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Post by Mumsey on Dec 6, 2021 19:29:37 GMT -5
Nothing but actual drifts of corn husks!
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Post by ahntjudy on Dec 6, 2021 20:00:27 GMT -5
Pretty sure it's a garter snake Wheelgarden...Was a good size one... It was enjoying a sunny, warm spot against the house...
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Post by gardendmpls on Dec 6, 2021 22:48:19 GMT -5
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Post by ahntjudy on Jan 21, 2022 9:42:59 GMT -5
A couple days ago, it was nice enough outside to get in a day of yardwork... It felt really good to bundle up, get out there and do heave-ho kind of work for the day... It's been cold recently but not enough so to freeze all ground solid so I was able to dig up a bunch of horseradish... I read that it can be frozen, both grated or whole...Never have frozen it so I might try both and see which's better... One comment was that it was harder to peel when frozen whole which makes sense...So we'll see... Anybody here freeze horseradish?... One of the things I did out there was cut back and harvest seeds from a big area of now dried up Tithonia plants... If you've grown these, you know that the seeds pods are really prickly and the seeds are quite imbedded in the flower heads... I use a stubby, wide, slot screwdriver head to scrape into the flower head, over a bucket, to get as many seeds as I can... That can make kind of a mess and is a good outside job, so I ended my day, sitting on my bench, overlooking the backyard, de-seeding Tithonia for a couple hours...I have, what looks like, millions of seeds that are now waiting to be separated from the chaff... So while I'm sitting there, I'm thinking, ya know, Pinetree or places like that don't have people like me sitting around harvesting seeds by hand...How's it done?... That would make a good "How it's made" episode... So I started looking that up and found this link...It's a Department of Agriculture site on "Mechanical Seed Cleaning and Handling" from 1968... Thought you guys might get a kick out of it... naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT87208718/PDFI still don't know how it's done, but it never ceases to amaze me, the info available at our fingertips...
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Post by gardendmpls on Jan 21, 2022 11:18:42 GMT -5
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Post by ahntjudy on Jan 22, 2022 1:52:37 GMT -5
Thank you gardendmpls for the research and all the links!... That was an enjoying and very informative binge watch!
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Post by Wheelgarden on Feb 24, 2022 14:00:08 GMT -5
Discovered a holly of unknown type sprung up in the yard. Its leaves are spiny as can be, so it must go. They're pretty from a distance, but we don't like spiny hollies. And of course, I jabbed my finger with it. ...in related opportunistic plant news, I've given in to DW's desire (gotta do that!) to cut the magnolia down that came up next to the house. We had them at a former residence and have bad memories of thick, waxy leaves, stinky red seed pods, and big gnarly surface roots.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Mar 15, 2022 14:43:19 GMT -5
Discovered this out yonder. Never seen it before. What could it be?
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Post by Mumsey on Mar 26, 2022 19:13:03 GMT -5
Happened to look out kitchen window around 10 this morning. There was a fox coming toward the garage. He then went across the yard and thru neighbors back yard. Scruffy looking thing. Odd to see them during the day. The fields are less than a block away, maybe came from there.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Mar 26, 2022 21:45:23 GMT -5
Mumsey , It's probably shedding its winter coat, hence the scruffiness. It should be bright orange/red in a couple of weeks. Those critters have sit by my path and watched me go by, like pets. I guess they figure I'm tame.
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Post by Mumsey on Mar 28, 2022 5:04:22 GMT -5
The birds and squirrels were absent for a day when the fox was around. They are back now, so I guess the fox has moved on.
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Post by emmsmommy on Mar 28, 2022 5:18:32 GMT -5
Discovered this out yonder. Never seen it before. What could it be? Did you ever ID this plant? Resembles plantain but I've never seen the undersides of the leaves be purple and definitely never seen it with warts.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Mar 28, 2022 10:00:02 GMT -5
emmsmommy, I did identify it...Crane-fly Orchid (Tipularia discolor), a perennial terrestrial native woodland orchid, the only species of its genus in North America.
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Post by gianna on Mar 28, 2022 11:35:37 GMT -5
emmsmommy, I did identify it...Crane-fly Orchid (Tipularia discolor), a perennial terrestrial native woodland orchid, the only species of its genus in North America. Cool. Amazing how many native orchids there are. Even in our dry part of the world we've got a native that lives in only a few of the moister parts of streambeds. It's always a thrill to come upon it. Years ago we had a small, local orchid nursery. The owner used to travel the world collecting uncommon native orchids to try to cultivate. Hopefully only legal ones. It was amazing to see the diversity of his collection. As for things in my garden, the goldfish were spawning the other day in the little pond. I started with 5 tiny feeders last year, and seem to only have 4 now. So if they don't eat all the eggs and babies, I'd be happy to have more. I've had goldfish and koi spawn before, and ended up with so many it became a challenge to give them all away to suitable homes, esp the koi.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Mar 29, 2022 20:51:34 GMT -5
Just stepped out to see the stars, and the sky was streaking with dozens of "lightning bugs" (fireflies). Good to see them back. Another good indicator of a healthy, organic area. We occasionally get swarms that do the famous synchronized flashing, but that hasn't happened in a while.
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