![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
( More ~ only some mushroomic ~ under the cut... )
As always, click on any picture to see other sizes and some more shots over on Flickr.
( More ~ only some mushroomic ~ under the cut... )
As always, click on any picture to see other sizes and some more shots over on Flickr.
Wildflower Survey
Sep. 13th, 2008 06:03 pmI took ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aequitaslevitas and Rachel on a select group of the wildflowers in our yard (i.e. those currently in bloom, minus the goldenrod), some (such as the St. John's wort & New England Aster) are appearing for the first time this year, as the two meadows - the Rachel River/Brandon Canyon area and the Meadow itself - are in their third and second years of growth.
That the roadside River/Canyon area is developing as slow as the main Meadow is, I suspect, due to a couple major factors: 1) rough environment (road, washouts from the river, etc.); and 2) mown down in its prime last year by parties unknown.
I have both of the older kids working on reports of their findings - just a simple collection describing the basics of each of the 8 species we identified, as well as an extra bit describing the nastiness that is the spotted knapweed (would that be knastikness?)
aequitaslevitas complained that 11 paragraphs (intro, 8 species, 1 extra bit on invasives, and wrap-up) was a Lot Of Work, so Mr. Takes College Courses In High School and Wants to do Biology (Marine, to be sure, but it's the spirit of it...) When He Grows Up will also be including an extra bit describing each of the four stingity insects we came across on our adventures. I also had to threaten to have him identify the umpteen types of goldenrod, some of which probably need a microscope to ID...
Alas, I am cruel, forcing my children to learn on a Saturday...
aequitaslevitas and Rachel on a select group of the wildflowers in our yard (i.e. those currently in bloom, minus the goldenrod), some (such as the St. John's wort & New England Aster) are appearing for the first time this year, as the two meadows - the Rachel River/Brandon Canyon area and the Meadow itself - are in their third and second years of growth.That the roadside River/Canyon area is developing as slow as the main Meadow is, I suspect, due to a couple major factors: 1) rough environment (road, washouts from the river, etc.); and 2) mown down in its prime last year by parties unknown.
I have both of the older kids working on reports of their findings - just a simple collection describing the basics of each of the 8 species we identified, as well as an extra bit describing the nastiness that is the spotted knapweed (would that be knastikness?)
aequitaslevitas complained that 11 paragraphs (intro, 8 species, 1 extra bit on invasives, and wrap-up) was a Lot Of Work, so Mr. Takes College Courses In High School and Wants to do Biology (Marine, to be sure, but it's the spirit of it...) When He Grows Up will also be including an extra bit describing each of the four stingity insects we came across on our adventures. I also had to threaten to have him identify the umpteen types of goldenrod, some of which probably need a microscope to ID...Alas, I am cruel, forcing my children to learn on a Saturday...
A River Runs Through It
Sep. 9th, 2008 01:05 pmThat would be Brandon Canyon, and the Rachel River...
Looking southish...
...and northish...
As always, click through for more pictures... in this case, a few more of the river and canyon, and a bunch of the meadows there and up on the sandmound, as well as a single picture of Mr. B (friends & family only) and nearly a dozen of an as-yet unidentified spider (must admit, I haven't even tried...)
Looking southish...
...and northish...
As always, click through for more pictures... in this case, a few more of the river and canyon, and a bunch of the meadows there and up on the sandmound, as well as a single picture of Mr. B (friends & family only) and nearly a dozen of an as-yet unidentified spider (must admit, I haven't even tried...)
Surprise, Surprise
Sep. 7th, 2008 07:24 pmToday, aequitaslevitas and I did some yardwork.
I know, shocking, isn't it? =)
We took down the deer fence circles around the two elderberry, the katsura, the tulip tree, and one of the mulberry trees. One of the former shrubs seems to have given up, despite having been planted in what really was an unsuitable location (too dry). We relocated the surviving elderberry to a spot where its inherent thirstiness can be put to good use.
We wrapped the elderberry with one of the deer fence sections, and used the other relocated ones - along with the section that had surrounded the river birch until earlier this year and the last remaining unused bit. We redistributed and set the poles around a grouping o four - a viburnum, a dogwood, a summersweet, and a winterberry - and used the mesh netting to encircle the lot of them. They are some of the harder hit plants, although, really, the deer will eat whatever they stumble across.
~ ~ ~
In other related news, the Rachel River excavation served its purpose: things looked good down there, and should continue to flow nicely with more rain, should we ever happen to get another drop or two. On that note, Hanna proved to be a light, gentle rain that lasted most of the day; stronger at times, but generally very well behaved and un-stormlike. This is of the good. If things came down any faster, there wouldn't have been a chance for the water to sink in and run off would likely still be flowing.
aequitaslevitas and I did some yardwork.I know, shocking, isn't it? =)
We took down the deer fence circles around the two elderberry, the katsura, the tulip tree, and one of the mulberry trees. One of the former shrubs seems to have given up, despite having been planted in what really was an unsuitable location (too dry). We relocated the surviving elderberry to a spot where its inherent thirstiness can be put to good use.
We wrapped the elderberry with one of the deer fence sections, and used the other relocated ones - along with the section that had surrounded the river birch until earlier this year and the last remaining unused bit. We redistributed and set the poles around a grouping o four - a viburnum, a dogwood, a summersweet, and a winterberry - and used the mesh netting to encircle the lot of them. They are some of the harder hit plants, although, really, the deer will eat whatever they stumble across.
~ ~ ~
In other related news, the Rachel River excavation served its purpose: things looked good down there, and should continue to flow nicely with more rain, should we ever happen to get another drop or two. On that note, Hanna proved to be a light, gentle rain that lasted most of the day; stronger at times, but generally very well behaved and un-stormlike. This is of the good. If things came down any faster, there wouldn't have been a chance for the water to sink in and run off would likely still be flowing.
Step Three & Four
May. 8th, 2007 08:55 pmJustin and I managed to get two more steps in on the back bank; hopefully we'll finish the last two tomorrow!
In other news, the mayapple showed up - I was getting a bit concerned that it didn't make it through the winter. Some of the American holly are showing new growth, so that's a good sign. Bunches and bunches of the hemlock are looking good. Still waiting on the sycamores, I'm fairly concerned that the sweetgums aren't going to show up (to be fair, most of them seemed to be the victim of chipmunks or something like that), and the balsam fir and Serbian spruce trees are iffy.
It's really dry out there. The ground is all crunchy underfoot, the exposed bits of dirt - even in the deep woods - are all cracked and rock hard. We're switching to watering-every-day mode for everything planted in the last year or so.
In other news, the mayapple showed up - I was getting a bit concerned that it didn't make it through the winter. Some of the American holly are showing new growth, so that's a good sign. Bunches and bunches of the hemlock are looking good. Still waiting on the sycamores, I'm fairly concerned that the sweetgums aren't going to show up (to be fair, most of them seemed to be the victim of chipmunks or something like that), and the balsam fir and Serbian spruce trees are iffy.
It's really dry out there. The ground is all crunchy underfoot, the exposed bits of dirt - even in the deep woods - are all cracked and rock hard. We're switching to watering-every-day mode for everything planted in the last year or so.
After supper I started putting the spring blend of fertilizer on the front yard. Halfway through the second pass (having been joined by Justin towards the end of the first pass) the sky darkened and lightning started showing up in the distance. We did our best to use up the rest - almost all of it - running in circles after we finished the second pass. A few droplets showed up, but the fertilizer remained dry. Just as Justin closed the garage door, the rain came, finishing up the job by soaking the fertilizer into the ground.
I had hoped to set one of the six stones in the back yard, but that just didn't happen.
As soon as the weather allows, we'll spread fertilizer on the back yard and get to those stones.
Oh - I have to wait a bit before going to bed. Had to jump in an emergency shower. Justin was holding Brandon and reading Least I Could Do over my shoulder while Deb was talking topatrixa on the phone. Apparently eating lots of crackers and then jumping around like a two and a half year old is wont to do is not a Good Thing. I caught some collatoral damage in my hair. Yick.
All better now, though. Brandon enjoyed listening to my new song and then Michael Hedge's Ursa Major, and after playing to a smiling kid cuddled up in bed, I popped in the second disc of the Yesyears
boxed set.
I had hoped to set one of the six stones in the back yard, but that just didn't happen.
As soon as the weather allows, we'll spread fertilizer on the back yard and get to those stones.
Oh - I have to wait a bit before going to bed. Had to jump in an emergency shower. Justin was holding Brandon and reading Least I Could Do over my shoulder while Deb was talking to
patrixa on the phone. Apparently eating lots of crackers and then jumping around like a two and a half year old is wont to do is not a Good Thing. I caught some collatoral damage in my hair. Yick.All better now, though. Brandon enjoyed listening to my new song and then Michael Hedge's Ursa Major, and after playing to a smiling kid cuddled up in bed, I popped in the second disc of the Yesyears
boxed set.Going Tubeless!
Jan. 21st, 2006 02:04 pmGiven that it was such a nice spring day yesterday, I did the only sensible thing I could: put the kids to work hauling stones! We're pilfering rocks from across the street, and we need to get done before Fred puts the place up for sale. The stones are going to the banks of Rachel River, the Stone Stream, the front walk, or the foundation border, depending on size and shape.
Justin was zipping back and forth with a wheelbarrow full, and ran into some trouble when he tried to run up a short but steep rocky slope with a bit too much zip, and zapped the tubeless tire left and/or right, which allowed the air to run off and play elsewhere. Attempts to fill the tire with air failed, as there was always enough space somewhere between bead and rim for the air to go its own way.
Today, I used that extremely effective home repair tool (Google) to discover a lot of very negative bits and pieces about tubeless tires, such as this: "do yourself a favor and do not even try to replace the tire without buying a inner tube for it." Unfortunately, solutions like that, or the even more helpful "buy a new wheel" involve time and money, and I wasn't in the mood to spend much of either one or the other.
And then, one googleitem away from the previously mentioned bit of "Shared Knowledge", I found this gem, which advised using a ratcheting nylon cargo strap. Of course, that would also require a trip to the store and money spent because I don't have any hanging around - although I will get one at some future time, as chance allows. Always thought one would come in handy, and have made heavy use of them when toting stuff around in my brother-in-law's pickup truck. Guess I figured the pickup truck would have to come before the accessories did, or something, because I never picked one up.
A belt, however, might just do the trick.
Now, considering I'm not as slim around the waist as I once was, I figured maybe one of Justin's belts would be a better fit, so I sent him searching. He has none. Rachel grabbed one of hers, a bright pink thing she didn't really care for that much. It reached about a quarter of the way around. Now I have one belt, and it's for work use - namely because a belt is one of the items specified as required for our business casual dress code. Didn't really want to wrap it around a dirty wheelbarrow tire, not that I thought it would fit without punching a new hole halfway around it.
Well, I'm apparently as slim as a wheelbarrow tire, slimmer, really, because we could barely get the belt tightened to the first setting. But, hey, the tire took air, filled to the appropriate PSI, and we're done.
Except a belt isn't quite as handy as a ratcheting cargo strap with a quick release mechanism, because, well, a belt requires a bit of a squeeze to release it. With a full amount of air trapped within, the tire doesn't leave much room for squeezes, and with less than an inch of belt hanging out, there's not much to yank on and get any leverage. I was able to slide the belt off the tire on the opposite side of the buckle, and then that left quite enough slack for the buckle to be removed.
Job done, no money spent, and no tubeless tire and possibly accompanying wheel sent to the landfill after a few short years of service.
Now, after we get Brandon off to nap time, we can haul some more rocks, as it is yet another gorgeous spring day!
Justin was zipping back and forth with a wheelbarrow full, and ran into some trouble when he tried to run up a short but steep rocky slope with a bit too much zip, and zapped the tubeless tire left and/or right, which allowed the air to run off and play elsewhere. Attempts to fill the tire with air failed, as there was always enough space somewhere between bead and rim for the air to go its own way.
Today, I used that extremely effective home repair tool (Google) to discover a lot of very negative bits and pieces about tubeless tires, such as this: "do yourself a favor and do not even try to replace the tire without buying a inner tube for it." Unfortunately, solutions like that, or the even more helpful "buy a new wheel" involve time and money, and I wasn't in the mood to spend much of either one or the other.
And then, one googleitem away from the previously mentioned bit of "Shared Knowledge", I found this gem, which advised using a ratcheting nylon cargo strap. Of course, that would also require a trip to the store and money spent because I don't have any hanging around - although I will get one at some future time, as chance allows. Always thought one would come in handy, and have made heavy use of them when toting stuff around in my brother-in-law's pickup truck. Guess I figured the pickup truck would have to come before the accessories did, or something, because I never picked one up.
A belt, however, might just do the trick.
Now, considering I'm not as slim around the waist as I once was, I figured maybe one of Justin's belts would be a better fit, so I sent him searching. He has none. Rachel grabbed one of hers, a bright pink thing she didn't really care for that much. It reached about a quarter of the way around. Now I have one belt, and it's for work use - namely because a belt is one of the items specified as required for our business casual dress code. Didn't really want to wrap it around a dirty wheelbarrow tire, not that I thought it would fit without punching a new hole halfway around it.
Well, I'm apparently as slim as a wheelbarrow tire, slimmer, really, because we could barely get the belt tightened to the first setting. But, hey, the tire took air, filled to the appropriate PSI, and we're done.
Except a belt isn't quite as handy as a ratcheting cargo strap with a quick release mechanism, because, well, a belt requires a bit of a squeeze to release it. With a full amount of air trapped within, the tire doesn't leave much room for squeezes, and with less than an inch of belt hanging out, there's not much to yank on and get any leverage. I was able to slide the belt off the tire on the opposite side of the buckle, and then that left quite enough slack for the buckle to be removed.
Job done, no money spent, and no tubeless tire and possibly accompanying wheel sent to the landfill after a few short years of service.
Now, after we get Brandon off to nap time, we can haul some more rocks, as it is yet another gorgeous spring day!
