Thursday, 6 August 2009
I discovered this blooming in a secluded niche over at Piedmont Park, and didn’t know really what it was, although the name “spider lily” came to mind….
Then, serendipity struck, and I came across a picture of a specimen that looked just like it, and found out (if my identification is correct) that this one indeed is probably Hymenocallis caroliniana, and is native to southeastern North America.
What a surprise!
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
There are a few of these pink clover blooms at the top of the steps at Piedmont Park that I’ve been using for an extra jolt of exercise (pant pant).
Monday, 3 August 2009
Cypress knees are just plain strange. Handy for dragon flies, though….*
* Look atop the knee just to the left of the trunk and toward the background….
Sunday, 2 August 2009
For this morning’s walk route, we rechecked the larger pond at the Carter Center. We didn’t visit the smaller, upper pond, as we got distracted by the American chestnut plantings in the demonstration plot.
Saturday, 1 August 2009
Yesterday, the Pepper Couple arrived and today we transformed many peppers into hot sauce and other delicacies. Wonderful!
FYI: botanically, peppers are berries….
Friday, 31 July 2009
I hereby rename our front walk Tomato Lane.* Just for the duration of this season, mind you.
* This is a side benefit of the self-removal of the tree last year—we now have enough sunlight to make the ’mater plants happy and productive.
Monday, 27 July 2009
Hands down, this is the oddest tomato we’ve seen this year. It’s from a healthy plant that produces yellow pear-shaped tomatoes, about the size of a cherry or grape tomato.
Friday, 24 July 2009
I basked in warm fuzziness toward wild critters all day—until I saw this!
Thursday, 23 July 2009
The half-dozen Rutgers tomatoes I planted are on the edge of kicking into production (the ones we’ve picked so far are down to about $2 each, haha), and I think we’ll have plenty if the Baddies don’t get into them. So far so good. The little pear-shaped yellow tomatoes are like tomato candies—just a great treat. The patio tomato looks nice, but is only beginning to set; it must not have liked the replanting process or something.
I’ve been watching for late blight, but so far I think we’re clear (perhaps it’s just a bit too dry for it to flourish). Funny that this is the same “fungus-like oomycete pathogen” as caused the Irish potato famine.
* AKA water mold; they are “a group of filamentous, unicellular heterokonts, physically resembling fungi” and related to diatoms. AND, heterokonts, or stramenopiles, are “chromists with chloroplasts…”—heck, read it yourself.
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Actually, we haven’t been having rain, but the heavy dew has been satisfying most plants. I found it interesting that the dew on this cobweb was all on the bottom, I guess pulled through the mesh by gravity.
The cool mornings continue, and, despite concerns about introducing allergens, we open the windows and turn on window fans to move that coolness inside. After all, that dew also means there’s more mold and whatnot, especially compared to the dry years we’ve had recently. [BTW, the US drought monitor now shows us as merely “abnormally dry,” which is a huge change. And, while we’re thinking about this, Lake Lanier’s levels are holding, for the most part, considering the season.]
The expanding foam insulation we got upstairs as part of the TreeFix seems to be keeping the house temperate, and, of course, since the walls are better sealed, we have fewer insects getting inside—their vertical highways are now closed….
Lifting my eyes from the horizontal world (I walked in the woods too much as a kid, I fear, so I watch my feet excessively), I almost missed this orangutan watching from a tree. I wonder if the idea to perch him/her here came from a child or an adult….