Fall Planting Part One

Justin and I survived the first round of planting this season - the Forest Farm order arrived on Wednesday and that night I opened the boxes and set the plants out to stretch their roots as it were. They received a nice, gentle deluge, partially sheltered by the eaves, the kiwi trellis, and the juniper. We planted last night. Most of the ground was still damp, so after-planting watering was minimal; just enough to mix the top bit of soil together. Might have been some rain last night, and it's raining off and on today, so that should help them transition.

Last year we focused on the foundation area, this year the focus is on the meadow and Chestnut Grove, with all but one of the planting being in the grove or on the fringe of the meadow.

We had four 1 gallon plants: a Podophyllum pellatum (mayapple, mandrake) that is planted between an oak and the Stone Stream just below the island - I'm hoping the perennial spreads out and takes over the undergrowth of that area, along with the native blueberries, wintergreen, and azalea; a Clethra alnifolia (summersweet)is opposite that on the wet strip of lawn just before the meadow starts - it should turn into a 10-12'-in-all-directions sprawl that will help define the meadow border and drink up the extra moisture so it doesn't ruin the septic system; and two Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus' (zebra grass) that are positioned on the meadow edge and, with the existing one, will form a trio to screen the view of the cement septic access from the front porch.

The six tubes also contained only three species: six Xerophyllum tenax (beargrass) were planted along the Chestnut Grove top corner of the sand mound (which is part of the meadow) - they'll blend with the seeded plants from the meadow, but I anticipate them dominating that one corner; three Asimina triloba (pawpaw) are in Chestnut Grove, they now outnumber the chestnuts in the grove - these are the first of a number of pawpaws I plan on having, as they're key components of the edible forest; finally, one Cercidiphyllum japonicum (katsura tree) was planted down on Bank Island, between the crabapple and the Washington hawthorn - I really like how the one we planted last spring looks, whereas that one will provide shade/color/Autumn caramel scent to the front porch and yard, this one is positioned so that people will be able to enjoy it while walking by.

Recently Heard: A Waulking Tour of Scotland

A Waulking Tour of Scotland by Jo Morrison

I feel particularly lucky to be able to play discs in a wide variety of musical styles by many different people and explain how I know them - from Autumn Tears to Meliah Rage to Extreme to Elliot Fisk, but this is perhaps the only disc I own that was personally selected by one of the musicians. I had asked tewok to pick the disc he played on the most, as the recordings were technically works performed by his wife, and this is what he came up with.

Although this does feature Jo playing the Celtic harp, there's a number of other people who join in on this, playing a variety of Scottish tunes. tewok plays shuttle pipe on two tracks and sings on two others.

The playing throughout - even by the guest artists I don't know! - is excellent. I listen to a lot of harp music in a variety of styles, and these performances fit in with the best of them, better than most. Although I haven't verified against every single one of the discs I inherited from my dad, I'm fairly sure there's little overlap on tune selection, Skye Boat Song being the one exception I've found.

Although alternate versions of traditional tunes are not a bad thing, it's also nice to be exposed to tunes you haven't heard. The notes on this disc deserve special mention - they carry through the tour theme mentioned in the title, and take you around Scotland, starting and ending in the Edinburgh area.

All in all, an excellent disc that has already had many repeat playings!

On Bears, Berries, and Katsura Trees

Well, they actually do have something in common: my yard.

In no particular order, I discovered a second of the winterberries is, in fact, a she and not a he. Luckily, the one in a prominent position in the center of the Stone Stream island is, and she had two potential offspring that grew bright red - and then were hacked off, along with a bit of twig and a mouthful of leaves, by one of our white tailed rodents. The other, just discovered today, has only one fruit, but it has thus far evaded the hooved herbivore Hoovers.

The katsura tree has lived up to its expectations - as soon as the leaves go from green to yellow, it gives off a smell somewhere between cotton candy and caramel. Of course, since it's still just a twig, there's less than two dozen leaves, so you have to lean over and sniff. I've caught the scent at a distance once or twice; faint, but it shows promise. Which reminds me, I tried to convince Justin to get me some cotton candy while we were at Fair in the Square in Watertown last weekend, but he didn't...

Justin thinks a bear ran by him while he was down getting the trash barrels earlier today. He says it was the size, shape, and ran like the one we had seen last week. Only it was white.

So. Looks like I might be able to get some ammunition for that RPPB that was discussed on TH last year some time. Of course, stuffing a polar bear - even a smallish one - into the rocket shell is always the challenge, and it's best to buy the stuff fully loaded. Or just to stay away from the whole dubious concept.

Deb is of the opinion that it was a wolf; I suggested coyote at first, as they're known to frequent, well, everywhere. White, however, isn't a likely color for either one or the other, although I suppose it's more likely than an albino black bear.

Even more likely, is that it was a large white dog. Think I might even have seen one somewhere in the neighborhood before, which makes it even more likely.

In which I start at one place and end up at another

Well, whattaya know, another copy of Bill Ward's Ward One: All Along the Way (which I reviewed here) showed up on Amazon.com's used market...

While I would have paid twice what I did, I'm not sure I could cope with the $170+ price tag on this. Then again, I can say that because I, as they say (in absurd French accents) at certain castles, already got one. If I hadn't come across the earlier copy, I could probably rationalize nearly two bills for the disc...

Glad I don't have to, of course. Instead, I can try not to spend that money other places.

I've found a source for some violin & orchestra pieces I've been looking for - sure, you can find the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso Op.28 and Danse Macabre, Op. 40 and even Zigeunerweisen Op. 20 (Saint-Saens, Saint-Saens, and de Sarasate, respectively) anywhere, if you're willing to settle for a violin and piano arrangement. Full score, baby, that's what it's all about. Or, in the case of those last two and Wieniawski's Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op.22, study scores (smaller, and a fraction of the cost.) Those tiny editions would suit me, as I have to pick through the solo violin part and transcribe it for guitar, and then take the whole rest of the orchestra and transcribe and stuff and mold and arrange it for, maybe, another guitar.

Sure, that might be easier taking the already watered down piano line, but, hey, I want to be able to water it down myself. And who knows, maybe I'll be able to distill the whole thing - solo and orchestra - into a single classical guitar. Like, maybe even a 10 String handcrafted guitar by Michael McBroom (with a western cedar top, palo escrito sides and bottom, Spanish cedar and ebony neck, ebony fingerboard, and a padauk bridge. Not that I've been thinking about it, of course.

Then again, there's also The Berkholtzer in 11 or 13 courses, by Danial Larson. Or my old, life-changing standby: John McLaughlin's custom Abe Wechter guitar, Marielle. Note that the guitar is different than the ex-wife's sister.

Of course, I could skip the whole string-thing altogether, and go for some Uilleann pipes by Seth Gallagher (in nickle silver, of course,) or an engraved set by Kirk Lynch (be sure to look at the other pictures - the instrument is beautiful!), or maybe even a slightly more affordable starter set from Uilleann Pipeworks of Boston.

Then again, I'll most likely just get a DR Field & Brush Mower.

Seriously, on the last - the other instruments are likes, but that last one fits multiple needs:

First off, it will make the meadow maintenance possible (the Field & Brush portion of its name.) Second, it will also meet the needs of a high quality mower, which we're overdue to replace the $100 special we bought to survive the first year or two. Bit over priced at $2K for the main unit and $0.5K for the attachment? Well, think of the price of a good mower and the price of a brush mower, which is what I was going to do when I started looking into it.

Still not quite a reasonable price, but the kicker is adding another $0.5K or so, and turning it into a snow thrower. Due to a gravel drive, we would have to get a more expensive two stage unit for a regular snow thrower - and, because that driveway is more than 300' long, we need a quality one. They range in price from $600 to $2100 - even given the middle of that price range, and now add in the price of the Honda mulching mower and a "cheap" but almost-similarly powered brush mower, and you're at about $3380. Add another $1100 for the better brush mower - and even that doesn't have some of the slope/terrain features of the DR, and suddenly you're well over cost. My big decision is really one of sizing (13 or 15 HP? - the decision rests mostly on which one will work best with the attachments I need.) They also have a plow (for snow or loose dirt/gravel) that might work better on the gravel, as well as provide additional utility (such as spreading new gravel on the driveway; past storms prove that might be likely, not to mention that the damage from those same storms hasn't been repaired partially because I'm not looking forward to spreading the gravel by hand...)

Of course, what I really should do is go to bed because, well, I'm tired.