Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Feb. 24

Today We Cook

Hi Katy
It's maple syrup time again in the Great White North, a nice time of year to be outside in the bush with longer days & warmer weather. It has been milder than normal this winter so I tapped our trees this past week, about 2 weeks earlier than usual.
Temperatures above freezing in the day and below freezing at night are needed for the sap to drip. A short stretch of colder weather periodically stops the sap run which can be welcome relief to the constant collecting, boiling & bottling. Maple syrup season usually lasts 4 - 6 weeks, or for me, when I run out of firewood. After a long enough warm spell the trees start to bud causing the sap to sour.
PointyHairedBoss

Updated Below!

Boiling at Sunrise

A bracing experience! We learn a lot and get a sense what it might feel like just from the photos and description. Thanks.

Gardens of The Horde

An Unexpected Garden Guest

While on a quick down and back trip to our place in Sussex County, I happened to catch this Great Blue Heron standing at the edge of one of our border gardens along the front of our house. The dried growth beside and behind it is from marsh grasses that are pervasively invasive on properties located beside the salt marsh. This visitor, who I encountered as I was pulling out to drive back north, was a cool customer and just watched me and the car back out and pull away.

Krebs v Carnot

A great surprise! Wow!

UPDATE

Forgot this bit of joy from Diogenes:

Seems like they are late this year. Or maybe I'm ready for the crummy weather to end sooner.
Either way, crocus time!

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Garlic and onions are grown near us. I have never seen this done:

Garlic peeling tips
pic.twitter.com/UsBF0ECa2R
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) February 18, 2024

Navel oranges are still sweet and juicy locally, but not this juicy Sometimes those kaolin-type protectants are used on stone fruit trees here in the Valley, but not so thickly:

The juice of Ehime Jelly oranges.

A hybrid of oranges and tangerines originating in Japan, coated with Kaolin, a clay-based powder sprayed on fruit trees for sunburn and insect protection.
pic.twitter.com/PgqDhNRwuk
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) February 22, 2024

We decided to go into a local almond orchard to see how the bees were doing. The Mister has experience with bees, and he recommended not getting out of the truck. The bees were very active. Bloom was just beyond peak.

From a canal bank:

This is a big orchard. Used to be planted in field crops and we sometimes brought the dogs to run there between seasons:

It's next to a young planting of pistachio trees, also a former site of field crops:

Ah, Nature

There were rumors at one time of a platypus in a stream near us. Somewhat plausible, since there were jets flying between our valley and Australia/NZ.

The platypus is possibly the weirdest animal: it's a mammal but lays eggs, it's duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed and venomous.

It has electroreceptors for locating prey, eyes with double cones, no stomach, and 10 chromosomes.

It's fluorescent and glows under UV light. pic.twitter.com/qwydMlo7Ts
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) February 20, 2024

Puttering

My mother once won a prize for darning socks. A LONG time ago. This might be more practical. Watch an expert at work. Have you ever tried anything like this?

How to repair a hole in a jumper
pic.twitter.com/1gMRYHqrPz
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) February 19, 2024

Art

Flowers In Extremis

Hi, KT - This is an older image, but still nice. The back porch had this terracotta planter full of artificial flowers when the snow came in 2021. Got cold that year, too. Looking out on the scene after waking up and having the Morning Coffee, this was the scene that greeted me - so I got out the Nikon. Artificial or not, it's still a nice composition and the snow was still great
Dr_N0

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Feb. 17
Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:28 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon Greenthumbs
Getting hardly a connection on phone and tablet so not sure what's going on.
http://tinyurl.com/3ehv9asv
This is the before picture of my tree problem.
It's all down and cleaned up.

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 01:35 PM (fwDg9)

2 Someone notify downstairs, as have Wi-Fi but it's taking minutes to load a page

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 01:37 PM (fwDg9)

3 Saw honeybees this week, the sun got warm enough and they were on my Indian plums.
My earliest plum is putting out leaves, and may or may not put out blossoms, though the forecast is calling for brief snow next week.
The only other thing blooming are the dandelions, the violets and the very earliest flowering plums

I dug one of my grafted plums from where it seeded, and transplanted it into the yard in the grid I am trying to set up. If it survives, I will have another high yield plum. The original is getting old, and unfortunately plums are not long lived.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 24, 2024 01:40 PM (D7oie)

4 Format on one of the photos switched width and height. Hope the problem is fixed now.

Posted by: KT at February 24, 2024 01:43 PM (rrtZS)

5 I seem to have WiFi but it's so painfully slow it's not working, neither device is showing a problem so has to be on Verizon end. Had to turn it off to put this post

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 01:45 PM (c629M)

6 Is boiling the sap doing stuff besides removing the water? Caramelizing the sugar or something? If you removed the water with a vacuum would that taste different?

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 24, 2024 01:47 PM (aD39U)

7 Now I feel stupid for peeling Garlic the hard way all of these years!

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 24, 2024 01:48 PM (i9ffA)

8 From Boise area: Lows 34-43 F, highs 43-57. A bit of snow last Sunday - nice weather today and tomorrow, but rain coming after that. We'll be out doing yard work today and I'll post again later.

The mixed-colors batch of crocus I planted 2 autumns ago seems to have its own bloom plan - all the purples went first and are at peak now. The whites, and striped whites, will apparently be a second flush. Later will be the hyacinths next to them - then the tulips out front. I planted 45 daffodils last fall, in 2 planter pots and a raised bed - no sign of them yet.

Husband did the first weed spraying of the year yesterday, and sprayed the dormant spray on the peach tree. He pruned the peach, pears, and new apples already - time to finish pruning the 2 old apple trees.

Almost time to start seeds indoors! And outdoors, this year - Husband bought a new small greenhouse - some assembly required.

Posted by: Pat* at February 24, 2024 01:49 PM (wd7fb)

9 Now I feel stupid for peeling Garlic the hard way all of these years!
Posted by: Tom Servo at February 24, 2024 01:48 PM (i9ffA)

I dunno, that is hard neck garlic, I wonder if soft-neck is as easy as that.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 24, 2024 01:50 PM (D7oie)

10 1 Good afternoon Greenthumbs
Getting hardly a connection on phone and tablet so not sure what's going on.
http://tinyurl.com/3ehv9asv
This is the before picture of my tree problem.
It's all down and cleaned up.
Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 01:35 PM (fwDg9)

Wow Skip, that's impressive! You know you could have just cut it at the bottom and have the Sky Hook carry it off.
(that was an old running joke with me and my pals, whenever something was impossible to move we'd say "just call the sky hook.")

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 24, 2024 01:50 PM (i9ffA)

11 I didn't realize we had another maple syrup maker in the Horde besides Muad'dib! Love the description and picture, Pointy Haired Boss.

Posted by: bluebell at February 24, 2024 01:51 PM (QExSK)

12 What is that gizmo she's using to peel the garlic and where can I get one? My garlic-scented fingers are dying to know.

Posted by: bluebell at February 24, 2024 01:53 PM (QExSK)

13 Small towns in NE Ohio have maple sugar festivals. Burton comes to mind. Lots of Amish in the area. The whole town smells like maple syrup when they're cooking it. Likewise, the apple butter festivals and then things really smell good.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 01:55 PM (0EOe9)

14 Small towns in NE Ohio have maple sugar festivals. Burton comes to mind. Lots of Amish in the area. The whole town smells like maple syrup when they're cooking it. Likewise, the apple butter festivals and then things really smell good.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 01:55 PM (0EOe9)

I'll bet that smells a lot better than The Salley Chitlin Strut.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 24, 2024 01:57 PM (aD39U)

15 Thanks for the gardening thread @PointyHairedBoss. Thanks for the description of the harvesting process. It seems to me that maple syrup harvesting is as much of an art as a science.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at February 24, 2024 01:57 PM (omU9l)

16
'Today we cook' poster is funny.

I'm setting a goal of starting 12 seeds per week. Starting in an egg carton, which we go through about one of per week. Miracle-Gro 'seed starter' is my potting soil.

My soil around here is good for growing but not so great for starting seeds. I trust perhaps Miracle-Gro is the best initial kick in the butt. The spinach seeds (my toughest to start) bolted quickly. Live and learn.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at February 24, 2024 01:59 PM (nIvob)

17 14 My only encounter with chitlins was in the early 70s when the USMC mess hall would serve it up on a given day. Even the black guys hit the speed line for a burger. Something about it looked, well, evil.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 02:00 PM (0EOe9)

18 > What is that gizmo she's using to peel the garlic and where can I get one? My garlic-scented fingers are dying to know.
Posted by: bluebell
___________

Looks a lot like ice tongs. Like what you'd use to get ice out of a bucket at your home bar. They're small like that.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 24, 2024 02:01 PM (Q4IgG)

19 Perhaps I have been singularly fortunate in my experience but I have never had any difficulty peeling garlic clovers with my fingers.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 24, 2024 02:04 PM (aD39U)

20 See if it's fixed yet

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 02:04 PM (fwDg9)

21
I always have to snip both ends of a garlic clove to get the skin off. Plus the ends are most times kinda nasty - black and crusty looking.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at February 24, 2024 02:05 PM (nIvob)

22 Took about less than a minute when before was minutes

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 02:05 PM (fwDg9)

23 I never realized that maple syrup season lasted only 4-6 weeks.

Nothing better than thick french toast and maple syrup.

Posted by: redridinghood at February 24, 2024 02:06 PM (NpAcC)

24 Skip, I'm having intermittent issues here with Verizon, too.

Posted by: bluebell at February 24, 2024 02:08 PM (QExSK)

25 Have another dead but not as old behind my outbuilding, issue with that is it still has a branch possibility 40 feet up. It has a double trunk and 1 is about 20 feet high. The top of that in a storm flew over my outbuilding to opposite side.
At least this I can cut and let fall but no room to drop it full hight.

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 02:08 PM (fwDg9)

26 NOTE: I forgot a photo from Diogenes. Crocuses. Added an update. Feel dumb.

Posted by: KT at February 24, 2024 02:09 PM (rrtZS)

27 Seems to be cleared up. But lsince came inside at 1pm it was slow to non working.

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 02:09 PM (fwDg9)

28 23 French toast made with challah, a light drizzle of maple syrup, and a sprinkle of coarse ground salt.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 02:09 PM (0EOe9)

29 French toast made with challah, a light drizzle of maple syrup, and a sprinkle of coarse ground salt.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 02:09 PM (0EOe9)

Nice.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory, red heifer owner at February 24, 2024 02:13 PM (PPaj1)

30 The truck I took down this morning was dry but not rotted, a same situation trunk out next to road cam down by itself without harm and fell mostly because it was rotted through.
The one working on has been dead only a few years so should be stable to chainsaw

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 02:13 PM (fwDg9)

31 6.The only purpose of boiling the sap is to remove water. It imparts no taste to the syrup unless of course you burn it. I do my primary boiling over a wood fire but finish it on a more controllable propane burner, like the ones used to deep fry a turkey. Commercial maple syrup operations typically use reverse osmosis to remove about 40% of the water prior to boiling the rest off. It's more energy efficient.

Posted by: PointyHairedBoss at February 24, 2024 02:15 PM (GxaJN)

32 I'm planning on a few buckets with tomato plants this year, maybe some bell peppers. The reason for the bucket gardening is this land ain't my land, it's the landlords, and I can elevate them where I can tend to the plants (thank you, arthritis). I figure I'll end up with some $9 a pound 'maters and peppers, but the way things are going....

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 02:18 PM (0EOe9)

33 French toast made with challah, a light drizzle of maple syrup, and a sprinkle of coarse ground salt.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 02:09 PM (0EOe9)

Nice.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory, red heifer owner at February 24, 2024 02:13 PM (PPaj1)
*****
I like challah and brioche.

Posted by: redridinghood at February 24, 2024 02:24 PM (NpAcC)

34 33 I came from a Finnish household, and Dad was a baker. Try some Pulla if you can find it. Sweet, just a little cardamom. Good stuff. Dad would bring a loaf from the shop and slathered with butter with morning coffee (at age about 9) good stuff. Makes great french toast.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 02:31 PM (0EOe9)

35 Many years ago, I would travel to Hamilton City, CA when working for Holly Sugar. There were many Almond orchards nearby. The locals never pronounced the L in Almond.

Posted by: Ronster at February 24, 2024 02:43 PM (a0G++)

36 Brioche and challah are good. Pulla sounds good.

Paska bread makes fantastic french toast.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory, red heifer owner at February 24, 2024 02:44 PM (PPaj1)

37 Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at February 24, 2024 02:31 PM (0EOe9)
****
Thanks. I will have to try that.

Posted by: redridinghood at February 24, 2024 02:45 PM (NpAcC)

38 I like challah and brioche.
Posted by: redridinghood

Challah la boom de aye ?

And Spam, right ?

Posted by: JT at February 24, 2024 02:49 PM (T4tVD)

39 Greetings! CA has been felling eucalyptus trees for years (non-native species) and others I've seen down from winter storms. The wood is exceptionally hard and dense but I'm told that it can't be milled because it splits easily. VDH claimed so in a recent podcast. Never heard of that, on the other hand when I go in to a lumber supply store I never see boards of eucalyptus. Hmm.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at February 24, 2024 02:53 PM (MeG8a)

40 I made french toast last week with the bread that got all dry in the freezer. I felt so virtuous and it tasted good; I had not made french toast in years. No real maple syrup here. I bought some once and I liked it fine but had to bite my tongue when dad poured it on extra thick and then left half of it on the plate. Decided that given that reality I'd just buy the cheap artificial stuff for now.

Posted by: PaleRider at February 24, 2024 02:56 PM (3cGpq)

41 Is eucalyptus a good burning wood or does it create extra creosote? I suppose hard to know in California, since they hardly allow any wood stove use.

Posted by: PaleRider at February 24, 2024 02:58 PM (3cGpq)

42 the weather got nice and sunny today, and my new cat, Magic, just brought in a snake.
The wife is not happy, the snake was not happy.

Magic was quite pleased with himself. Jake No-shoulders is going to have to learn to hide better.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 24, 2024 03:01 PM (D7oie)

43 Eucalyptus produces an oily bark. It comes off in sheets or strips. Around 1830 it was planted widely in CA for some reason. Now the trees are truly gigantic, I passed one today that had been felled and the trunk was as tall as me and I ain't no dwarf. I tapped on it with my fist it was like tapping on concrete.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at February 24, 2024 03:02 PM (MeG8a)

44 Seeing maple syrup being made is on my bucket list.
Thanxs for sharing PHB!!!

I was reading the label of the Kroger syrup bottle last week over a stack of pancakes.
OMG!!! Not a bit of maple to be found.
Never buying that crap again.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 24, 2024 03:02 PM (W/lyH)

45 I puttered a bit with the small electric chainsaw this morning. It cuts well after I put a new chain on it before the last time I used it. But I'll have to tighten the tension. I only made a few cuts and it threw the chain. My '29' year old 'ette body doesn't mind when the equipment makes the cutting session extra short.

Posted by: PaleRider at February 24, 2024 03:02 PM (3cGpq)

46 White people shouldn't be permitted to have maple syrup. Corn syrup only. Artificial maple flavoring is acceptable.

Posted by: Google Gemini at February 24, 2024 03:03 PM (vYWu5)

47 Actually on next trunk have same 3 sections high but planks are higher, have it next to not around tree. Could get 1 of split trunks down at least.

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 03:04 PM (fwDg9)

48 Is eucalyptus a good burning wood or does it create extra creosote? I suppose hard to know in California, since they hardly allow any wood stove use.
Posted by: PaleRider at February 24, 2024 02:58 PM (3cGpq)

Eucalyptus is also known as "gasoline tree" because it burns so well. I don't know if it makes creosote, but fir makes plenty so I doubt I would notice it here.

when I had eucalyptus firewood, it would start almost without kindling.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 24, 2024 03:04 PM (D7oie)

49 My yard is lush and green but not quite blooming yet. I found a new plant growing wild on it. Never saw it before. Using my plant identifying app on my phone and it says it is nightshade aka bella donna. Yikes. It is about 3 feet tall in a bush right now, very dark green leaves.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at February 24, 2024 03:07 PM (MeG8a)

50 That's actually not darning. With darning, you are weaving a patch over the hole. The technique in the video builds a row of threads over the hole and uses a latch hook to knit up to the top of the hole. She uses grafting to close at the top and bottom to make it invisible.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 24, 2024 03:07 PM (USTAS)

51 I am convinced the platypus was the last creature God made. It's all the leftover stuff. He just threw it together and said..."There! Go be something!"

Posted by: Diogenes at February 24, 2024 03:08 PM (W/lyH)

52 I have a worm bin I made from an old bathtub. I started with dirt, coffee grounds and woodchips, and I have been adding kitchen vegetable scraps for the last two years. I don't use much compost out of it, I mostly dump my dish water into it when I handwash, and collect the runoff in a bucket and dump it on the young fruit trees during the dry summer.

This year I am going to cap it with coffee grounds and seed it with a slurry made from button mushrooms to see if it will work as a mushroom bin as well.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 24, 2024 03:08 PM (D7oie)

53 I think eucalyptus, from Australia, was planted because it grows fast and tolerates heat and drought. It does not tolerate freezing. A lot of them around Phoenix.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 24, 2024 03:10 PM (rPV4g)

54 It looks like the rhubarb and some strawberries survived. I think the roses are okay. We'be had some warm days but I want to leave the frost protection on until we get into March. I have a rose in the back that I planted in the ground and it does have green canes. I still need to put together those raised beds.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 24, 2024 03:11 PM (USTAS)

55 FWP. I was mowing the front with a riding mower when I noticed a pulley on the grass. Everything was still working on the mower but I decided I better stop, wash the mower, and see if I can find where it came off. It is quite substantial.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 24, 2024 03:11 PM (aD39U)

56 Having the mower up on blocks will give me the chance to fix the slow leak in the front tire that I have been putting off.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 24, 2024 03:12 PM (aD39U)

57 I think eucalyptus, from Australia, was planted because it grows fast and tolerates heat and drought. It does not tolerate freezing. A lot of them around Phoenix.

Makes more sense than a failed experiment to import koalas.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at February 24, 2024 03:14 PM (dZVON)

58 FWP. I was mowing the front with a riding mower when I noticed a pulley on the grass. Everything was still working on the mower but I decided I better stop, wash the mower, and see if I can find where it came off. It is quite substantial.
Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 24, 2024 03:11 PM (aD39U)
***

Huh.
My fwp is the yard guy hasn't shown up in a couple of weeks. Granted, the weather has been crappy. I hope he wasnt deported.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 24, 2024 03:17 PM (W/lyH)

59 Love the hole repair clip, but I'm a moron and don't have the skill, so I just usually go buy another garment.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at February 24, 2024 03:17 PM (EEgXH)

60 Note to self, throwing the pulley into grumpy's yard worked.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at February 24, 2024 03:19 PM (IBIxQ)

61 Has to be mid 40s but been breezy all day, wish had some hot chocolate

Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 03:19 PM (fwDg9)

62 Has to be mid 40s but been breezy all day, wish had some hot chocolate
Posted by: Skip at February 24, 2024 03:19 PM (fwDg9)

Can't ya go buy some, or the ingredients ?

Posted by: JT at February 24, 2024 03:22 PM (T4tVD)

63 Paused to have some Yankee Beans with ham. I better go out and put the mower up on stands in the barn before my back stiffens up.

When I work in the yard, I usually have four things going at once so I can switch to whatever body part is hurting the least at any given time.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 24, 2024 03:25 PM (aD39U)

64 It's a marvelous sunny day here, 67 degrees.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at February 24, 2024 03:26 PM (MeG8a)

65 That sweater repair was *chef's kiss*

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at February 24, 2024 03:30 PM (w6EFb)

66 I seem to recall reading that only the male platypus has this back spur or claw that is poisonous.

Posted by: Ciampino - I'm not poisonous at February 24, 2024 03:36 PM (qfLjt)

67 Note to self, throwing the pulley into grumpy's yard worked.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron

Okay; that was funny !

Posted by: JT at February 24, 2024 03:41 PM (T4tVD)

68 53 I think eucalyptus, from Australia, was planted because it grows fast and tolerates heat and drought. It does not tolerate freezing. A lot of them around Phoenix.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 24, 2024 03:10 PM (rPV4g)
----
They make great windbreaks. Had a lot growing along the main road in Eldoret (Kenya). Very tall. I think they suck up a lot of water though.

Posted by: Ciampino - aromatic at February 24, 2024 04:17 PM (qfLjt)

69 I think they suck up a lot of water though.

Posted by: Ciampino - aromatic at February 24, 2024 04:17 PM (qfLjt)

Israel used them to dry out marshes, especially where there was malaria.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 24, 2024 04:43 PM (gSZYf)

70 "These kittens have been trained not to kill."

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at February 24, 2024 05:06 PM (w6EFb)

71 From Boise area, 2nd post: It was warm enough to work in a T-shirt today. We cut down the leaves of the 6 Siberian Iris by the front door - I kept getting tangled in one of them when I put out a stepstool to refill the bird feeder. After stuffing those in the trash, I topped it off with sycamore leaves.

Then we cut off some thick branch stubs we'd left from previous pruning - got sawdust in our hair and shirts.

We trimmed the crabapple out front, then the probably-Jonathan tree out back. The dead pieces went in the spring burn pile, the green wood into the fall burn pile. Huzzah for having a sandy paddock where we can burn stuff instead of having to haul it off!

At the end, Husband went inside, and I dug several catnip plants out of the asparagus bed. The ground was soft enough to do that, meaning I can rip out the old strawberries in prep for adding new ones, whenever it isn't raining this coming week (and whenever I'm not cutting up butternut squashes for the freezer).

I should get a picture of our crocus, too...

Posted by: Pat* at February 24, 2024 05:51 PM (wd7fb)

72 When I lived in San Diego, someone told me that eucalyptus was planted as a wind break.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at February 24, 2024 06:32 PM (w6EFb)

73 At least some of the eucs were planted because some bright guy told the railroad execs of the day that they'd grow fast and make great RR tie stock. Well, the first part was true, but they make lousy lumber. And as noted, highly combustible. The Berkeley Hills (Bay Area) fire of the last century was fed by eucs.

Posted by: Pat*'s Hubbie at February 24, 2024 09:00 PM (wd7fb)

Processing 0.01, elapsed 0.0167 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0062 seconds, 81 records returned.
Page size 61 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.