plantsman's Herbiage 道

Growing Things Again...

2010-06-07T04:29:00.000-07:00

For a number of reasons, I rather withdrew from the World and struggled with Depression quite a lot over the last few years.

This year, on a whim, and because they played such a role in my culinary experience as a kid in the American West, I chose to sprout New Mexico Chiles for later outdoor planting, in my tiny garden plot. These are the longish, large tapered pods that are the basis of Green Chile dishes and Chiles Rellenos; and they're used ripe red and dried for ristras, the decorative strings of red peppers one sees after harvest in New Mexico.

As soon as the seeds began to sprout, I felt a rush of excitement and concern over the plantlets.
More than that, I felt engaged, and interested in life once again. Now, neither my climate nor my planting spot are ideal for cultivating chiles -- but I'm going to nourish and water them and see what I can grow.

In The Realm Of The Ordinary.

2010-04-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

That trees, bulbs, and other plants became active earlier this year is undeniable -- yet the seasonable, rainy weather has retarded their progress into full leaf. Now that I reflect upon it, Spring not fully arriving may well mean that our weather, and the effects of Climate Change, are not impacting this area as extremely as they might be -- and are, as in the US East.

I am content to observe, and to try to understand, what is happening around me.

The Inexorable Approach Of Spring.

2010-03-02T01:48:00.000-08:00

The trees have Decided. Spring is happening here, and soon. Most years, it's not so terribly cold -- though this year has thus far been warmer than usual, but the near-constant rain causes plants to stay nearly dormant for another 6 weeks to 2 months.

It lifts my spirits to see the blooms and leaves unfurl. I love Spring.

Good Weather.

2010-02-17T02:13:00.000-08:00

It's supposed to be starting today. We're supposed to have several days running of clear, Spring-like weather -- and I'm hoping we do. That should send the daffodils into bloom -- and man, I could use some fresh air and cheering up!

Back To Dreaming About Life...

2010-02-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

As is my wont, I read Frank Rich's column in the Sunday NYT and surfed over to Eschaton, where an angry poster was making the most convoluted late-night political argument I've seen in a while -- it made NO sense what this person was after. Not being stinking drunk and argumentative myself at the moment, I bailed.

The wiles of impending Spring have not begun to seduce me just yet, but I expect to begin to feel them shortly. Here, King Alfred Daffodils are in bud, due most likely to our warm winter. As they flare into glorious yellow bloom, I'm sure they'll catch my eye.

Myths about Bamboo.

2010-02-05T03:17:00.000-08:00

The long and short of it is: most retail nurseries only sell a few types of bamboo -- and usually some of what they do sell is intensely invasive and hard to control once established.

So the answer is to consult Bamboo experts -- like these folks:

http://www.bamboogarden.com/

They have a huge variety and they know their stuff. Check them out!

African Honey Bush.

2010-01-24T23:50:00.000-08:00

This is a wonderful plant. I like it most for its blue-green, perfectly serrated foliage, which looks for all the world like it's been trimmed with pinking shears. If the leaves are bruised, they smell of peanut butter, and it gives forth unique dark-red flowers.

As natural textures go, this is among the best.

An Answer To Arabella.

2010-01-19T02:57:00.000-08:00

There are a number of sound reference works (often soft-cover, in picture-book format) for different classes of plants. The publishing house "Dorling-Kindersley" has several of these, but there are many other fine volumes from other sources as well.

Typically, each book covers a range of plants, such as Perennials, Flowering Shrubs, Trees, or Bulbs. Within those pages, one can find a wealth of information that will lead one to seek and search out appropriate types for their locality. Check them out.

A Center For Haitian Reconstruction.

2010-01-16T01:02:00.000-08:00

How about this? An online place to collect and sift ideas about the best ways to rebuild Haiti, taking into consideration the nature of the island and its society, the need for development to be both sustainable and self-sustaining; with special attention paid to decentralized, environmentally-friendly power production.

I've already begun thinking about this, with such ideas as thin-film photovoltaic cells applied to roofs as they are rebuilt; and investigation into which plants, such as certain timber bamboos, might provide a local, self-replenishing source of lightweight and strong structural building materials.

What ideas do you have?

Wondering if things made it.

2010-01-02T02:26:00.000-08:00

That's a fairly common thing for me in winter. I like a number of plants that are right at the margin of their hardiness here, so when temperatures drop unusually low -- as this season's recent
11 degrees fahrenheit recently -- all one can really do is make sure things aren't bone dry and hope for the best. It's worked for the last several years.

Plant Porn Season.

2009-12-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

Heavy-duty plant porn season usually cranks up right after the holidays, when winter ennui surges to its crest, and glossy photos of effulgent plants titillate amid the winter gloom. I wondered in the wake of 9/11, with all the mail irradiation we were promised, how the seeds-by-mail industry would fare -- or even if it would effectively cease to exist.

After the decorations are taken down is a great time to meditate upon the natural wonders of the warmer seasons/climates -- things like coffee, tea, and chocolate that so brighten and enrich our daily lives. It's remarkable what this planet has brought forth. We really need to think about preserving that.

And it was when I was a wee lad that I first succumbed to the charms of impossibly red tomato photos, those round beauties surrounded by equally impossibly green perfect leaves in the pages of seed catalogs, and experienced my first plantgasm, that benign corollary to the sexual sensations one learns about later in life. As weird as that sounds, I know I'm not alone in this.
Other plantspeople have smiled knowingly when I have described these things -- they know exactly what I'm talking about.

Why Feed A Tree?

2009-12-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

If you have experience with children or companion animals, you can probably guess why. While all life processes, such as rapid growth in youth, are not entirely transferrable -- to some extent, there are strong similarities among all life on Earth. With plants there are other practical reasons to feed them in youth as well.

For example, local soils may have a lack or an over-abundance of certain nutrients, and you can intervene to ameliorate that. Also, as trees mature, it becomes much more difficult to pin-point their root systems for food, and while general mulching guidelines apply to the soil under trees, it's often a bad idea to cultivate deeply directly beneath their leaf canopy. Compost Teas are a good idea, promoting general soil fertility and nutrient uptake.

A method of fertilizing that works equally well with organic or chemical fertilizers is this: every foot or so around the "drip-line" of the tree (the place where rain falling from outermost leaves hits the ground) dig a hole at least 6" wide and 6" deep. Mix fertilizer with half the soil from the hole, and place it back into the hole first, followed by the remaining soil. Water the holes throughly and gently a few times over several weeks.

Size Does Matter.

2009-12-13T02:22:00.000-08:00

A full-sized or "Standard" Fruit tree, can be pretty large in an orchard, and even larger in a home garden, where it likely isn't pruned as regularly or vigorously. Fruit trees don't want a lot of fussing over -- but they do want a bit, at the right times, too.

It's been said often that the ideal shape for a non-citrus fruit tree is goblet-like. This allows light to penetrate and healthful air to circulate in the open center of the tree, so evenness of ripening is maximized. Also, consider how far above the ground you'd like to be when harvesting fruit.

For several reasons then, if you're thinking of getting a fruit tree, at least think over "dwarf" or "semi-dwarf" types.

Buying Trees.

2009-12-05T02:39:00.000-08:00

From my experience working as a nurseryman and landscaper, I've gained a sense of what type of people buy and plant trees. Some of the Major Categories:

Young Marrieds with infant children. These folks are often thrifty and well-meaning but horribly ignorant about plants in general and trees in particular. They often have Edenic visions of fruit trees laden with bounty -- and not a clue about how to get there. By this I mean, they don't know how to select a fruit tree suitable for their space and location, aren't aware they should consider eventual size, ease of harvesting, etc. So these folks often buy scads of cheap, bare-root trees that if they survive may get 40-50 feet tall and plant them 4 feet apart. Hilarious disasters ensue.

Next come folks who know just enough to REALLY be dangerous. They've been to one two-hour Master Gardening seminar, once, and have suddenly become "Master Gardeners". You want to run from these people, if you are able to. Typically, they will mention that they are "Master Gardeners" every few words, and be totally oblivious to the fact that you have them completely pegged as the puffed-up blowhards they are.

Then are sincerely nice people who know they don't know and will ask for suggestions, some to none of which they may take. You can somewhat work with such people.

Lastly, come the people who do know something about plants, and fall into 2 general groups:
those who are free with their knowledge and nice to others -- and those who are congenital jerks.

So my advice to folks wanting trees is this: observe the space where you intend to plant this tree
closely over a period of time. See how much direct sun, if any, it gets in different parts of the year. Get a rough idea of the size tree you want at maturity, and give all this information to a knowledgeable plant person -- then tell them what you would like the tree to do -- and see what they can come up with.

Live and Learn.

2009-12-01T23:59:00.000-08:00

I got all psyched about "local" olive oils last week after reading about interesting groves and production techniques in both California and Oregon. The ordering journey seemed "well-lubricated" at first, the on-line site and process slick and straight-forward, even got a confirmation email of the order.

Now, the order has vanished from the inter-webs. Nicely, the debit card wasn't charged, and I've again tried to contact the firm to see where we go from here. We shall see.

It's Gone!

2009-11-23T00:51:00.000-08:00

Really! There's been no fever or sweating for several days, and even though an Atriot was trying to sew fear of a mutated H1N1 in me last night, I'm pretty sure that unless every genetic component of the virus changes, having had it will confer at least some immunity.

Is it gone -- or isn't it?

2009-11-11T01:04:00.000-08:00

There's no question I feel better, but a bit of fever lingers. I wish my recovery had a more definite feel to it, but perhaps soon it will. Hope so.

Still Fluing, still dreaming.

2009-11-09T02:47:00.000-08:00

It's hard to tell if I'm getting over this flu, which has been dragging on -- but I might be.

H1N1.

2009-11-01T02:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I've reached a milestone I had hoped to avoid: I've got H1N1 flu. So far, it doesn't seem as horrible or intense as I had expected , but my only exposure to it was on a crowded bus full of students -- so it seems as contagious as advertised.

Waxing Moon.

2009-10-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

Astrologically, I'm a "Moonchild", or Cancer. Whether I feel the influence of the Moon's phases more than others I can't say -- but let's say I think I do. Particularly the period around the Full Moon, and to a lesser extent, the invisible -- or New Moon. My energies of all sorts seem to bubble up most during Full Moon, and though for many months of the year the Moon is difficult to see in my cloudy climate, when it is visible I try to catch a glimpse. At the moment the Moon is waxing, or becoming fuller, and is just over 1/3 the way to fullness.

New Moon, Strong Rains.

2009-10-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

We're about 24 hours from the new Moon, and the National Weather Service tells me a Pacific low-pressure system will slide ashore Friday afternoon and stall out as it encounters the Cascades, leading to abundant rain totals over the next 2 days. Cool.

Blustery Fall Winds.

2009-10-15T02:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, common descriptions of natural events become so entwined with the events themselves I stop experiencing them until they actually occur, and I become aware of their reality again. Such it has been with Fall winds -- at least until recently.

Change Of Season.

2009-09-22T02:09:00.000-07:00

By the 22nd of September, Northern Hemisphereians can be counted to have passed the autumnal equinox, and thus have moved into Fall. In my location, the temperature will not reflect that passage, at least for a few more days.
The cooler seasons present their own challenges: a greater use of energy for heat, most notably, and the added expense of that. Other necessities, like medicines and food, cannot be neglected -- but I economize wherever I can easily do so.

End Of The Hiatus?

2009-08-29T03:57:00.000-07:00

Who can say? Cooler weather does seem more amenable to posting to me.

Stupid Mistake.

2009-08-08T04:50:00.000-07:00

If you were an Afghan farmer, getting by but not making a great living growing opium poppy, and some pushy American offered to pay you money not to grow poppy, what would you do? I'm betting if you thought about it, you'd take the American's money, wait for him to leave, grow your poppy as usual, and sell the opium -- and double your money. But I'm cynical that way.

Mistaking Irritation for Affinity.

2009-06-29T04:23:00.000-07:00

The reason I know one can do this is that I have done so. As a hormone-driven adolescent, some signals apparently got crossed and stuck that way. I honestly thought that if someone made me hugely uncomfortable, it meant I was attracted to them. Nope. Exactly the opposite. This is where live and learn comes into play, I now suspect.

Zoned Out.

2009-06-27T02:41:00.000-07:00

I live in a cool climate Zone: USDA 8b. Supposedly, we can grow the widest array of plants from other climates in the nation. What I do know is that if a plant's "happy" here, it'll likely get way bigger than books tell you it will. Which is okay, unless you're really anal about controlling your garden.

Our forests are the same way. Left to their own devices, they quickly become impenetrable thickets of spindly sticks. You'd have to really work to make a groomed woodland of stately trees. Very few people, I've noticed, care enough to groom their woodlands.

A Bit Conflicted.

2009-06-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

When I look at my life and how it's worked out, I sense that I am responsible for a lot of it. Perhaps not all. Or hasn't worked out, perhaps I should say. One might think a life with such sharply drawn parameters as mine has would be easy to live -- and yet, I manage to mess it up, nonetheless.

I have a fixed amount of funds to work with every month; and somehow, it's always a struggle. In the cooler months, I keep my home less warm than I might like, because I simply can't afford to keep it toasty-warm and have enough money left to buy food I should eat, both.

So, I'm fixing a packet of bean soup as we type; penance, perhaps, for daring to enjoy food earlier in June. I don't need much to enjoy life -- but I'll admit, I need a little.

Free Advice.

2009-06-17T02:07:00.000-07:00

Looking for Fall Bulbs? I'll suggest a couple of sites, one tailored more to wholesale or quantity buying and one more directed to smaller scale, "homeowner" type gardeners.
This post is not paid for by nor constitutes an endorsement of either vendor, but both companies
have excellent reputations for value, quality, and excellent shipping.

They are:
"vanengelen.com" for the quantity buyer, and "dutchgardens.com" for smaller orders.

Department Of Obvious Ideas.

2009-06-16T03:52:00.000-07:00

There should be a website where US citizens can "talk" with real Canadians about what they think of the health-care they receive; so we don't have to take the words of US politicians with agendas about it.

On Betrayal.

2009-06-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama solicited my financial support during his campaign by specifically wooing me as a gay man. I thought a man of mixed-race heritage might well understand what being considered inferior felt like, and give a damn about ending that. I chose to believe him when many others did not believe his pretty words about caring about equality for gay people. It now appears I was a fool to believe him.

I'm hurt and disappointed, and disillusioned, too. I despise feeling lied to and betrayed. But the extension of trust was mine, and I own it. Taking one's lumps sucks.

On Pondering.

2009-06-12T03:08:00.000-07:00

I ponder things. That is to say, if a certain thought or concept piques my interest, I'll visit and revisit it, gently trying to puzzle out meaning and see if there is any sense to be had from it. For quite some time now, a spectrum of notions surrounding dualities and "seeming paradoxes" has fascinated me.

Here's an example: I know, on some level, that astrology has no rational basis in fact. And at the same time, let's say I know several people who fall under the same sign of the Zodiac, and believe I see in them similar characteristics attributed to that sign in astrology. So I know it isn't true, and yet it seems to be. This kind of "holding two conflicting beliefs simultaneously" thing fires up my interest.

How does one do this? Why does one do this? Is it sane? I've come to believe it is, but have no idea why. So I ponder it some more, trying not to become attached to a need to answer the riddle -- but just to be with it.

Guess I'm pretty easy to amuse, huh?

Post Script.

2009-06-11T04:42:00.000-07:00

I had a sort of stroke "flash-back" yesterday when my cousin emailed the Blue Dawn Flower photo at right: I knew at once I knew this plant but could not retrieve the name at all. Panic cascaded over me like Niagara Falls. A bit later, I realized that if I could access Sunset Magazine's plant list online, I could find it. I could, and did.

Reunited.

2009-06-11T02:43:00.000-07:00

I had a "small" stroke at the end of May in 2002. At the time, it was technically referred to as a TIA - a "transient ischemic attack" -- but the lasting damage from it now seems much more typical of a full-blown stroke. The outer half of my left hand has been numb since that day, my physical stamina has never returned, and within 36 hours of realizing something was wrong, most everything I had known about plants was wiped from my memory.

I had no idea how to write or print letters or numbers, and frantically began trying to will myself to do so. About two weeks after the event, I began to be able to scrawl a bit, and I kept practicing, but my already dreadful penmanship never returned to even its former wretched level -- and it still hasn't. I read online as I could about the aftermath of strokes, and the phrase that stood out and that was endlessly repeated was "nearly inevitable mental decline", which scared me spitless.

I took an online IQ test as soon as I could manage it -- and was broken-hearted at the results; I felt sure I'd been smarter than that. And the most curious thing happened: I'd gaze upon plants I was sure I was familar with in all details, and not one iota of that information would come to mind.

I returned to work 2 weeks after the event, but with no physical strength and no memory of all the things I had spent years learning about horticulture, I was pretending my way through my job, and in early August was let go. I noticed myself "playing" my former self before people who had known me before -- an oddity I had suspected in my father after his profound and paralyzing stroke. I often considered my genetic possibilities for reaching a ripe old age, and was not pleased with what I envisioned. The owner of another nursery tried to help me out by lining up a part time job vending fall bulbs to 15 stores of a large local chain. I tried to do it well,
but though it was menial work, the physical demands were too much, and I dragged myself miserably through it, hating every moment.

I discovered, however, that if I saw the printed names of various bulbs I had known, I could retain them sometimes -- and have them back. I kept at the IQ tests and mental games and exercises. When I raised my IQ about 25 points, I decided I could live with that level of brain damage. And then, about 8 months after the stroke, bits and pieces of plant lore and learning began to slowly return to me. There are still frustrating blank spots with certain plants; but for the most part, my knowledge and I are reunited -- and it feels so good!

Neighbor News.

2009-06-06T02:08:00.000-07:00

I'd rather this issue hadn't arisen, but it has. My oh-so-striving neighbors saw some bags of potting soil sitting on my tiny back patio, decided whatever they decided, and used it to pot up some tomato seedlings they started, without asking me if they could. They left a token payment in an envelope with a note at my front door. I'm rankled and displeased.

My health isn't great, I feel lousy much of the time, so I don't garden much anymore -- but I guess I like the idea that I still could, if I felt well enough; and that stockpiled soil meant that if I needed it, there it was. Not anymore. Besides which, I'm poor as the squirrels.

Lugging and heaving heavy and bulky items from a shop to my home is difficult for me at best on public transit these days. Oh, and there's an okay-but-not-great plant nursery just behind our complex, from which my young and hale neighbors could have purchased potting mix of their own, 7 days a week, 363 days a year.

I know from past experience that if I confront my neighbors to say my piece or commit it to paper, I'm liable to squash some feelings without actually intending to; my loquaciousness and flair for high dudgeon having gotten me in trouble before. So, what to do?

Sweet Magic.

2009-06-03T03:41:00.000-07:00

Developing Type 2 diabetes gave me a surprising appreciation for the almost magical way sugar works with foods in cooking, in that Joni Mitchell "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone ?" sort of way.

I also discovered that although sugar amplifies cinnamon to my taste buds, "Splenda" does not; so, bye-bye cinnamon toast. Which, while not a huge loss, is certainly a distinct one. Splenda lights up chocolate for me, but with it the orange and spice notes of Bigelow's Constant Comment Tea vanished, and I have no idea why.

I recently found that the new, Stevia-derived no-calorie sweetener Truvia makes Constant Comment taste almost exactly like it does with sugar, with orange and spice notes restored -- plus we've had a heat wave, so I can enjoy it iced -- which I adore!

Fleurs in Bondage.

2009-05-27T00:20:00.001-07:00

Staking and tying up flowers seems "unnatural" from a certain perspective. I think it's probably safe to assume that most of the plants found in nature are quite capable of holding their flowers aloft on the strength of their own stems. When people began futzing about in the genetics of plants and flowers, it was often the desires of what people would like to see in plants that skewed the "direction" of developments.

So plants that had comparatively light-weight single flowers might be more prized if a variant could be found or induced which had many more, frillier, more decorative flowers. Among flowering plants like Delphiniums, which produce vertical flower spikes above a basal rosette of foliage; a certain "more flower/less plant is better" bias developed, as breeders strived to give gardeners what their hearts desired.

And with such unbalanced arrangements, a greater need for supplemental means of support for added weight and size developed. I am of that group of gardeners which prefers things that look unencumbered and naturalistic, with as few intervening articles of support as possible. For me then, the development of flowering strains like Magic Fountains Delphiniums; which, except in the most wind-blown of locations, require little to no staking of flowers, were most welcome.

And I got really good at growing them, after moving to a place they naturally liked to begin with.
You could, too.

Ahead Of Schedule.

2009-05-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

It's hard to tell just yet, but the pot of Oriental Lily bulbs seems to be approaching flower somewhat earlier than normal this year. The plants are very tall, and that subtle twisting of new leaves atop stems that indicates where flowers will form seems in evidence, as well.

Only time will tell, of course; and I'm more than patient to wait for the answer to be revealed.

Juxtapositions "R" Us.

2009-05-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

One of the things that foundationally informs what I have gleaned from what I observe in this life is the appearance and reappearance of what appear to be paradoxes; which while they appear to be contradictory results from assemblies of similar variables, I now prefer to view as natural juxtapositions of events.

As a result, when writing I try to remain acutely aware of the "maybe/maybe not" nature of things, and let it play among my prose. And I've been wanting to extrapolate a verb out of an extant word.
To wit: to conject, "to surmise the solution to a given problematic scenario using common sense, and a reasonable expectation of the interplay of events and its consequence(s)."

"Miracle" Garden Products.

2009-05-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's almost as if people want to be suckered. When we venture into areas in which we have little expertise, it's as if the default mode for humans is Magical Thinking. Why we keep thinking it will work in a new endeavor when magic hasn't solved the last umpteen problems, I honestly don't understand. I guess "Hope Springs Eternal" pretty much covers it.

Many, many millions of Americans "garden" in some fashion -- and I have some bad news for some of them: if a product promises a miraculous fix to a difficult problem, and sounds like it might be "too good to be true", it probably is.

An example: When I first saw the "Topsy-Turvy Tomato Planter" I thought, "Wow, not much soil volume in that bag. If the plant takes off, it would be nearly impossible to keep it watered." I feel certain several people will find that out this summer -- so much for miracles.

On Botanical Names.

2009-05-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

I use them when I know them or have learned them. Common Names can be lovely and evocative, but they also vary a great deal from place to place, sowing the seeds of confusion where ever they travel.

Latin Botanical Names, on the other hand, are the same in all languages (though pronunciation may differ) -- and change as more is learned about the actual provenance of a plant, rather than when a cuter name is thunk up.

Spring Update: Continuing.

2009-05-16T00:41:00.000-07:00

I took a bus jaunt yesterday, to lay in some staple foods to make it though the month. In the kind of slightly uncomfortable happenstance that seems to buttress the notion that Astrology might be onto something ( I hate when THAT happens), a number of things took place that appeared to support the idea that more things than normal go wrong when Mercury's motion in the heavens appears backward, or "retrograde", relative to Earth.

The buses seemed more mechanically iffy in some way -- louder, as if their engines were straining. Shortly after transferring onto my second ride of the day, a brief sojourn through Lake Oswego's "Mountain Park" to Tigard, by way of Portland Community College - Sylvania Campus; I noticed both a fire engine and ambulance attending another bus, a #37, upon which some passenger apparently fell ill.

I saw that the staghorn sumac trees are leafing out, that our spring-flowering trees are mostly finished, like the azaleas; but rhodies are perhaps midway through their bloooming season, and just now, there are large numbers of strong reds and purples in bloom. At the college, I happily noted that their bed of Doublefile Viburnums, of which I am intensely fond, are reaching their height of bloom. After another transfer of bus, I arrived near my destination, Costco, ambled down to the entrance, upon which I studiously avoided noticing ANYTHING, except precisely what I was after.

The ride back was notable for its quickness of connections, which occured far more seamlessly and quickly than usual, (even as our carriage broke down and was speedily replaced) such that I didn't have to buy a second fare to complete the entire trip, nor consume glucose tablets in order to safely complete my journey. I also noted a wildly flowering salmon-colored Oriental Poppy and a slew of gorgeous Red Banana Trees at Ferguson's Fragrant Nursery in Lake Oswego.

Nice little trip.

Food Like Music.

2009-05-15T01:47:00.000-07:00

I've had this notion bouncing about the inside of my head for a while now, not fully formed nor well-articulated, that composing and seasoning food is rather like composing music in a way. Some flavors and seasonings are quite percussive, and crash upon the tongue loudly, demanding notice or causing beads of sweat on one's forehead.

Others are subtle, round and fulsome in the notes they evoke - like a woodwind quartet about moving water. Rambling further on with the idea, we might equate Green Day with really rootin' tootin' hot and spicy Mexican food, or Jell-O with a slide whistle. Do you see where I'm going with this?

The lentils, btw, were fabulous -- Symphonic!

A Big Crock Of Beans.

2009-05-14T00:33:00.000-07:00

My family assiduously avoided associating a simple, hearty dinner of spiced, re-hydrated lentils, perhaps flavored with bits of ham -- with poverty or financial distress. I'm glad about that. The simple warm homeyness of a hearty bowl of beans still satisfies and pleases me, and one is in process at this moment, courtesy of my Crock Pot.

I suppose, in my way, I'm somewhat fussy about my lentils. I start with smoked ham shanks into which I press several whole cloves and set into the crock. I add about 2 Tbs. celery seeds and 10 cups of water. I let that simmer, covered, for 4-5 hours, with the pot on the "high" setting.

When that time has elapsed, I peel 2 onions, slicing off most of the denser tissue just above the roots, half them crosswise, and slice the peeled halves lengthwise into uniform segments. I sautée the result in Olive Oil until the onions are limp and translucent, and add them and 2lbs. of rinsed, sorted dried lentils to the crock. Next, I add 4 Bay leaves (true Laurus nobilis leaves -- not the more pungent California Bay available domestically). I peel and thinly slice 3 large carrots, and add those to the mixture, re-cover the crock, and turn the setting to "low."

They'll simmer another 4-5 hours, being thoroughly stirred/mixed a few times, I'll taste them, add salt at that point if needed, serve up what I want and let the rest cool, and then refrigerate the remainder for zap-heating later. If I'm feeling frisky and flush, I may add grated parmesan and a few shakes of Tabasco to the zapped bowl before eating.

Dirty Thoughts.

2009-05-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

I wasn't born to great soil. The rounded foothills of the North Carolina Piedmont grow some things quite lushly, but other common and popular plants struggle in the iron-rich red clay that is characteristic of the region. Gardenias go wild, Hall's Honeysuckle ran rampant -- good luck with cacti. From there, my family absconded to the low desert of Central Arizona, and the alkaline hard-pan known as caliché that underlays it.

Soil in that part of the Sonora Desert is thin, and best left undisturbed if one hopes for a "natural" desert landscape. Cactus, in general, have wide-ranging, shallow root systems that can quickly exploit the small amounts of precipitation that do accumulate there. That moisture encounters a nearly impenetrable layer of compressed chalky-clayey melange inches below the surface. Fill a hole with water, and it just sits there.

In that paradoxical way people have, folks are often drawn to grow things that would not naturally occur in any given landscape. So I encountered the concept of changing the native soil
to become more hospitable to alien plant invaders at a fairly tender age. We tend to refer to this as amending or improving the soil, when at base "changing its nature" is what we are about.

There are basic principles at play here. Soil must be amended to the depth and breadth any selected plant's roots can be expected to extend into the soil at maturity for best results, but skeletal stalwarts like trees and grand shrubs have actually been found to adapt better to a location of native soil rather than a highly fertile "bowl" of rich soil laid into a native area -- where the two soil types interface, water and roots are often loath to tread.

After the foundation plants are selected and established, one is left with areas one may devote to hardscape, such as paving, stones, gravel paths or structures; and planting beds or regions. Logically, the easiest thing to do is establish certain regions in which plants from similar native habitats may thrive together. A single yard or landscape may have several such regions with differing soil qualities and different light exposures.

Soil in these is amended to a depth of about a foot or somewhat more. Compacted clay soils benefit from aeration, or being broken up into small chunks and made better draining by the addition of clean sand and well-composted organic matter, often in generous quantities. Sand, which is by nature among the coarsest of soil types, often lacks needed minerals and drains quickly, leading to lean to anorexic-looking, hungry and thirsty plants. Here again, turning in copious amounts of well-composted organic matter can be greatly helpful in supplying nutrients, holding moisture and air at the roots of plants, and increasing tilth, thus making the soil more easily workable and providing a more gemütlich environment for roots.

Being "Neighborly."

2009-05-12T01:39:00.000-07:00

When one lives in what is politely called "attached housing" one must make compromises about noise and use of common space if one is to remain at peace and sane. If one is predisposed to crabbiness, as I as a Moonchild am by birthright, it becomes all the more important to learn to moderate one's snippy impulses.

I recall from early report cards that impulse control has long been an issue for me; I've been rolling this stone up that hill for what seems like forever -- but there seems to be in my father and myself a softening of sorts that takes place in mid-life. I now try to be affable with neighbors, and fine-tune the place where lines can't any longer be crossed to be more tolerant and accepting.

I worry a bit about my neighbors just now. The ones who adopted Cooper seem nice enough, their young son who sleeps in the room through the wall from my "office" only occasionally throws tantrums -- and the woman, though she seems a trifle controlling, has mostly stayed within bounds. Each unit has a tiny patio, and a small square of ground that might be considered a "garden", each of which is choked by a single, disastrously hack-pruned old Viburnum davidii. I've added a few ferns and a hardy fuchsia to my plot.

There is common lawn space out back and a narrow deck out front that we all must use for access to our apartments. It is the outdoor common spaces that are raising a bit of concern in me now, for the neighbors are increasingly using them for outdoor entertaining and conducting
serious "relationship trouble" conversations on them -- and as Aimee Mann noted, "Voices Carry."

Apartment "Living."

2009-05-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

The sign at the entrance calls them "two bedroom condominiums" but they're apartments, we tenants rent them. The "second bedroom" has an old twin bed of mine, but it's mostly my "office" of sorts, with desk, files, computer stuff. In the nearly three years I've been here, we've had the occasional noisy, crazy tenant -- there was Everett, who terrified local shop-keepers to the point he was banned from several places, in some way I've never been clear about exactly.

He never remembered my correct name, which did not endear him to me -- and then he began coming to my door, asking for things. I never treated him as if he were disturbed, but I always thought he was. I struggled to be calm and firm, and explained to him on more than one occasion that I cannot much afford charity, and if I extend it, I'd prefer to choose to whom it goes. Don't you just love having conversations you'd rather not?

There was Cari Orr, the complex manager, a gentle soul who has since passed away. Her son, Jon, succeeded her as manager, and his screening of tenants is slowly changing the emotional make-up of our 16 units; more children and families, fewer singles and gay people, about the same number of pets. Jon's a counter-intuitive rock-ribbed Republican, but he knows my lefty impulses and doesn't push his opinions on me, nor I onto him.

On one side of me was a young family with two girls of about middle-school age. They had a habit of collecting pets (2 cats, 1 dog) and rather leaving them to fend for themselves no matter the weather. The one time I let one of the cats into my place I got the only flea infestation I've had here -- so Cooper was never again allowed to visit.

When they moved, my new neighbors on the other side took Cooper, de-fleaed him, plumped him up, and allow him inside during inclement weather, which is all to the good. He's a sleek domestic shorthair these days, and very friendly; except when he sees me away from my door, at which times he often seems not to recognize me.

These days, when Cooper gets caught out in the rain, he yowls quite loudly -- and generally gets attention shortly thereafter.

Rekindled Associations.

2009-05-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

I've had the nicest last few days. First, it stopped raining for a while -- and by this time of year, I'm always ready for that. The Lily plants are pushing up gorgeously in their pot, headed toward bloom and sweet fragrance. Second, several of my maternal cousins have been attempting to start regular communication by email among us, and thus far it's been wonderful! My sister, with the assistance of her husband, uploaded a treasure trove of family photos and shared them with us all, and what a joy it was to see them again.

From the email addresses I now have it seems my cousins and/or their loved ones are nearly all involved with education, and this gratifies me, as it is a thing that also exists on the paternal side of the family tree.

Finally, a favorite author of a series of science fiction novels that I've read all of, C.J. Cherryh, has recently published yet another in the series; and both her publisher and Amazon.com notified me in advance of publication that it was coming, allowing my appetite for it to grow huge. I tried to plan it into my budget and was able to order it.

I began the book, and right away was comfortably transported into new yet familiar realms with characters I've grown to know for over a decade. Now, these aren't ginormous books like the last few Harry Potter novels, but I truly love them. Mid-book, I Googled Ms. Cherryh (she lives near Spokane, WA) and emailed her to thank her for the new installment.

She replied, and thanked me for reading them "for all these years!" (faints)

I Did It!

2009-05-09T03:20:00.000-07:00

I made an awesome, dietarily-appropriate cheeseburger; life may now continue.

Cheeseburger Jones.

2009-05-07T00:32:00.000-07:00

I have one. It sounds silly, and it is -- but I swear, for the last couple of weeks I have seen cheeseburgers everywhere I go -- frightfully attractive, perfectly assembled "spokesmodel" cheeseburgers, the ones from advertisements, not the ones you actually receive after ordering one of their celestial stand-ins. I rarely have food cravings this intense. But, oh laws; I'm in deep this time!

Impatience.

2009-05-07T00:12:00.000-07:00

It comes naturally to me -- and many other humans, I suspect. Oregon Spring in Northwest Oregon is unlike Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring -- rather, it is distinguished by two currents at odds with one another: lengthening, slowly warming days vs. moisture-laden clouds from the North Pacific crashing into North America.

I feel this struggle every year, and it weighs upon my heart. For months on end, I try to face it with equanimity and shake off the dragged-down feeling the endless rain promotes. Eventually, I fail; and an inner sadness blooms that will be with me until the sun breaks through -- as it always, with often excruciating slowness, does. I hope I make it.

Persistence.

2009-05-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

As time flows, one learns which selected plants really do like the environment one has to offer them. Simply put, they come back. On their own, without a mess of coddling or special attention.
The gratitude this sparks in the heart of a gardener is difficult to express -- or maybe not. It's very much like Sally Field receiving whatever accolade that was and gushing, "You like me....you really like me!" OK, maybe it's not quite that way.

Still, as I see the fronds of ferns unfurl and this year's first bit of a returning hardy fuchsia emerging from the soil, I'm gladdened. These are familiar friends, whose colors and textures are most welcome indeed.

Nice to see you again.

Spring In Any Case.

2009-05-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

Some years here, the rain and cool persists and things don't seem to begin blooming or leafing out early at all. This year is not like that. Although the rain is hanging on, the cold seems nicely gone; but it's not what you'd call warm exactly, either. It's kind of that middle ground where my glasses and the bus windows fog up when it rains, which happens in both spring and fall here. It can be annoying, but the periods are not usually terribly long -- just a bit intense.

And the trees and flowers are getting on with it. The big-leaf Maples are just about done raining pollen on everything and their whirlybird seeds and pods are ripening, the leaves out and growing, their green deepening steadily. Azaleas are blooming and rhododendrons have begun doing so, lilacs about to pop.

Seasonal Affective Disorder.

2009-05-01T03:38:00.000-07:00

For me, it's not the shortest days that get me down; it's more likely to strike if the chill and damp go on and on, delaying the sense that "Spring has sprung" until nearly the calendar start of summer. If that happens, and it often does in NW Oregon, I get more and more panicky as the grey persists. Clouds are cute, but I get tired of seeing cloud asses after several months -- and I much prefer them separated by patches of intense blue. I need fair weather, soon if not now!

Bucking The Mainstream.

2009-04-28T01:44:00.000-07:00

Out here, in this little section of the continent, our weather arrives to a great degree from the Pacific Ocean, and often the prevailing West-to-East jetstream passes over our heads. So, while the bulk of the country may be experiencing warmer-than-normal temperatures, we very well may not.

This week began as partly-cloudy/not-quite-sunny/not-exactly-inclement, but quickly deteriorated, in Classic Pacific Northwest fashion, to rain, rain, rain.

Signs Of Life.

2009-04-22T01:59:00.000-07:00

There is an Abutilon "Louis Sasson" (common name: Flowering Maple) I've had in a pot for at least 7 years now, and carted from one abode to the next. This climate is sort of at the cold end of the limit for where Flowering Maples will grow; but with a tiny bit of protection from frost, this plant has hung in and performed for years.

Last December, this area was treated to an earlier heavy snow than I've ever seen in my 14 years here -- the most snow in 40 years, in fact -- so I worried my plant might not have made it, stayed calm, and left things in the pot be.

Over the last few days, the first really warm and sunny days since early last fall arrived, and with them, an urgent need for water in my two big pots. Still unsure as to the fate of the Abutilon, I dutifully watered the lilies now apparent in the pot and waited. And yesterday I noticed new leaves far out on a branch I had feared was frozen dead. Such a trooper! A little trim and a bit of plant food, and we're back in business!

A Change Of Weather.

2009-04-22T01:22:00.001-07:00

The last 2 days have been gorgeous; warm, sunny -- the only thing one might have wished for is a bit less tree pollen, but even that I handled by finding a couple of old allergy tablets and taking one yesterday morning.

The forecast for today looks less rosy, with a high temperature over 20 degrees lower than it was yesterday, and a low in the upper 30's -- but just now, deep in the night, it's nearly 60; which means a front of one sort or another must lie just off the Pacific Coast. According to "Weather.com's" 10-day forecast, the chances for rain over the next week-and-a-half are fairly poor, so there won't be that to worry about. (Yay!)

Warmth!

2009-04-19T00:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I was quite irate at the overcast -- the weather folks had forecast a day reaching into the high 60's Fahrenheit, and I wasn't about to let cool drab spoil it! So, I tried valiantly to ignore the cool greyness as I collected the mail delivered late on Friday from its lockbox early Saturday morning. I kept watch on the windows for hints of bright light and blue sky.

Slug Damage!

2009-04-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

I think I saw a tiny bit on the tips of leaves emerging from Lily bulbils generated by last year's Oriental Lilies. If Lily plants are happy, at leaf joints near the base of their stems, they'll produce small, translucent spherical structures that are the beginnings of copies of themselves, often below ground; and in succeeding seasons, the bulbils will develop as conditions permit until they too are large enough to produce large scented flowers.

Yeah, I love it.

*Note: I have a tiny bit of pelletized slug-bait left, and because no food is grown on the deck out front, I think I can use it without fear of any human or animal (except the slugs) being endangered.

Seduced By Spring.

2009-04-17T05:03:00.000-07:00

It happens every year -- and it happens to so many people. The last several years, the physical after-effects of a stroke and developing Type II diabetes made Spring less of a blessed event than it had been in my past, and I felt as though I'd lost something.

This year, so many folks I chat with online are planning and beginning their gardens, I'm sort of getting a contact high from it -- it feels good!

We're supposed to have an exceptional weekend, weather-wise: temps in the mid-70s, no precipitation -- and like any good Northwest Oregonian, I'm trying not to concentrate too closely upon it so I don't jinx it and keep it from happening.

Doing What Must Be Done.

2009-04-13T00:19:00.000-07:00

In its aftermath, the less-than-ideal resolution of the hostage-taking of American Seacaptain Phillips by Somali brigands seems an object lesson in the delicate art of the possible.

Surely, it would have been "better" if no lives at all had been lost -- but after 5 days of fruitless negotiations and clear signs of non-hostile intent by the US Navy; including supplies of food for the pirates and the towing of the lifeboat by the USS Bainbridge as seas became more treacherous -- the taking of the lives of the men aiming AK-47s at Captain Phillips, seems unfortunate, but justified -- and certainly not a decision arrived at in haste.

This to me seems the essence of the just and proportional exercise of great power, after all other avenues have been exhausted. The brethren of the Somali Pirates may be furious that they met their end in this way; but was it reasonable to think they could continue their hijackings, ransom demanding and hostage taking with never a great price for the damage they inflicted upon others?

I think not.

Personality Crisis.

2009-04-12T02:46:00.001-07:00

It's interesting when someone just rubs you the wrong way, no matter what. You are ostensibly so different as people that few of the elements that make up the set of "you" are congruent with what makes up the other person -- so it's nearly impossible to "relate" to that person.

This happens to me a fair bit, I have quite a prickly side; and I used to think it meant something was terribly wrong with me, that not everyone "liked" me, and that there were many people I didn't "like." But as I have gotten older, I find there are people with whom I get on famously, and those I don't.

Cue Doris Day singing "Que Sera, Sera."

Whimsical Italian Garden Goods.

2009-04-12T01:53:00.000-07:00

Find them on the Web Here:
http://www.recuperando.it/Pagine/Categoria.asp?IDFam=6&IDCat=101&IDArg=0

The Tree Pollen Blitz.

2009-04-10T02:22:00.000-07:00

Tree pollen, from cedars I'm surmising, hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday for the first time I can recall, after a couple of beautiful, clear, sunny days. The inside of my nose felt like it was on fire, and I take a prescription anti-histamine every day as it is. I felt I didn't dare take anything else -- but geez, it hurt and was irritating!

Bloomin' Beauties.

2009-04-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

Saw a number of Saucer Magnolias "rustica rubra" and other varieties in bloom yesterday; the star magnolias are blooming, too -- and the back-to-back 70-degree days seem to have pleased the hellebores and pansies, too. A great number of deciduous trees are awakening, though none is in full leaf just yet.

I really enjoy the slow unfolding into Spring, and I will myself not to be impatient with its slowness for as long as I can. The degree of success fluctuates from year to year, but if the rain hangs on until June -- all bets are off.

myPod.

2009-04-05T04:14:00.000-07:00

I wanna blab about my iPod Shuffle, which a very generous commenter at Eschaton bought for me off my Amazon Wish List. It's a 3rd-generation Shuffle, which means it's nearly 4GB of solid-state storage in a small wafer of cast aluminum with a small stainless-steel clip with the Apple logo etched into it.

Thus, it's very plain and deeply Apple-y, which I happen to like. It has a hole for the USB and earbud connectors, and a simple small switch which controls on/off, shuffle play and standard list play. There are also controls on the wire to the right earbud that control playlist selection and vocal playlist and song identification that I have not explored yet.

Turn Off The Projector.

2009-04-04T05:41:00.000-07:00

Morning commenters at Eschaton, as opposed to wee-hours commenters, tend to get hugely upset by news stories accusing Obama of selling us all out to the banksters. I find all the, "The Sky Is Falling!" stuff a bit much, and tend to get irritated at people who get all overwrought indulging themselves in freaking out about how awful it all is!

But, that's just me.

Feeling Alright.

2009-04-04T00:19:00.000-07:00

I've been participating in a "diabetes self-care" study at Stanford University Medical School online.

One facet of it is that participants draw blood every 6 months for a Hemoglobin A1c test. This test gives a picture of average blood-sugar readings over the last 2-3 months by measuring the presence of oxidized glucose molecules attached to hemoglobin in the bloodstream, as I understand it.

At diagnosis, my A1c measured "14", or twice what is considered normal, and extremely high. I frequently had blurred vision and felt terribly tired all the time. Within a month, although I became horribly forgetful temporarily and felt almost "non-human" most of the time, I reduced my A1c to "7" through dietary changes. 7 and below are considered "normal" and show "good control" of Type 2 diabetes.

My most recent A1c test came in at "6.1". (heaves sigh of relief) Something diabetes has revealed to me over and over is that everyone's experience of it is different, that generalizing from one's own experience is often a very short-sighted thing to do as regards others. I've learned I can't really "cheat" my diabetes, every excess carb and calorie must be attended to and paid for, and my life depends upon it.

I've also learned that I have much less trouble adhering to the recommended diet than some people do. I know as my disease progresses and my pancreas function declines, I'll have more and more trouble controlling my blood sugar -- but that's the hand I've been dealt, so what else am I gonna do but adapt for as long as I am able?

Refreshing.

2009-04-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

Is how the Obamas strike me. People see that the American Dream is indeed possible as they see our handsome first couple glide effortlessly through their lives. So much grace under pressure it almost hurts to witness it.

I still almost don't believe the US finally got here, to the place where an African-American man and an African-American woman are our First Couple. I'm so buoyed by this fact I'm almost giddy. The very idea of "possibility" seemed so remote for the last 8 years, when the only law that was upheld seemed to be Murphy's Law -- and now those bad old days are gone. Oh, the hangover and the healing time remain, but the relief is palpable.

Trolls.

2009-04-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

It's funny to hear conservative trolls try to diss Obama. They ignore his obvious cool intelligence and dredge up racist nuggets from the last century to attack him with. Left with so little to do, they simply go in circles of increasing idiocy and desperation.

Far more people support the man than voted for him - 4 times as many people think the country is now headed in the right direction than did just over 2 months ago when he was inaugurated. And yet, some fools still make up witless lies about him and claim he's failing.

Poor, deluded saps.

Spring Emerging.

2009-03-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

It's trying to get here. Spring, I mean. The Forsythias are in full flower, the Kwanzan Flowering Cheery Trees pushing buds, Magnolias soulangeana and stellata swelling buds toward bloom. And if we ignore the fact that Spring seems to take forever to get to this corner of the Pacific Northwest, we could bask in the small signs of Spring that are upon us. If the rain would stop -- which it probably won't. Oh, sure; the current weather forecast calls for a rain-free Friday & Weekend, but I know from bitter experience that that may change by the time I sleep and wake again. Not that I'd rather we had a drought. The Oriental Lilies which shoots have just begun to emerge from their pot would much rather have food and water to look their best -- and so would I.

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish.

2009-03-31T02:15:00.000-07:00

I never try to save money on plants. I figure if I'm gonna spend money at all, it may as well be at the beginning; rather than trying to fix a bad decision later. I know not everybody's like this; but my experience growing things tells me my way is as wise as any other.

You never have as much chance to make conditions as perfect as you can as you do before you plant something; so why not expend your energy trying to make something happy before you put it in its new home, rather than trying to make it up to it after you disappoint it?

Promethean Tasks.

2009-03-30T00:21:00.000-07:00

Prometheus, you may remember, was that figure in Greek mythology who stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind -- and was condemned by the gods to suffer ever after for giving humans the gift of warmth and light. His name means foresight, and the name of his brother Epimetheus, aftersight, which today we call hindsight.

We may assume then that Prometheus foresaw the reaction the gods would have to his gift of fire to humanity, but decided to proceed with giving it because the benefits of doing so outweighed the risks to himself. Such altruism is rare enough, but the gift of light and warmth unconnected to the presence of daylight was indeed a great gift which allowed for uncounted developments in human history -- and not a few problems.

I write this in acknowlegement of the fact that becoming mindful about anything requires giving it attention -- thus, becoming mindful about a garden requires some energy; but I submit that over time the garden returns energy to its creator and maintainer as well.

Learning To See.

2009-03-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

In reading about how the brain sifts through what it encounters to select what deserves notice, I've come to know that things we encounter frequently in our lives are seen in less sharp relief so that things that are new or out-of-the-ordinary stand out -- in other words, that favorite tree in the front yard sort-of becomes a cartoon blob with the word "Tree" superimposed upon it so that we "know" what it is without really "seeing' it, each time we gaze upon it. Then we can pay attention to anything we haven't seen before, and make a mental note of it.

And yet, to me it's very important to really notice what's going on with my plants, if I want them to succeed and really thrive. So I have to work against the tendency to turn plants into named "thought bubbles" I no longer see -- and try to see them with fresh eyes as often as I can.
Try it. Try and notice the difference it makes in your perception. Try to expand that outward until you see your whole garden as if viewing it for the first time.

You won't be sorry.

The Dubious Wonders of HaloScan.

2009-03-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

HaloScan is a commenting system used at the blog Eschaton. Sometimes it works rather smoothly; often, it does not work at all. This is one of those "not at all" times. I continue to marvel at how absolutely repulsive, unhelpful, and irrelevant Republican members of Congress continue to make themselves -- helping govern? Not on your life, they'd rather complain. How they expect this behavior to help them win future elections, I do not understand.

In other news, the Bradford Pears are leafing out; the flowering plum trees are in bloom, and the flowering cherry trees are working on it.

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut....

2009-03-23T23:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you don't. Sometimes you're inspired to post, sometimes you couldn't squeeze a word out of a dictionary. I think that's not too abnormal. Creativity, like many other things, ebbs and flows. Tonight, the conversation on the comments threads at Eschaton bored me to tears, mostly trolls acting out in their usual way, and regulars responding in their usual way.

And I have no horticultural insight or anecdote to share, and yet I've heard if I want to get better at writing I must simply do it -- whether I feel like it or not. So, here I am. Nothing much to say, but a need, nonetheless, to say it.

Metabolic Quirks.

2009-03-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

I've lived as a Type 2 diabetic since mid-November 2006. Aside from drastically changing the things and manner in which I eat, temporarily not being able to remember anything, and a constant shifting "backwards" in my sleep/wake time; it wasn't much of an adjustment.

Unless by "much" you mean "a lot", in which case it was. But tonight I had a bit of an epiphany about the sleep thing. Over time, I've radically reduced the size of my meals from when I was a carb junkie and over-ate constantly. One of the counter-intuitive side effects of oral diabetes medications that induce insulin secretion is weight gain. So, even though you're eating less, you may stay the same weight or actually gain weight -- which, as you can imagine, is frustrating as hell.

So anyway, my average meal unit is now between 300-350 calories. 3 meals a day of that size won't quite get a Type 2 through 24 hours with adequate blood sugar -- which I've begun to suspect is at the root of why my "days" keep shrinking by an hour or two every so often. I seem to naturally awaken from sleep when my blood sugar gets into the mid-90's, by my meter -- and at such a point, arising and eating something is essentially my only choice.

The concept of an "evening snack" shortly before retiring is something I've known about since being hospitalized for viral and bacterial infections shortly after diagnosis. But it didn't click until just now that determining the adequate size and composition of such a snack could be key to getting back in sync with the mass of humanity in my time zone.

Now, all that remains is to find the ideal snack. I could get "into" this.

A Bit Of Excitement.

2009-03-22T00:45:00.000-07:00

The New York Times' whiney snark-maiden Maureen Dowd dismisses the new White House Kitchen Garden as "yard work" today, revealing how woefully disconnected from the Natural World she is, rather than anything about her supposed subjects, the First Family. She doesn't know what she's missing, and clearly does not care to know.

Which, as long as nothing changes and a life removed from the Earth in Manhattan or DC remains doable, is probably fine. To those of us who prefer to be in closer contact with our Home World, such is not the case. It has long amazed me how little regard many people have for the real world,
scoffing at it as though it were an unimportant figment of their imagination, rather than that concrete thing on which all life depends. I cannot imagine myself being so oblivious to my benefactor.

But I'm funny that way.

Hip, Hip; Mrs. Obama!

2009-03-21T01:53:00.000-07:00

I'll bet you could guess I'd be pleased the Obamas are starting a White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn by the tennis courts and near Sasha and Malia's swing/play set. Organic, with veggies and berries the family likes and cool varieties submitted by the White House cooking and gardening staff. The First Family will be drafted for weed control, and learn in their first vegetable garden from avid staffers who have been waiting for a non-stuffy family to let them go food-crazy.

What better time could there be to set this example for American families about letting a bit of lawn go, and getting fresh organic food in the bargain? I've never turned earth in DC but I suspect the Potomac River Valley may host some awesome soil. Can't wait to see the results!

Cornering the Market on Food.

2009-03-21T00:44:00.000-07:00

While Americans worry about whether they will have sufficient income to put food on their tables, behind the scenes a faceless corporation works diligently to gain control of the source of seed for everything "vegetable" that they eat. The same people who make the weed killer RoundUp have been on a seed company buying spree for quite some time. What would be the problem with them controlling the supply of seeds?

Organic , open-pollinated seeds can be harvested generation after generation by the people who grow the plants that yield them -- always producing a reliably similar crop from year to year. Hybrids, which are arrived at by crossing genetic lines to achieve desired traits, do not breed true in successive generations; that is, the traits for which they were bred are only assured in the first (F1) or second (F2) generation after breeding, after which a host of undesirable qualities may crop up.

So, if a company can habituate gardeners to qualities that can be delivered only in hybrids, eventually the seed produced by plants in the garden becomes less valuable and reliable, and the company breeding the hybrid seed must be turned to each year for a new supply. Sound complicated and difficult to achieve? It is. Which may explain why so little attention is being paid to a large corporation trying to corner the market on the seed supply for the world's food.

A subject re-visited: The Nurturing Impulse.

2009-03-20T04:15:00.000-07:00

What, precisely, leads a human to want to befriend and care for a companion animal, or tend a plant? Is it an outgrowth of some kind of parental concern, or what? I'm going to ponder this, and
see what thoughts expand.

I know, in my own case, my relationships with flora and fauna are not a one-way street, but rather an exchange of great pleasures among us. As happy as any dog of mine ever became at a favorite treat or meal, so happy have I been to witness their comedic antics and loving concern. Coaxing palm and hardy banana seeds into life was difficult and required great patience, but the on-going beauty of their sprouted forms was more than enough repayment to me -- all of it in delight.

I can vouch for the fact that I receive something in return for the energy I invest in caring for plants. I've never felt cheated by the results I've gotten from growing a particular plant -- even if I found I couldn't grow it to be lovely and/or productive.

Grasping for Something to Say.

2009-03-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

There are those times when I am inspired to commit my thoughts into some kind of permanence, whether etched in electrons or with ink on paper; when the words flow like a stream fed by snow-melt on a warm day -- and times when no words will come, like a lemon that has been squeezed too many times, and now must be cast away. After a giddy burst of creativity, its disappearance pains all the more.

I had such a period of creativity last week. Each day, by the time I had awakened and quaffed a mug and a half of coffee, words danced in my head, eager to assemble themselves into sentences and paragraphs, effortlessly tumbling forth. And then, .... nothing.

I have some observations about what was different on those days on which I was especially prone to write -- but some of them sound rather silly, looking back. The Moon was closer to being Full, though I know not what that suggests exactly. Astrologically speaking, the Moon is my ruling planet, and a key to my personality and intellect, for all the store one may set by that. Reflection, the chief component of the Moon's luminosity, is indeed central to my understanding of things -- and I shall not deny it.

I tend not to pray formally, as I never know whom I am asking for what, precisely. I cast suggestions and hopes into the tides of the Universe, and try to take things as they come back to me.

A Disconcerting Event.

2009-03-19T01:09:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, I set about pinching back the Basil plants I'm growing in an AeroGarden. As I took the first pinch of a plant, the entire main stem snapped off at the point where the stem becomes root.
Looking at the broken stem end, there was an obvious spot of decayed, brown tissue intruding about half-way into the pale tissue of the stem's xylem and phloem -- which was not at all obvious as the plant stood there. Must be alert and careful from here on out, I see.

As the AeroGarden Grows.

2009-03-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty taken with it, and it does make an unusual bedside lamp. I've fallen out of sync with it of course, as I have the day/night cycle of my time zone. The basils need pinching, and the takings
chopping and infusion in olive oil -- I'll try to do that tomorrow.

"Master" Gardeners.

2009-03-17T04:57:00.000-07:00

Mastering Gardening is not something one can do in the course of a class offered by a community college or Agricultural Extension Service. Every season brings more knowledge, more insights and epiphanies, and there is always more to be learned. The finest, most knowledgeable plantspeople I've ever known were at root deeply humble about their tending of plant life.

Unafraid to share their magic or learn someone else's; they realize, in my estimation, how much the plants teach them. So when I meet people who want to use their horticultural "credentials" to form a pecking-order with themselves atop the hierarchy, I invariably recoil -- because for me gardening is not a competitive undertaking.

I once had a native-plant zealot and nursery owner for a landlord. But realize, Oregon is a fairly large place and what grows in and is native to the Southeastern High Desert will not be appropriate along the Coast, in the Douglas Fir Forests, or in The Blue Mountains of NE Oregon -- but they're all Native Plants.

Dry-Land Farming.

2009-03-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me a link to an interesting article from SFGate.com about an organic apple grower in Sebastopol, CA who was forced by circumstances to stop drip-irrigating his orchard of heirloom trees and let them tough it out with only the water they naturally received from rain and fog. He decided that if the trees began to die from drought, he would water them once more.

The results of not watering at all surprised him. The apples the trees produced without water were smaller, but higher quality, ripened later, and held up better in storage -- while the grower saved untold thousands of gallons of water. Because the trees are mature and established, with extensive root systems, the grower has been able to cease adding additional water for several years now.

Getting Tao Know You.

2009-03-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

Back when I took the est seminar -- or was an est-hole, in the vernacular -- one of the "trainers" told of an old Chinese proverb: "It is better to ride the horse in the direction it is going." For some reason, I really "got" this, and saw the sense of it immediately; whereas much of the rest of est left me feeling discombobulated.

I don't remember when I discovered that following The Way , or The Tao, was what I was doing -- but more and more I realize it's how I "understand" the world. It works for me. Not much else has.

The Tao of the Garden.

2009-03-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

If you've been here before I'll bet you've already begun to suspect that my Way of approaching the Natural World and Gardening is a bit different from some people you may have read before on the subject. Each person's experience of the world is different, but I observe that it is The Way in which I perceive and interact with the Natural Order that most defines my "style."

I begin by trying to see what actually exists in a given location. I observe and reflect upon what I observe, trying all the while to really see what is, then imagine what I or my client would like to see, assess whether that desire is reasonable given the existing conditions; determine how to get to what is desired, and formulate a plan for getting to the desired outcome, all before a spade touches soil.

If I honestly believe what is desired cannot be achieved to our mutual satisfaction, this is the point at which I am honor-bound to say so and decline the job or suggest an alternative, more suitable arrangement.

I must admit this is a standard that I have more than a few times failed to achieve, but it is my over-arching aim. One needs to be intently aware what one has, what if anything the location needs to better support the vigor of the things one intends to grow, and how to reach the optimal possible conditions for those plants in that location. Easy-peasy, right?

Usta-Bes.

2009-03-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

This is among the last ads I created for the nursery I ran from 1998 - 2002. Shortly after it ran, I suffered a "slight" stroke, forgot everything
I knew about plants for nearly a year, and a bit later lost my job and insurance. The nursery may well be gone now, the website I created
for it certainly is.

You've heard of "mixed feelings?"

Um, yeah.

Googling And Nothingness.

2009-03-15T01:20:00.000-07:00

Did you know you can Google just about any plant and learn about by reading which links will give you the information you need and want? You can. By common and botanical names. If you click the "Images" tab at the top left of the Google page, you can see photos of the plant which name you enter into the search box. It's really fun and easy, and once you've learned to do it, it's a remarkably quick and helpful tool.

Planning and Fruition.

2009-03-15T01:05:00.000-07:00

As I've said with regard to pruning, one very big problem people encounter in gardening is unknowingly setting themselves up for failure, then hating what happens as they fail to get the result they wished for. It's understandable how that happens.

If you're anything like me, the same impulse that leads you to "Spring-clean" your abode entices you to get outside in the warmth, light, and air and jump around and do something with Nature.
I suspect that's "hard-wired" into Earthlings. Like normal mortals who've been cooped-up for months, we want that good "payoff feeling", and we want it NAO!

Somehow we forget that winter is indeed the time to daydream, brainstorm, learn about proposed inhabitants of, and plan one's Garden. Addicted temperate-zone gardeners become familiar with, and expectant for, plant porn, the glossy full-color picture catalogs of seeds and plants that come in winter. All those plants are perfect and perfectly photographed, and they lure us to buy them with their siren songs.

Evil, Evil, pretty thangs!

That Thing About Sun.

2009-03-15T00:37:00.000-07:00

There are a set of pat recommendations for where to grow plants in terms of light that one sees in magazines, on plastic ID tags in pots in garden centers, in Garden Encyclopedias. etc.

Here's the thing: They tend to over-simplify reality and give people a confused and mistaken impression. It is my mission to try to help clear that up.

There are 3 major categories of light requirements/tolerance level in gardening.
They are: "Full" Sun, Partial Shade, and Shade.

Full Sun can mean sun all day; but in general it means 4 or more hours a day of direct sun.

Partial Shade (or partial sun) would be less than 4 hours direct sun a day, most likely in morning or late afternoon and/or shaded somewhat by shrubs or trees.

Shade is perhaps the easiest to understand. It can mean no direct sun whatsoever but it can also mean a bit of direct sun very early or late in the day or filtered light through trees, with momentary bursts of direct sun.

A problematic situation many people face is an area between structures that receives whatever direct sun it does in the middle of the day, when sunlight is at its most intense. Plants used in
this type of location must be able to withstand direct, intense sun; while one might easily think
a plant for shade or partial shade would thrive in this location.

The only iron-clad rule? Let Your Experience Guide You.

Thinking About Pruning.

2009-03-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's been my observation that there are starkly different "schools of thought" about pruning plants -- if people bother to think about it at all before they merrily hack a bush into unsightliness. On the one hand you see people trying to restrict the space a plant takes up to the space they had mentally allotted for it when they planted it -- but if you think about it, growing is a plant's essential purpose; that's what plants do, so making gardening about trying to prevent plants from being what they are is mostly pointless.

Instead, imagine it this way: the point of pruning is to support a plant in becoming the best (healthiest, most vigorous, productive, and attractive) it can be. So rather than buying a plant one sees in a shop on impulse and hoping it will do what you had in mind for that spot, then attacking the plant when it doesn't do that; perhaps learning which plant will naturally do what you have in mind before you buy it and then finding that plant will result in a more satisfying experience and a more beautiful garden.

If you've placed your plant well, in a location and conditions it basically enjoys, you're off to a good start. If you selected a plant that at maturity will be the size you want it to be, so much the
better. When I gardened all the time for a living, customers would sometimes get concerned if I appeared to "space out" and gaze at sections of their gardens -- as they got to know me and the way in which I create and maintain a garden, they realized I was taking the time to see as much as I could of what was happening.

This takes time because a garden can have an extraordinary number of variables changing at different rates of size and speed in a compact space, and keeping it attractive for greatest amount of time over the seasons can be quite a challenge.

So before I launch into pruning I like to really look at the plant before me. Look long and hard,
keeping in mind what that type of plant's normal habit and manner of growth is, and yielding to that nature. If I arrive at the place I hope to be, what if anything should be removed, begins to become obvious.

It's literally true that there was a period in my life when while pruning, limbs on shrubs and trees I was pruning that should be removed would have a flashing electric blue sort of aura about and along them as I pondered what to remove. And if I had had a therapist, I don't think I would have told them about it.

Fresh herbs and why you should consider growing some

2009-03-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

For several years I've been growing a Sweet Bay Tree (Laurus nobilis) in a pot on the decking in front of my apartment, even though this isn't the ideal climate for such a tree. Why would I do that? First of all, I love the flavor the fresh leaves impart to soups and stews and the trees themselves. Second, I don't much care for the less subtle taste of the California Bay leaves sold by most American Spice purveyors as "bay leaves." Third, I find it fun to grow things that may take a bit of effort -- I'm just like that.

Lavender generally does better in the somewhat drier climate of coastal California than it does where I live in NW Oregon, but there are varieties of it that do quite well here. We're more limited in the varieties of Rosemary we can grow here too -- but again, there are several good ones for this climate, among the the creeping, cascading variety "Irene."

Many of the herbs we commonly associate with foods from Italy and southern France prefer a soil that is well-drained and not overly "rich", the main exception being Basil, which loves good fertilizer. Good sun is also important for these.

I'm pretty sure Americans mean well, and intend to use the dried herbs they buy in markets before the flavor drains out of them; but there are a few that may languish away in a cupboard for a remarkably long time: Poultry Seasoning (for the Bird) and "Pumpkin Pie Spice" spring immediately to mind.

Now, of course. there are many pungent spices from in or near the tropics few of us can easily grow -- but the ones we can are worth looking at. Think about it, there are many places in the country where in a spot of sun one can easily grow Sage, and Cilantro only really works when fresh -- the dried leaves (as with Basil) not having the same zip or flavor at all. And you only need to harvest what you'll use right then.

On Soil.

2009-03-14T02:41:00.000-07:00

Different plants "want" different kinds of soil, usually the kind they evolved in -- but many plants are quite adaptable, as well.
I'd focus on the quality of your soil, as you never have as much ability to improve it as you do right before you plant; which in turn vastly improves the yields you get.

Many soils lack abundant organic matter and consist largely of soil particles ranging in size from the coarsest (sand) to the finest (clay). Both types of particles are improved by the addition of composted organic matter, which holds moisture, allows a freer run for roots, catalyzes and participates in the making available to plants of macro- and micronutients, and and slew of other good things.

The size of the particles and how tightly together they are compressed and packed determines the drainage of one's soil - sandy soils that have been turned and "fluffed" drain very quickly, and water may not easily penetrate tightly packed clay at all, nor drain away.

Organic matter added to loose, sandy soil will improve it by holding moisture longer than the sand, so plants have longer to drink it up -- and will improve tight clay soil by breaking it up and
separating clumps of it allowing water, roots and nutrients to fill the created open spaces and drain away.

On Growing Potatoes

2009-03-14T02:35:00.000-07:00

What you grow depends on the qualities of your soil, what you want and how many you want to grow. If organic's your thang, check Seeds Of Change (Google for their site) and see if they're still shipping "seed potatoes*".

*:little taters specially grown to plant to grow your own.
Also Google "Seed Potatoes" for commercially grown, non-organic ones, as you prefer. Once you've made the decision, there are some things you should know:

You can cut potatoes with sprouted "eyes" into pieces with at least one sprout and plant them, but if you don't "dust" the moist cut sides with a heavy-duty fungicide before you plant (which immediately puts the fungicide in them) many of them will likely rot rather than become productive plants.

Meanwhile, over a month later.....

2009-03-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

All the herbs except the dill came up. They've grown remarkably. It's funny, I rather expected the roots to be a bit dirty since there's a tiny plug of dirt the seeds are tucked into, but they were clean as a whistle when I popped open the port to add water and fertilizer tabs. The water in the tank circulates and aerates about 16 hours a day so it doesn't get gross. The basils are both purple, though one was supposed to be green, but who cares? They both smell fabulous. I've had to raise the light hood a notch, and pinched the thyme and basil and need to pinch the mint back to shorten it and bush it out. I'm lovin' it.

Impatience.

2009-01-30T04:11:00.000-08:00

The majority of my herb seeds have sprouted -- so of course, I'm trying to make the others spring into life.

Just.....Why?

2009-01-25T02:51:00.000-08:00

At its most basic, does the inclination to care for plant life spring from some parental instinct, some desire to gratify one's self -- or what, exactly?

I'll admit, I don't know; but I'm hugely interested in what began my journey into loving plants.

So forgive me if I allow myself this indulgence to ponder what it is that motivates and sustains me. I know I cannot hope to carry this sense of wonderment through all my posts -- it ebbs and flows, waxes and wanes, and I know and am comfortable with this fact.

A Pleasant Surprise.

2009-01-23T06:16:00.000-08:00

A blog acquaintance, who happens to pilot jetliners, did me a great kindness at Christmas. Unbidden and unbeknownst to me, he ordered up an AeroGarden Deluxe for me. I'd never let on that since developing diabetes gardening had become quite a struggle for me physically, to the extent that now virtually all I tend are two large pots outside my front door; one holding a Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis) tree, the other some white oriental lilies and an Flowering Maple (Abutilon species) "Louis Sasson".

I am these days a slow study at best, and cantankerous enough to only do things when I am good and ready -- so I waited until yesterday to unpack the gift. It arrived later than was planned when snowfall brought both mail and package deliveries to a halt before Christmas, and I became snow-bound.

No matter. I knew when I opened and began to explore it, it would delight and fascinate me, and so it has. The adventure begins -- I shall grow herbs.