Where Everybody Knows You're Numb

Date: Sun May 24 8:41 PM, 2009

RE: GARDENING

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Besides, the boxer taught him everything he knows. He's just "shadowing" dogpark behaviors. That said? It could be alot worse than muddin'.

"Chick-chickie-boom, chick-chickie-boom, chick-chickie boom"

Date: Sun May 24 7:25 PM, 2009

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

:

When time freezes:

SERIOUSLY, Buck ... don't do it ...

Really, Buck... you're ALREADY muddy enou--------

okay fine. But in a few weeks there WILL be grass there, buddy, and THEN ...

And then what lady? When there's grass that just means more water. lolol. Besides, the boxer taught him everything he knows. He's just "shadowing" dogpark behaviors. That said? It could be alot worse than muddin'.

lol I was thinking about the dog park too and, from the looks of those squinty eyes, buck was too. lol too funny. Gator

Date: Sun May 24 7:13 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

:

When time freezes:

SERIOUSLY, Buck ... don't do it ...

Really, Buck... you're ALREADY muddy enou--------

okay fine. But in a few weeks there WILL be grass there, buddy, and THEN ...

And then what lady? When there's grass that just means more water. lolol. Besides, the boxer taught him everything he knows. He's just "shadowing" dogpark behaviors. That said? It could be alot worse than muddin'.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd at sunset:

blankstare Maybe tomorrow.

Trying to hold more still, so you can see the groovy little scrolls:

Side view:

NOT a sunflower. Mum, maybe??

When time freezes:

SERIOUSLY, Buck ... don't do it ...

Really, Buck... you're ALREADY muddy enou--------

okay fine. But in a few weeks there WILL be grass there, buddy, and THEN ...

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

A freakin money tree! Send me one, for that I'll get my fingernails dirty. Quarters add up. Yep, those onions ARE different. ;)

LOL, Yeah, but would you be willing to BREAK one?

Think carefully, now...

biggrin

Date: Sun May 24 5:26 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Gettin' on onion pullin' time, I'm thinkin' ....

It's a weird thing... I noticed, the other day, that all the tall onion stalks, which have always been the giants of the flowerbed, had suddenly vanished. I know your onions are ready for pulling when the stalks fall over, yadda yadda, but I'd thought they'd just "flop" like ... well, like a lot of plants do, when they're "done" you know? But these onions are different.

A freakin money tree! Send me one, for that I'll get my fingernails dirty. Quarters add up. Yep, those onions ARE different. ;)

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

smile Gettin' on onion pullin' time, I'm thinkin' ....

It's a weird thing... I noticed, the other day, that all the tall onion stalks, which have always been the giants of the flowerbed, had suddenly vanished. I know your onions are ready for pulling when the stalks fall over, yadda yadda, but I'd thought they'd just "flop" like ... well, like a lot of plants do, when they're "done" you know? But these onions are different. (Okay, forgive me if I sound the novice -- I AM! LOL) Instead of each shoot just ... for lack of a better word, "drooping" the stem right by the bulb TURNS, and it simply continues growing, green as ever, (at least for the time being) sideways, as you can see in both these pictures (two different plants)

Okay, maybe it's hard to tell in the pic immediately above, but honestly, the onion stem right in the middle of the photo has turned, facing the camera, and is now growing sideways, just like the other one.

I had planned, once I pulled my onions to let them dry, and then braid them, which I still may do, but I'm thinking now, about setting aside just one, to eat green, and chop up and freeze dry the stems to use later as a chive substitute. That means I'll have to pull one before the stems (and I don't think that the right word, now that I think if it, but ... whatever...) begin to yellow.

I'm a wee bit nervous about what disrupting the soil will do to the surround flower root system, but I'll be as gentle as possible.

Gator, Psych ... it's not the bounty the two of you will be feasting upon this summer, I know, but for me, this will be a groovy harvest. :) And I intend to improve upon this in the future... once I create some more beds ... :)

It seemed, even to me, sorta silly to plant onions right in with flowers, but honestly, I wouldn't want to have been without either, and since I just had the one big bed, it seemed a fair compromise. The onions provided some much needed early activity, as the flowers were just beginning to come up, and I've appreciated their slender verdant shoots just as much as I would any flower, really.

And really?? At first, it was all about GETTING RID OF THAT COMPOST PILE, and getting AWAY from the people inside my house! Go figure. LOL. Who knows? If those two things hadn't been in place, I might well not have this flower/veggie bed at all right now. Just goes to show ...

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Sunday 24th of May 2009 08:58:16 AM

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

What will it BE???
Maybe I'll know by day's end. I've a couple of buds on plants which have yet to show any blossoms ... one looks like it might be a sunflower?? Anyway, this one has me intrigued. :)

and what is it?? lol

"Coy." evileye

Whatever it is, it looks like it will be delicate ... just hope the heat doesn't do it in. This is the tall (tallest in the whole flowerbed) sort of fern looking plant, which once was almost indistinuishible from the African Daisies, and none of them have opened yet.

The others, the purple Zinnias, continue to bloom, though. I have about 13 full blossoms, with 2-3 times that many buds showing color. Also, some pink ones have cropped up. I really miss my tripod... am bummed that I couldn't hold the camera more still for this shot, but I couldn't. Anyway, I especially like the little scrolls, ready to unfurl:

And another:

"Watch Owl" (Still too early for the African Dasies to have opened for the day) :

You know? I was thinking, yesterday, about ... well, about people who have money for, and employ gardeners. There IS the thing about having a beautiful area to look upon and appreciate, which gardeners can provide, but separate and apart from that, at least for me, is the pleasure of sowing seeds, nurturing them, and then seeing what they become, you know? I mean... weird as it may sound, I really do have a sort of ... I dunno ... "relationship with" seems too far fetched, but at least "awareness of" each individual plant in this flowerbed, and that gives me something in addition to just looking at flowers, so I'm thankful that I was gifted with having to spend the better part of a day digging down about a foot and a half in this whole bed, and then hauling, shovel by shovel, compost over, and laying it (in, if I remember correctly,) seven layers of alternate compost and soil, and then picking the rocks out, sowing the seeds, and doing the daily watering. Having a garden is different from gardening, and I appreciate, and am thankful for, both. smile

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Sunday 24th of May 2009 08:00:31 AM

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

What will it BE???
Maybe I'll know by day's end. I've a couple of buds on plants which have yet to show any blossoms ... one looks like it might be a sunflower?? Anyway, this one has me intrigued. :)

and what is it?? lol

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

What will it BE???
Maybe I'll know by day's end. I've a couple of buds on plants which have yet to show any blossoms ... one looks like it might be a sunflower?? Anyway, this one has me intrigued. :)

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

im thinking of that line youve quoted from the wiz of oz poppies will put them to sleep and thinking about the hows and whys of the original text.

Oh, I've no doubt whatsoever that the poppy field and the "deep sleep" was chosen because of the opium factor. Rather than trying to explain about opium and the CP, I'll just share this blurb. :)
"California poppy does not contain opium, nor does it have the same addictive qualities as opium. However, the herb is used in herbal medicine as a milder remedy for many of the same conditions; it has anodyne and tranquilizing properties. It is said that instead of causing the psychological problems known to opium poppies, it is mentally stabilizing. It is often used in the form of a tincture, because the infusion is bitter. The tincture is made from the above ground parts, harvested during the flowering period.
As a remedy, California poppy should not be used prior to driving or any other task that requires full attention until the user is familiar with its effects."

and are you game to try it? if its non addictive it might be fun to experiment with tho with caution. im still wondering if i should try and do the rose hip jelly stuff. my beach rose shrubs are loaded with these berries and im seriously thinking of doing something with them but im also thinking of taking a handful over to umass agricultural dept to make sure that they are edible. cant hurt and if they are edible these plants leave behind a ton of berries. mebbe ill go into the recession jelly biz lol

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Saturday 16th of May 2009 01:16:21 PM

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Oh, wait ... I forgot we were in "technicolor OZ" now ....

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Friday 15th of May 2009 03:18:35 PM

beautiful flowers. that doesnt look like a zinnia? i love the flower within a flower concept. hey do the cali poppies have those narcotic properties? im thinking of that line youve quoted from the wiz of oz poppies will put them to sleep and thinking about the hows and whys of the original text.

Oh, I've no doubt whatsoever that the poppy field and the "deep sleep" was chosen because of the opium factor. Rather than trying to explain about opium and the CP, I'll just share this blurb. :)

"California poppy does not contain opium, nor does it have the same addictive qualities as opium. However, the herb is used in herbal medicine as a milder remedy for many of the same conditions; it has anodyne and tranquilizing properties. It is said that instead of causing the psychological problems known to opium poppies, it is mentally stabilizing. It is often used in the form of a tincture, because the infusion is bitter. The tincture is made from the above ground parts, harvested during the flowering period.

As a remedy, California poppy should not be used prior to driving or any other task that requires full attention until the user is familiar with its effects."

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Saturday 16th of May 2009 01:16:21 PM

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

For perspective, I leaned a mirror up against the fence to show where the vincas are (on the other side) and the chair to show how tall the plants are. I know it probably doesn't look like much to those of you who have abundant natural water and vegetation, but we in the Sonoran desert (103 degrees today, 105 tomorrow) really have to work at this. :) I'm thinking it will probably peak two or three weeks from now as far as blooms go, but this is as tall as it will get.

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Saturday 16th of May 2009 09:46:37 AM

and perhaps more beautiful because these splashes of color are rarer in the desert. ive got to get out to my garden sometime this weekend. its been raining lots here and keeping up with it is not an easy task. ive still got stuff in the small seed containers that needs to be transplanted. lots of herbs too. and joy of all joys the cilantro is growing. lol. love that stuff but not at 3.99 a sprout. the other good news is that the berry bushes are thriving with lots of potential berries. i can see where they will grow. the bad news is that the bird netting i put on them initially is dwarfed by the bushes and all sort of stuck to the top. the task here is to remove and replace it without lopping off all of the newly forming berries. not a job for dunderfingers here. the other good news is that while on the cape i was speaking to a woman who said that i can use the berries on the beach roses to make rosehip tea and jelly. im a bit leary of that because what if its not the right rose? i can see the local headlines now woman poisons self with tea

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Oh, wait ... I forgot we were in "technicolor OZ" now ....

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Friday 15th of May 2009 03:18:35 PM

beautiful flowers. that doesnt look like a zinnia? i love the flower within a flower concept. hey do the cali poppies have those narcotic properties? im thinking of that line youve quoted from the wiz of oz poppies will put them to sleep and thinking about the hows and whys of the original text.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

For perspective, I leaned a mirror up against the fence to show where the vincas are (on the other side) and the chair to show how tall the plants are. I know it probably doesn't look like much to those of you who have abundant natural water and vegetation, but we in the Sonoran desert (103 degrees today, 105 tomorrow) really have to work at this. :) I'm thinking it will probably peak two or three weeks from now as far as blooms go, but this is as tall as it will get.

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Saturday 16th of May 2009 09:46:37 AM

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Oh, wait ... I forgot we were in "technicolor OZ" now ....

Copy of P1140554 enhanced and cropped.jpg

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Friday 15th of May 2009 03:18:35 PM

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

"Poppies... Poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep. Sleep. Now they'll sleep!"

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Maybe... NOT!

confuse

BUD sure looked the same, though ...

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

My first "from seed" blossom this season, and it's a California poppy which COMPLETELY took me by surprise -- never saw it coming, but I looked out the window this moring, and there it was. :)

This was taken earlier this morning, when it was a darkish orange:

And this was taken just a couple of minutes ago ... it's more yellow now:

In a couple of days, these should be all over the flowerbed. Meanwhile, the zinnia are taking their own sweet time.

that is a gorgeous color are the zinnias a similar hue? ive been paying a lot of attention to the gardens of others lately, things like organization, how they weed, placement and types of plants. i think you have to be something of a visionary to plan all of these things and have them turn out ok. i like the various heights of your plantings and now the color splashes and in the desert no less!

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Some good news:

Despite my plumber's best efforts to destroy its root system, my canna lily in the front yard seems to be making a comeback. I'd really thought I'd lost it when, one day after he'd been digging right next to it, I went out and it was completely brown. and grim looking. It's still really short, but I enjoy the rising of the plumage

There are (in a straight line in descending height from left to right) four (kinda hard to see them all in this shot) NEW shoots coming up as well (the fourth, on the far right looks, in this photo like just a little dark piece of dirt) :

I'll have to get out there today, and remove some of those rocks the plumber tossed there ON MY PLANT.

------------
I just did that very thing (and cut away some of the grass with a dumb pair of scissors. LOL. GOT to get up to Homo Depot and get some garden shears one of these days for trimming!) There are more shoots coming up than I'd first realized. I'll have to check to see how often Canna Lily bulbs need to be separated, but this one seems to have produced five or six little bulb offtshoots! Yay!

The flowers are really gorgeous, I think, and a good color spot. Nice to know (hope?) I'll have blooms somewhere long after the zinnias in the BACK yard have come and gone.

I'm ready to harvest some onions ... but they aren't ready for me to harvest them. They win. cry

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Wednesday 13th of May 2009 06:51:35 AM

My Turn · Senior Member

very pretty!!!

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

My first "from seed" blossom this season, and it's a California poppy which COMPLETELY took me by surprise -- never saw it coming, but I looked out the window this moring, and there it was. :)

This was taken earlier this morning, when it was a darkish orange:

And this was taken just a couple of minutes ago ... it's more yellow now:

In a couple of days, these should be all over the flowerbed. Meanwhile, the zinnia are taking their own sweet time.

My Turn · Senior Member

oh wow! i cant wait to see it opened!!

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

UPDATE:

"Anticipation"

Date: Tue May 5 5:02 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

MAY 1:

:::PERK!:::

What IS that, nested way down in there? Could it be???

Hard to tell, from this pic, I know, but it sure doesn't look like just another set of leaves to me!
Meanwhile, the onion shoots are now two feet high, but still far from harvesting. I do worry a little about the roots being crowded, but it's a learning experience, so I'm happy for it.

Today:

Yup! That be a flower in waiting!

Nice bud and, beautiful veins in those leaves. Gator

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

MAY 1:

:::PERK!:::

What IS that, nested way down in there? Could it be???

Hard to tell, from this pic, I know, but it sure doesn't look like just another set of leaves to me!
Meanwhile, the onion shoots are now two feet high, but still far from harvesting. I do worry a little about the roots being crowded, but it's a learning experience, so I'm happy for it.

Today:

Yup! That be a flower in waiting!

Psych Lit · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

The sun rise this a.m. was beautiful. Carolina Wrens do have some virtue but, how can such a loud chirp come from the smallest of birds in my yard? I have multiple nest of various birds in my yard and, the call and, answer was chirps and, then precious little peeps. Babies have arrived:) Made my heart full and, my coffee extra good;) Many were lost last year in the cycle of life / snakes and, this year I hope the babies go on to become the hounding chirps that are a part of my realization that even though, not being an everyday morning person, it is inevitable. I'm learning and, it is a better place than having untimely death thoughts about them just because of my sleep interrupted but, why at my bedroom window on my day off? Gator

lol i had the baby bird problem a couple of years ago and the untimely death thing entered my mind too:) still what a beautiful morning you had today! its wonderful to slow down and listen, isnt it?

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't know what you see but, I know what it looks like. LOL <Gater

This is from another plant which looks just the same, as far as leaves go:

Well, cwap. Turned out blurry when I uploaded it. Ah well.

it looks like its budding? is there a flower in there?

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

I don't know what you see but, I know what it looks like. LOL <Gater

This is from another plant which looks just the same, as far as leaves go:

Well, cwap. Turned out blurry when I uploaded it. Ah well.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Hey, I have tomato blooms and guess which plant? Gator

Date: Fri May 1 2:09 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

MAY 1:

:::PERK!:::

What IS that, nested way down in there? Could it be???

Hard to tell, from this pic, I know, but it sure doesn't look like just another set of leaves to me!
Meanwhile, the onion shoots are now two feet high, but still far from harvesting. I do worry a little about the roots being crowded, but it's a learning experience, so I'm happy for it.

I don't know what you see but, I know what it looks like. LOL What is that basil? Gator

:) Well, I'm HOPING that's a great big huge purple Zinnia blossom just ITCHING to burst forth.

But for all I know, it COULD be basil. LOL

I'm being bad..........look close. It does not look like basil. Don't go get al innocent on me. lol Hey, I have tomato blooms and guess which plant? Gator

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

MAY 1:

:::PERK!:::

What IS that, nested way down in there? Could it be???

Hard to tell, from this pic, I know, but it sure doesn't look like just another set of leaves to me!
Meanwhile, the onion shoots are now two feet high, but still far from harvesting. I do worry a little about the roots being crowded, but it's a learning experience, so I'm happy for it.

I don't know what you see but, I know what it looks like. LOL What is that basil? Gator

:) Well, I'm HOPING that's a great big huge purple Zinnia blossom just ITCHING to burst forth.

But for all I know, it COULD be basil. LOL

Date: Fri May 1 12:40 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

MAY 1:

:::PERK!:::

What IS that, nested way down in there? Could it be???

Hard to tell, from this pic, I know, but it sure doesn't look like just another set of leaves to me!
Meanwhile, the onion shoots are now two feet high, but still far from harvesting. I do worry a little about the roots being crowded, but it's a learning experience, so I'm happy for it.

I don't know what you see but, I know what it looks like. LOL What is that basil? Gator

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

The sun rise this a.m. was beautiful. Carolina Wrens do have some virtue but, how can such a loud chirp come from the smallest of birds in my yard? I have multiple nest of various birds in my yard and, the call and, answer was chirps and, then precious little peeps. Babies have arrived:) Made my heart full and, my coffee extra good;) Many were lost last year in the cycle of life / snakes and, this year I hope the babies go on to become the hounding chirps that are a part of my realization that even though, not being an everyday morning person, it is inevitable. I'm learning and, it is a better place than having untimely death thoughts about them just because of my sleep interrupted but, why at my bedroom window on my day off? Gator

Because you're important enough to them, that you were chosen to hear their song! :)

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

MAY 1:

:::PERK!:::

What IS that, nested way down in there? Could it be???

Hard to tell, from this pic, I know, but it sure doesn't look like just another set of leaves to me! biggrin

Meanwhile, the onion shoots are now two feet high, but still far from harvesting. I do worry a little about the roots being crowded, but it's a learning experience, so I'm happy for it.

Date: Fri May 1 4:43 AM, 2009

The sun rise this a.m. was beautiful. Carolina Wrens do have some virtue but, how can such a loud chirp come from the smallest of birds in my yard? I have multiple nest of various birds in my yard and, the call and, answer was chirps and, then precious little peeps. Babies have arrived:) Made my heart full and, my coffee extra good;) Many were lost last year in the cycle of life / snakes and, this year I hope the babies go on to become the hounding chirps that are a part of my realization that even though, not being an everyday morning person, it is inevitable. I'm learning and, it is a better place than having untimely death thoughts about them just because of my sleep interrupted but, why at my bedroom window on my day off? Gator

nesea · Senior Member

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

A short, and IMO, very cool read:
The Wild Side: Let's Hear It for the Bees
Flowers open and close on a regular schedule. But for real circadian synchronicity, it's the bees.
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/guest-column-lets-hear-it-for-the-bees/?th&emc=th

I did a paper in college on the waggle dance thing, but the thing about the flowers was a surprise to me. Is one of those "neato!" kinda things. :)

bees are amazing creatures ... and I wonder if all of them are gifted with that ability .. or if they're like us humans and some are gifted while others are challanged in those same areas?

Or maybe it just seems amazing b/c I'm directionally challenged and have come to rely on mapquest & gps ... although mapquest is a hit or miss thang too.

I was wondering if there's a standing record of the number of times one post was "edited" ? Yesterday I tried to post seedling and flower pictures and found myself at seven attempts ... yep .. seven, before I just gave up and deleted the entire thing.

If I can muster up the patience, I'll try it again ....

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Bees
Flowers open and close on a regular schedule. But for real circadian synchronicity, it's the bees.
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/guest-column-lets-hear-it-for-the-bees/?th&emc=th

I did a paper in college on the waggle dance thing, but the thing about the flowers was a surprise to me. Is one of those "neato!" kinda things. :)

wow this is weird. i swear i watched that video about a week or so ago. where was that from?
Nature is fun and easy to grasp. I figured they communicated in a complex way but, never knew it was called waggle dancing.

waggle dancing? lol- and doncha really wonder what they call it?

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

A short, and IMO, very cool read:
The Wild Side: Let's Hear It for the Bees
Flowers open and close on a regular schedule. But for real circadian synchronicity, it's the bees.
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/guest-column-lets-hear-it-for-the-bees/?th&emc=th

I did a paper in college on the waggle dance thing, but the thing about the flowers was a surprise to me. Is one of those "neato!" kinda things. :)

Nature is fun and easy to grasp. I figured they communicated in a complex way but, never knew it was called waggle dancing.

----------------------
Well, it's just been confirmed: They DO have "everything" on You Tube:

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Wednesday 29th of April 2009 04:24:01 PM

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Don't talk dirty around my onions! evileye

"... Thrips, onion maggots, downy mildew, neck rot, pink root, and smut are problems that can occur in onion planting. Contact your local Cooperative Extension office for current control recommendations."

--Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet: Horticulture and Crop Science

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

A short, and IMO, very cool read:
The Wild Side: Let's Hear It for the Bees
Flowers open and close on a regular schedule. But for real circadian synchronicity, it's the bees.
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/guest-column-lets-hear-it-for-the-bees/?th&emc=th

I did a paper in college on the waggle dance thing, but the thing about the flowers was a surprise to me. Is one of those "neato!" kinda things. :)

Nature is fun and easy to grasp. I figured they communicated in a complex way but, never knew it was called waggle dancing. I'd love a flower clock:) I love bees and, is another reason I so hate GMO / Terminator Seeds. The bees will become malnourished and, die. And, of course I so hate Monsanto. Gator

Yeah, my sorta ex and I were just agreeing that we'd love to have one of those flower clocks too. :)

I did a whole study on language in both humans and insects and animals. I'll have to find that paper. One of the chapters was entitled: "Birds do it, Bees do it..." Heh. Anyway, this guy named Karl von Frisch discovered that bees do this very specific "dance" and he called it wagglesnach or something like that ... can't remember what now, sorry, but it seems by just using their bodies, bees communicate to others back at the hive where a source of nectar is, thirty five feet or more away from the hive, and SPECIFICALLY. I mean, basically, they say "Okay, fly five feet in this direction, then hang a right, go another fifteen feet, then fly up two feet, and then turn left, and go ten feet, and there it is." It really IS pretty astounding. Or maybe not, really, but not something we tend to think about when we're looking at a bee.

Date: Wed Apr 29 3:20 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

A short, and IMO, very cool read:
The Wild Side: Let's Hear It for the Bees
Flowers open and close on a regular schedule. But for real circadian synchronicity, it's the bees.
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/guest-column-lets-hear-it-for-the-bees/?th&emc=th

I did a paper in college on the waggle dance thing, but the thing about the flowers was a surprise to me. Is one of those "neato!" kinda things. :)

Nature is fun and easy to grasp. I figured they communicated in a complex way but, never knew it was called waggle dancing. I'd love a flower clock:) I love bees and, is another reason I so hate GMO / Terminator Seeds. The bees will become malnourished and, die. And, of course I so hate Monsanto. Gator

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

A short, and IMO, very cool read:

The Wild Side: Let's Hear It for the Bees
Flowers open and close on a regular schedule. But for real circadian synchronicity, it's the bees.
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/guest-column-lets-hear-it-for-the-bees/?th&emc=th

I did a paper in college on the waggle dance thing, but the thing about the flowers was a surprise to me. Is one of those "neato!" kinda things. :)

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

YAY!!!!

I'm a little envious of your garden <sheepish grin>

Well, not "envious" maybe, because that'd mean I'd want to have it INSTEAD of you, right? That's not the case.

It's taking water daily and, eventually I am going to feel a prisoner to it unless, I stick some jugs in there or, a even better drip system. Same here with your fountain to the above;) And, the Cherry envy I directed toward Psych. lol . Go get a bag of mushroom compost and water it well. Maybe you can get those seeds to do something. Gator

Ah, see, for ME, with my small suburban yard, the (forced) morning watering ritual has been a bonus. I FORCES me to spend some time each day with nature, first and foremost, and too, it gives me an opportunity to see what, if anything, has happened in the last 24 hours with the plants. I have the luxury of having a hose to pull around (and fill the smaller watering pot with it as I go, and then let the hose run in one area while I tend to the individiual plants.) The hose venture has had a bit of ... shall we say "interest?" to it since Buck apparently bit into it hard enough to produce three holes which now serve as a sprinkler following me around. You never know exactly where it's going to shoot, though, which is the ... "interesting" part. Here in the desert, I have to water AT LEAST daily, and sometimes, twice. I missed one day last week or so, and this was the result I found the NEXT morning:

Actually, the photo shows more green than the plant did. It was toast. : (

Meanwhile, I'd say about 1/2 - 2/3rds of the transplants from last week made it. A few of the lacy California poppies bit the dust, but they're so plentiful, I'll not really "miss" them. The zinnias (if that's what they are) seem to have <knock wood> all survived the transition, and so I'm HOPING to at least have a solid mixture of orange poppies and purple zinnias enjoying the company of one another.

And that's another wonderful thing about flower gardens: NOTHING "clashes." you may put orange and red and purple all right next to each other, and they look terrific. Few other things on this planet you may say the same about, you know?

One thing of which I've been reminded this past few months is that I need to better space out my planting times. Pretty much all the plants I bought awhile back have finished their blossoming, and now, I'm in this stand still with few actually in bloom, waiting on the next round to appear. The vincas and the poppies will last quite a while, but most of the others ... you just have to appreciate them while you can. I suppose really, having said that, I should be planting some seeds right now somewhere. D'OH! :) Probably not going to happen right away.

Meanwhile, my fountain grass in the front yard is showing signs that it's bitten the bullet, ditto the canna lily. The demise of the lily is the plumber's fault -- he dug up right next to it, and wrecked the roots. Even so, I'm trying to encourage it back to life. We'll see...

The thing about living here is you pretty much have to water EVERYTHING every day, including, at least in my case, the lawn, if you want it to be green. I've some cacti that does pretty well on its own, and four trees, but other than that ... you just have to do the watering thing without exception. Even so, I think in some ways, it makes one a bit more of the process, and that's pleasurable for me.

A confession: I'm not big on "going to" concerts unless I can work them (like with a follow spotlight) I like being a part of the art as a whole -- augmenting it to the best of my ability. Listening to someone on a stool with a guitar on their knee singing a song is nice, but far better, for me, is making those split second decisions about how hard an edge to put on that head shot, how slowly to open it up to a bodice shot, how small I can make the whole shot and still capture ALL the fingerwork on the guitar, and how to un obtrusively QUICKLY fade out on that person, and then swing over to catch the two measure bass solo (NAILING THEM when I come up, and not being two feet to their right or left) and then reversing the process.

I dig running follow spot. :)

There is a similar feeling which visits me when I (to use a cliche) tend to my garden. The flowers will have, of course, a beauty which is wholly their own, but I'm the one who's picked them out, planted, watered and fed them, and there are things I contribute to the process (including the choice of sun and shade) which ... I don't know... who DOESN'T better enjoy a flower they've grown from seed than one they've gone out and bought? Maybe more people than I'm thinking. LOL. That's just me, though.

Psych Lit · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

What an interesting thread. It was never about gardening WAS it? Sure, there's talk of hot boxes and planting seedlings and watering them so they blossom. Then ka-pow, bisexuals, three-ways, lesbian angst a punch thrown. New loves old loves, non loves, hot flings. Who knew. I have to pay less attention to these titles and just read. :) <BD

Not me, I'm just the dull ole plant whisperer, comtemptating raising my voice a bit. Nary a bud yet from the seeds I planted. the vincas that I stuck in there are pretty happy with the attention, though:

that is beee-u--tiful. love the colors. i havent looked at mine in a week. its prolly a jungle out there what with all the rain and the high temps. i wonder if there are berries! lol.

Date: Mon Apr 27 8:48 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

What an interesting thread. It was never about gardening WAS it? Sure, there's talk of hot boxes and planting seedlings and watering them so they blossom. Then ka-pow, bisexuals, three-ways, lesbian angst a punch thrown. New loves old loves, non loves, hot flings. Who knew. I have to pay less attention to these titles and just read. :) <BD

Not me, I'm just the dull ole plant whisperer, comtemptating raising my voice a bit. Nary a bud yet from the seeds I planted. the vincas that I stuck in there are pretty happy with the attention, though:

I reject gardeneing THAT much. (the dirty fingernails) don't say garden gloves either. Yeah, you. <BD

ANYWAY... Before:

And day before yesterday:

I guess the green alone is better than not, yes? :) I like it, anyway...

I like it too:) It is a perfect combination of tectures and, shades of green. The height contrast is lovely. The red delicate softening the onions. The first picture is a happy bunch captured. Good Job ! Gator

Date: Mon Apr 27 8:28 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

YAY!!!!

I'm a little envious of your garden <sheepish grin>

Well, not "envious" maybe, because that'd mean I'd want to have it INSTEAD of you, right? That's not the case.

It's taking water daily and, eventually I am going to feel a prisoner to it unless, I stick some jugs in there or, a even better drip system. Same here with your fountain to the above;) And, the Cherry envy I directed toward Psych. lol . Go get a bag of mushroom compost and water it well. Maybe you can get those seeds to do something. Gator

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

What an interesting thread. It was never about gardening WAS it? Sure, there's talk of hot boxes and planting seedlings and watering them so they blossom. Then ka-pow, bisexuals, three-ways, lesbian angst a punch thrown. New loves old loves, non loves, hot flings. Who knew. I have to pay less attention to these titles and just read. :) <BD

Not me, I'm just the dull ole plant whisperer, comtemptating raising my voice a bit. Nary a bud yet from the seeds I planted. the vincas that I stuck in there are pretty happy with the attention, though:

I reject gardeneing THAT much. (the dirty fingernails) don't say garden gloves either. Yeah, you. <BD

ANYWAY... Before:

And day before yesterday:

I guess the green alone is better than not, yes? :) I like it, anyway...

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

OK so, i had little expectations on my box and, I way over seeded lol. Tiny green dots the entire box. I'm going to let them go and, then have me some of those way over priced micro greens those fancy restaurants sell. And, I wonder why that is? It's way easier than letting a plant go full term. And, constant germination can happen in any weather and, climate. The two bell pepper plants never wilted and, besides them, the only other starter plant is a merrigold. The square foot garden is beyond my expectations. I'm going to build another one this weekend. I scattered some sunflower seeds and, in another area took the time to plant them. All are sprouting:) Life is good for sure:) OH and, The tomato that could definitely can: Gator

YAY!!!!

I'm a little envious of your garden <sheepish grin>

Well, not "envious" maybe, because that'd mean I'd want to have it INSTEAD of you, right? That's not the case.