the color ranges from deep pink to white, often with multiple shades on the same bush. What’s not to like?
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Landscapes and Modern Photos photography 10:42
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Despite some set backs (last winter nearly killed the white grapes and the Clematis montana ‘Mayleen’ and did kill the fall clematis) and some slightly out of control vines: the Clematis texensis is occupied by a Chipping Sparrow nest so I can’t tie it up…. the pergola is coming along nicely. Currently the native honeysuckle (Major Wheeler) is occupying pride of place at the south end. Clematis ‘Killian Donohue’ is blooming in the middle opposite some Blue Flag that ought not to be there….but, ‘Mayleen’ ought to be light pink at the far end…but.
The bush is the C. texensis ‘Duchess of Albany’…..very pretty but in need of training…except for said sparrow. The enthusiastic grape down towards the end is a seedless Concord grape, and very good it is. The vine in the foreground is the variegated kiwi (note the pink leaves…..? ah well) maybe this year we will get the kiwis, the chipmunk got them last year.
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Uncategorized 17:40
one canoe is Not like another canoe
The big one above is an 18 (a generous 18!) E.M. White, broad of beam and very stable. However, it needs to be re-canvased…which is clearly not something that can occur in the basement, it is Bigger than we remembered! The other is our 16 foot unknown, c. 1905 maybe Chestnut company, maybe an Indian Girl, re-canvased with Dacron. Seaworthy, very nimble, the trade off for being nimble is that it is tippy.
gardening native plants, photography 16:03
or Fringe Tree. Right on schedule, as always, it looks like the removal of that big old limb has not bothered it in the slightest. A completely underused shrub, incredibly fragrant, disease resistant, native, reliable bloomer, long lived, good form. And so on! The only thing I can figure is that it must be a nightmare to propagate. Indeed, I believe you do need male and female plants, which doesn’t help, and fruit set is erratic. Still!
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gardening and Landscapes and Modern Photos photography 21:18
Looking up is always a good idea!
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Uncategorized 08:57
I have a certain ambivalence about Memorial Day, I’ve not been able to honor just the American dead after a number of years in the UK. I can’t imagine the internal conflict of those who first purposed Memorial Day, and admire even more their ability to state that it was to include both Union and Confederate dead. We would do well to remember that. In some ways, it is a pity that Memorial Day has not remained as a memorial to the Civil War, it just might be good for us. Time moves on, though, and memorials tend to shift to the concerns of the living, as well they ought.
But when the twentieth century rolls around, limiting Memorial Day to American dead makes me uneasy.
So for the fallen, whomever and wherever, who died so that others might live more freely.
The original poem for taps, written by Major General Daniel Butterfield, Army of the Potomac:
“Day is done…
Gone the sun
From the lake…
From the hills…
From the sky.
All is well…
Safely rest
God is nigh.
Fading light….
Dims the sight
And a star….
Gems the sky….
Gleaming bright
From afar….
Drawing nigh
Falls the night.”
Acair Fearann 