Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, July 16

Hi, everybody! Our forecast for today is 107 and for tomorrow it's 108. Spending the afternoon indoors. Hotter than that in the deserts!

Our humidity forcast is 20% in the day and 36% at night. It has to be more humid than that in lots of places.

How are your gardens doing? How are you doing?

Here's a note on the spectacular photo above:

My next door neighbor's agave is blooming. A once in a lifetime event (for it) since they die after blooming. This is the first time I've ever seen one bloom. It has become somewhat of an attraction on the street and neighborhood. When it first started the process, it looked like a gigantic asparagus spear and grew like the bean vine in Jack in the Bean Stalk. It grew the height it is now in three weeks or so. The base cactus is now turning brown so I'm guessing it's days are numbered.

I post sparingly as Agitator.

You can see why it would become a tourist attraction!

Critters

We had an ugly pest last week. This is a contrast:

Hi KT, attached is a photo of an Ebony Jewelwing damselfly. Normally these tend to flit around a lot, making them hard to photograph, but this fellow waited patiently and I was able to get a couple of shots.

It's a pity the sky in East Tennessee was so overcast; when the sun is out, these guys really shine. They look like they were made in a 1960's hot rod garage.

I suppose the metallic shine might help them to choose a mate, otherwise it's very pretty. Maybe a deterrent to predators? "Oh I shouldn't eat that, it looks expensive."

Many thanks for the knowledge you dispense on the weekends!

Beckoning Chasm

Edible Gardening

Hi KT, It has been extremely hot gardening here. I try to get out in it by 7 am so I can finish before it starts to get unbearable which is around 11 am. A few things are doing very well, melons mostly. My peppers have really slowed production with the exception of the lemon hot peppers (first picture) which seem to take the heat in stride. I have at least 5-10 ready to use everyday. Lucky for me because I love them.

Next is a picture of one of the many regular cantaloupe I have coming along, and after that a picture of one of the madhu melons. I also have some kajari melons, they are pretty small, I won't get the seeds again, but I had some left this year so I stuck them in the ground. They are a bit like honeydew but tiny so it only gives you a few bites.

The star right now in my garden though is my brown turkey fig tree. I have been harvesting 3 to 4 figs a day and no end in sight. The organza bags have been working very well and I haven't lost any to the birds except for the ones that I didn't see to cover. So far here at Wee Kreek Holler we have yet to get any rain, it looks like rain almost every afternoon around 5 o'clock only to move on by. We hope for a big beautiful monsoon to come through soon as everything could use a good soaking. Sorry the pictures are a little dark, all of these things are being grown under the shade cloth right now. That stays up until the end of September, trying to give the plants a bit of relief from the death star. Hope all you garden putterers are having great success with your gardens! WeeKreekFarmGirl

Thanks for the great report! Love to see the peppers, melons and figs making it through the hot weather! Hope you get some rain!

From nurse ratched:

Adventure

By-Tor hiked up Mount Baden-Powell with a friend who is training to climb Mt. Whitney and a dog who went along to make people happy:

9400 ft high, 9 miles round trip and 3000 ft or elevation gain on this hike. Great vistas in every direction.

I liked this one- the trail was smooth, most of it was in shade, and the slope was challenging but doable for intermediate hikers like me.

From summitpost.org:

Originally known as North Baldy, Mt. Baden-Powell was named in 1931 after Lord Robert Stevenson Smyth Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scout movement. It is one of the most popular peaks in the San Gabriel mountains, with stunning views of the Mojave desert, Mount Baldy, and the Los Angeles Basin (when it isn't blanketed in brown haze...). The annual Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run passes over the peak in the fall (see "Miscellaneous Info below).

The main trail from Vincent Gap is part of the Pacific Crest Trail, and is well-maintained. You will pass through several ecological zones, from Yellow Pine forest through white fir, lodgepole, and finally limber pine forest. The limber pines are particularly picturesque, and feature a 2,000 year-old grove on the summit ridge. If it's solitude you crave, this isn't your peak, but if you're looking for a fine hike of moderate difficulty and rewarding scenery, then climb on!

Take water.

Biography of Baden-Powell:

His father died when he was three. He engaged in adventures with his brother as a child, but became famous in the military. After the scouting movement was well underway and his health began to fail, he returned to Africa and lived in semi-retirement near Mount Kenya until his death. He covered a lot of territory in his life.

Gardens of The Horde

More from Grimmy in Iowa, who has been hard at work:

Tearing up the yard (and leaving piles of limbs lying around to become overgrown) has brought all sorts of animal life to the yard. I have a creek that runs through as well, bringing even more animal diversity.

Future garden spot

Bad mulberries

Turtle

Toad

Slugs. Ewwww.

Don't know if this little frog is Grimmy's:

And here's a beautiful daylily from Hrothgar

Thanks for the lovely photo.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. If you didn't see your photos here today, check again next week.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Puttering and Fire Season Thread, July 9? We got some GREAT comments on fire readiness for those in fire areas and on planes and copters for firefighting. Some from people with hand-on experience. We will be doing more later on this subject.

We also had good comments on pest control - insects, rodents, deer (also a food source (Heh).

And wonderful comments on what's going on in the Gardens of the Horde. Take a look! The Famous Pat* and her husband have really been busy!

Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

posted by K.T. at 01:25 PM

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