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Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - December 4, 2024 [TRex]
Horse Sense Cafe Quick Hits Leftwing Media "Experts" Spin Hunter Biden's Pardon By Inventing Previous Pardons That Never Happened Assassin Guns Down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in the Middle of the Street in Alvin Bragg's Sanctuary City for Killers, NYC Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Tennessee's Anti-Transgender-Surgery-for-Children Law; Unqualified DEI Incompetents Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor Shine In Their Stupidity Dank Brandon's Bewildered African Adventure White House Once Again Turned Into Eyebleeding Gay Meth-Hallucination Nightmare by White Trash Delaware Hillbilly Biden Clan Judge Orders Fani Willis to Disclose All Correspondence with the January 6th Committee Wednesday Morning Rant Absent Friends
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November 11, 2017
Saturday Gardening Thread: The Birds follow the Bees [KT]Hello, gardeners and friends of gardeners. As the weather gets chillier, I am thinking less about insects and more about birds. We still have bees out here, but I expect that is not true in much of the country. We are starting to see some migrating birds here in the San Joaquin Valley. Mostly big ones. But today, I would like to concentrate on smaller birds. They often depend on seeds and fruits pollinated by bees. They also like some shelter. Above is the Birds and Blooms 2016 photo contest winner. You can vote for a winner in the 2017 contest at birdsandblooms.com/contests in the categories "birds" "blooms" and "butterflies". We have some fine photographers in The Horde. I think some could submit competitive photos for 2018. Scary to think it's coming up so soon. Crabapples and Cider Some members of The Horde make apple cider. Some crabapples can be used to add a little zing and astringency to apple cider. This is an alternative to special "cider apples" for this purpose. Some edible crabapples are better for jelly or spiced crabapples. There used to be a line of crabapples outside the School of Business at the University of Utah. I think it was 'Dolgo'. It was sweet, but had a "bite", too. I think it could be useful for cider. The fruit is about the size of a small plum. Here are its spring blossoms: The blossoms of Dolgo are fragrant and mostly white. Some crabapples have pink or red blossoms. Even the strictly ornamental crabapples (the ones that make fruit, anyway) attract birds in winter to feast on leftover fruit. This one is Prairie Fire, with a Blue Jay. Do you grow a crabapple tree? Are you thinking about growing one? Bee Science Gordon alerted us to a study suggesting that certain flowers use a blue halo to attract bees. This type of halo may have developed from "evolutionary disorder" in the petal surfaces. "Insect visual systems are different to human ones," explains Edwige Moyroud, from Cambridge's Department of Plant Sciences and the study's lead author. "Unlike us, bees have enhanced photoreceptor activity in the blue-UV parts of the spectrum." Do you see a blue halo? "However, we can't distinguish between a yellow flower with a blue halo and one without - but our study found that bumblebees can," she said. I don't know about that. I think I have seen flashes of blue at certain angles on this flower. Do you recognize it (without reading the links)? Flowers for Bees and Little Songbirds We have already discussed the Coneflowers under the bluebirds at the top of the post. Bees love them. Birds love the seeds from the cones after the petals drop. The same is true of several other flowers included by catalogs in "songbird mixes". Centaureas for bees and birds There are several Centaurea species that bees love. We have already discussed cornflowers. A favorite in wildflower mixes. Another is a native annual, Centaurea americana. Cultivated forms can grow up to 6 inches (!!!) across. This is Aloha. Don't know the reason for the name. Maybe it is used in leis. This side view of a wild blossom from the University of Texas shows why it is also called Naturally, the honey that Food and Wine Magazine calls "The Champagne of Honeys" comes from a disgusting plant, Yellow Star Thistle. Along with Russian Knapweed, it poisons horses in a terrible manner. But other grazing animals like sheep and goats can be used to control the plant. Control of star thistle in Yosemite is quite the dramatic thing. Note the blue-dyed Round-up. Not "organic". Heh. Here is a dried bouquet withThistle, Cedar Rose and Yellow Star Thistle. I am OK with thistles in bouquets that one does not have to carry around. Guess you could hang these bouquets outdoors and let little songbirds pick seeds out of the seedheads. Wood Roses and Deodar Cedar The Cedar Roses (Wood Roses) above are maybe something I could get used to for indoor dried bouquets. I didn't know what they were. From a woman who gathers pine cones commercially in Redding, Callifornia: Worden's favorite cones are from deodar cedars. The trees aren't native. Rather than forests, she finds them in Redding neighborhoods and knocks on doors to get permission to gather. Here is a photo by Arthur Chapman of the cone before it disintegrates to leave a Wood Rose. The Deodar Cedar is the National tree of Pakistan. In its native habitat it is a majestic tree, with variable form The wood is used for building and to make incense. Hardy to Zone 7. There are a number of cultivars grown from cuttings, including dwarf and prostrate types. Here is a dwarf deodar called 'Silver Mist'. Pretty little tree. Good bird cover. Gardens of The Horde Warmer this week than last week. Kinda cold this morning. Weed control continues. Anything going on in your garden? If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is: ktinthegarden Include your nic unless you want to be a lurker. We take bird photos. | Recent Comments
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Braenyard - some absent friends are more equal than others: "His daddy was a pistol and he was a son of a gun. ..." Tonypete: "[/i] Good evening Italicans! ..." Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Next year in Corsicana - again! ~ [/i][/b][/u][/s]: "Argggh! [/i] ..." Pug Mahon, Pledge in a Beanie: "The chill I just felt was knowing that I am LAST! ..." Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Next year in Corsicana - again! ~ [/i][/b][/u][/s]: "Nice one TRex! ..." AlaBAMA DeButts: "Italican noods ..." JohnFNotKerry: "italics ..." mindful webworker - so they say: "Overnight thread, overnight thread Pops up when I ..." AlaBAMA DeButts: "Egads! Italicans! ..." JohnFNotKerry: "wow 5th ..." Pug Mahon, Pledge in a Beanie: " Doof! Howdy, amigo. Posted by: Notorious BFD at ..." Recent Entries
Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - December 4, 2024 [TRex]
Horse Sense Cafe Quick Hits Leftwing Media "Experts" Spin Hunter Biden's Pardon By Inventing Previous Pardons That Never Happened Assassin Guns Down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in the Middle of the Street in Alvin Bragg's Sanctuary City for Killers, NYC Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Tennessee's Anti-Transgender-Surgery-for-Children Law; Unqualified DEI Incompetents Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor Shine In Their Stupidity Dank Brandon's Bewildered African Adventure White House Once Again Turned Into Eyebleeding Gay Meth-Hallucination Nightmare by White Trash Delaware Hillbilly Biden Clan Judge Orders Fani Willis to Disclose All Correspondence with the January 6th Committee Wednesday Morning Rant Search
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Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |