Sunday, June 21, 2009

Amazing what a little rain can do

My blooming perennials seem unusually vivid and early this year, don't know if it's my imagination or real. The pasque flower (lower left) and basket'of'gold (upper left) had great displays, and the latter is still blooming. We had about an inch of rain over a two-week period in late May/early June which may be the reason. I love going outside and hearing all the little pollinators zipping and buzzing around. I saw a beautiful bumble bee today - searching for an ID site I came across http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=10749, which is a USDA site that advertises a wallet-size bumblebee ID card. Unfortunately, I didn't get a close enough look at the bee to be able to ID it - all I remember is that it was big & yellow, with an orange band in mid-body area.

At the end of last year I realized it was short-sighted NOT to plant some pollinator-attractor plants in the vegetable garden, so I put three Russian sages in a corner; realized this spring that wasn't the best place because they were outside the irrigation system I'd set up. I moved them more into the thick of the vegie plantings and on a drip line, but now they're being slow to grow because of the adjustment I've forced them to go through. Maybe by next growing season they'll do what I have asked them to (bloom & attract bees/flies)!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Litter-picking

People can be such slobs. I don't know what it is about fishing that brings out the litterers. I took the dog on a walk around our local fishing and wildlife lake this morning - trash (AKA recyclables) galore.

Since we discontinued our garbage pick-up service less than a year ago, I tend to gravitate more to picking up only the recyclables when I go walking, and believe it or not, I still get LOTS of those. Many aluminum cans, and plastic and glass bottles.

One pattern I've noticed during my litter patrols: if I come across ONE beer bottle, the other five that were in the six-pack will be not far away. That then makes me wonder what the drinking pattern is of the people who toss their beer bottles. Do they drink one beer, throw it out, then quickly drink another and toss that one? Or do they drink them all at a more leisurely pace, and then pick one up from the pile on the floor, toss it out, then leisurely pick up another one and toss that one out? The spatial spacing of the beer bottles along the road leads me to believe it's more the latter. If it were the former, the drinkers would have to gulp, and toss, the beer very speedily to match the pattern I see on the landscape.

Ahhh, the deep philosophical thoughts I have on my walks . . .

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Wow, time flies during planting season

Can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've written. We were on vacation and then I spent every waking hour (or so it seemed) outside in the garden. When we returned to town on June 1, the yard and area looked like WI, because RAIN had actually come down during our absence. Granted, not much rain, but for here it was significant - over the course of 10 days about 1" total. So nothing died from lack of precipitation.
WE've already been fortunate enough to harvest greens and spinach, and radishes will probably be ready within a week. I madly planted annuals, herbs, and many more seeds this past weekend - the seeds that went in were more carrots, various green beans, more lettuce & greens, parsnips, sunflowers, more kohlrabi, and don't remember what else.
I'm in Cortez working this week, and indulged in a shopping spree to Four Seasons Greenhouse this evening. Some people shop for clothes, some for expensive cigars, but Marianna goes to greenhouses to spend her money.
I have vowed to stay away from perennial plants that have failed in the past - that list is getting mighty long. Ice Plants are at the top of the list, along with Alpine Poppy, Colorado Gold Gazania, and at least a dozen more. Am getting weary of spending money on plants that last only a season, and then kapoof! they're gone.
Bruce emailed me today that we have a fledgling robin and a parent hanging out in the yard; let's hope Caddy the pooch doesn't find them.