Snow and Mud Monday, Mar 10 2014 

gardening , acairfearann 13:28

I have a suspicion that we are going to have an actual mud season for once.

The sap looks like it is finally running out there for maple syrup.  A little later, by almost two weeks, than usual. Around here there is usually a brief run in January and then a consistent run from late February through March. Hard to say if anything decent will be produced.

Somewhere under the snow I suspect there are leucojum and galanthus (snowflakes and snowdrops) popping up and presumably crocus (if the voles haven’t eaten them all).  I really ought to go look at the south end of the west porch where there is a bunch right against a sunny stone foundation…

 

Dancing Trees and Shadows Saturday, Mar 8 2014 

gardening and Modern Photos , acairfearann 10:06

Since winter isn’t giving up here, two pictures from yesterday morning:

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I sort of think the balanced red maple, nicely silhouetted by the beech leaves here, almost has the air of a Kokopelli…a very, very long way from home!

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The shadow of the trunk of the big oak, almost covering Happy Thought in this picture, it looked like a giant hand when I first saw it.

 

Argh Friday, Mar 7 2014 

Projects acairfearann 20:20

We’ll wander off to the personal here briefly.

I am not a feminist, not by any stripe, to be quite blunt I’ve seen the damage the feminist movement has managed to do in academia and I want no part of that hypocrisy.

That being said….is it too much to ask? All I want at this point is a decent pair of work boots to replace an excellent pair that I demolished through several years of work.  You know, something modestly waterproof, high ankle, good shock absorption (Try slamming your foot down on a shovel in sneakers, I dare you), long lasting, something tough enough that when a weed whacker equipped with a brush blade goes wrong you still have a foot and ankle…. that sort of thing.

Guys can find such boots by the hundred.  Women not so much.  I had my choice of cowboy boots (useless, vapid things) or a single pair of poorly built work boots with PINK flowers and Turquoise Hearts embroidered on the leather.

Needless to say, the brick and mortar store didn’t get my business. It turns out that Amazon carried the exact replacement of my previous pair, albeit with steel toes which I don’t need but won’t mind.  Thank you Amazon.

Now if they come before I need to walk a boundary line for the land trust in the middle of a swamp sometime in the next week I’ll be quite happy.

 

Jewelry Monday, Mar 3 2014 

gardening and Modern Photos and Trees , , acairfearann 10:22

Taking a break from Grey and Cold here (and yes, I know it is slightly out of focus!):
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Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud) branches seen from above.  It blooms in May and the flower buds occur all along branches, and sometimes even on very old trunks.

An extremely tough tree, native to eastern North America (there are related species elsewhere in both North and Central America, Asia, and Europe). The seed pods, which look like snow peas, are a winter food for chickadees, woodpeckers, and other tough little over-wintering birds.  The wood and bark is very fibrous and it is relatively resistant to rot, allowing it survive breaks/tears caused by storm damage, which is good because it tears easily.

The little blue flower in the lawn below is gill-over-the-ground, also known as ground ivy, it accounts for most of the east lawn.

see also: https://acairfearann.com/2011/08/20/cercis-canadensis/

 

On Vegetable Gardens Thursday, Feb 27 2014 

gardening , , acairfearann 10:50

There are plenty of reasons to have them of course; but one particular point has been on my mind the last few days.

Along about September, I am begging for a frost: the bugs are having a field day, I can’t go away without mutant squash sprouting, there is an overall sense of rot and decay…and the freezer is in decent shape.   But then comes the end of February: the snow is still snowing, cold enough that where it isn’t ice it is drifting, there isn’t a green thing in sight, my car is grey*…and the freezer…

Well, it isn’t just the freezer, it is also the jelly cabinet.  I am charged with shopping and keeping the dinner budget within shouting distance of inflation.  But, the wealth of a garden is beyond measure.  This week I was playing around with some pork chops and chicken thighs.  One night: pork chops braised in a sauce of elderberry jam and mint vinaigrette; another night pork chops in a strawberry/fig (thank you Betsy!) with sage (freshly frozen) and onion; another night, a bit of apple butter, or maybe some tarragon butter for the baked chicken, or maybe a winter squash as a side dish, or some frozen green beans, or some parsley on the the top….  Now the pork chops and chicken don’t come from here, but elderberry jam and mint vinegar?! You can Not buy that.  Not here anyway.

February and the vegetable garden more than answers the need.  Maybe we couldn’t live off it year round; but we certainly couldn’t eat the way we do unless it was there.

*It is grey anyway, but it is Grey-er.

 

The Ginkgo Tree Tuesday, Feb 25 2014 

gardening and Historic Photos and Modern Photos and Trees , , , acairfearann 11:59

The big one that is, as opposed to the other one, which isn’t small but is smaller.

Here it is in 1905-1910* on the right hand side of the picture, standing out nicely against the dark conifers behind it.  You can see that it already has a very upright growth pattern rather than a spreading one.  I believe that it was planted in 1893-94, when the north end of the house was completed.  WWE and family were, at the time, living in New York City. The ginkgo was a commonly planted tree in Central Park and along the streets; to stretch for meaning a bit, it was a tree that signified a modern and cosmopolitan culture along with an interest in exotic botany.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was the first ginkgo planted in the town, though how I’d go about finding that out…

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Here it is in 2013, the size has changed, but the growth pattern has not:

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*I have an exact date, but like an idiot I didn’t put it into the computer…

 

 

Targeted Advertising Tuesday, Feb 18 2014 

gardening acairfearann 14:33

Several plant companies are going to drive me nuts.  It is snowing, there are several feet of snow on the ground, and it is cold.  So, of course, my email keeps getting inundated with spring sales pitches, attractive ones with interesting plants from companies with good quality stock.  Nice full color photos of lovely, lush plants in full bloom.  It is very hard to resist buying a plant under those conditions.  And they Know that! Grrrr.

(And it isn’t just my email…thanks for the banner ads and pop ups on my news sites!)

 

Amaryllis rather than snow Friday, Feb 14 2014 

gardening and Modern Photos , , acairfearann 08:15

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These photographs aren’t from this year; but it looks like all but one of the dozen amaryllis (some of which are many years old) will bloom this year.  Not bad, now if we can just remember what we did with them last year.  I think we just chucked them out on a shady porch for the summer and let them go dormant in the fall for a month or two.

For those wondering, top to bottom: ‘Apple Blossom’, ‘Apple Blossom’ and an unidentified red, ‘Jewel’ (double, tall, very fragrant), ‘Red Lion’ (very tall), ‘Apple Blossom’ red, and ‘Picotee’.

 

Old Roses Tuesday, Feb 11 2014 

gardening , acairfearann 07:17

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One of the old Moss roses in the garden. This is the only nearly white one; most of them are light pink with deeper pink edging.   It is not uncommon for the medium pink ones to have flowers that range in shade from white through blush pink to a classic rose pink, all on the same bush.  The buds are always edged with dark pink. There are one or two bushes as well that are a solid deep pink.  They do not repeat bloom and have only a little fragrance.

These roses date from an unknown era; they resurfaced when the Norway Maples were cut down about fifteen years ago.  It is remotely possible that they date from the 1960’s; but it is much more likely that they date from the turn of the century.  They are tough, but not overly vigorous, sometimes having only one or two canes.  Although apparently disease free, they tend to be attacked by Japanese beetles and aphids.

 

The first of February Saturday, Feb 1 2014 

gardening acairfearann 18:30

One of the wonderful things about a cold winter is that first day when it feels like spring.  You can only get it if it has been solidly winter for awhile.  There is something about the melting snow, the angle of the sunlight, maybe the sounds of running water or a bird practicing.  You can almost sense the sap in the trees, though they haven’t yet begun the run.  Such was today.

Nothing actually melted of course, though light snow in sunny spots vanished into thin air without a trace.  There will be at least another month to six weeks before anything even considers growing, even the bravest of crocus.  But the world is turning.

 

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