End of Summer

 The end of summer is always a bit sad.  The trees are tired, the leaves not yet ready to drop.  Except for the sedum and the Rudbeckia, the flowering plants have gone into decline.  The reason for wistfulness however is not due to dread of the coming winter, but due to memories.  

Ajuga, Golden Ragwort, and Cat Tails Battle for Dominance in Residential Landscape.

There is a part of our landscape which oozes a small flow of water from underground springs. It's well away from the house and creates a sort of mini-environment which entertains some wet area species.  There are a lot of battles in nature, and it's anyone's guess who wins.  Even scientists are often baffled and make wrong predictions.

In the aforementioned wet area, we are right now watching a battle which resembles Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Competing in this struggle of our backyard are Ajuga, Gold Ragwort (seen above), and Cat Tails.  I think the Ajuga is winning, though the Ragwort has made a nice stand and marked out  its own territory.   The Cat Tails?  I've no idea what they're doing--they're like infiltrators, inclined to pop up anywhere.

Least threatening to other species in the area is the milkweed. We're doing our best to nurture milkweed as it's the type of plant where Monarch Butterflies lay their eggs.

Morning Dove or Mourning Dove?

  I guess the bird is happy, and it is morning, so I'm guessing the correct spelling is "morning" dove.  Or its it "Mourning Dove?"  Let me know. Wait, I have a better idea. Call it a turtle dove....

Viticulture Gods Order Me to Plant Concord Grapevines

Okay, so here we are in our Northern Climate home.  It's perhaps ten degrees colder in winter from our Pennsylvania homestead (former).  So I researched grapevines and learned that I could plant Concord, Catawba, and Niagra. 

If I were more adventurous, I could plant one or more of the species that are being developed in Minnesota -- a place even colder than upstate New York.   Unfortunately, I could not easily find the new species and will continue my research into those for next year. 

But the Catawba vines I planted . . . uh. . . didn't quite make it.  In the especially cold Feb of 2014, the temp went down to minus 15-16 for about three weeks with little break.  That killed a few of our other plants, too, including a cultivated Dogwood tree. 

Anyway, grapes.  I listened to the gods and filled in the dead plants with new Concord Grapes.  They're pretty tasty but I don't think they're top notch for wine-making unless one likes sweet wines.

So I'm on the fence.  I guess the best thing about my grape season is that I built a fine grapevine with cedar poles and vinyl covered cord.  It's quite pretty, about 7 feet high, and the vines are healthy although it has seemed like a century as I wait for the one year old vines to reach the top level.

Meanwhile, I'm indebted to YouTube for the posted videos describing various pruning techniques.

"The truth is, even if you follow your favorite gardener's tomato-growing advice or a strict organic gardening regimen, the tomatoes in your garden will be just as cardboard as the supermarket varieties if those are the varieties you choose to plant. Most tomato hybrids are created for their market presentation and shipping characteristics, and these are not usually the features you want your home-grown tomatoes to have. Gardeners want luscious, flavorful tomatoes that ripen to perfection on the vine. Today's typical new varieties of tomatoes are genetically manipulated with non-tomato genes and other forms of DNA"

Favorite Cool-Season Annuals: Try Them in Your Garden! - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

Favorite Cool-Season Annuals: Try Them in Your Garden! - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

White House Believes Court Contempt Citation is a Traffic Ticket - Yahoo! News

White House Believes Court Contempt Citation is a Traffic Ticket - Yahoo! News: "Three months after the first Gulf drilling ban, Judge Martin Feldman ruled that it was too broad, and must be revised or lifted. As if Judge Feldman's ruling was akin to a ticket for illegal parking, Secretary Salazar simply imposed a second drilling ban using the template for the first one. That disregard for law and the courts earned a citation for being in contempt , when Feldman spanked the Interior Department for its legal tone deafness."

Three-Legged Deer and the Hard Pennsylvania Winter - Yahoo! News

Three-Legged Deer and the Hard Pennsylvania Winter - Yahoo! News One of the saddest sights in the world is a three-legged deer. We saw one in the winter of the first year we moved here. It was a year of soft snow, but it was cold.

It was just after the deer season we saw the pathetic creature, its leg still attached, and dangling. You could see a bit of red meat exposed to the air, and the better upper leg was swollen. My wife called the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

My wife is one of those animal lovers who won't let a person rest so long as there's a suffering animal in the world. There are lots of suffering Whitetail deer along the Pennsylvania roads where we live.

The Game Commission officer told my wife "no." I couldn't shoot the deer. Lots of three-legged deer survive, the man said.

One day we noticed that the dangling leg had dropped off. By then, it was spring and there was plenty to eat. We always wondered if "Three Legs" had been hit by a car or a bullet.

People drive the highways around here as if they have sole right of passage. The deer lie along the roadside, bloated, mashed, bloody and broken. The traffic passes on the main highway in an unending stream, oblivious to the slaughter.

In the spring, the fawns die even along the country roads. The adults less frequently die at the deer trails crossing the road.

Wooly Bear Caterpillars: Fact and Folklore - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

Wooly Bear Caterpillars: Fact and Folklore - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

Shelters' new rules on strays have towns scrambling | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/01/2010

Shelters' new rules on strays have towns scrambling | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/01/2010 People with an interest in gardening and landscaping are often interest in animals. While I wouldn't describe myself as an animal "activist," I think we all have to help.

I found an stray a few days ago. I brought him to a local animal shelter and paid for neutering for the dog, a large approx 3 year old male lab-something mix. He was a nice dog, so nice I considered adopting. I had him (named him Nero) all day but things were a lttle tense with our female German Shepherd mix, also adopted. We also had some travel plans arranged so I didn't have time to provide the guidance counseling necessary for integrating a new dog into the household.


So anyway, here's an article which applies to animal shelters in Pennsylvania, where we live. There's more to the story. I'm currently under a short-term arrangement to report on political articles. I'm not crazy about politics, but I like writing, and I need the job. That will end after the elections Nov. 2 and I'm hoping to get back to what I love-plants, animals, and gardening.

A Beginner's Garden: Grow Elephant Garlic, Allium Ampeloprasum - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

A Beginner's Garden: Grow Elephant Garlic, Allium Ampeloprasum - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Stroudsburg Pioneer Woman Kills Fox with Bare Hands

Progressive, liberal, or conservative--the latent pioneer in all of us is irrepressible, coming to the fore when needed. Fox attacks must be very common where this woman lives, because she says her friend was attacked,too.

How do you kill a fox with your bare hands? Hit the "go" button on the video and Rachel Cohen will tell you how.

Gardening Diary: When Gardening Has a Mind of Its Own

Don't expect Tolstoy. One of the purposes of this blawg is to enjoy writing it. That means I don't write it when I don't want to. Sorry about that, because I love gardening,nature, the forest, and the outdoors in general.

I do write to inform, sometimes, but most likely you know as much or more about gardening as I do. So maybe you can help me figure out how my gardening got away from me this year. This year, I think the failures outnumbered the successes. I blame the vast amount of work I've had to do. But there were some positives, too.

On the plus side, the tomatoes are looking good, tasting even better. The Heirloom varieties have an interesting pink color. There are plenty of them, as usual, and I let the worms have some because I've been too lazy to use the organic spray I bought.

On the negative side, I once again planted too many squash/zucchini and they dominated the garden. I became disgusted there were so many, with leaves so large they blotted out the sun. I tore them out early on, in late spring. A madman's behavior, I know.

Positive: Arugula was magnificent, so easy to grow, and so peppy when you add it to the other greens.

Negative: We did well with the leaf lettuces but I didn't plant enough of it. I replanted just recently: Romaine Lettuce, butternut, and some escarole. The latter two will do well but the Romaine, planted earlier, is getting a little leggy because of the persistent hot weather. It's looking alright, though, and should yield modestly in spite of the long legs.

Speaking of long legs, the daddy spiders are awfully busy, spinning webs everywhere. That's a sign of things to come, you know. When the spiders get busy, the seasons will soon change.

I forgot the Concord Grapes. Finally, we've had an abundant yield as the vines matured and I did a bit better on pruning. They're magnificent. I should take a picture.

New Use for Ryobi 2-Stroke Garden Tiller

A while back I published a review about a light Ryobi 2-Stroke Garden Tiller. I bought the thing in the Spring of 2009 and have used it more than I thought I would. It's been great for our small garden. If you're producing vegetables for more than your own use, you'd want a heavier one, or one that fits on your tractor. I could get one that fits my old John Deere 445 but they're expensive, and besides I've have to add a 3 point hitch.

On the other hand, I discovered a new use for the Ryobi Tiller. We have a large lawn but we also have a 3 - acre wooded area--very nice except for the trees which were too close to the house. I've taken down some of those trees with my chain saw, and cleared the stubs with a rented stump grinder. So I thought I'd expand the law a bit on one side of the house.

Step One: I used the John Deere 445 tractor with a 40 Loader (the one that fits the 445) and chisel plowed the weeds and debris. Underneath was some soil and lots of small rocks upon which I was to plant grass.

Step Two: That's where the Ryobi Tiller came in handy. You don't want to throw grass seed on hard-packed soild because it would wash away with the rains. So I took the Tiller and scoured the ground surface to a depth of one or two inches--perfect for sowing the seeds. I raked a little dirt over the seeds and then I dragged a roller over the area.

We had some much needed rain. That helped. The grass has come up beautifully. There are some bare patches where I was stingy with the grass seed, but I'll go over them when the grass comes up if necessary. On the whole, it's looking good.

A pretty good job for the Ryobi Tiller--I thought I'd mention it if it never occurred to you.

A Beginner's Garden: How to Grow Brussels Sprouts

A Beginner's Garden: How to Grow Brussels Sprouts

Interesting article by a fellow gardener, Fern Fischer....hit the link to find out how to grow them...

Montmorency Cherry Finally Yields Fruit

I planted a Montmorency Cherry tree in the back yard about 4 years ago, and located another cherry tree nearby as a cross-pollinator. The Montmorency Cherry fruited right away but, until this year, I could count the number of cherries with the fingers of one hand.

The good news is that there were quite a lot of cherries on the tree this year. The bad news was that about half of them were afflicted with a fungus. Stupid me!....I hadn't thought to examine the tree when the fungus was beginning to form so it was well on the way when I discovered it.

The Montmorency is the best cherry for cherry pie. It's a bit tart, a bit sour, but that's a matter of degree. The cherries I ate were delicious (except for the fungal ones)and I am currently researching in order to identify the fungus and the right kind of fungus control.

Let me know if you have knowledge of cherry funguses... I'll let you know what I've discovered when I find the right fix...


I spent part of Memorial Day quietly communicating with plant and animal life. I straightened out the flag, watched the Marines fight out of Chosin Resevoir, read part of a book about George Washington and watched several sequences of Apocalypse on the Smithsonian Channel. That was new film footage of WWII--battles in Europe and the Pacific.

So I spent part of the Memorial Day weekend pruning shrubs and trees, something I haven’t had time to do earlier in the spring. Early spring is better, before the new growth goes wild, but it’s not yet summer when pruning will really stress the plant while it’s already suffering from heat exhaustion or dry weather.

I had already pruned the few cherry and apple trees last fall, so they were in pretty good shape. I should have done the grapevine at that time, too, but I tried some light pruning yesterday, being careful not to cut off the grape bunches. Light pruning.

I pruned quite a few of our spruce trees, the ones I planted three years ago. They’ve finally taken hold but some are rather bizarre looking, as they adapt to their new neighborhood. I’m not worried about damaging them because they’re resilient and, besides, I only nip the ends where I want the foliage to fill in empty space.

The Kiwi vine was tangled and overgrown. I spent lots of time tracing the interwoven skeins and separating them before cutting. It took some time. I did cut one strand I shouldn’t have, but the result is good. It’s a fine looking Kiwi, even though it’s never flowered and probably is not even thinking about bearing fruit. Too bad I didn’t get another. There’s only one species of Kiwi that is self-pollinating and I think I was deceived when I bought the plant. Anyway, it’s got nice leaves and vines, so whatever….

Now the three Redbud Trees (also called Judas Tree) .... I took hours to prune them, so that they’d have light, balance, and air. Balance is important. One of them split last year because of having heavier overhang on one side. I saved it by binding it together with wire and then wrapping the split in duct tape. I took off some of the duct tape. It was pretty major surgery, but the wound is healing nicely and appears to be stronger than the rest of the tree. It was worth the effort. If you haven’t seen the Judas tree when it blooms in very early spring….

What Happened Last Year in the Garden

If you have a scanner, it is sometimes a good idea to scan in the seed packages you've planted. It's easier and faster than keeping a notebook, and typically easier to find the information in subsequent years. This photo is an example, and I just saw it in one of my pictue files.

It made me remember the oddities of last year's garden. The radishes were easy to grow, and profuse, and we had far more radishes then anyone could want or that you could give away. The Eggplants were okay, but were on the small size so we can do better in the way of nutrients.

The strange tale is of the Cauliflower, something I had never tried growing. All of the plants came up very well and looked healthy. However, only two of the plants produced. The strangest thing was that the two cauliflowers which did "fruit" were terrific in size and very healthy looking. The other plants looked great but had no cauliflower buds.

So when I researched it (something I should have done beforehand), I found out that there is this thing you have to do to the plants. You have to "blanch" the leaves at the appropriate time. But then I wondered how I got those two beautiful looking plants without having done anything to them, either.

If you've got the answer, let me know. It's gotten too hot already to plant the cauliflower this year, so I'm going to be well prepared for next year. Adding chunks of cauliflower hearts to a soupy spaghetti (along with some spices) is a hearty and healthy dish which can feed the barracks....<

Photo Eastern Milk Snake Identified

 
















It was almost a year ago I found this speciment of a snake dead in the road not far from our house. It's a rural area, and I'd seen plenty of garter snakes, a rattlesnake or two, black snakes, and water snakes, but this was a first. The Eastern Milk Snake is not poisonous. This one is small, obviously young, about 15 inches in length. Most likely killed on the road at night, since they're nocturnal. They feed on small rodents, salamanders, other snakes, frogs, bird eggss.... it's not particular. For some live pictures of this snake, along with some of its cousins, you might want to click on the link. That blog is by a Canadian naturalist/photog/outdooors person.

No matter how hard I looked though, I still haven't discovered why this snake is called a "Milk" snake. I'll keep working on it...

Foxglove and a Fox: A True Tale Mixed With Some Folklore

So I'll tell you the true part first. About five or six years ago, there was a foxglove I planted in the wrong place. When later I wanted to attack with the weedwacker, I moved the foxglove plant into the large flower garden at the side of the house. I thought it died. It was a no-show for years, but one year it popped up, but didn't bloom. I forgot about it, then.

But Voila!...a couple of weeks ago, there it was--the old foxglove plant. I wasn't sure until yesterday when it flowered. Now there was no doubt about it.

Now the weird thing--I was sitting here pecking away after my workout when our GSD has a conniption of such large proportion that I thought she'd take out the window. Jumping to my feet, I caught sight of a quickly moving dog-like animal, moving so fast I couldn't tell if it was a large fox or a small coyote.

So the fuzzy part derives from when I looked up the Foxglove plant, which is indeed linked to the fox. There is a myth, handed down to us from the English Middle Ages, which says the fox steals the blooms and puts them on his feet so that he can slip quietly into the henhouse. Yeah, well don't believe it then. I do.

Anyway, the Fox Glove and the Fox were in idyllic environments, as both foxes and fox gloves like to make their homes on wooded hillsides, such as the one that slope away from the house.

The other thing I learned about Fox Glove is that the Latin name for it is Digitalis Purpurea. Fox Glove is a poison, but it is also a medicine, used to stimulate the heart.

Organic Heritage Tomatoes

We're trying something new in the garden. We're giving up on the hybrid tomatoes. The output on the hybrid tomatoes has been great, but the seeds--not so great. You can't use them to propagate new tomatoes as you can with the "heritage" seeds.

It was late February when I planted the organic heritage seeds in a seed-box. When the plants grew up, there were some noted differences. The tomato plants looked different from the starter plants you get from home and garden stores. Another odd thing. Some weeds came up, too. I don't know if the soil was contaminated with weed seed or whether weed seed got mixed up with the heritage tomato seeds.

It doesn't much matter. Maybe I'll begin cultivating a new hardier brand of heritage weeds. More to the point, I put the heritage tomato plants (grown from seed) out into the garden and they're looking strong. Right now, they look a lot more like Tomato plants. Still, the leaves are a bit different, as they are not a hybrid recognized species.

It's cool so far--I think of the Indians when I'm looked at them. BAck in the day of the Indians, most plants were different--especially the corn. Some people refer to Indian corn as "flint corn."

A Tale of Two Iris Species

Deer resistance is an ever popular topic among gardeners and horticulturalists who live in deer country. This morning very early, I went outside to count the deer. There were five, but this time they were on the east side of the house when typically they are on the northwest slope where shrubs and flowering plants abound. Among the flowering plants are two types of Irises, a cultivated variety and a wild variety. I had thought that both varieties were deer resistant since the earlier developing stalks and leaves of the cultivated Iris are nibbled but largely left alone. At least, that was my observation through April of this year.

But now, in the middle of May, the Irises have flowered and I can see that my observations regarding Irises are only half right. The deer do not so much like the Iris plants as they do the flower buds. The Iris leaves and stalks are most abundant and look healthy, but the tips of the stalks, where the blooms would be, are clipped and empty.

Meanwhile, just twenty yards away, the wild Irises are flourishing, left alone, elegant, slender, and somehow regal. And then I have an experiment in progress. There are many so-called “deer-resistant” sprays and treatments advertising that they will repel deer but few of them work. However, and that is a big “however,” there is an expensive and foul smelling product manufactured in the Pennsylvania sticks that does seem to work. I have applied it to the cultivated Irises. I’m not sure how well it works though I am sure it is having some good affect. That is why the deer were this morning on the Southeast side of the house where there are no flowers or shrubs.

Forget-Me-Nots -- Great Ground Patterns

Sylvatica is the Latin Name for this plant. It's widely known as Forget Me Not, a beautiful name for a beautiful flower. The blooms are quite small, but highly intelligent, and a peculiar blue.

Plant them in a patch, in half-shade if possible, and they will grow in just about any kind of soil. From a distance, the lovely blue color will look like a cloudy carpet on the forest floor (assuming you are lucky enough to have a forest).

Sylvatic is self-seeding, so once you get them started, they jump all around the place. They're very festive, often given as gifts. Give me some.

Garden Tips: Renovate Your Strawberries Annually, Page 2 of 3 - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Garden Tips: Renovate Your Strawberries Annually, Page 2 of 3 - A very good article on strawberries. We planted some last year for the first time and were surpised at the output. According to this article, we have to take action for the fruits to develop this year.... Click on the headline--it will take you to Fern Fischer's great article....

In the Herb Garden: Grow Oregano

In the Herb Garden: Grow Oregano - Associated Content - associatedcontent.comSome great tips on growing Oregano by Fern Fischer...

Piliated Woodpeckers

 Piliated Woodpeckers are notoriously shy so it's rare to see them, let alone two of them at the same time. The photo is blurry but I thought I'd post it anyway. In our part of Pennsylvania, we are lucky to have so many of these large birds. I've encountered them up close several times, but those are fleeting moments. I'm not fast enough to get a close shot. These photos are blurred b/c they were taken from our living room window. The PIliated Woodpecker usually feeds on insects in dead trees, often on the ground. I've seen them at work tearing up the wood and sending chips flying. Do these birds know something I don't? I think that tree is still alive but maybe their appearance is prophetic. We'll see..

For Old, Rare Plants, Gardeners Turn to Seed Exchanges - WSJ.com

For Old, Rare Plants, Gardeners Turn to Seed Exchanges - WSJ.comThere's about a foot of snow on the ground here in Pennsylvania and it's still coming down so it seems a good time to think about seeds... Don't you think?

Beautiful birches: How to differentiate 5 birch types in Poconos | PoconoRecord.com

Beautiful birches: How to differentiate 5 birch types in Poconos | PoconoRecord.comAre you forever getting your birches mixed up? This article may help. We have a lot of what you may call "White Birch" in our nearby woods. In spite of being very white in color, these trees are actually "Gray Birch." The true White Birch grows to the North, generally, though I"ve seen a few specimens here and there in cold pockets of this forest.

Wood Burning Tips for a Happy Hearth

That warm flickering flame is a comfort, something that ignites the ancient DNA in all of us, descended from the early people who, bedecked in animal skins, gathered around the warmth of the hearth. Click on the headline to read a review about a real-life experience with a wood-burning stove.

Wood Burning Tips for a Happy Hearth - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Black Bear's Killing of Pennsylvania Woman Raises Questions - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Black Bear's Killing of Pennsylvania Woman Raises Questions - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Amy’s Journal » Blog Archive » Questions about Acorn Squashes

Amy’s Journal » Blog Archive » Questions about Acorn SquashesFinally, the great Acorn Squash mystery is solved, thanks to this bright-eyed California blogger and her one-eyed dog.

Ryobi Four-Ton Electric Log Splitter Review - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Ryobi Four-Ton Electric Log Splitter Review - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com