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Ghost Pipes, Mushrooms, and More...
Aug. 4th, 2009 09:28 pm
( Flowers and mushrooms under the cut... )
As usual, click on any picture to go see these and a few more on Flickr...
( Flowers and mushrooms under the cut... )
As usual, click on any picture to go see these and a few more on Flickr...
Yard Explorations
May. 1st, 2009 04:29 pmWhile refreshing the mulch in my flower beds, I noticed that all of the ostrich ferns I planted back in July 2007 have spread out and are now popping up three or more sets of fiddleheads around the original plant. While the other ferns (Christmas, cinnamon, interrupted, marginal woodland, and royal) don't appear to be spreading themselves around as of yet, they do appear to be making a showing.
The mayapple looks to be sending up at least one additional stem, which means the possibility of two leaves (and thus, pretty soon, a flower, and, eventually, a fruit). I really need to get some more individual plants (or seeds) in, but for now I'm content to let it keep it's own pace ~ that area will be disrupted with waterfall and stream and bridge work someday (I'd say "soon", but it's more likely to be "later"!)
One of the bluebirds just zipped by, dipping down about ten feet from me, and then told me a great story before he flew off to the wife.
The foamflower appears to still be with us. I noticed a few leaves and one pouf of flowers; as with the mayapple, that's another one I need to help along if I want it to take a noticeable role in the forest floor.
The blueberries appear to be more developed in more areas then before. They used to be centralized in the woods along Spruce Alley, between our property and the neighbor's. For the past two years, you can find them all around, but now they're appearing in larger groups.
The mayapple looks to be sending up at least one additional stem, which means the possibility of two leaves (and thus, pretty soon, a flower, and, eventually, a fruit). I really need to get some more individual plants (or seeds) in, but for now I'm content to let it keep it's own pace ~ that area will be disrupted with waterfall and stream and bridge work someday (I'd say "soon", but it's more likely to be "later"!)
One of the bluebirds just zipped by, dipping down about ten feet from me, and then told me a great story before he flew off to the wife.
The foamflower appears to still be with us. I noticed a few leaves and one pouf of flowers; as with the mayapple, that's another one I need to help along if I want it to take a noticeable role in the forest floor.
The blueberries appear to be more developed in more areas then before. They used to be centralized in the woods along Spruce Alley, between our property and the neighbor's. For the past two years, you can find them all around, but now they're appearing in larger groups.
Eight and Done!
Jul. 22nd, 2007 06:17 pmPlanted the last eight plants - all ferns - so that task is now done.
Actually had a great Sunday all around - started out blasting out some choral music and continued listening to it during breaks throughout the day: Arvo Part's Te Deum
and some other works, Carl Orff's Catulli Carmina, Trionfo Di Afrodite
, and - currently playing - Carmina Burana
, and, coming up next, Janacek's Glagolitic Mass
, Dvorak's Te Deum, Op. 103, and wrapping it up (of course!) with Mozart's Requiem
.
Did a few morning chores - cat food, cleaned out the bird bath, watered the six plants that went in the ground yesterday and made sure the eight in a holding pattern hadn't dried out in their containers - and then zipped out to Marzen's for some expanding foam and steel wool ("Mouseproofing?", asked - I think - the owner, and he got that right). Also found a nicer pair of grass shears. The prior pair was maybe a little too cheap, and it's given me trouble - Justin uses it more and when I asked him about it he complained up and down about them. This pair seems a bit more sturdy.
Went to the Giant for a couple meals worth of food - some Boars Head hot dogs (one of the best rated by CR, also one of the least sodium), some tilapia, an asian pear, mango, peppino melon, grapes, and a couple of yellow peppers - as well as a few snacks for the week, all organic trail mix type stuff (no salt, no sulphur; pineapples, papaya, ginger slices, and a cranberry trail mix). Ran into one of the neighbors on the way in and chatted for a bit. Filled up the 5 gallon gas tank and a little more than 12 gallons into the car's tank. I should be able to mow on the first rainless evening this coming week.
Got home and polished off a handful of grapes, then sealed off all the outside corner openings. I've seen mice, chipmunks, and snakes use those little doorways into the walls before, so who knows what else might be using them, but they'll have to eat foam and steel wool to do so now! I actually used a lot less foam then I thought I would - went around and sealed up a bunch of other openings inside and out, down cellar, in the garage, and so on. Some night next week - or next weekend - I'll trim the excess off so it doesn't have the off-white blob look. I knocked on a couple of neighboring doors until I found someone at home - the new folks across the street - and handed off the can to them to get what use they could out of it. After a few hours the whole can will be solidified, so it's kind of a use-it-or-lose-it thing. I got my money's worth, and if someone else can make use of the rest, that's even better.
After that, I planted the second Christmas fern and the first of three Matteuccia struthiopteris (Pteretis pensylvanica) (ostrich fern). The Christmas fern - evergreen - is on the other side of the stepping stones and the false cypress from the one planted yesterday. The ostrich fern - smallest of the trio - went in a little further along, just beyond the electrical access and before the serviceberry.
Grabbed a quick drink of ice tea and some grapes, and then put one of the larger ostrich ferns in along the "hook" at the top of Stone Stream, in the middle of the triangle formed by the crepe myrtle, American fringe tree, and variegated cherry laurel. Over by the kitchen corner, I put in an Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern) and an Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern). I've been wanting to get a cinnamon fern since - well, probably since I was planning out the yard in Watertown eleven or twelve years ago. This particular location, however, was selected from day one that I saw it. I held off to allow the foundation backbone shrubs to grow, but the native ferns are filling the area in. I wanted to get one of these in - also, technically, a native to the area - while there's a chance.
Along the family room wall, between the oakleaf hydrangea and the Japanese pieris on the corner, there was a bit of space not filled with fern or this as-yet-unidentified-creeper, and the second cinnamon fern went in there. The last ostrich fern will stand tall - about three to five feet or so - right at the corner of the driveway, next to the columnar English yew. Before I put it in the ground, I hauled the grill out and started it warming up. Once it was in the ground, I started a few dogs and then put the last plant in the ground while the food was cooking. The last fern went in under the kiwi, near the driveway, and is the evergreen Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern). After that was done, I cleaned off the tools and went inside to eat.
Now that's all done, I need to stretch a bit after this relaxation time, and then go back out to put everything away!
Actually had a great Sunday all around - started out blasting out some choral music and continued listening to it during breaks throughout the day: Arvo Part's Te Deum
and some other works, Carl Orff's Catulli Carmina, Trionfo Di Afrodite, and - currently playing - Carmina Burana, and, coming up next, Janacek's Glagolitic Mass, Dvorak's Te Deum, Op. 103, and wrapping it up (of course!) with Mozart's Requiem.Did a few morning chores - cat food, cleaned out the bird bath, watered the six plants that went in the ground yesterday and made sure the eight in a holding pattern hadn't dried out in their containers - and then zipped out to Marzen's for some expanding foam and steel wool ("Mouseproofing?", asked - I think - the owner, and he got that right). Also found a nicer pair of grass shears. The prior pair was maybe a little too cheap, and it's given me trouble - Justin uses it more and when I asked him about it he complained up and down about them. This pair seems a bit more sturdy.
Went to the Giant for a couple meals worth of food - some Boars Head hot dogs (one of the best rated by CR, also one of the least sodium), some tilapia, an asian pear, mango, peppino melon, grapes, and a couple of yellow peppers - as well as a few snacks for the week, all organic trail mix type stuff (no salt, no sulphur; pineapples, papaya, ginger slices, and a cranberry trail mix). Ran into one of the neighbors on the way in and chatted for a bit. Filled up the 5 gallon gas tank and a little more than 12 gallons into the car's tank. I should be able to mow on the first rainless evening this coming week.
Got home and polished off a handful of grapes, then sealed off all the outside corner openings. I've seen mice, chipmunks, and snakes use those little doorways into the walls before, so who knows what else might be using them, but they'll have to eat foam and steel wool to do so now! I actually used a lot less foam then I thought I would - went around and sealed up a bunch of other openings inside and out, down cellar, in the garage, and so on. Some night next week - or next weekend - I'll trim the excess off so it doesn't have the off-white blob look. I knocked on a couple of neighboring doors until I found someone at home - the new folks across the street - and handed off the can to them to get what use they could out of it. After a few hours the whole can will be solidified, so it's kind of a use-it-or-lose-it thing. I got my money's worth, and if someone else can make use of the rest, that's even better.
After that, I planted the second Christmas fern and the first of three Matteuccia struthiopteris (Pteretis pensylvanica) (ostrich fern). The Christmas fern - evergreen - is on the other side of the stepping stones and the false cypress from the one planted yesterday. The ostrich fern - smallest of the trio - went in a little further along, just beyond the electrical access and before the serviceberry.
Grabbed a quick drink of ice tea and some grapes, and then put one of the larger ostrich ferns in along the "hook" at the top of Stone Stream, in the middle of the triangle formed by the crepe myrtle, American fringe tree, and variegated cherry laurel. Over by the kitchen corner, I put in an Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern) and an Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern). I've been wanting to get a cinnamon fern since - well, probably since I was planning out the yard in Watertown eleven or twelve years ago. This particular location, however, was selected from day one that I saw it. I held off to allow the foundation backbone shrubs to grow, but the native ferns are filling the area in. I wanted to get one of these in - also, technically, a native to the area - while there's a chance.
Along the family room wall, between the oakleaf hydrangea and the Japanese pieris on the corner, there was a bit of space not filled with fern or this as-yet-unidentified-creeper, and the second cinnamon fern went in there. The last ostrich fern will stand tall - about three to five feet or so - right at the corner of the driveway, next to the columnar English yew. Before I put it in the ground, I hauled the grill out and started it warming up. Once it was in the ground, I started a few dogs and then put the last plant in the ground while the food was cooking. The last fern went in under the kiwi, near the driveway, and is the evergreen Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern). After that was done, I cleaned off the tools and went inside to eat.
Now that's all done, I need to stretch a bit after this relaxation time, and then go back out to put everything away!
Six Down, Eight to go...
Jul. 21st, 2007 07:41 pmI planted a number of native plants today - six, to be exact - and almost got half-way done before deciding to call it a night. The hard part was figuring out where everything should go.
Most of the plants are not centerpieces or showstoppers - in fact, out of fourteen to be planted, ten are native ferns, and they are planted to help increase diversity. Growing in the wild, I've identified at least three species of fern on the property - Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern), Pteridium aquilinum (bracken), and - here's where the at-least comes in, as I haven't narrowed it down to a positive ID: Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay scented fern) and/or Thelypteris noveboracensis (Parathelypteris noveboracensis) (New York fern) and/or Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern).
Today, I added an Osmunda regalis (royal fern) and an evergreen Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern). On an aside, the site all the fern links point to belongs to the Connecticut Botanical Society, and is an exceptional resource for native ferns... specifically to Connecticut, but everything I've been interested in there is also native to Pennsylvania. The royal fern has a prominent location down on the island in Stone Stream, where a Christmas fern I planted last year and some native ferns are starting to thrive. It's between a winterberry that might reach 10' around and a newly planted shrub, but as it can reach 6' tall on its own, it should fit in nicely with that crowd, especially once the river birch, katsura, and paw paws provide a nice ceiling. The new Christmas fern is located alongside Stone Stream above the pair of larger hostas - there's some sensitive ferns and other natives around there, but it will take on a prominent role, especially during the months where the deciduous ferns fall apart.
The other four that went into the ground today were not ferns, all though one wants to be!
The Stylophorum diphyllum (celandine poppy or wood poppy) - a native wildflower - is positioned along Spruce Alley, where the meadow spills down off the sand mound. It should reseed itself nicely there, giving us some nice yellow spring flowers before most of the meadow wakes up for the year and gets going.
Across the stepping stones from the new Christmas fern, I planted a Physocarpus opulifolius (ninebark). It helps finish off the foundation planting, and, unlike most of the shrubs in the area around the porch, it provides a deciduous touch, and it does so with a beautiful peeling bark.
Down near the royal fern, I had tried to transplant some Comptonia peregrina (sweet fern) from the bank a year or so ago. I didn't grab enough root - it spreads by suckers, and what I planted was, essentially, three rootless sticks. As this set of three sticks has leaves and roots, I expect it to do much better. One of the key functions of sweet fern - which is a deciduous shrub - is to fix nitrogen in the soil. It will improve the soil, even as it looks pretty good (like a dark fern with woody branches) and smells beautiful.
The last one I'll list tonight was actually the first one planted, as it went in on the top edge of Bank Island, furthest from the house. It is an Ilex opaca 'Dan Fenton' (American holly 'Dan Fenton'), which is funny, because, as Louise at Edge of the Woods (who supplied all 14 of the plants) pointed out, it's a female plant. Dan Fenton may be honored by the name, but it really would have been more apt to name it Danielle... she should get along well with the male hollies, and make lots of nice berries to supply the birds with food.
I've got a couple of reviews of some new items I used today, and I'll try to write them up later, and then put them in the queue with all the book, movie, and music reviews I'm so far behind on. My goal was to post no more than one a day - but there hasn't been much worry about breaking that envelope. =)
I've also got some music reviews I'm trying to get to ASAP that will hopefully get done tonight -![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
julianafinch's How to Take the Fall
(which is currently playing, on The Wind that Shakes the Barley, a beautiful rendition of one of my favorite tunes!), tewok (and wife!)'s Na Bi Gòrach
(as Port Righ; this was playing when I started writing this post! =), and today's arrival, Mythica's new disc Vicarious (which, no surprise, played prior to the two listed above... =). Excellent music - I've know some talented folks! =)
Most of the plants are not centerpieces or showstoppers - in fact, out of fourteen to be planted, ten are native ferns, and they are planted to help increase diversity. Growing in the wild, I've identified at least three species of fern on the property - Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern), Pteridium aquilinum (bracken), and - here's where the at-least comes in, as I haven't narrowed it down to a positive ID: Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay scented fern) and/or Thelypteris noveboracensis (Parathelypteris noveboracensis) (New York fern) and/or Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern).
Today, I added an Osmunda regalis (royal fern) and an evergreen Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern). On an aside, the site all the fern links point to belongs to the Connecticut Botanical Society, and is an exceptional resource for native ferns... specifically to Connecticut, but everything I've been interested in there is also native to Pennsylvania. The royal fern has a prominent location down on the island in Stone Stream, where a Christmas fern I planted last year and some native ferns are starting to thrive. It's between a winterberry that might reach 10' around and a newly planted shrub, but as it can reach 6' tall on its own, it should fit in nicely with that crowd, especially once the river birch, katsura, and paw paws provide a nice ceiling. The new Christmas fern is located alongside Stone Stream above the pair of larger hostas - there's some sensitive ferns and other natives around there, but it will take on a prominent role, especially during the months where the deciduous ferns fall apart.
The other four that went into the ground today were not ferns, all though one wants to be!
The Stylophorum diphyllum (celandine poppy or wood poppy) - a native wildflower - is positioned along Spruce Alley, where the meadow spills down off the sand mound. It should reseed itself nicely there, giving us some nice yellow spring flowers before most of the meadow wakes up for the year and gets going.
Across the stepping stones from the new Christmas fern, I planted a Physocarpus opulifolius (ninebark). It helps finish off the foundation planting, and, unlike most of the shrubs in the area around the porch, it provides a deciduous touch, and it does so with a beautiful peeling bark.
Down near the royal fern, I had tried to transplant some Comptonia peregrina (sweet fern) from the bank a year or so ago. I didn't grab enough root - it spreads by suckers, and what I planted was, essentially, three rootless sticks. As this set of three sticks has leaves and roots, I expect it to do much better. One of the key functions of sweet fern - which is a deciduous shrub - is to fix nitrogen in the soil. It will improve the soil, even as it looks pretty good (like a dark fern with woody branches) and smells beautiful.
The last one I'll list tonight was actually the first one planted, as it went in on the top edge of Bank Island, furthest from the house. It is an Ilex opaca 'Dan Fenton' (American holly 'Dan Fenton'), which is funny, because, as Louise at Edge of the Woods (who supplied all 14 of the plants) pointed out, it's a female plant. Dan Fenton may be honored by the name, but it really would have been more apt to name it Danielle... she should get along well with the male hollies, and make lots of nice berries to supply the birds with food.
I've got a couple of reviews of some new items I used today, and I'll try to write them up later, and then put them in the queue with all the book, movie, and music reviews I'm so far behind on. My goal was to post no more than one a day - but there hasn't been much worry about breaking that envelope. =)
I've also got some music reviews I'm trying to get to ASAP that will hopefully get done tonight -
julianafinch's How to Take the Fall (which is currently playing, on The Wind that Shakes the Barley, a beautiful rendition of one of my favorite tunes!), tewok (and wife!)'s Na Bi Gòrach (as Port Righ; this was playing when I started writing this post! =), and today's arrival, Mythica's new disc Vicarious (which, no surprise, played prior to the two listed above... =). Excellent music - I've know some talented folks! =)Another One Bites the Dust
Aug. 20th, 2005 10:09 pmOr two, actually.
Yes, that's right, we've identified two more plants that have chosen to make their home amongst us.
First up, the cool looking blue wildflower aka weed that grows along all the roadside of most of the fields along Fairyland decided to make a streetside showing near Brandon Canyon, and, after a few minutes of serious looking through the Wildflower Guide my mom gave me led to a positive ID (somewhat ironically, on the second pass, while reading descriptions and *not* looking at the pictures.
Flowers in the morning, bright blue, fades by midday, sparse flowers, some dandelion like leaves; yes it's chicory (Google images).
Next up, one that Rachel discovered in one location a handful of days ago, and a handy search using this tool led to another definitive identification: heal-all (Google images).
So, those were the latest round of mystery plants, joining the ranks of Sweet Birch, American Chestnut, Witch Hazel, Bracken Fern, Greenbrier, and Maple-Leaf Viburnum. Adding to the diversity are things I can identify without any problem (at least to the species, if not a particular flavor within) such as the white oak, pin oak, red oak, red maple, tulip tree, black gum (tupelo), white pine, pitch pine, two kinds of blueberries, cherry, mulberry, dogwood, azalea, mountain laurel, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, Canadian hemlock, Queen Anne lace, and probably a gazillion other things I can't think of.
Yes, that's right, we've identified two more plants that have chosen to make their home amongst us.
First up, the cool looking blue wildflower aka weed that grows along all the roadside of most of the fields along Fairyland decided to make a streetside showing near Brandon Canyon, and, after a few minutes of serious looking through the Wildflower Guide my mom gave me led to a positive ID (somewhat ironically, on the second pass, while reading descriptions and *not* looking at the pictures.
Flowers in the morning, bright blue, fades by midday, sparse flowers, some dandelion like leaves; yes it's chicory (Google images).
Next up, one that Rachel discovered in one location a handful of days ago, and a handy search using this tool led to another definitive identification: heal-all (Google images).
So, those were the latest round of mystery plants, joining the ranks of Sweet Birch, American Chestnut, Witch Hazel, Bracken Fern, Greenbrier, and Maple-Leaf Viburnum. Adding to the diversity are things I can identify without any problem (at least to the species, if not a particular flavor within) such as the white oak, pin oak, red oak, red maple, tulip tree, black gum (tupelo), white pine, pitch pine, two kinds of blueberries, cherry, mulberry, dogwood, azalea, mountain laurel, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, Canadian hemlock, Queen Anne lace, and probably a gazillion other things I can't think of.
Three-in-One
Aug. 18th, 2005 08:53 amI made a discovery a few days ago, and have since officially identified and classified said discovery. In the spirit of all great discoverers, I found something that already existed - it was there for at least two or three years, but it suddenly caught my attention as Something New. Something Viburnum acerfolium, to be precise. Several somethings, in fact, in the quite early stages of forming a nice thicket for animals to use as quick cover, with a roof of fruit for the birds to snack upon, for that is what maple-leaf viburnum tends to do. The leaves actually look more like a sycamore with a boxy base, but, then again, sycamores are often said to look like maples, but with three points instead of five, which takes us full circle and explains why it's not called Viburnum platinusfolium. It is, however, also called "arrowwood" because, well, let's just say it was a sticking point with the early settlers. To aid in confusion it is not the only viburnum called arrowwood - there's at least one other flavor, Viburnum dentatum - made it a bit more difficult when I was trying to determine exactly what was growing between the driveways.
I actually managed to drink some green tea two whole nights in a row - even if they never finish the study that links antioxidants to reducing sleep apnea, I actually feel that my breathing is clearer. No word yet from the wife on whether or not there's been any change in not breathing over the course of the night, though. She's actually been in the same room for the past two nights, although she doesn't show up there until sometime in the early o'clocks. I should mention that this lack of forgetting to drink the tea is solely due to a very excellent sign that says "Drink your tea" and features a green mug (to remind me of exactly which flavor of tea I should be drinking) and a smiling picture of me, drawn with hair just slightly longer than mine actualy is (to the ground, in the picture.) The sign was custom-made for me by my daughter, and she taped it dead-center on the mirror in my bathroom, for my memory-jogging pleasure.
An addendum to the I-can't-drive-55 post yesterday: As was pointed out in the comments, and agreed to by several other sources including one that is very dubious and untrustworthy (well, I wouldn't trust me as far as I could throw me... not that I'd try very hard to toss myself far, so it goes without saying, but there, I said it anyway), most people seem to identify a sweet spot in fuel efficiency at 60+ mph. I'm wondering, however, if that sweet spot is a true bell curve, or if it's more of a wave. I mean, what if we started driving our Tauri and Rabbitses at 231.7 mph and suddenly found they were fuel efficient once more? And if that were the case, would it be less efficient to accelerate rapidly to one of the sweet spots - which can easily prove to move the fuel indicator in the wrong direction faster then, well *as* fast as you are going - or to plow slowly through the trough of fuel wastefulness, taking your time and using up more fuel than you really need to, until you reach the peak of efficiency?
I actually managed to drink some green tea two whole nights in a row - even if they never finish the study that links antioxidants to reducing sleep apnea, I actually feel that my breathing is clearer. No word yet from the wife on whether or not there's been any change in not breathing over the course of the night, though. She's actually been in the same room for the past two nights, although she doesn't show up there until sometime in the early o'clocks. I should mention that this lack of forgetting to drink the tea is solely due to a very excellent sign that says "Drink your tea" and features a green mug (to remind me of exactly which flavor of tea I should be drinking) and a smiling picture of me, drawn with hair just slightly longer than mine actualy is (to the ground, in the picture.) The sign was custom-made for me by my daughter, and she taped it dead-center on the mirror in my bathroom, for my memory-jogging pleasure.
An addendum to the I-can't-drive-55 post yesterday: As was pointed out in the comments, and agreed to by several other sources including one that is very dubious and untrustworthy (well, I wouldn't trust me as far as I could throw me... not that I'd try very hard to toss myself far, so it goes without saying, but there, I said it anyway), most people seem to identify a sweet spot in fuel efficiency at 60+ mph. I'm wondering, however, if that sweet spot is a true bell curve, or if it's more of a wave. I mean, what if we started driving our Tauri and Rabbitses at 231.7 mph and suddenly found they were fuel efficient once more? And if that were the case, would it be less efficient to accelerate rapidly to one of the sweet spots - which can easily prove to move the fuel indicator in the wrong direction faster then, well *as* fast as you are going - or to plow slowly through the trough of fuel wastefulness, taking your time and using up more fuel than you really need to, until you reach the peak of efficiency?
