Eager to Start

Spring's promise approaches, energy slowly uncurls in the shoots from a seed, tender embyonic tendrils pushing up toward the dangers of wind and cold to be fed by the sun. The season yields to fluctuations that drive its identity, then surrenders to the warmth that brings summer.

I'll be starting my brocolli and some other cold weather veggies from seed this week.

Winter was like a see-saw this year in Pennsylvania. December was cold, January was unusually warm and enjoyable, then February turned frigid with a lot of snow. Although the duration of extreme winter weather was short for us, the promise looks good when warmer days strip away laced-up boots, gloves, hat, heavy coat and penguin-like plodding on slippery surfaces. Again.

Reminds me of a symbol of promise. The rainbow. We had a lot of them late last year. One Sunday afternoon, I saw a double one, and photographed it in State College. I could not fit it all in frame, so here it is in halves:









They can also be found on my flickr page.

Will The World End?

Many people believe that the world will end someday, but our human tendency is to prevent it. To have control. My garden would be really incredible if I could take control of the weather. What would that do to my neighbors though? Would there be an inevitable butterfly effect and would it be bad or good? How could I possibly know? Would my manipulation eventually create a backlash that would hurt my garden?

I work with meteorogists, climatologists and earth scientists at a privately owned forecasting company. (My preferred science is biology, but sometimes you take what you get.) When I discuss my job with people locally, sometimes I'm asked if I can write a beautiful forecast since I'm an editor; if I could do that, I'd write myself onto a tropical island that never gets hurricanes. If I had that much power, like the character John Murdoch develops in Dark City, I don't know how I would chose what to do. If I could re-create a garden paradise, and keep literal and metaphorical hurricanes from destroying it, does that mean I should? (Note: These are rhetorical questions.) Comic book superheroes experience this conflict, don't they, ie, how to use their special powers?

Anyway, back to the end of the world.


Robert Frost wrote:

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire.
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate to
say that for destruction ice
is also great
and would suffice.

--Robert Frost


Opinions about global warming vary among the people who work here. I share the view of at least one forecaster, stepping away from all the politicizing that some on both sides carry out: whether it's natural, human-induced or human accelerated, I will try to do what I can. And other things I do that help the environment in general I will do. Beyond that (Kyoto Accord, etc.,) it becomes difficult to ascertain. Hmm. At my age, I'm getting use to not having all the answers. Hmm.

Carbon footprint? check out:
Mr. Smith Says happy New Year

What else can you do?

An Early St. Patrick's Day

Philadelphia Flower Show 2007

On March 10, my friend Heather and I hope to get to the Philadelphia Flower Show. This year, the theme is Legends of Ireland, so it really appeals to me. Besides the beautiful floral displays, I anticipate some energetic and colorful dance, music and shopping. I went to an Irish fest years ago in Wilkes-Barre, and it was very enjoyable.

I will pray that there are no snow storms!

A Book

I am reading It Started in Eden by Bertha S. Dodge. I borrowed it from the library and its publication date is 1979. A little old, but kind of interesting. The author writes about how important plants (ex, food crops) have been to human history. It has a lot of history of the competition for control of various valuable plant products. She goes into great detail about the "wars" between the Spanish, English, and others over various trade routes. These trade routes transported chocolate, tea, coffee and spices from the East.

As a tea drinker, I found it interesting that many attempts to grow the plant in the U.S. failed. The plant, Camellia sinensis, is grown commercially in Charleston, South Carolina. It also grows in Hawaii and on the East Coast of the U.S.

An interesting fact: spices that make so much food tasty were originally used to cover the taste of bad food. This potentially explains why so many "hot" areas of the world have some of the spiciest foods.

Garden Fantasy

The catalogues I requested have arrived. I only requested two: Burpee and Jung. I'm not sure where I learned of Jung, but it's in Wisconsin and I try to stick with companies located in areas with similar growing conditions to mine.

My other garden shopping is done locally. Many local stores carry seed packets. I also go to Patchwork Farm in Aaronsburg, PA. From April until June I buy most of my seedlings at their temporary stand by the Nittany Mall. They're very helpful, they sell a variety of plants, and the plants are reasonably priced and healthy. Last summer when I was taking the scenic route home from visiting family, I spied a sign for Patchwork Farms and went there (their home location). So many plants. So little time.

Burpee is in southeastern Pennsylvania. I've never visited it, although I've been in nearby areas. For example, Longwood Gardens, not a vendor but a display garden, is beautiful.

I'm hoping to go to the Philadelphia Flower Show, and visit a college friend in Lincoln University, Pa., while there. I've never been to that show, but have wanted to go since I started gardening and since P Allen Smith has been giving presentations. I'm hoping that P Allen Smith will appear there again.

According to the flower show website, Legends of Ireland is the theme, which really appeals to me, not to mention how timely it is with St. Patrick's Day following it. This page of the website gives more details. I've been to Irish festivals before, but this one will probably outdo them all.

There's a phrase the luck of the Irish, which I gather to be bad, knowing their history, and their sometimes sardonic and/or dark humor.

Most people have heard the legend that (St.) Patrick used the three lobes of the shamrock to explain the trinity. An equally interesting legend is that of (St.) Brigid. She is said to have woven a cross from straw she picked up off the floor.

So much is ancient history with Ireland that it can be difficult to distinguish myth from truth. Plus, it's a large geographical area so legends may be subject to regional variations. It's still interesting to learn. Some of this, such as the "Black Irish", I heard of growing up. From my own reading, I know that the ideal Irish person was a poet and a warrior, something that many other cultures view as a dichotomy.

Some links to help infuse Irish lore into one's mind if one desires:

Iris Legends

Brigid's Cross

Map of Irish Immigration in US

Claddagh (pronounced clah-dah + soft "g")

And a book I own, which is slightly laborious in writing style but I find it covers many areas of Irish life and history is The Story of the Irish Race by Seamus Macmanus. There is plenty about pre-Christian and contemporary Ireland's spirituality, government, and the place of women in Ireland. It has helped me understand more about the British government's treatment -- genocide -- of the native Irish that resulted in oppression, extreme poverty and religious division, and that resulted in terrorism; some of these problems are shared by Native Americans in the U.S. and Canada due to government's treatment of them.

Some Warm And Furry Thoughts

A few posts ago, I wrote about white and red squirrels. I included a link to an article about protecting in-ground bulbs from hungry squirrels, which includes the idea of leaving a few to them free for the taking. Now it's cold and the bouncing furry creatures await the worst of winter.

A researcher in Chicago is studying them to determine how the rodents survive in an urban setting. The article is where the picture is taken from. His/her tail is curled against the body and front paws are tucked inward to stay warm. I'd love to provide some little mittens. And a warm place to stay.

Community Closing

Last week was the first snow. It didn't lay (stick).

The community gardens had official clean-up this weekend and it was chilly. Saturday rained, and I had to work; however, I went on Sunday. Most of the work was done, so I harvested a few herbs from my plot, removed the Sun Gold vines and tried to remove strings from the wooden posts supporting vines. The latter was quite difficult; usually I keep scissors in my car for gardening, but I had removed them. The high wind from a passing storm drained every bit of heat from me and all of the moisture from my hands. The skin was cracking between some of my fingers. Euh.

The now mostly barren fenced-in area looks nothing like it did during summer. Such a contrast. One could look at it as a time of rest. Yet, underneath earthworms and microorganisms are working hard. At home, most of the gardeners are probably preparing for the holidays, soon to be dreaming of next year. I know I am!

One of my back porch containers still has some persistant and pretty purple pansies. I am pleased every morning when I see them.

Bonjour

On on MSN page, I took several quizes. They're fun, although perhaps the only gardening-related one would be the "Creepy Crawly Quiz".

I did ok on that one; it was a learning experience. The French and germ quizes proved to be much more ego-boosters. The French quiz triggered my search in the blogger pages for gardening pages in French. So, if this is of interest, here are two sites I found when looking up jardin, the word for garden.

Le Calendrier du Jardin

Le jardin de Sophie

Sophie has beautiful photos of her flowers. Whether one can read French or not (I need my French dictionary), the photos are worth viewing!

This site has both English and French in a lot of it. Beautiful photos from a location in the south of Portugal.

Lugar de Olhar Feliz

So, enjoy.

Just a Short Update

The Lipizzaners were wonderful, as they were the last time I saw them. There are now a number of female equestrians. Excellent! There seems to at one time have been a notion that women couldn't handle stallions (male horses). The women in the show proved that idea wrong.

I have no photos; the arena was quite dark. The photos at their site do them more justice than I could with my disposable camera: Lipizzaners

The horticulture show was interesting, too. I bought some spring bulbs to use in planters, so if they work, I'll be quite happy in spring!

Showing Sunday

On Sunday, I plan to go to "From Backyard to Back Woods", a horticultural show put together by the Penn State Horticultural Club. I may take photos. There are photos from previous shows at the link above.

After that, I'm going to see the "World Famous" Lipizzaner Stallions. I saw them the last time they were here. I sat close enough I could have touched them. When I was a child, I read a book about a boy who dreamed of going to the famous Spanish riding school in Vienna, Austria, where riders are trained to work with these beautiful animals. The boy succeeded. I don't remember the name of the book.

If you go to their site using the highlighted link, you'll find plenty of history and photos.