New Words

Over the years, our dictionary has received a lot of use. In fact, it lives in the dining room, because where else but at the supper table are you wondering, discussing, debating and even arguing about a word, a person, or a place? (And if you have other answers to that question, that's fine. Just don't tell me; I don't want to know.)

But lately there is a entire crop of new words that demand further research.  For starters:

Idiot - Yes, we all have a working knowledge of this word, but perhaps we are not so aware that the roots of the word rest in ancient Greek. The New York Times op ed piece, "Trump and the True Meaning of 'Idiot'"  helps explain.

Impeachment - Yes, this too is a familiar word. But how this impeachment process could play out is described here.

Troll - I knew it was a noun, but can it really be a verb, too? Seems so, and has nothing to do with fishing from a boat.

Emolument/Emollient - Emolument equals hard and bad. Emollient is soft and good. 

Covfefe - Not "coffee" as my spellchecker insists. This one is still undefined. But that hasn't stopped any number of people from suggesting the real meaning. Ahhh, I get it. Those people are trolling.

Poppin' Poppies

I planted these Elka poppy seeds in November and the rewards have been gigantic. Literally - nearly 6 feet tall, with numerous 4"-5" flowers on each plant. They weren't supposed to get quite that big, but I'm not complaining.

And because they were planted in the front yard, everyone who walked past got to enjoy them (although, in truth, a few stems did go missing. Ah well...).

Ultimately, the point of growing all this beauty is to harvest the tiny seeds - in this case, a blondie-tan color, not black - for cooking and baking. 

Bad Haircut Day

Ouch! But I had to do it. I'm sorry I had to do it, but I really had no choice.

Before

Otherwise, this Japanese maple (Acer palmate var. dissectum) completely blocks the walkway for us humans. And its barricade of leaves turns back the spray from the sprinkler heads, creating its own private drought.

I know it will grow back, though. I know it because this is not the first time this sad accident of a haircut has occurred. Pretty much, every few years (and we planted this tree in 1987) I perform this small but necessary crime.

After

March in April

It's not every week you get to march down the middle of Market Street in San Francisco with a whole big bunch of people you don't know. Except for this week, when it happens twice.

You may have missed the Tax March yesterday, but there still is time to get in on the act: this upcoming Saturday (11am, Justin Herman Plaza, if you want to hear the speeches. Otherwise, show up at noon or so.) is the March for Science. Best of all, you can march along with real live scientists. With a science fair, food trucks and other cool stuff at the end. And it's not even supposed to rain.

What a way to blow off a Saturday!

Branching Out

Between March 12th and March 27th, I visited the spectacular dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) at Mountain View Cemetery. It is a rarity in nature - a deciduous conifer. Closely related to the coastal redwoods and giant redwoods of the west coast (these guys stay evergreen all year round), it grows tall and straight like its cousins.

Dawn redwood trees are old - as much as 50 million years - so yes, they did meet up with dinosaurs once upon a time. It was first "discovered" in China in the 1940's. There still exist small stands of dawn redwoods in China, but if you have the space, you may purchase one and have a bit, albeit a big bit, of history in your own yard, too.

Gourds in the Driveway

It was a ridiculous idea, more of mad scientist-type experiment, really. I was pretty sure it would fail since there wasn't much sun. But I just had to try growing gourds - bushel gourds, the kind that can grow really big ("yuge"even) - in the driveway. The concrete would provide warmth, and weeding wouldn't be a problem at all. So who needs sunshine, right?

Right. As you can see in the photos above, by the end of July, the vine was strong, large and expanding. It had already been "topped" a number of times to help focus the energy on the gourds and not on the leaves. That old Zucchini Goddess had to practice her arts to get the baby gourds started, but she stopped working after four were pollinated. Bigger gourds come with fewer siblings. Think about it.

By the end of August, the gourds had reached their full size, about 9" - 10 " in diameter. But they were also really heavy - still full of water and probably weighing close to 15 lbs. (a "Princess" unit is around 12 lbs., and these were a bit heavier).

And by late September, the vine was looking more like a middle-aged parent - still going strong, but not quite as fresh and vibrant, and carrying a few scars and bruises. The "children" however, were glossy and almost kissable.

It took a loooong time for the gourds to cure and dry down. Looong time, and it's still not over. But by early February, the gourds had pushed forward on their own weight loss program. Now they are very light and, when shaken, the interior mass has shrunken and slides around. They are not yet down to just dried out seeds inside, but that is the path, and with any luck, it won't be too much longer.

Their outsides are marked with mold. But once they are completely cured, I will wash them, lightly sand their surfaces and oil them. And after that?

Rummaging in the World's Attic

The British went everywhere, stayed in most of those places and hauled off all that they could carry. And so far at least, have been quite successful at hanging onto much of the loot that they brought back. So we went to have another look:










Seven museums. Six historic pubs (a few we visited more than once). Four "heart attack on a plate" breakfasts. Three drizzly days. Two transit passes that took us everywhere. One full week in London. And no complaints.

Really. Even the coffee was much improved from our last visit. And we certainly ate well enough, although only one meal could actually be considered "British".

Sky Garden Views
from the 34th Floor

Houses of
Parliament

The London building boom of the past twenty years or so has relentlessly reshaped the city. Historic buildings which have stood alone for hundreds of years now sit in the shadows of giant architectural statements. Meaning yes, the city was crowded, so just imagine what June must be like...

And if I were to mimic the British and bring just one single treasure back with me? It would be really difficult to choose, but I think that if I could have found a way, this Hellenistic solid gold wreath of oak leaves and acorns, intermixed with a bee and cicadas from around 350 - 300 BC would have followed me home. I'm sure I could have found a way for it to fit within my carry-on allowance.

Uncle Joe Lives On

My Uncle Joe would be 96 this Thursday, February 23rd. Would be, except that he died nearly ten years ago. But the hellebores that my mom passed along to me from his garden in Alabama are still thriving. Well, one of them is. She gave me at least four, but only one made it...

But this one, to my great surprise, has produced quite a number of offspring over the past few years. These babies may be small, but they are tough, surviving on little water and withstanding the occasional raid by the neighborhood cats. Princess knows that area's not the litter box, but not everyone else has gotten the message.

And now these little plants have expanded Uncle Joe's gardening legacy. A few of them have traveled to Stinson Beach to Leslie and Gary's place; a couple made it back to upstate New York; and some went to The Plant Exchange last year to be planted who knows where.

No doubt most who are now enjoying these plants never met my uncle, but their gardens demonstrate the wonderful, lasting links between plants and humans. Even if we don't know their names.

Winter on the East Coast

 

We - an entire big bunch of "we" - went from upstate New York to the Women's March in D.C. last weekend and had an amazing time! Now I am not a big fan of the color pink, but in this case, it really was quite wonderful.

Other activities to do when the weather is lousy (I saw the sun for a total of two hours over the entire week-long visit, and that was while driving back through central Pennsylvania)?

Brain Coral

Benjamin Bradford Hawkes

First up, you can squeeze or cuddle with the new baby in the family. Yup, Baby Ben is a keeper.  And already has a nationwide fan base, many of whom are his grand-aunts. He has lots of those, by the way.

Or you could while away the hours avoiding the cold and crocheting "brain corals" for Professor Kathleen Hawkes (hehehe, now Hawkes-Boulay), who, along with her students is constructing an installation of a coral reef from yarn (I hope I have this right). It's all about higher math, nimble, mostly female fingers and honoring our disappearing landscapes. 

Or you could just zone out and watch the winter weather do its magic.

Photo of Baby Benjamin courtesy of Janet Hawkes

Busy Fingers

I missed the Christmas deadline but since Baby Benjamin doesn't yet know how to tell time, I think I can slip it past him. What probably won't slip past though, is that the Bunny is still bigger than the baby!


One Skein Bunny 
designed by Deb Richey