Danger: Hail, Frost and Pests.

Deon asks:

I'm not sure the entire group is interested in the topic, but I'd love to get advice and commiserate with other gardeners (or those of us that attempt it anyway) here along Magnolia. For example, take ground squirrels. Please! Someone take mine, at least. ;)

Or how do you get anything but green marbles from tomato plants.

Does anyone grow perennial lavender up here successfully? What variety? I'm really interested in getting it started on a south-facing soil slope with poor soil.

---

My Answer:

Hi Deon,

My big disappointment most years is when a passing hailstorm totally shreds my garden. It's a real heartbreak when my squash leaves get torn into little pieces by the hail stones and then quickly rot, killing my crop.

Getting shredded by hail is a problem for most broad leaf plants up here. This is why most plants up here have narrow leaves that can deflect hail stones.

Also, frost can come early, stunting growth.

And yes, there are lots of pest too that think that you put up the garden just for them.

So, those are the three big dangers I've experienced with gardens up here: hail, frost and pests.

On the flip side, there is a lot of sun. As a matter of fact, I've had seedlings get sun burned once I've put them outside after starting them inside.

This year, I'm experimenting with hanging the tomatoes upside down in planters. That way they are shielded from the hail a bit, I can hang them inside in case of frost, and it is difficult for pesty mammals to get to them.

Also, I have a Goji berry plant that is doing really well in a 5 gallon bucket. I started it indoors and it is currently loaded down with hundreds of berries.


About the chipmunks... I had one that caught it's head in the chicken wire around my flowers the other day. I ended up having to cut the wire loose around it's little head to set it free.

The little guy was just to cute to let him die of thirst.

- Mike

Bear Alert

A bear came by yesterday while I wasn't looking.

Then how do I know?

... because the bear likes to roll over boulders that are about a foot in diameter as he searches for edible insects.

... and yesterday I found a bunch of rolled over boulders.

Case closed.

In other news: it just sprinked a bit. This has pasted down the thick layers of Ponderosa pine pollen. That should close out the pine pollen season at this altitude. However, I can see that the wind is still kicking up the pine pollen on the north flanks of Thorodin.

Puff! Goes the Ponderosa Pine Pollen

Every altitude has it's Ponderosa Pine Pollen day.
It is usually a warm, windy day. Today is that day here on Lazy Z.

While this is usually as exciting as watching paint dry, it get's more interesting when a gust of wind come by. Then in moments, the air turns a yellowish orange, as the pine pollen lifts off the trees. Sometimes, you can even watch a yellow "shadow" of a tree fly away with the gust.

When I see this, I know it's time to run around and close all the doors and windows for a while , before a yellow layer of pine pollen settles all over everything.

Wildflower Season Has Started

There are now more then 3 different colors of wild flower blooming. It's only been 3 weeks since the last frost.

Wildflower season lasts until it gets to dry in August.

This Local Pine Beetle Plan Needs Our Support

It's ambitious, but the problem is huge

http://peaktopeakrotary.org/2010/04/community-group-to-tackle-pine-beetles/

Humming Bird Alert

George and Yvonne, neighbors, report:

The hummers are back!

Keep in mind that the bears are probably not far behind - and they love sugar water as much as the next life form.

Amazing Snow

The unusally deep snow pack in the yard is gradually receding.

At this point, I can run two inverse mazes through the 4 acres that is in the trees.

The first maze is to go from one snow to another drift by x-c ski without touching soil.

The second maze is to stay on soil without having to go through snow.

Currently, both mazes work with only a couple of "cheats."

But soon, the snow will be gone. The, I can finally get to the firewood I meant to pick up last fall before the snow came early.

A bit of Magnolia Road History

John asks:

Does anyone know the history of the log structure ruins just off the east side of Magnolia in the large meadow at about mile marker 8.5? I was told once that it was the ruin of a school, but I doubt the logs are more than maybe 40 or 50 years old and I can't picture a log school here in the 60's or 70's??

Just curious (I pass it almost every day and wonder)...

Vivian Long has the answer:

The ruins (foundation) of the schoolhouse are on the same side of the road as the boy scout trails and it was erected in 1912-13, which would be NW side of the road. It was moved to Nederland in ~1970. The log structure is older than you think; things don't decay here very quickly. It was the Wing's barn, part of the Wing's sawmill, which was just downhill from the school site and provided the lumber for the school. The barn was used by the students to shelter their horses

.
Finally, the current owner of the property that the ruin is on adds:

Hi John,

That structure was an old hay barn that Dick Skates built years ago, now on the Kellogg property. About 30 years ago, my dad (Will Kellogg) and a few others repaired the roof and a bit of the wall, but ithe roof blew off about 10 years later - remains of it are still lying in the field - and all that's left now is essentially the foundation and a few wall logs. Will died in December, 2007.

Karl Kellogg

The area they are talking about is at:


View Larger Map

More Snow Flees

I've been having computer problems, this is a delayed post.

Three observations from the end of March
1) the snow flees are back
2) the elk came around
3) The "National Forest Boundary" by the power-line was still buried to the top in a snow drift. I've never seen a snow pack like this before.

They're Called Snow Fleas

Thanks Ken Hobson for letting me know what that large swarm of small bugs on the snow are.

They're snow flees.

He further notes:

"The Collembola or spring tails are fun to watch in the winter. The snow fleas are out on cold days feeding on pollen and spores laying on top of the snow. Odd group once thought to be insects.. now considered more like shrimp or crustacea.. enormously abundant. "

From Wikipedia:

"Snow flea"

A species of Sminthurinae(Symphypleona: Sminthuridoidea:Sminthuridae)

In sheer numbers, they are reputed to be one of the most abundant of all macroscopic animals, with estimates of 100,000 individuals per cubic meter of topsoil, essentially everywhere on Earth where soil and related habitats (moss cushions, fallen wood, grass tufts, ant and termite nests) occur; onlynematodes, crustaceans, and mites are likely to have global populations of similar magnitude, and each of those groups except mites is more inclusive: though taxonomic rank cannot be used for absolute comparisons, it is notable that nematodes are a phylum and crustaceans a subphylum. Most springtails are small and difficult to see by casual observation, but one springtail, the so-calledsnow flea (Hypogastrura nivicola), is readily observed on warm winter days when it is active and its dark color contrasts sharply with a background of snow.[2]

The Cat Who Walked in Snow

I miss Zoe so much. Yesterday morning, she was a lively young cat.

We took our nearly daily walk to get the paper. There was fresh snow, so it was my turn to make a track. Zoe followed in my footsteps.

This morning, I noticed that she would make 2 tracks on every one of mine. Really, this meant that she was taking 4 steps for one of mine, because she has twice as many legs.

Aside: the tiny specs in one of the pictures are tiny, flea like bug. They come out after a fresh snow and settles on the ground by the millions.

Farewell to Zoe the Cat

Zoe was only about 14 months old when she died quietly after accidentally drinking poison.

She was a special cat. Let me tell you why.

We should go on walks most every day, except when it was really, really cold. Then, she would go and hide when she saw me get dressed to go out.

I would carry her to get the paper. After I got the paper, she would struggle to get out of the carry sling. Once on the ground, she lead the way on the circuitous path back. She knew every twist and turn of the trail, even if it was covered in snow.

It was amazing to watch her lead the way back, especially in the snow. However, if the snow was to deep, I would have to lead and make way for her by breaking the snow first, step by step.

IN the summer, I once saved her from two dogs that were tracking her by picking her up and holding her tight. After that, she always trusted me to protect her.

Today, I fell short. I was to tired and distracted to be mindful to protect her. I'm not quite sure what she drank, but it must have killed her in an hour or two.

She had a favorite patch of grass on the way back trail. She would always stop and see if per chance it had a bit of green in the winter. She also loved eating goji berry vine leaves, and sometimes liked eating the berries too.

If she started to lag behind on the trail, I would start to go back to get her. When she saw me do this, she would run past me while making a trilling sound. She would then again take the lead.

She was starting to gain a bit of extra weight lately, I was getting worried that even Science Diet cat food was not healthy enough for her. Cats are not made to eat corn!

Zoe was a very sociable cat. She loved everyone and only know love.

I felt a rapport with her like no other cat.

I miss her so.

Millions and Millions of... bugs? In winter?

While walking through my woods this morning, I noticed that the snow that fell a couple of days ago was covered with a thin layer of black "dust."

However, when I put my finger down in the dust, the "dust" motes would jump out of the way, like flees.

I wonder what kind of bug this is, and what kind of life cycle it has if it is blanketing the snow with millions of themselves.

In other news: I can see from the tracks and scat that the elk came through the yard in the last 12 hours.

The first 100 Robins of the Winter Solstice?

We're finally getting some milder weather after a week of extreme cold. It was below zero every night.

This afternoon, the air was filled with robins. They would flit from tree to tree, generally heading south. There must have been hundreds of them.

It's Friggin' Cold

Tonight and last night the temperature has been sea-sawing around 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

It's cold, but not cold enough to kill the pine beetles.

In other news, I saw a small heard of elk yesterday at about the 7 mile mark on Magnolia

First x-c Ski-able Snow Ever

Wow.

We've never had a snow that is deep enough for cross-country skiing anywhere near this early.

In fact, the 22 inches (as of now) may be enough to keep the ground white till April. (I hope not because I've not gotten nearly enough snow out of the woods.

I'd say that this must be good for the ski slopes, but according the weather radar, this is a very local storm.

Winter - I Mean Fall - Came a Day Early

On Sunday, a spot on the Peak to Peak Highway was mobbed with people admiring the changing Aspen. Today, Monday, it's been snowing all day and the Aspen leaves are trying to shrug of the white stuff.

I also brought in the house plants, who seem to have survived the few inches of snow.

Great Smokey Mountains, Colorado Style

It has been hazy all day and the layers of mountains have a misty "smokey mountain" look. Also, the afternoon sun was dim and orange and there was a faint smell of smoke in the air.

I suspect it is because of the forest fires in California.

Never race a cat down the mountain

Zoe (who is one of our two cats) and I take a half our walk to Balancing Beam Rock most days.

The last 100 yards back go down the steep Alpine slope of Winiger Ridge.

Zoe loves to race down the slope at top speed. I like to go racing after her, but she always wins. That's because a cat's speed on level ground can be over 30 miles an hour. I can only imagine what her speed is going down hill. Needless to say, I can't run that fast. But it doesn't stop me from racing her - until now.

Today, she suddenly stopped about a quarter of the way down. I put on the brakes myself to keep from running over her. But my ankle gave out and I found myself on the ground. By the time I limped back to the house, I my ankle had swollen huge from a sprain.

I got out a cane to so I could limp around the house.

Then, I put ice on the ankle and kept in elevated for an hour. The swelling went down and I was able to walk again. I suspect that the Moxxor and Astaxanthin I take also helped.

In other news: I watched the Perseid's for a few minutes. The sky was almost clear and quite dark. It was a good show.

Bears: #1 Reason NOT to Feed the Birds

A large adult male bear walked right by the house this morning.

I had put out a hummingbird feeder for the crowds here last weekend. The house was filled to the rafters with people here for the wedding. (That's another story, for another time.)

In the past, I've had a bear distroy all my hummingbird feeders so he could get to the sugar water. Now I just have one left.

I'm taking it in - in case the bear comes back.