Not a prayer
Sunday, 14 September 2014
Seems like this leaf pattern would be perfect for paint-by-number. Not that I’d ever give it a try.
Musings
Stem photosynthesis
Friday, 12 September 2014
All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti—at least that was what I was taught for decades, although I find whispers on the Internet that this is no longer considered a truth. Cacti are New World—except one species in southern Africa. Cacti have spines not thorns (modified leaves vs modified branches). The strange growths and textures of the cacti exterior help it conserve water in part by trapping an air layer that reduces air movement and helps the plant retain water.
Non-harvest
Sunday, 31 August 2014
The end of August seems a good time to review harvest and garden news. Minimal here: nothing planted, a few survivors and self-seeders from last year…. This Thai basil plant would be the blue (purple?) ribbon from our scanty plot; let’s face it, the competition is negligible. Still, this hardy plant has given us several pickings for Thai curry tofu, and will several more. Not bad for a volunteer!
Shopping mini-report
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
In Spanish, this color would be rojizo, or possibly colorado. Kinda. I’m pretty sure. In English, not to be confused with brindle, which doesn’t have the orange-y component.
One: the number of microwave ovens we bought today. Panasonic. With a fancy inverter built in that’s supposed to make it…more sophisticated at heating leftovers. And a whopping 1250 watts. That’s watt!
Hefty: the 2 lb 5.6 oz loaf of whole-wheat bread we got from the bakery yesterday.
Being present with memories
Monday, 25 August 2014
Glad to be home, yet, I also found myself thinking about the mint and daisies on the beach, with the background sound of lapping wavelets…up north.
Zoom and zinnia
Sunday, 24 August 2014
BTW, our last jaunt took us through fourteen states. They encircle but do not include Indiana. We almost creased Alabama, but didn’t. Still, fourteen…for an idea of scale, we counted eight on our return, including where we started and where we ended, accomplished in just under 1800 miles. Prius miles.
In plain view
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
In a rain-lull, I headed out to get a few shots of droplets on the vegetation. When I discovered that it wasn’t even spitting, I kept wandering. I eventually got down to the lake—and saw Baldy again! Same dead snag on the point…. Of the droplet photos, I thought this one best for this venue, better than rosy apples, asparagus fronds, and the like (apologies, WD). I see an insect is there that I missed when I was focusing on raindrops and focal points, and keeping my feet from getting soaked.
Ah, core/periphery*
Monday, 18 August 2014
If today had been sunnier…(this was yesterday).
Sunshine eluded us today, and after midday we enjoyed (??) precip.
Most of the time, I’m a fan of precip. In moderation…. Today I could groove on it…listening to the pitter-patter on the roof, and watching out the window….
This evening, we wrangled the kitchen’s leftovers…not the usual leftovers, but merely those foodstuffs already purchased but not yet consumed…into a dinner to share with friends…. I called it pot-roast-noodle casserole, and in Peg Bracken style, I gussied it up with bacon and mushrooms (but not, shiver, any creamed canned soup), served it with stellar (yet simple) apps and dessert, accompanied by some fine red wines…and, pfft, fine fine fine!
* Not the usual social-science core-periphery, but the gustatory version, with a core of roast beef, and a periphery of…whatever else I thought could fit into an orchestral accompaniment, gastronomically.
Notes for a pea essay
Saturday, 16 August 2014
[Raided (with permission), the gardener-gatherer-hunter’s garden for peas, picking about a quart of pods…which produced a bit more than a half-cup of peas.]
I noticed that pods in this sample tended to contain nine peas, sometimes ten, once eleven, and sometimes eight…and, if they didn’t all make, fewer. Since they’re attached to the sides of the pod alternately, there tended to be four on one side, and five on the other. I did not examine further to see if it tended to be the same side.
Note that fresh peas, as opposed to machine processed, have that extra bit of tissue attached, the bit that joins them to the pod.
Not ear-ly this year
Friday, 15 August 2014
Despite the late and cold spring, and even the coolness overnights now, the maize in the neighbors’ garden is approaching ripeness, forcing deployment of the electric fencing to protect the not-yet-ready crop….