Getting ripe tomatoes and gathering a few cucumbers finally. Pickle making will begin soon. Planted 5 hills of zucchini this morning where my onions and cabbage were. Okra is puny this year but I’ll take what it produces.
Garden...
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ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
I wish that Kacper guy was still around. Last year he sent me a plastic sack with some honeysuckle cuttings from his property. Look how they grew! They're blooming now, and I have to fight off the hummingbirds to get a sniff.
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
That's amazing! Of course you have a lot warmer climate than we do. What kind of pickles do you make?
I wish that Kacper guy was still around. Last year he sent me a plastic sack with some honeysuckle cuttings from his property. Look how they grew! They're blooming now, and I have to fight off the hummingbirds to get a sniff.
Beautiful.. It survived the winder outside?? They can be a bit evasive here, growing over fences etc..
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
I kept it in its pot (this one) in the greenhouse over the winter. It's not heated but it did get covered with snow so I guess that provided some insulation. It still had some green leaves when we could finally get the snow out of the way enough to open the garden gate and check.
I make a small supply of dills for me and I make a larger amount of what is called a “Three Day Lime Pickle.” The latter is a sliced, sweet and crunchy pickle. Not my favorite but my family and extended family loves them so I make lots of them. I like the crunch but I never was a fan of sweet pickles.
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
Same here... love the salty tangy ones the best. Do your dill pickles turn out crunchy? I've not been able to make them with the same crunch the store-bought kind have.
Was just reading they are very evasive in Ohio & banned in Indiana, so I guess it can survive there if it is Lonicera japonica, which it does look like..
Should be great in a pot on the deck..
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
Was just reading they are very evasive in Ohio & banned in Indiana, so I guess it can survive there if it is Lonicera japonica, which it does look like..
Should be great in a pot on the deck..
Yes, that's L. japonica... good eye! It's unlikely to become invasive here due to the extreme climate and our chewy friends, the deer. I brought some rooted cuttings with us when we moved, but it didn't survive. You're right -- it's best grown in a pot just in case! Plus the pot can be moved into shelter for the winter. I also grow sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata) in a pot because it, too, can get into your gardens and take over even though it is a native grass. He also goes into the greenhouse in the winter, and makes it smell heavenly when he wakes up in the spring. His native name is wiingashk and he is one of the four sacred plants of the Ojibwe.
Not heard of that grass..... SOunds interesting..
Funny I was reading that the deer just starting browsing the honey suckle a few years ago, but once it gets to a certain height (growing up a tree as an example) they don't bother it..
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
Sources say that it has a scent like vanilla, but it doesn't smell that way to me. When it's dried the scent is even more intense. One of my profs brought some tiny birch baskets to class that her grandmother had made 20+ years ago. They were decorated with strawberries using dyed porcupine quills. Around the edges of the lids her nookomis had sewn down sweet grass. Even after all those years, you could still smell it! I braid it and have it around the house for its scent and its spiritual essence.
Too much trouble? They do the same thing with a lot of trees here like the white cedars and hemlocks. If the trees can manage to escape the teeth, they'll live for hundreds of years.
I'm excited about this fall semester! We went to a town-sized rummage sale a few weekends ago. One place we went the lady said that her husband is a prof at NMU, teaches botany. Got to talking to her about that. She told me that one class he teaches is called "Boreal Flora" and it's all about the various plants and trees that grow here. Right up my interest alley. So I tried to sign up for it when we got home, and the system kicked me out because it said that I don't have the pre-reqs. Emailed the prof, told him the dilemma, he did an override and I'm taking it this fall! It's a dream come true. Have always thought how cool it would be to go on hikes with a learned person, who would point out the various plants/trees and their names and history. Like having a living field guide at your side.
Yea, I wonder why they did eat it before?? They aren't very picky & it does have some toxins, maybe more deer, less choices??
Yes, that would be very nice to know more about what you see.. I hike w/ some & they can be overwhelming, like, I hope there aint a test when we get back to the cars.lol
But it's great if you have questions.. & lots of them are edible & the Native Americans used them for various purposes..
I also hike w/ a couple geologist & it is very interesting as well, especially up in the high country.. If there is a Sierra club in your area doing hikes you should check them out, lots of times they have lots of knowledge & are eager to share..
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
Oh, and that's another one! Imagine hiking with a geologist who could tell you all about the formations, layers, individual boulders/rocks, geological history, etc. You're so lucky. My dad used to take me hiking. We'd always take field guides for birds, bugs, plants, rocks & minerals, etc. One time we found an outcropping of my favorite mineral -- calcium. It was in large crystal form, those lovely milky cubes. CaCO3. Years after he passed I tried to find that spot again, but someone had build Interstate 64 right over it. :~(
Yes, it is very interesting as you see the various rock, layers & types & really have no idea.. Especially interesting IMHO are those meeting zones, where two or more types converge... One particular even was going up to a place called the Machado post piles (Not the famous devils postpile) there is a mountain of granite on top of it-much older than the granite on top of it.. We were on top & could see some of the transformation but what was real cool was a boulder, maybe 400lbs we could rock w/ a finger sitting on top of other rocks, for millions of year or more.. check it out, it is a different type of rock, even my geologist buddy can only guess how it got there[video]http://sendvid.com/voyvosco[/video]
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
That's crazy! It couldn't have rolled there from some place else. Was that area once underwater? It's in California?
No, I don't believe it could have rolled there.. The area behind the exposed post piles goes down @ least 50ft or more & then slopes upward prob 500 ft or so.
That big rock is obviously different than the post piles, very similar to the rock above & yet there is no visible trauma on that rock from a great tumble, it is rather smooth..
I would guess it is a glacial debris stone, left in a perfect spot..??? You don't notice many others sitting around, but this is a bit lower elevation, around 8,000, so there are trees & bushes covering the landscape..
Not far from there, up higher in desolation wilderness you can clearly see debris left as well as glacial scares on solid granite.. Check out how smooth & various color/types of rocks dumped
scratches/scrapes in rock
This vid I took, you can see how the glaciers cut & rubbed smooth the surface & left various rock debris as it eventually melted[video]http://sendvid.com/vg73kk9p?secret=0db15102-a7b4-497d-b43d-84eca9de6713[/video]
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
That is so cool! I've seen those striations on rock caused by glaciers here and there. It's hard to imagine that 20,000 years ago, where our house is sitting was under 2 miles of ice. The area is still rebounding from the weight. You can see "erratics" all over the place.
Yep that area was dif under a lot of ice..
Up there in the Sierra huge rocks stuck in the ice cutting through like butter..
SOmetimes your hiking along & just stop w/ your jaw hanging.... What I really love & still find amazing is large Juniper trees growing right between the huge slabs of rocks, the cracks & layers etc..
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
Isn't that cool? Only spent a few days, when I was 16, up in the Sierras. We were at Sequoia NP. Such a magical place. I can see why you love it there.