It's October Already

Jeepers!  A lot has happened in the last month or so.  For starters, the garden is a bit neglected, although mature enough to carry on without much human aid.  I make occasional stops within its confines to glean some cherry tomatoes, beans, basil, or a palm-sized second-round melon.  The hummingbirds make more frequent stops in the mornings and evenings, sampling the many fine nectars offered within.

I think of this as my gardener's interpretive take on the year:

Melons, Melons, Melons, and Birthiversaries were had, but none over 29.

The melons are Ha'Ogen, a variety I grew last year and really enjoy, and the tomatoes are Pineapple Pig tomatoes, which ripened pretty much all at once around September 19, the date of this picture:

Did someone say birthdays?  I had a very pleasant one with my dear Charlotte and her parents, Selene and Hal, and my mom and Mark.  We grilled hamburgers and Charlotte made this exquisite, star-spangled poached pear almond cake, sure to launch any taster's buds deep into the Sparkleverse on a journey of self-knowledge and universal awakening... but that's just my opinion.

In other news, Theodore Winkles has adapted well to domestic cat life.  A friend pointed out a certain celebrity resemblance he possesses. . .

Charlotte and I took a delightful stroll through Skyline on a remarkably clear-skied and pleasant day.

Fitting the mood for the month of October, there were many photogenic skeletons of Manzanitas burnt in the 2017 wildfires.  The basal regrowth of fire-resistant plant-life such as madrones stood around 2 - 3 feet tall, for the most part, creating an image of a relatively barren hillside compared to the dense expanse of chaparral scrub brush it once was.  We'll see how it looks in another 3 years. . .

Old rock walls which I believe the Napa State Hospital made long ago to contain sheep as part of its patient rehabilitation program.

Me and my boo:

Well, that's a visual summary of my Autumn thus far.  There has been much else going on (indeed, too much these days), but these were some highlights, to be sure.  

Until next time. . . take it easy!

Solstice + 5 Check-In

In just 5 weeks, the garden has morphed into a small jungle of greenery, with splashes of flowers and fruits beginning to form.

The flatpod "Helda" beans have not disappointed this year.  They are climbing along the top wire of our 8 ft. fence leaving dangling trails of delicious beans.  Various colors of morning glories are beginning to herald them into the world like bugles would a King.

The muskmelon A-frame seems to be working well.  There are numerous small melons developing, many of which will need slings attached to the wire to hold their weight pretty soon.

Tomato-and-Basil-Land is taking up the center of the South half of the garden.  The tomatoes are vining like mad, but we've only had a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes so far.  I've had an abundance of basil, so have made pesto, as well as a Belgian White Ale flavored with basil this past weekend.

Snake of Mugla eggplant and flower

Come, let's take a stroll down Pepper Alley!  Do not be intimidated by the Marconi Giants to your left.  They are friendly, sweet Italian giants.  I planted a couple basils between the peppers here.  Down the row are also Jimmy Nardello, Sweet Banana, and Chile de Agua.

And on the outside of the fence...

A couple Minnesota wildflowers: 

Rudbeckia (aka Black Eyed Susan), many of which have dark centers, but here is one in the "Irish Eyes" style, with green eyes and the most geometrically cheerful little spin to its flower petals.

And Monarda (aka Bee Balm) which puts on a stunning show for a month or so and then retires for the rest of summer.

Our hot day relief tub.  I am eager for this pillar of a medley of morning glories to begin blooming!  The fragrantly pungent Lantana in bloom at the base of the pot helps deter deer from destroying the bottom level of MG's.  There were a lot of hops cones this year, some of which went into beer.  More will be dried and frozen for later use.

A little desert-y community beside the shed.

View of the backside of the garden.  In the foreground is a caged-off Fig with some various CA natives planted around it.  We have a number of these caged communities around the yard.  They are crucial to allowing plants (even those that are deer resistant) get established in our yard which is also a sort of vacation destination for the local deer population.

Theodore Winkles doing his dayshift

We've been getting down to some serious tree cleanup, attempting to control the rapidly growing acacias.  The "Circle" area here is looking more open.  The large Toyon on the left is very happy about its increase in sunlight.  I was also delighted to discover an 8 foot tall Valley Oak tree that was nestled into the brush (between the Toyon and the wheelbarrow [what a great story about gifting Uncle Marven the wheelbarrow, Dad!  I think that wooden wheel is so funny, but it does work.  No flats so far!])

Charlotte went to town on the monster old Juniper shrub that has resided on the left there since the 80's and never stopped getting bigger, just more and more full of dead branches and debris.  Clearing that out opens up a nice area that we will surely have fun landscaping in the future.

Solstice 2020 Garden Check-in

The beans are climbing, the sunflowers are stretching toward the heavens, the morning glories are whipping their tendril-arms about, and we enjoyed our first tomato of the year on the longest day of the year... The legendary "Atomic Grape" tomato!
Oooooo!  Aaaaaahhhh....

I am excited for the flatpod "Helda" beans to begin to rain down on us from this year's trellis.
Meowgic is seen here straddling the line that divides 'in' and 'out' as she so often does.

Here is our melon A-frame with a dozen "Ha'Ogen" Middle-Eastern green-fleshed melons front left and a dozen "Charentais" French muskmelons on the far side.

I'm not sure if these cabbages (bottom of photo) we grew from seed will make good heads or not, as it has been such hot weather, but they seem fairly healthy, so hopefully they do!  Upper right half of photo are a few tomato plants skirted by various basils which I have learned appreciate the semi-shaded canopy of a neighbor tomato rather than full sun exposure here in our climate.  Over on the left are a few "Snake of Mugla" eggplants and a few peppers.  Along the back fence is more of the same: a tomato, 3 different sweet peppers, a couple more basils.

I've also been collecting chamomile flowers from 2 plants on a weekly basis.  They're piling up!

Well, thanks for tuning in, see ya next time!

River Rats

We had a fun afternoon one Sunday testing out Jake's customized "scanoe", a skiff-canoe with an electric motor (and stereo system) attached.  Melina also joined us from Santa Rosa.  After overcoming initial wariness about buoyancy with a 4-person crew, we declared the vessel river-worthy and set out from Napa's Kennedy Park boat launch.

Being on the water can seem to dissolve away the worries of the land...

As we cruised south, we passed some serious tent encampments along the riverbank.  I am always awe-struck by the reminder that there are vast communities of people living without stable homes, many more than I recall as a kid here in Napa.

We rounded a bend and, though we didn't know what it was at the time, came upon the Kaiser Industrial pipe factory, which has been closed down for about 16 years now.

This crane has a large nest perched in the middle of the cables, I would guess belonging to osprey.

Surprisingly, we noticed "I can't breathe" spray painted on one of the structures, a reference to the police killing of George Floyd that occurred within the previous week.  [Edit: Apparently this phrase actually dates back to the 2014 killing of Eric Garner when it became a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter]  The public outcry over the incident is another awe-inspiring phenomenon.  I appreciated the statement in this most unlikely of places.

The "Napa Pipe" property, as it's known, used to produce ships, natural gas pipelines, and deep-water oil-drilling platforms.  Now it houses many mud swallows, sitting as a testament to the industrial revolution that we have outgrown.  Soon it will be developed into 1,000 or so homes, a Costco, and retail and business spaces, supposedly with 34 acres of park and recreational space (Sidenote: The city has recently been proposing cut-backs for our Parks & Rec Department, possibly even "dissolving" it into 2 other departments...)

The vote a couple years back to pass this development plan seemed mostly swayed by residents' lust for a Costco store closer in proximity to us than Vallejo or Vacaville.

"I can't wait to get my Costco hotdogs and my Costco chickens" said Napa Planning Commissioner, Paul Kelley.

The former mayor stated the Napa Pipe development "could be a cathedral for the valley, if we do it right."

I think it will definitely be a cathedral for money and the investors that worship it.  We'll see... maybe in 50 years it will be the new Downtown?

Trailcam!

Just a quick post of some trailcam videos from the last month.
Here one of the 2 fawns is suckling from its mother.

And here we have a cute opossum sauntering by on the "animal highway"

Much to our surprise, 2 foxes also travelling somewhere

And making a pit stop.

Aquilegia chrysantha

She bloomed!

And since we're already being dazzled, some Calendula with unique color patterns:

There are probably a hundred of these Calendula plants in the yard right now, none of which I have ever had to plant or put much care into other than thinning them out occasionally and allowing them to restart their growth cycle on their own.  I assume my great aunt and uncle planted them long ago as cheerful garden companion flowers.  I certainly appreciate them as such!

Peaceful Moments

It has been quite a Spring 2020 for everybody.  During these times of quarantine I've been able to stay employed in a safe manner at the nursery, which is fortunate.  Charlotte has also been able to continue doing her soil data collection job, driving to vineyards on her own on certain days and able to enter data from the safety of home much of the time.  Amidst the chaos of the Outside World, we relish in the pleasures of the home and yard...

Here are a couple shots of our "Bog Room", as we call it because of the family of carnivorous plants living therein.  Charlotte's Asian mountain pitcher plant (Nepenthe) is on the left there on top of the milk crate.  There are some American pitcher plants (Sarracenia) in front of the bright window.  A giant coleus, growing  is marionetted from the ceiling on the left.  A handful of bromeliads which are showing nice colors this time of year in the right half of the picture.  Just to name a few...

And over here in Dolly's corner is some type of morning glory relative given to me by my good friend Rowser which has taken a great liking to its relocation into the bog room last year and is stretching it's heart-adorned vines upward and outward over the kingdom.  Just over Miss Parton's right shoulder is a Slipper Orchid in bloom.

This is a Columbine I started from seeds found in a place called Montezuma's Well in Arizona.  The place is a natural well in the middle of the desert with a deep pool that drains off into a little stream surrounded in lush green growth, a natural oasis of sorts.  I did a little research and I believe it is likely Aquilegia Chrysantha.  Last year I did see one flower, but the plants were still in containers then, so the blooms were small.  This year I am very excited to see what this waist-tall monster of a columbine has in store!  I check to see if this flower has opened every morning.  Any day now. . . . .

In the same North-facing area at the backside of the barn, I love the bright yellow flowers of this Golden Currant.

A Tiarella ("Spring Symphony" variety) conducting the show from below, tucked in between Columbine and Currant.

Yesterday I took down this bluebird nest box that my great uncle Marven made so I could clean it out.  This is the first time I have done this.  I had always let them be, assuming that was the best thing to do, but recently looked it up and verified a growing suspicion that an occasional clean-out was necessary.

I had to remove this mama wasp and her little nest, despite how uncharacteristically sweet they looked clinging together.

Speaking of larva, check out these geometric little eggs lined up on the underside of a leaf of kale I picked.  I don't know what they turn into.

A decent harvest of beets.

It is nice having a garden in these times of quarantine.  A soft-spoken old man that always comes to buy beet seedlings at Van Winden's once said to me, "There's no part of a beet that you can't eat!".  Here I did discard some of the less-pristine leaves, but I kept the basket-full on the right.  They stay fresh in refrigeration for many days; I chop a handful into my scrambled eggs most mornings.  As for the beets, we usually marinate and roast them to use in salads.

 A modest carrot harvest.

This little hummingbird (not sure what kind) might be the only other one that loves Black Island Sage (Catalina Sage) as much as I Charlotte and I do.

Miss Meowgic getting some sunny afternoon nuzzling in the grass.

Black Meowgic has been more and more social and affectionate with us humans since we started feeding her a couple years ago.

And one last highlight from the yard right now...

A year or so ago I noticed a small vine beginning to grow out of the pot this beautiful Aeonium is in.  I decided to let it grow as it seemed unusual and I was curious to see what sort it was.  It wound its way up the stalks of the Aeonium and then went dormant over winter.  The other day I was astounded to see two bright white discs of heavenly perfection staring me in the eye as I passed by the steps that this pot sits on -- Clematis!