Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Dec. 28

'Yuletide' Camellia, courtesy Norman Winter

Happy Holiday Weekend! Anything going on in your yard or garden? Decorations still up or coming down, or are you still enjoying them? Wildlife making an appearance?

Seasonal Art

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Hey KT,
Haven't contributed in a while, it was a long, hot, DRY summer and most things weren't looking great. Just trying to survive. It was the worst monsoon season ever, for me at least. Two rains of about a half an inch and that was it. Luckily, we are now in our "fall" gardens, which is great for us. Still no rain yet, but cooler has helped the garden recover. I got seeds for broccoli rabe this year, as a new to me plant. It has done very well. Today was my first harvest. I will be having it with dinner tonight. Very excited.
Hope the Horde all had a Merry Christmas!
WeeKreekFarmGirl

Sorry your summer was tough. I have heard reports that rainfall varied quite a bit from town to town in the desert areas this year.

The broccoli rabe looks great. That vegetable can remind you that you are alive! It has flavor! Let us know how yours turns out.

It is not the same as 'Broccolini'.

New idea for Putting Things By:

Decorations

During the dark days of WW2, Corning Glassworks retooled one of their light bulb machines to make glass balls for Christmas. (No one was importing from Europe, during the war.) These machines made thousands of clear, colored, and striped ornaments for families on the Homefront. Since these came from light bulb machines, they got the nickname "Shiny-Brite," and many families actually called their decorations ornament "bulbs."These were not silvered on the inside because metals of all kinds were hard to come by, being used for the war effort. Even the caps were paper! Displayed on white birch branches, as you see here, these antique confections look like candy balloons!
Nancy Harms

Murray, Utah Municipal Decorations

Phoenix Zoolights

Phoenix Zoolights

Phoenix Zoolights

Puttering

If you will be working on potholders during the coming year . . .

In Trivento, Italy in the Molise region, since 2020 a 6 m tall crochet Christmas tree is exhibited in the square.
Marie Thérèse Tamini

Super tip. pic.twitter.com/H3DEfZKFqQ
— Figen (@TheFigen_) December 26, 2024

Adventure

See anything besides a tree in this photo?

The ancient gnarled roots of a Bristlecone Pine, clinging to life in the harsh, high-altitude environment of the White Mountains, California.
Geo Lens, Dec. 23

Gardens of The Horde

Anything going on in your yard or garden, or with your houseplants?

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? Remember to check out the late comments. Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Dec 21

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 01:12 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon Greenthumbs

Posted by: Skip at December 28, 2024 01:14 PM (fwDg9)

2 Still have leaves around for certainly another worthy pile to chop up but will wait for spring.
So puttering in basement painting.

Posted by: Skip at December 28, 2024 01:16 PM (fwDg9)

3 Hi, Skip!

Posted by: KT at December 28, 2024 01:17 PM (xekrU)

4 I feel like such a rookie... but, the content!!!

Thanks for the GT KT.
The same rainfall in AJ as WKFG saw at her place. I'm considering watering all the trees and cactus.

P.S.
Hope Mr. KT's eye is improving as much as my left has, although it still has a long way to go.!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 28, 2024 01:20 PM (DqcjG)

5 Plants are what food eats.

Posted by: Boss Moss at December 28, 2024 01:30 PM (wZ2Bf)

6 That Bristlecone Pine looks the perfect bonsai plant

Posted by: Skip at December 28, 2024 01:30 PM (fwDg9)

7 Bristlecone pine just begging to be made into a furniture.

Posted by: Eromero at December 28, 2024 01:31 PM (jgmnb)

8 How do deer carry their produce they buy? And where do they carry their money or credit cards?

Posted by: Skip at December 28, 2024 01:32 PM (fwDg9)

9 Some actual food wandered in to the produce section.

Posted by: Boss Moss at December 28, 2024 01:39 PM (wZ2Bf)

10 My yard is soaked, with standing water in places. We are catching that storm that came and pasted Northern California. It is not too cold, but it is wet.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 28, 2024 01:39 PM (D7oie)

11 How do deer carry their produce they buy? And where do they carry their money or credit cards?
Posted by: Skip at December 28, 2024 01:32 PM (fwDg9)

At the tip of their antlers. Makes it easier to charge.

Posted by: Ghost of OrangeEnt Past at December 28, 2024 01:39 PM (0eaVi)

12 "Fisherman saves woman from riptide by casting a line and hook that caught on her clothing"

Did she flop around on the beach gasping for air after he landed her?

Good thing F&W wasn't around to check his license.

He went over his limit and had to throw her back in.

There are so many good ones with this...
Posted by: pawn, RIP Vic
===
Too bad he had to throw her back because she was the gill of his dreams!

See you all later.

Posted by: andycanuck (hovnC) at December 28, 2024 01:41 PM (hovnC)

13 AZ deplorable moron at December 28, 2024 01:20 PM

Thanks!

Posted by: KT at December 28, 2024 01:42 PM (xekrU)

14 The bristlecone looks like an Ent riding a. Harley, with his knees swathed in long robes .

Posted by: Tom Servo at December 28, 2024 01:44 PM (7MHHr)

15 It's like a spring day here in SE Michigan. Good for daydreaming and planning the gardens to come. Just a few months until it's time to start the seedlings!

Been ordering lots of seeds from Baker Creek.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 28, 2024 01:52 PM (ejAz9)

16 14 The bristlecone looks like an Ent riding a. Harley, with his knees swathed in long robes .
Posted by: Tom Servo at December 28, 2024 01:44 PM (7MHHr)
---

Cruisin' for an Entwife at Sturgis.

"Git on the back, Birch!"

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 28, 2024 01:53 PM (ejAz9)

17 Those peppers made me laugh out loud.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at December 28, 2024 01:53 PM (CHHv1)

18 Bristlecone Pine, clinging to life in the harsh, high-altitude environment of the White Mountains, California.

Where years ago what was thought to be the oldest one was cut down to retrieve an expensive probe which became stuck. Science!

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in Solidarity with the Struggle at December 28, 2024 01:55 PM (p6kAw)

19 We have a ton of flowerbed and trellis clean up we're totally avoiding.

Posted by: jsg at December 28, 2024 01:59 PM (Fg0Nr)

20 Hilarious peppers! I thought the bristlecone looked like a witch on broom, getting ready to soar into the sky.

I think researchers who do things like that probe retrieval should be publicly names and shamed, along with their research facilities.

MidMichigan was snowy on Christmas Eve and Day, but warmed up afterward. The lawns are bare and the lakes have a couple inches of water on the ice. It looks like spring.

My gardening consisted of forgetting to water the plants before I left home last week. They are cacti and succulents, though.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at December 28, 2024 02:02 PM (JlcNN)

21 Kindltot!

We have wind and scattered showers. I bet there's a rainbow or two, but I'm being lazy after my dinner party last night.

I bet we get the remnants of your storm tomorrow or Monday.

Posted by: nurse ratched at December 28, 2024 02:03 PM (O7rK+)

22 Thunderstorms all morning, but I’m inside. Mostly.

Posted by: Eromero at December 28, 2024 02:06 PM (jgmnb)

23 Thanks KT

I have a bird question for the horde. I have done research and found nothing.

We have observed a blue jay planting items in my lawn and in my planters. Yesterday it also retrieved a buried item from my planters. When I poked around I could not identify the items and Ihave never observed this behavior.

Any thoughts?

Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 28, 2024 02:06 PM (RIvkX)

24 I have ordered about half my seeds. Still planning the garden for next year. Growing anything up here takes some adaptation but there are lots of options these days for cooler gardens. I have about four times the space I had last year at the old house, plus the greenhouse here is about twice the size of the old one. This year I will be able to leave the carrots and potatoes in the ground longer, since we aren't moving house any time soon, like, for the next 40 years or so.

Posted by: tcn in AK at December 28, 2024 02:07 PM (xZ/E3)

25 We have observed a blue jay planting items in my lawn and in my planters. Yesterday it also retrieved a buried item from my planters. When I poked around I could not identify the items and Ihave never observed this behavior.

Any thoughts?
Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 28, 2024 02:06 PM (RIvkX)

We have Stellers Jays that get into every damned thing. I think they get bored and do silly things to entertain themselves. It's not like they are gonna crack a book or watch tv.

Posted by: tcn in AK at December 28, 2024 02:08 PM (xZ/E3)

26 23 Thanks KT

I have a bird question for the horde. I have done research and found nothing.

We have observed a blue jay planting items in my lawn and in my planters. Yesterday it also retrieved a buried item from my planters. When I poked around I could not identify the items and Ihave never observed this behavior.

Any thoughts?
Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 28, 2024 02:06 PM (RIvkX
‘Crow, or maybe Squirrel. These things are hard to tell.’
- Cheif Lone Watie

Posted by: Eromero at December 28, 2024 02:10 PM (jgmnb)

27 >>> 22 Thunderstorms all morning, but I'm inside. Mostly.
Posted by: Eromero at December 28, 2024 02:06 PM (jgmnb)

My goats are NOT amused.

However, my cat enjoyed watching the grackle flock that decided to stop over for a bit.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at December 28, 2024 02:11 PM (YTktQ)

28 I had presumed it was raccoons digging up my grass for grubs but now I'm thinking its the bird.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 28, 2024 02:11 PM (RIvkX)

29 tcn,
I bet it's just lovely up there. Do you have a moat with alligators and a drawbridge, a 30 ft stone wall and turrets?

If I had won that 1.2 billion dollar lottery, that's what I would do. FAFO, trespassers will be shot and fed to the hogs.

Posted by: nurse ratched at December 28, 2024 02:14 PM (5dHQx)

30 Bell peppers are among the very few hilarious vegetables.

Posted by: Paco at December 28, 2024 02:16 PM (mADJX)

31 What an absolutely magnificent bristlecone!

Posted by: Paco at December 28, 2024 02:18 PM (mADJX)

32 Driving home last night, I saw a doe and her fawn. This morning I saw two brilliant bluebirds in my pecan tree, the bluebirds of happiness. Good omen for the new year.

Posted by: Beverly at December 28, 2024 02:22 PM (FpfjC)

33 Blue jays are members of the corvid family, like magpies and crows. So, they are smart and can be quite mischievous.

Posted by: nurse ratched at December 28, 2024 02:24 PM (5dHQx)

34 Bell peppers might be my favorite vegetable, I put them in lots of food

Posted by: Skip at December 28, 2024 02:27 PM (fwDg9)

35 Thanks nurse, it didn't look like food the bird was planting. I've been putting out mealworms and those seem to get eaten pretty fast.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 28, 2024 02:27 PM (RIvkX)

36 I think bluebirds drive out other little birds.

Posted by: Boss Moss at December 28, 2024 02:33 PM (wZ2Bf)

37 >>> 28 I had presumed it was raccoons digging up my grass for grubs but now I'm thinking its the bird.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 28, 2024 02:11 PM (RIvkX)

Better than a skunk.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at December 28, 2024 02:35 PM (YTktQ)

38 I should get bird seed and put out feeder

Posted by: Skip at December 28, 2024 02:37 PM (fwDg9)

39 Super tip.

Nice one. That's going in the bag of tricks.

Posted by: t-bird at December 28, 2024 02:38 PM (WWBBV)

40 Scrub jays are inveterate cachers. During fall they bury stuff around my ginkgo, almond and walnut trees. I see them poking around in the lawn for bugs, but never caching. I've also watched them attack smaller birds. My cat would pointedly ignore the resident jays while hoping to catch one unawares.

I've never looked at what they are caching; walnuts, almonds and cork oak acorns are in high supply here in the valley throughout autumn. The neighbor lady tosses shell peanuts for the jays as she walks her dog - she's literally trained them up for two decades and they follow her down the street.

Posted by: 13times at December 28, 2024 02:43 PM (0emhU)

41 Sanfeanpsycho, blue jays make food caches starting in the fall. They'll move their stash if something moves into their territory. Mostly it's nuts and seeds.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at December 28, 2024 02:44 PM (JlcNN)

42 should get bird seed and put out feeder

Make it a Squirrel Boss!
https://youtu.be/vKcruJ36BfM?si=0stHI3UuLUuUYPMk

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in Solidarity with the Struggle at December 28, 2024 02:47 PM (p6kAw)

43 Thanks morons, never heard about "food cacheing"

Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 28, 2024 02:50 PM (RIvkX)

44 43 Thanks morons, never heard about "food cacheing"
Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 28, 2024 02:50 PM (RIvkX)
Alligators sometimes drag their prey under a bank overhang. They let them season a bit.

Posted by: Eromero at December 28, 2024 02:58 PM (jgmnb)

45 In Australia, the Cockatoos are so destructive that people have started putting out little puzzles for them to solve to keep them busy.

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at December 28, 2024 03:00 PM (b4o9z)

46 I puttered for a bit burning trimmed branches. The pile is gone but more pruning should be done so the pile will come back. My housemate cut the overgrown pine trees and Pfizers bushes by the front of the house so I should probably put some flower planters there for summer next year or I suppose I could get planters and stick in some veggies.

Posted by: PaleRider at December 28, 2024 03:14 PM (UKUm3)

47 So many questions about the crochet Christmas tree. Do they have to do a new one each year or does it survive the elements for a few years? Or it crocheted of plastic and lasts quite a long time? Do people give them squares and a civic group combines into the tree cone? Sure is a fun item.

Posted by: PaleRider at December 28, 2024 03:18 PM (UKUm3)

48 I was Willowed. Pets nood is up.

Posted by: PaleRider at December 28, 2024 03:19 PM (UKUm3)

49 From Boise area: Lows 30-39 F, highs 39-55. Rain on Christmas Eve, lots of rain the last 2 nights. First catalog showed up!, from Territorial Seed. Co. - I should't get too excited, it's 99 percent the same as last years... but, still! Catalog!

Not much going on. I ground up the oregano leaves I harvested and dried, using a mortar and pestle. I also picked more not-frozen parsley to add to my salads. We celebrated Christmas with a marinated roast leg of lamb, and homegrown carrots and potatoes.

Husband did some mowing with the walk-behind bagging mower, and put the grass-leaf mix into the compost. I think he's been doing some ammo reloading, too.

If it ever dries out a little, we'll stuff the trash with leaves, and admire the Johnny Jump-Ups by the shed.

Posted by: Pat* at December 28, 2024 03:30 PM (lCHh3)

50 It was an awful year as tomato blight wiped all the harvest out. I couldn't make any salsa or can any tomatoes. The only saving grace was I got in some decent radish that I could still put out for Christmas.

I am spraying all the baskets and posts with copper sulfate. Going to lime the soil and re-supplement it and use the heavy black mulch (and melt holes for the tomatoes) after I rake out any tomato plant remnants I can find. Throwing away any saved seeds and buying everything new, and then will have copper sulfate at the ready as the growing season progresses.

Thankfully I did manage to get my over winter garlic in and used the spines from the locust trees for mulch.

If any tomato vets have any blight advice, I am all ears.

Posted by: Black JEM at December 28, 2024 04:09 PM (uLt48)

51 Black JEM at December 28, 2024 04:09 PM

First, is it early blight or late blight? Once you know, there are varieties with built-in resistance. You can buy seeds of those (and sometimes plants where blight is prevalent).

Posted by: KT at December 28, 2024 06:26 PM (xekrU)

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