We Miss You

This is a beautiful student film. It really makes you stop and think doesn't it?


WE MISS YOU from fireapple films on Vimeo.

Snail and slug hunting

We came back from our weekend vacation and found the lettuce we had just planted was gone. Not all of it. About a third of the little starts we had so optimistically planted. The remainders were forlorn and stripped of most leaves.  And of course we could see the telltale silvery trails around the beds.

oh no. we have had a snail and slug attack. We decided against using Sluggo. Yes, I have used it around two of our flower beds and it really works. But I just don't like putting it into our vegetable beds. Even though it is ok for organic gardens. Just overly cautious I guess.

So we decided to try the manual method. The photo above may resonate with a few of you. Have you gone out for an evening of snail hunting?  We did it for 3 nights in a row. I won't tell you how many we had to catch. It was distressing since I basically think that snails are cute. Slugs, not so much. But each night there were much fewer.  We only did it for 3 nights and now our lettuce is growing again. That really wasn't so bad.

So we have won one battle. I know, not the war. But it feels good anyway.

I think that I shall never see....

Marcel Duchamps is generally credited with creating the first kinetic sculpture, Bicycle Wheel, which is pretty cool. He said that watching the bicycle wheel turning calmed him.

I found the most beautiful analog in nature. The Populus tremuloides. AKA Quaking Aspen, Trembling Aspen, or a cute nickname, Quakie. I consider this tree a kinetic sculpture. It's my favorite tree. Ever.

The leaves shimmer and shake in the gentlest breeze due to a long flattened stem. It is truly remarkable to come upon a stand of aspen, or even one, standing alone, as I did visiting Tallac park in Lake Tahoe. A photo wouldn't do it justice, so check out the 30 second video above to see it move.

The range map from Wiki shows its range is North America, but we are lucky that it also grows in the Sierras near Tahoe. According to Wikipedia, a grove of aspens is connected underground through a system of roots. Wow, a hidden life force connecting them all.

Watching this tree is more calming than Duchamps' wheel.

It's also awe inspiring.

Drama in the fool's garden

I never photographed flowers in black and white before. Seemed a pity since flowers have gorgeous color to attract bees and butterflies and moths and people.

But this does emphasize all the shades of grey. And the textures. And the shapes. And the evening light.

I like finding drama in the garden.

Fooling around in the fool's garden

I Taught Myself To Live Simply 

I taught myself to live simply and wisely, to look at the sky and pray to God, and to wander long before evening to tire my superfluous worries. When the burdocks rustle in the ravine and the yellow-red rowanberry cluster droops I compose happy verses about life's decay, decay and beauty. I come back. The fluffy cat licks my palm, purrs so sweetly and the fire flares bright on the saw-mill turret by the lake. Only the cry of a stork landing on the roof occasionally breaks the silence. If you knock on my door I may not even hear.

--Anna Akhmatova

Happy summer solstice

Giuseppi Arcimboldo "Summer" 1573

Happy summer everyone.

Last year summer slipped by way too quickly. So I decide that, on this very first day, I would make a list of 10 activities that I want to do over the next 3 months. You know, essential summer things.

1. eat corn on the cob
2. camp by the lake
3. pop warmed by the sun cherry tomatoes into my mouth
4. scream at the fireworks
5. get sand in my sandwich while picnicing at the beach
6. notice how everything tastes so much better when eaten outside breakfast, lunch and dinner - as often as possible
7. dine outside with friends and with as many candlelight lanterns as possible, also as often as possible
8. leave my sweater at home
9. steal at least one juicy ripe apricot off our tree before the squirrels get them
10. check out all the summer music, yes, all the summer music

Dark Lollo Rosso

This is what I had for lunch. Lest you think this post the equivalent of the standard cheese sandwich blog post, I hasten to add vital information for your edification.

Dark Lollo Rosso in Fool's Garden

This lettuce is the best variety I've grown yet.  It tastes wonderful. It lasts forever without bolting. And it looks beautiful. What more could you ask for?

It is Dark Lollo Rosso and is an Italian variety of looseleaf lettuce. It grows as a compact, wonderfully frilly, crispy mound. You can have fun letting the name roll off your tongue too.

The salad is mixed with shredded carrot, a few raisons, a little feta cheese, some butter lettuce  (also from the fool's garden), and olive oil and lemon juice.  I know you are desperate for some yourself so I grant permission for you to rush out and plant some as soon as possible.