Untitled

I have not been active on my blog for quite some time, but I did have several saved posts which I intended to finish but never have. This post called "Untitled" was just sitting in line waiting to be completed. When I opened the post I was saw a picture of two beautiful luscious peaches. I have no clue what I had intended to blog about!! I was about to delete the picture, but kept looking at the pictures and I found that I was experiencing a sensory memory. I could almost feel the warmth of the peach in my hand and the feeling of juice running down my chin as I bit into one. I tried to describe to myself what it tasted like and couldn't come up with the words and yet I knew exactly what it tasted like. I decided to Google "what does a peach taste like" hoping for a description that was just right, but found this description that yellow peaches have a "classic peachy flavor". (and what is a "peachy" flavor?) Another description was tangy mellowing to sweetness. Anyone who has tasted a yellow- red  (orange) sun ripened peach can tell you those words are inadequate.  I probably should say "were" inadequate because in the last few years I have been disappointed with the taste of all summer fruits. I imagine they are picked before they can be sun ripened and often there is little taste--or juice! 

SORRY WORLD

I started this post on June 1st, 2017--The day Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord. The withdrawal cannot actually take place for four years so in some ways it is right now "symbolic". I stopped writing right after I typed in the title because I wanted to do some research to find out if global warming and climate change were real or a "hoax" as some have said.  

95-97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is real and much of it is related to human causes. Why then does the President and many of his Republican colleagues and base of supporters maintain that there is no global warming because at times there is record cold and record snowfalls? One reason maybe that oil and gas companies, along with the coal industry to lessor degree, make large contributions to their campaigns. Many claim that weather changes are all part of a "natural cycle". There is a difference between climate change and a natural cycle. Quoting from an OSSfoundation.us.projects/environment/global-warming/ article found when doing a Google search: "in a natural cycle CO2 lags behind the warming because it is mainly due to the Milankovitch cycles.* Now CO2 is currently leading the warming. Current warming is clearly not a natural cycle."

 From articles I have read and scientist I have listened to on television I believe global warming is real-- I feel sad that people, including many of them leading our government, have chosen to ignore or contest the beliefs and evidence held by such a large segment of the scientific community. I am far nearer to the end of my life than to the beginning so these changes will probably not directly affect me, however it is likely that they will affect my grandchildren and their children and their children and many future generations. The loss of plants, insects, birds and animals will undoubtedly be dramatic. While many go extinct as a natural process we are currently losing species at an accelerated pace due mostly to humans activity. Why would we want to hasten their disappearance? 


The day that we were going to leave the Paris Climate Agreement I felt sad, sad that it seemed we were taking steps backward instead of forward. What came to my mind were the words, "Sorry World". 

This post has taken me a long time to finish (was it really 2017 when I started it??) I am not sure why, maybe I just felt that since Trump's withdrawal was almost 2 years ago it wasn't as meaningful as it might have been in June, 2017. Lately however there has been 
even more startling information on the acceleration of changes which will result in not being able to reverse the damage. 

Sorry World.

*Milankovitch cycles describe the collective effects of changes in the Earth's movements on its climate over thousands of years. The term is named for Serbian geophysicist and astronomer Milutin Milanković. Wikipedia

The Perfect Day

Two days ago the weather was perfect and beautiful. It was especially fine because there had been about a week of grey, gloomy skies, making me want to stay indoors and be lazy. I was looking out the window admiring the morning sunshine, trees and bushes in beautiful fall colors, when a friend walked by with her dog. Since I had not talked with her for about a week, I ran outside to chat. We marveled at the beauty of the day saying we wanted to get out and enjoy the warm temperature and the beauty surrounding us. This was somewhat of a casual conversation but the more we talked the more we decided we needed to do something.

My friend told me that her daughter had given her information some time ago about a Sculpture Park in Loveland that she thought we should visit. On the way is a little town called Hygiene that I wanted to see again. I had discovered it many years ago when I was exploring my new state and wondered how it had changed. We took off with these destinations in mind but somewhere I missed a turn and we did not find Hygiene. I kept driving and we did saw a sign telling us Loveland was ahead. As we drove we saw green fields in which horses or llamas grazed, as well as fields of corn and a tree farm no longer in business.  The fences were white and the houses we saw were fairly large. It felt as if we were out in the country. There were no business parks or large apartment complexes and not much in the way of traffic. Since I wasn't exactly sure where we were  so it was  a relief to see that we were entering Loveland. Immediately we saw a sign that said "Benson Sculpture Park". We followed the signs and found the park. It was quite large with wide sidewalks, big trees, and beautifully cared for lawns. There are wildflowers, shrubs and trees that have been planted in memory of a loved one. Many of the concrete benches scattered throughout the park have been similarly dedicated.  On one end of the park is a wetlands area, home to many birds and wildlife (the only wildlife we saw were the sculptures). As beautiful as it is, the highlight of the park are the 154 sculptures scattered throughout. Most of the sculptures are bronze, but there are some that are marble or metal. There are a variety of subjects depicted; animals, people, amphibians, several abstract pieces, some quite serious and others were whimsical depictions.  It is quite impossible to pick a favorite. Each sculpture has a placque that gives the name of the piece and the artist who created it. In addition the information is written in braille.

Amazingly the park has no entrance fee, except during the once a year art show and sale. Just find a place to park on the streets surrounding the park and start walking. We weren't able to walk around the whole grounds and are excited to tell two other friends in hopes they will want to visit with us and we can walk the part that we missed. Winter is approaching so it will have to be soon!

As we got in the car and went in search of a late lunch we again marveled at what a perfect day it had been!

Best-Laid Plans

September 12th was the day three years ago (2014) when a good friend passed away after what seemed to be a short illness (I say "what seemed to be" because I sometimes wonder if she knew more than she was telling). I had not been to the cemetery for quite a while and I decided that the anniversary date of her passing was a good time to remedy that and take some flowers to place on her marker. I had planned to go early in the day, but after doing the things that I needed to get done in the morning, I sort puttered around and did not make an early start and I didn't arrive there about 2:45 PM. There are no stand up headstones in the section where she is buried; rather all graves have flat markers. I always seem to have trouble finding her marker and this time was no exception. I walked out to the row where I thought it was and of course I was wrong. Walking back and forth to the left and to the right, I still could not find the marker. I decided to go back to the row where the markers began and start looking again. Before reaching the street and my car I heard a loud hissing noise and almost immediately was hit with a stream of water right in the face! For a moment I was stunned and didn't move. It was a hot day and the water actually felt good, but only for a moment when I realized I was about to be soaked. Large sections of the cemetery were being watered by large, oscillating sprinklers. Walking quickly I made it back to the road and my car where I stood for some time thinking that I would wait until the watering was done and I could resume my search. That assumption was wrong and after standing in the warm sun for a while, I got back in my car to wait it out. Fifteen minutes later the sprinklers were still going and I was getting a bit frustrated because I knew that traffic was starting to get heavy and it would take more time to get home. I was also disappointed not to be able to place those flowers on the headstone of a good friend. Instead I put the little bouquet at the edge of the grass. On the drive home I felt sad and a little bit bad for not coming sooner.  I also wondered why such a large section of the cemetery was being watered during the afternoon in the hours when people were visiting.

The best-laid plans...

Another Garden Guest

Friend or Foe?

In my previous post about BUGS I complained about the holes I was find in the newly emerged bean bushes, vowing not to plant any more seeds or seedlings if the current ones ended up full of holes or cut off at soil level. A few days after I posted that the plants had grown several more inches and there were no more holes in the leaves. In the next weeks blossoms formed and opened on the bushes, could beans be far behind? Soon that question was answered. Little beans of all colors started appearing. I have since been able to harvest enough beans for 3 meals and I think I can probably pick enough for one more meal. The little garden has a drip system of irrigation but there are sometimes some dry spots which I usually water with a hose to make sure it doesn't dry out. Yesterday when I was watering I noticed a movement in among the bean bushes, looking down I saw a slim snake curled up against the the boards of the raised garden bed. This snake didn't want to meet me or the water coming out of the hose and it somewhat frantically moved around, managing to slither up and over the edge of the border around the garden. It found a safe space under the bucket we use to make compost. Today we found either that same snake or another one (I wasn't able to get a good look at it) making it's way across the deck. From what I saw it looked somewhat smaller than the one I saw yesterday. I am fairly certain that the snake(s) were Garter snakes. They are generally slim and their average length is 22 inches. I did some research and found that Garter snakes can sometimes give birth to a large number of young. Information varies, but an average seems to be between 7-40! Garter snakes are carnivorous eating a diet of snails, slugs, crickets, garden pests. Now I think I may know where the insects eating my bean plants went! Another part of their diet can be earthworms. Our garden used to have a large number of earthworms and now that I think about it I have not seen many earthworms in our soil. Overall I suppose I should be "thankful" for the snakes as they probably consumed the bugs that first attacked my new seedlings. But I do have an aversion to coming "face to face" with a snake or stepping on one.

BUGS!

Who or What is munching my green beans?

About 2 weeks ago I planted green bean seeds all over a small raised garden bed. They emerged in 5-7 days and were putting out leaves and growing quickly in the warm sun. I went out daily to check on the progress of my plants and one day I noticed little holes on many of the seedlings. Several had been eaten back to just a little stem sticking out of the soil! I said "That's it, if the bugs eat all these plants, I'll never plant anything again!!" I inspected the leaves, but didn't spy any munching bugs or caterpillars (luckily for them) and I kept watering the seedlings hoping for the best. I checked Google and read that several types of insects attack green bean plants;

#1 Sap Suckers which are usually thrips, aphids, spider mites and whiteflies are all insects that leave little round holes in the leaves, however I didn't think these were the culprits as the plants didn't exhibit any other signs of this type of infestation, i.e., discoloration, distortions and premature leaf drop.

#2 Chewing Caterpillars such as larval stages of moths and butterflies, armyworms, leafminers and cutworms are chewing caterpillars that can also feed on green bean plants. I inspected the little plants and didn't see any sign of these critters and since the plants weren't chewed and defoliated I thought I could rule them out as well.

#3 Slimy Pests like snails and slugs can also cause small holes in the leaves. I could narrow it down to slugs since snails do not survive her, and I did not see the slimy silver trail across the leaves or soil that would indicate a slug.

#4 Munching Bugs which could be many beetles, weevils, lygus bugs (also known as the tarnished plant bug) and stinkbugs. The description of "munching bugs" makes me chuckle a bit as I picture a line of bugs marching through my garden. A Google search brings up much information on munching bugs and if you ask for images of munching bugs there are even pictures of people....you guessed it...munching bugs! ICK! Well, back to my bean plants. Since I could not really see any type of insect I just decided to let nature take it's course and in a few days my plants were up to 7 inches tall and the new growth seemed to be free of holes. Now I am back to trying to find 101 ways to cook and or eat green beans as I expect a bumper crop (provided it doesn't hail or rain so hard that it will destroy them, a real possibility as we are approaching Monsoon season).

Oh Snap! 31 Green Bean Recipes! - Southern Living

www.southernliving.com › Food › Entertaining

The key to this dish is developing a nice char on the green beans. To do so, heat the oil in your skillet until it almost smokes before adding the beans. Let them sear, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds, and they'll take on color. Feel free to sub thinly sliced strips of red bell pepper instead of hot chiles.

Seeds

Empty Garden...

In the last few years we have planted vegetables in a raised garden bed in the backyard. This year we were not motivated to do more than plant a couple of tomatoes. The idea of watering and weeding during the hot summer days just seemed like too much; but a few days ago while I was watering a couple of pots of herbs I looked at the bed just sitting there with nothing in it and decided that I would plant something. We had packets and packets of string beans of all sorts: green beans, wax beans and heirloom bean seeds in colors of green, yellow and purple (these disappointingly turn green when cooked) bought over the last couple of years, so into the ground they went! I like the idea of planting seeds because all they seem to need is warm soil and water to come to life. I pictured the seeds nestled in the warm and nourishing soil (how nourishing ours is I am not sure as it is not dark and loamy) drinking up the water I give them, turning into sprouts that would emerge in 10 days time (so the seed packet said). Summer was in full swing, the days are hot and with frequent watering the soil will act as an incubator so that the seeds will sprout very quickly. It was with a sense of anticipation that I go out each day to scour the soil for the first sign of a green sprout; at first folded over as it emerges from it's warm bed, finally breaking  through the soil to become a stem with two leaves unfolding at the top. It gives me a miraculous feeling when I think about seeds holding "a spark of life" in them even if they have been sitting in a seed packet for several years. The feeling is to me spiritual and wondrous.

Now we have a whole raised bed of almost nothing but small bean plants soaking up the sun and water, growing quickly. The packets state that the time from planting to harvesting is an average of 55 days. Since I planted somewhat late that will probably mean we should have beans by the end of August or second week of September. In the meantime I will watch them and marvel over the process that has produced those little green miracles. Now to find 101 ways to fix string beans!

                                             The Miracle of Seeds

"I've always been fascinated by seeds. The fact that plants can create little dormant pieces of themselves to broadcast out into the world to germinate is quite marvelous. Even more amazing, is how long some seeds can survive before given the chance to sprout. There have been discoveries of bean seeds uncovered in archaeological digs that are over a thousand years old, and they are still viable and able to germinate! While not all seeds have that ability to hold a spark of life for so many centuries, it's not uncommon for seeds that have been stored in a dry, cool place to maintain their viability for a decade." David Salman posted 01/10/14 in High Country Gardens