Sat 30 Apr 2005
i found this 3 1/2 inch bubba under a rock friday:
typically i show slugs no mercy.
i wasn’t sure what to do with bubba though? the slug’s enormity
and beautiful pattern threw me. so instead of slicing and dicing
i did the next best thing and left him to feast in a nearby yard.
Sat 30 Apr 2005
i finished a small landscaping project for a client friday. said client has little time to work in her yard, had let it go beyond the point of simple weekend afternoon fixes and wants to start growing her own greens next fall and winter. lettuce prices are out of control so why not grow your own.
denying grass and other undesireables sunlight means no photosynthesis.
this simple technique is far less labor intensive than ripping out sod and taking it to the dump. the key is to lay down a bit of newspaper or staw plus a minimum 4 inches of amendment. some weeds and grass will reappear eventually and you just have to keep on top of them.
padget got a nice bone out of the deal.
Thu 28 Apr 2005
we are fortunate that oregonian editor and photographer randy rasmussen(i think the “O” requires one to register a zip code in order to surf their site which naturally means that you don’t have to give them your actual zip) will visit us july 6, 2005 as a guest speaker at ym@ ph0t0. randy will make a presentation on the two months he spent embedded with the oregon national guard in baghdad and kirkuk, iraq this year. more soon…
Thu 28 Apr 2005
brett haller never fails to send cool and funny stuff:
It may come as a shock to you, but I recently joined PETA.
(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
My first assignment was to save some antelope in Africa, and the rescue
was filmed to critique my effort. Let me know what you think.
Wed 27 Apr 2005
aphids are showing up. it’s that time of year. they’re actually pretty easy to manage unless you have a large scale infestation. our garden is dinky so it’s impossible to have anything large scale. no dinosaur food here. who would have thunk that texans dig gunnera? friends at edelweiss perennials have been vexed by some aphid herds this year. one plant aphids adore is omphalodes capadocica ’starry eyes’:
they haven’t yet found the omphalodes here but they have found some rose buds:
unless they’re really bad, which fortunately i’ve yet to experience, i don’t use soap, pepper spray or anything other than forefingers, thumbs and fine hose spray to thin aphid herds. here’s a picture of the same rose buds minus critters:
minus all but one anyway. if you look in the lower right hand portion of the ‘after’ picture you’ll notice a backside view of one plump aphid clinging to the underside of a rose leaf. impressive indeed!
Tue 26 Apr 2005
we have humming birds hanging out in our garden. it’s taken a year or so to lure them here. chilean glory flower(eccremocarpus scaber) did the trick. it’s an annual and this year overwintered probably due to our unusually mild oregon winter.
Mon 25 Apr 2005
this unusual trillium is native to japan. the capture was made in late february 2005 outside of portland, oregon. the species normally blooms red(i’ll have to search for a picture of the red one and post it later) though 1 in 100 blooms yellow. two friends have a small corner of their magnificent woodland garden where 5 or so yellow trillium kurabayashis reside. 5 or so yellow kurabayashis they grew from seed!
Sat 23 Apr 2005
recently doc o, otto and i headed to bridgeport, california to
ski tour for 3 days in the range of light. bridgeport is a valhalla
of sorts if slapping skins on skis and climbing up mountains
you intend to shred is your thing. i can’t recommend this place
highly enough. especially this year. the snowpack is mucho thick.
the first day we skied a fun peak called crater crest
day 2 we skied mt. walt the highlight of the trip. mt. walt is
a 4,500 ft climb along large snowfields bounded by high alpine rock
towers and butresses. quite a zone in which to spend a day skiing!
we stayed with a friend near bridgeport.
fishmas is a word i’d never heard until this trip. i laughed when i learned the meaning. plenty of eastside locals eagerly await its arrival each spring. fishing season opens april 30th the day locals call fishmas. the day the rv’s show up and the sparse eastern sierra nevada communities receive a needed economic boost. the day many eastern sierra lakes and streams chock full of hatchery trout can be legally plucked of something that naturally is no longer. what is hoped for is a steady cash drip that carries some though the lean winter months.
a smile sums up the trip. here’s to friends, fishmas and the glorious sierra nevada mountains!
Thu 14 Apr 2005
Thu 14 Apr 2005
