Conscious Gardening: Putzing Around in the Rain

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Putzing Around in the Rain

I got out to see what wonders the rain brought this morning and discovered about an inch and a half in the gauge.

The lichen on the old umbrella is gorgeous with the saturated light...unfortunately the photo doesn't do it justice.

Yes!

Full to the top! It's been empty for a few weeks now. The weekend forecast is calling for 102-104 degrees so who knows how long this will last, thank goodness I have 5 others.

Lonesome Dove out on the arm of the Sycamore.

Bird baths magically full...

And blooming fungi overnight!

Note to self...find out the name of this stuff that comes yearly...

The girls are going to Vienna and Cannes this summer for a month to see family, and I've spent the past week making my summer project list...this fence is getting more flowers and cacti. They represent the children on our block.

Friggin' squash vine borer! Fun-spoiler...dag-gum pain in the arse! Okay, I'm fine now.

I had to bolster up the tomatoes that have outgrown their cages with bamboo.

The peppers look lovely in the rain!

The 'pillars are out on the parsley, fennel and passion vine in hoards!

I love the delicate flowers of bronze fennel.

I quick transplanted a few things to the mound. Lambs ear had come up in the path out front along with some prairie verbena...I hope they like their new home.

The bean clinging to the corn stalk.

This is a measurement of two things...The size of the baby Redbud and also the height of the Mexican Petunia. It was nearly 3ft in the fall and it froze to the ground...first time in 3 years.

I had to rush in because it started raining again and I found BobCat and Persephone crashed out on the fainting couch enjoying a rainy day as I plan to!

Happy Gardening!

13 comments:

Unknown said...: Great photos! Love the bamboo around the tomatoes. Hope you're day stays rainy and you get a nap in like the cats. Love you with all my heart!; 03 June, 2010 09:29
Unknown said...: Awesome! We just got more rain last night. The wild blackberries are starting to ripen.; 03 June, 2010 10:36
Unknown said...: And the mushroom might be Ear. Google it. Here's one site: http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5580~source~gallerychooserresult.asp

Here's my friend Jackie's old site for it: http://okwildcrafting.com/ear.html

Be careful :); 03 June, 2010 11:40
ConsciousGardener said...: Ear, yes...that's it!; 03 June, 2010 12:01
Dorothy Borders said...: What a lovely, rainy day you had. We had a bit of rain today, but not enough. I'll take it anyway. Looks like we might get a bit more which would be nice.; 03 June, 2010 20:49
Kathy said...: I love the garden just after it rains. Everything looks so green and fresh. Nice rain gauge. Beautiful gardens. (Oh, love those toad stools, too, from your previous post! Very cool.); 04 June, 2010 05:52
Diana said...: Love all your new growth brought on by the recent rains. But I'm sorry about your squash vine borer. Hope you can dig them out and keep growing. They are such a nuisance. The caterpillars have eaten so much of my parsley that it's now unrecognizable. Love having new butterflies all around though.; 05 June, 2010 08:52
Michelle said...: Those stinkin' squash borers! I've never had any luck here in Houston with Bt or cutting them out. This year, I'm trying successive plantings (every week or so ... when I remember). I read somewhere that you can slide a crop in between the "killing" stages of the bug's life cycle. We'll see ...; 08 June, 2010 13:48
ConsciousGardener said...: I've heard the same thing Michelle, when is it too late though?; 08 June, 2010 16:12
Bob said...: I just got back from a couple weeks in Alaska and I've got, like a zillion questions to ask you about what I saw and don't know about. Now I know why you are like you are. Alaska people are soooo nice. It's just like Texas was before the invasion.

I will be in Austin next week some time and will call you to check on your where abouts before I come. See you soon.; 10 June, 2010 21:37
ConsciousGardener said...: Oh, I can't wait! Bring your pictures...if you're available tonight, you and Lyn should come by for Margs!; 11 June, 2010 04:16
Juliet said...: Hey there, so I think I've found a spot for a passionflower vine if your offer still stands? If so will you be available any time Sunday? I can make it quick if you're busy...; 11 June, 2010 19:28
ConsciousGardener said...: Yes, I'll be around! I'll send you my cell number so you can give me a buzz when you're on your way...just to be sure.

govumpella@yahoo.com; 12 June, 2010 05:10

Wordy Wednesday! Solstice 2012!

CBC Update

I wrote to the CBC on April 26th letting them know that I'd had an arborist come out to confirm the fire blight on their giant Barlet Pear tree and had a quote for them. They have yet to have it removed. I've had to let go of any hope or fear about what it will do to my garden, and our neighbors's gardens. Here is a shot of the hell strip across the street. I've continued to plant things there and try to go over at least once a month to pull weeds and keep it somewhat tidy. The rocket myrtle is looking lovely!

Wordy Wednesday 3.21.2012

At 7:30 this morning I went out to snap a few shots of the garden and discovered the owl. I sat with her the entire day...until 3:30, when the American Elm she and her babies called home had been taken down around her, she dropped down into her box. Had I known that my Mr. Owl had started a family, I'd have waited on the tree. As it was, we didn't realize it was "mama owl" until several hours later...when she refused to leave, and then finally at sunset, when Mr. Owl arrived...I hope the babies make it and that we have a family...come May!

Wordy Wednesday 2-29-2012

I walked into the kitchen just in time to see mama redwinged black bird strike the window just inches away from the supposedly "safety sticker" purchased from Audubon specifically for preventing bird strikes. She was in shock and we were terrified that one of our furry monsters would get her...so we carefully placed her in a little nest I made in a wire basket. Her beak was split up the middle and she sat still with her mouth open and her head at a strange cocked angle for a good 5 minutes. I ran and got the camera and when I came out she had closed her mouth...which was bleeding at the tip and her breathing had calmed. I went inside to give her some peace, when I opened the door 20 minutes later...she took off!

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi

Chicas Verdes

I went to lunch today with a host of lovely Green Ladies who meet at various locations on the first Tuesday of each month to discuss all things Green in Austin and beyond. The speaker was Niyanta Spelman, executive director of a fairly new NGO, Rainforest Partnership~Linking People to People for a Sustainable Future. It's a worthy cause and I wanted to give a shout out to her group and invite folks to check out their site if this tugs your heartstrings.

Her presentation was engaging and she is available for presentations and networking.

www.rainforestpartnership.org

Rose Garden Planting at CBC Valentines Day 2009

We are going to be putting in a rose garden tomorrow morning at the Baptist Church on Dartmouth Ave. Anyone in the neighborhood is welcome to join us. We'll meet at the coffeeshop at 10am for cookies and a brief talk, then we'll be planting 9 Martha Gonzales roses, leaving space for an upcoming pergola to house two Lady Banksia's. Both roses are featured in the new Grow Green guide that will be released to the public on February 22nd, next Sunday at Zilker Botanical Gardens for the 5th annual Grow Green Festival. The festival begins at 12 noon and is free. Please help us keep Austin Green!

What is your Signature Plant?

This is in response to Tina's question (In The Garden) about signature plants. It came to me right away as I was reading...mine is a Sunflower...for many reasons. They are a weed, the Kansas State Flower, where I was born, they are super sensitive to sunlight...that's why I live in Texas...to keep warm, I'm a sun-lover, yellow is the most cheery color, there are so many different kinds of Sunflowers...one for every mood it seems. Also, almost every part of the flower is useful: petals for dye, stalk for fiber art, seeds...well that's obvious. They bloom where planted. I feel strong and diverse, like a sunflower...When I took the "what flower are you?" test on
Gardening While Intoxicated blog, I came up Sunflower and last but not least...I have a two flower tattoos...one of them is a Sunflower:)

Tree Planting November 1st!

We are just one week away from the scheduled planting date at the CBC on East Dartmouth Ave, south side of the street.
I'm encouraging everyone to show up at 10am for coffee at the Connection Cafe and to pick a tree. Please bring your garden gloves, shovel and wheel barrel if you have one. Davey Trees is delivering mulch! There are 17 trees to be planted along the sidewalk and around the corner on Woodrow Ave. This project is to help replace the 5 trees that have died over the past decade, beautify and also to address the heat island effect.
Please join your neighbors in this project! It's a great opportunity to introduce your kids to gardening and get involved. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call me @ 459.7314

Happy Gardening!

CBC Update!

The time is drawing near for the CBC/Dartmouth Av. Beautification Project to happen. Paul from TreeFolks came by last week to verify the space and trees for our November 1st plant date. We will be putting 17 trees into the ground along both Woodrow and Dartmouth Av. At the Neighbors Night Out I will have a map of the tree locations and familys can choose which tree to plant. My daughter has designed a T-shirt logo that you can check out and we will order shirts for participants who want to share the joy. Remember to bring your own shovel for digging and hauling mulch. This spring we will add flowers and hopefully some benches! Please join us
in the transformation of our street!

Hard Core Gardening...

CBC Update!

We are having a meeting with Tree Folks September 12th just to verify the space and trees. Some of the grass has grown back but we're dedicated to getting the good stuff in right! Our current planting date is still set for November 1st, 10am and we can use all the help we can get...if you'd like to know how just e-mail me at greengardener@grandecom.net
The Crestview Baptist Church has really taken going green quite serious. This morning I was speaking to their Minister of Community Connection and he informed me that the entire staff were now taking Monday's off to save energy...Right On!

CBC Plan Approved!

Chicken Heaven

One of the joys of gardening is the evolution of crap, or composting. I love turning the pile...it's hard work for sure
but it's just so rewarding. The top is always dry and airy but when you dig down to that super rich level...full of bugs and worms and wet delicious smelling fresh soil, you know you're doing the right thing. No one loves helping out more than the chickens. They are usually a bit jumpy due to their teeny weeny bird-brains but when they have their sight on dozens, maybe hundreds of plump critters their excitement and need for protein overwhelm their fear of the shovel and they literally dive in face first. I'm going to have to catch it on film sometime...they love compost almost as much as my dog loves Kitty-Rocha. Nasty, nasty stuff.

Old Fashioned Family Fun

Taking photos at dawn is the best. Staging photos is an art form. Dealing with pre-teens and full on teenaged girls can be a nightmare. We were down visiting my neighbor's horses a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a blackberry forest...literally! So we decided to arrange a morning of bliss. The following weekend we took my two girls out to pick blackberries, ride horses and do a photo shoot. A morning like this has the potential of going sour, not everyone rises like the sun, shiny and full of energy...not to mention typical teenaged attitude and the borage of petty complaints. Throw in a camera however and suddenly eyes sparkle, hair flies, dimples emerge and between handling the animals, the reflection on the water, arranging the props and making sure your models don't have blue lips and are not tearing each others hair out for "that shirt" the potential for magic emerges. The girls were so funny, they couldn't believe how many blackberries there were..."how many can we eat? As much as you want, but let's take enough home for a cobbler." (Rare sound of giddy squealing) The second location was in the hayloft. The texture of the hay and soft lighting were perfect. I was expecting wining about how it itched or the bugs etc...but it all seemed fine, we just made sure that the same amount of attention was paid each model. Then off to the horses, who would be fed after their work. Now working with horses is a bit more of a challenge. Taking a picture of a flower is one thing...composition, lighting, background...mostly nature takes care of the beauty but the horses have to be directed along with the girls, and of course there is the safety issue and only one of the girls is comfortable and "into" horses. Once again though, the camera seemed to erase all fear and the inner model arose. The entire shoot lasted about 4 hours, which included feeding and tending 4 horses, 5 changes of clothes, staging photos at 3 locations and picking several containers of berries and one prairie-girl sized basket. The great thing is that the morning goes down in history, beautifully. In a few years we won't even remember the hassle...
Blackberry slideshow under construction.

Conscious Gardening

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Putzing Around in the Rain

13 comments:

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