A Nod to the Future

Growing plants from seeds is a small act of hope (these days, one might say the same about going to the grocery store). Hope that with care, attention and a bit of time, a garden will provide ample rewards.

For the past ten years, mid-March has been my time for starting the warm weather seedlings - think tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. They need an early and warm beginning to be big and sturdy enough by mid-May to survive outdoors.

Yes, I know that you can buy plants at the nursery. But I also know that you can't always count on finding what you want, especially this year when so many nurseries are now closed down. Nor can you rely on them being disease-free.  So I plant my own.

Amish Paste Seedlings

Odessa Market Peppers

Two weeks ago as I was loading up little pots with potting mix, I had no clue that this might be the year when it could be very important to start seeds at home. I can't claim to be smart, only stuck in my ways. And a bit of a Nervous Nellie.

I am not alone. Seed companies are being hammered by a surge in demand from a new crop of Nervous Nellies. No worries, though - there should be plenty of seeds this year; getting them into your hands is simply going to take longer.

Anecdotally, two of my neighbors are starting new gardens. One poor soul has to battle a stand of ornamental bamboo. I'm impressed with his fortitude - it's been five days and he's still working on it.

Happy Gardening!

A Few Favorite Seed Suppliers:

Fedco
Baker Creek
JL Hudson

Grounded

My friend Adrian used to get "grounded for life" by his mother when she thought his transgressions were sufficiently serious. Right now it looks like we are all in serious trouble, perhaps even life-or-death for a few, which is why we are staying at home. Truth to tell, it's also raining (hallelujah!), and most things are closed down anyway, but that hasn't really been part of the decision-making process - except maybe for not taking a hike today.

So what to do except wash your hands, wash them again and then find something else to do. 

I started with the 2020 Census. It only took four minutes to complete - it must have been the short form - and now no one will be coming to the door to nag us. I suppose taxes are something else I could be doing while grounded at home, but that seems a bit too much like real punishment. 

And there is the hearty minestrone soup in the slow cooker, something that is always good for a rainy day, whether or not you are supposed to stay away from the world.

One family member is just going to sleep the time away - nothing new there, actually.

And I have a big, new book to read. I'm not in love with the cover, and the print is mighty small, but there are lots of pages to help make the time pass. I loved the other books in the series, especially the audio versions, but I can't say much about this one, yet.

Birdhouse w/o Its Top

So, one day down, and who knows how many more weeks of at-home days. The only big-little regret I'm having is that my ceramics class is cancelled, and I was so very close to finishing up a new birdhouse. Except for the top needing a bit more work, it's all ready to be fired. But I expect that it will all be waiting there when it's prudent to go out again. 

Five Years Later

It was a beautiful day at Gray Lodge, although a little too windy to be outside for much time. So no watercolor painting for my best guy this time around. We even ate lunch in the car.

But the birds didn't seem to mind the wind at all. They were too busy eating their own lunches.

Traffic was, well, traffic, even on a Monday holiday. So next time, say in the next five years or so, we will be leaving even earlier. Nothing like breakfast in the car...

King Tides: They're Coming For You

King Tide at César Chavez Park, Jan 11th, 2020

This weekend you have the chance participate in the California King Tides Project simply by taking a walk along the shoreline with your camera. Friends, family and/or a furry walking companion (on a leash, of course) may add to your pleasure, as would lunch out afterwards, but are not at all required. Or you might attend one of the many events around the bay instead.

A "King Tide" occurs when an alignment between the gravitational forces of the sun and the moon create an exceptionally high tide. And the California Coastal Commission wants you to help document it this weekend - February 8th and 9th - so the youngsters of the future may see how the shoreline once appeared. So be happy that the weather is supposed to be clear this weekend or you could get really wet.

Don't forget to check the tide charts for wherever you might be photographing.

Politics At Home

While some of us here were watching the debate, the rest of us were writing letters to would-be voters in key states. Or in the words of Vote Forward:

"Send a letter, a warm note, good feelings, to someone you don’t know — but who needs to hear from you. That’s right — write a letter to a constituent in [a GOP-held] district, a registered Democrat who doesn’t always vote, and tell them, as a FRIEND, how important it is for them to turn out."

It's easy, it's fast, it's effective, you don't have to leave the comfort of your own home, although you do have to buy stamps (yes, that dreaded trip to the post office). Or you can join up and write letters with others; often there are letter-writing parties - they usually serve snacks, but you still may have to buy stamps. However, most parties are on the weekends, and somehow that rarely works out at this house.

So with impeachment underway, and an election around the corner (I'm exhausted already), somehow  handwriting letters to strangers seems normal.

What to Do with the Family Now?

They're here, and it's all been fun - the singing, the cooking and the eating, the Santa look-alike costumes - you name it. But now what?

I have one idea: a trip to the Oakland Museum to see, No Spectators: the Art of Burning Man. It's fun, it's for the whole family (mostly. But should the little ones get restless, you can take them downstairs to see the stuffed wildlife), and on Friday nights, an amazing array of food trucks offers up dinner for everyone.

Heck, with Discover and Go, you just might find tickets for free. Or if your guests are still around into the new year, the first Sunday of the month is always free admission.

Let It Rain, Let It Rain, Let It Rain

The first real storms of the season - an atmospheric river, even - are supposed to arrive any minute now and I've been getting ready for days.

The garlics are in the ground. And the last of the eggplants have all been harvested. Yup, we had baba ganoush at our Thanksgiving. It could become our new traditional Thanksgiving dish, given how well received it was this year.

The counter is almost cleared of the the last-to-ripen Marzanos. Just in time for the lemons from the tree to take over that space in the kitchen. And the fava beans are up and well on their way to becoming good eating by early spring.

So why not curl up and relax - with or without that favorite book. It's all good.

¡Viva Princess!

It was a stay-close-to-home summer for us, filled with worry and sadness. Princess wasn't doing so great. She hadn't been eating well since early spring, and had lost almost 30% of her body weight. The vets couldn't find anything - they called her blood work, "boring" - which I suppose should have been comforting, but only made us fear the worst. We though she was a goner.

But somehow she has turned herself around. Fancy Feast® may have played a role, along with trying to entice her to eat 15 to 20 times a day. Or maybe it was the three different types of wet food, in addition to the two new types of dry food that I bought. Or maybe she just got over it, whatever "it" was.

But recently Princess has been putting on weight, scarfing down her breakfast each morning and munching away throughout the day without prompting. She is even showing glimmers of her old tortitude again, which, truthfully, we would be happy to do without.

Could it be nearing time for a worry-free get-away?

Monarchs and Milkweeds

I hate growing milkweed plants. Well, it's not the plants I hate. It's the sticky orange aphids that always seem to infest milkweed plants that I truly loath. And "infest" is not hyperbole; in fact, it probably understates the problem.

But after hearing about the collapse of the monarch butterfly population on the west coast, I figured that, once again, I must get over my aversion to pulsing, brainless orange bugs and plant some milkweeds.

So this summer I researched which species of milkweed are native to my area, and planted Narrow Leaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis). In a pot, and far away from any other plants that those orange buggers also might want to colonize. And each time I water the milkweed, I always wear work gloves so that I can smash, smush, squish and squash them into oblivion. A festival of murder and mayhem every two or three days. All without getting my hands dirty.

And the payoff for all this hands-on grossness? Three days ago, I found the first little monarch caterpillar munching away. It's a little late in the season, but maybe s/he can pull it off. And if not this season, no matter. There will be more chances next year because this time around I won’t give up on milkweeds and monarchs just because of some icky-sticky orange bugs.

On a Pedestal

Tiles ready for installation

It all started in ceramics class. Or maybe it all started with a mosaic flower pot which needed to stand a little taller. Or maybe it doesn't matter how it started, it was a silly idea, regardless.

But I designed and made, underglazed and glazed, these blue tiles to cover a 12" square cinder block (yup, a simple-pimple cinder block). I made a few extras, just in case. And then a few tiles actually did go missing. Disaster planning in action.






It didn't take long to tile the block, just a little patience to allow the first ones to set up before moving  on to the other sides. And grouting was pretty darn easy, too.

Installed

Installed & Grouted

And then it got a bit harder - which planter gets the privilege of the high seat? I had originally thought of the pedestal for the gold "Egyptian" planter. But the new blue and red one looks pretty good up there, too.

No doubt it will all come down to the lucky vegetable or plant that gets to live in either of the pots.