Yesterday's Master Gardener Class

Yesterday's class was a two-parter. The first half was conducted by Chris Wiesinger and it was on southern bulbs. Chris has been dubbed "the bulb hunter". His thesis at A&M (2004) was about starting a company that specializes in southern heirloom bulbs. The deal is, he then went out and did it, The Southern Bulb Company ! And he's just a few minutes from us in Golden. Chris is now an internationaly recognized expert that commands high speaker fees and is booked through the fall. However, he still lives in a little cabin on his farm and does most of the work there himself including the propagating, growing, harvesting, packing, and shipping. And he's a really nice guy. But all that's another story.

The second part of the class was on Native Plants - and native to Wood County. It was a fascinating class. One of the local Master Gardeners talked about plants that grow wild in our area and about native plants that she planted "along the path in the woods" at her acreage. The list she discussed had 37 plants on it. When I got home I had to take a walk down the Orange Trail. I wanted to look at one plant in particular but, on a first walk through (with no notes), I found seven of the 37 enjoying a home here.

At the part of the trail that's the furtherest from the house, there is a very large area filled with this plant. I've been calling it an umbrella plant because of the shape. In the presentation, it showed the plant with white flowers and that's what I went to look for - and they were there - down under the leaves. It's really unusual. Now I know that the plant is Mayapple (it fruits later), or Podophyllum peltatum. Greg and Jill noticed these when they were here.

Another plant that I found in abundance is Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia. I was looking at them first because of the leaves but then found some blooming. The flowers and leaves will all be gone by August.

It's a bit hard to see in this picture but the white blossoms are on our second dogwood tree. We knew we had one but this is further from the house (and along the trail).

Do You Know What This Is?

It's a farm on Farm Town in Facebook. This one belongs to the friend that got me into it. (But that IS me out there visiting it!) Farm Town requires diligence and patience. I tried it out on Bambi but she wasn't too thrilled. She planted five plots and when I looked in on her farm a couple days later nothing had been harvested and her crops had all rotted in the field!! It's a strange thing about this but it looks like over half the people playing are from the UK. That number's not from a controlled study or anything but it becomes obvious after working the site for a while.

Max - the magnificent!

To learn more about this incredible animal, talk to Caroline or Ren! Ask about adoptions. The story began yesterday. All four of the younger Willi arrived for a visit. At the same time, Max (who wasn't Max at the time) came boldly walking in the back door just like it was his house. It looked like they came together. That wasn't the case. But, they left together!

A Tall and Massive Oak Tree

. . . along the Orange Trail. A really impressive tree that could hold up a lot of weight! And that's all I have to say about that.

Pay it Forward

So, here's how this game works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade or bought gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise, unless you have something in mind! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift. I think this is gonna be fun! :)

A Beaver Post

Glynda and I took our afternoon break at the pond deck and got in some beaver watching. He's definitely doing something under the pier. There's a swimming beaver picture, a feeding beaver picture, and a beaver tail picture. We walked over to the pier while he was under it and he sorta let his tail hang out. (it feels just like it looks!) BTW - the water is still muddy from the recent rains and there are also lots of little bits of plant material on it from the budding out of tree leaves.

Here's the Picture From a Litttle Different Angle

The impetus for the building of this was to provide a safe alternative to a treehouse for the kids. It can still serve that purpose well but we've already found that it can be very nice for adults too. When I got home from a Master Gardener's work day today, no one was home. Glynda was at Bible study and when I went to the pond to take these pictures, Aaron was sitting out there with his cup of coffee enjoying the beautiful morning and the sounds of the birds.


Alex, Daniel and Aaron built this yesterday. I helped with a little lumber toting, etc. when I got home from class. It's a great place and already begging for a name, just for brevity and specicifity when referring to it in conversation, - BOD (beaver observation deck)? POD (pond observation deck), WOD (wildlfe observation deck - since we've already seen the beaver, turtles, ducks, bass, and catfish from it), or change all the "D's" to "P's" and substiture the work "post" for "deck". I don't know! Anyway - I do know there's going to be lot of enjoyment realized here whatever we call it.

Pond Project is Complete!

Unlike most committees, the CPDOT did deliver on the plans for today and completed the Pond Project. In the spirit of the last email (telling you without telling you), the picture above shows nothing about the project. The only clue would come from considering the question "Where was I standing when I took this picture?".

A Lotta Water!

After several days of being trapped inside by the weather we finally ventured out today to see what the rain has done to us. It's been a slow soaking rain so all of the plants are OK. The accumulation of water is really seen along the creek. The little Orange Trail pedestrian bridge on the east side of the property is now closer to the west side. The creek was almost dry and now has been over 20-25 feet wide in places and is still flowing rapidly. The pier in the pond has disappeared. It's now 6-8 inches under water. If you look closely in the picture you can make out the shape. (And the beaver was out swimming while we were there.)

CPDOT Meeting Minutes

The Committee for the Preservation and Development of the Orange Trail met today.

Members present: Jim Willis, Glynda Willis, Alex Reyes, Beverly Reyes, Daniel Reyes, Aaron Booth.

Members absent: None

The meeting was called to order at 1:10 PM over pizza furnished by Glynda.

The first order of business was discussion of the Pond Project. Jim, Alex and Beverly had just completed a visit to the site and construction plans and schedule were finalized. Jim and Aaron will move materials to the site on Monday. Alex, Daniel & Aaron will start construction Tuesday morning and will be joined by Jim after his other meeting. It's hoped that construction will be completed Tuesday.

Discussion then moved to the Tree Project. Feasibility and preliminary plans were debated. The group is arriving at a consensus on size and has agreed that the project should maintain a natural appearance.

Daniel then brought up the Bridge Project. After discusison it was agreed that Daniel would head up this project and would ask for help as/when it was needed.

Reference was then made to a couple of other projects being considered.

It was later discovered that the adjournment of the meeting must have take place just before the table talk drifted to other things.

Amazing Grace

If you didn't see this in Vicki's email, you should take a couple minutes for it now. Click here Amazing Grace

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Migration Map, Spring 2009

This time of year, we're watching for the arrival of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. We're not the only ones! There's even a migration map that's updated daily. It looks like we need to put out the feeders - one was seen in Gilmer today! Check here to see the map. But beware! It's pretty exciting stuff.

He's Been Back! for a Reason!

He was fishing - for gold fish! Aaron saw him actually down in the fish pond. If he got one, it was just one of the smaller ones. The three big ones are still there. We did lose the biggest fish a couple week ago (in the upper pond). It was obvious that something had been in the pond. The water was dirty and the lily had been torn to bits. I blamed it on a coon at the time but it looks like I may have been wrong. (He appears to be a "Red-shouldered Hawk".)

He looks a little docile in this picture

but you can see him up close and personal. Glynda, Aaron, Alex, and I were eating lunch on the deck this afternoon when this hawk landed in the tree above the pond. He, or one like him, was also there a few days ago. We watched him for a while and then I crept into the house to get the camera - fully expecting him to fly away. I got back to the deck and he was still there so I took several pictures right away. Then sat back down at the table - it was a good angle - and took a bunch more. Decided to walk back off the deck and, from behind the big tree, was able to go around and get some more shots. Then, giving up any sort of cover, just walked a few steps toward him and took some more. I was able to do this several times until I was getting so close the angle was getting worse. He was still there after we returned to the house and Alex left for home.

The SPOTs were here!

It was our honor this weekend to host a gathering of the SPOTs for lunch on Saturday. Several of them were missing and were missed! Unlike what I'd heard about them, they were a much more gracious, refined, and sophisticated group. The only questionable behaviour took place on a walk on the Orange Trail where, in spite of a clear posting, there was (reportedly) a clear violation of Orange Trail Rule No. A-34. (This rule addresses the prohibition of the mooning of wildlife.) Other than that, it was an enjoyable afternoon made even more so by the presence of Blake and Xander. The photo of the lady in the red glasses is quite different from the photos we took of her the day before! Congratulatons Jill!!