[puma-news] Summer play pals for Kennedy Uphoff, 482 Pine Glade

Greetings All,

 

10 year old Kennedy is back from his school year in Houston and will reside with Karen and I for the summer.  We've planned lots of summer activities for him but we would like for him to meet some of the kids in the neighborhood that he might have fun with weekday evenings or unscheduled week ends.

 

Kennedy loves board games and computer games but would enjoy being outdoors more if he has companions over.

 

Please let us know if any kids of similar age would like to meet Kennedy and come over some time. We'd be glad to provide snacks and refreshments.

 

Rick Lobato and Karen Dixon

482 Pine Glade

House Phone, 303-258-0157

Rick's Cell Phone, 303-588-1410

Karen's Cell Phone, 303-506-4786

 

 

[puma-news] FW: [nature-net] "Noxious Weeds of Boulder County"

-----Original Message-----
From: nature-net@yahoogroups.com [mailto:nature-net@yahoogroups.com]On
Behalf Of Stephen Jones
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2005 6:30 PM
To: Nature-net@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [nature-net] "Noxious Weeds of Boulder County"

Susan Fernalld, "Noxious Weeds in Boulder County."
Thursday, June 23, 7:30 PM
George Reynolds Branch library community room, 3595 Table Mesa (2 blocks
west of Broadway opposite King Soopers).

Susan will speak on noxious weeds and their threats to birds and other
wildlife. She will show photographs of Boulder County's invasives and
discuss what can be done by people like us who care about wildlife. Susan is
a Colorado Master Gardener who volunteers on Gold Hill's invasive weed
committee.

Come at 7 for refreshments and conversation.
Sponsored by Boulder County Audubon Society and Boulder County Nature
Association

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[puma-news] Where was Alfalfa???

OK Here's the scoop

Wednesday afternoon, my neighbors were packing up their Subaru to go to
Steamboat Springs for a day. Alfalfa was hanging out with them. Darren
and L.J. and Thea. Darren "made sure" that Alfalfa wasn't in the garage
and drove off. BUT Alfalfa had hopped into their jeep which was in the
garage. I noticed Alfalfa wasn't home Wednesday night and Thursday morning
before I went to work. I came home and asked Matthew if he had seen
Alfalfa. He hadn't all day. So I was crying and going up and down the
hill looking for "the remains" thinking he had tangled with a bear.

Then at 9:15 PM Alfalfa came bounding up the stairs and we reunited and I
told Matthew and we all hugged Alfalfa and each other.

L.J. had gone back into the garage, just back from Steamboat Springs and
noticed a sillohette in the Jeep and Alfalfa was free and made a beeline to
me. We thought, what if they had gone for four days?! Or if she hadn't
seen his sillohette just right because he was not howling or barking. He
had already spent 35 hours in the jeep, My goodness--what an almost tragedy.

So--check your cars for dogs.

Terry

P.S. Alfalfa has the greatest bladder in the west. No "accidents" in the
car. 35 hours!!!!!

[puma-news] Convolvulus arvensis

These innocent looking little beauties are, in reality, sinister little
creeps. They are alien, in the same family, Convolvulaceae, as sweet
potatoes (Ipomoea batatas). They are now in bloom at lower elevations,
and are leafing out up here.
My recommendation for these is to control the surface expression, as you
cannot control its deep roots. Just pull them as you find them, and
don't make yourself nuts.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Wooly mullein

Verbascum thapsis, an alien if there ever was one, is in the same family
as penstemon, Scrophulariaceae.. It can make a real mess out of a road
bank or a meadow, but fortunately, is pretty easy to control. It's a
two-year annual, putting out a basal rosette the first year, and a
flower stalk the next. Use of a shovel makes it easy to dig it up.

If you are cutting dried mullein, hold the stalk upright. It is like a
pepper shaker which will happily dump its seeeds if inverted. And, of
course, bag the flower and seed heads.

This plant is medicinal. My opinion is that if it is to be used for
medicinal purposes, it should be grown under controlled circumstances so
it doesn't escape. It does not belong in our mountain/footill environement.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Amerosedum lanceolatum

These little guys are hugging the rocks along lower Magnolia and
blooming for all they are worth. In the same family as King's Crown and
Queen's Crown of higher elevations, Stonecrop is also called Sedum.
They'll bloom up here later.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Jim Hill mustard

Here's the last one for today. This mustard can get pretty big. It
dries and then blows away, becoming a tumble mustard" spreading its
seeds as it goes. Also not hard to pull up.

Seek and destroy!

Best,
J

[puma-news] mustards

I know you didn't ask, but here are two more, not so hard to root out of
the ground.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Fieldcress

This plant, known as Neolepia campestre, or Lapidium campestre, is an
introduced mustard. I have just busted my butt for about two hours
destroying as much as I could in a depressingly small area. I feared it
might be a perennial, as Weber doesn't indicate anything about its
status at all, and Weeds of the West Doesn't even list it! So, to the
internet.
Thankfully, it is not a perennial, but an annual or biennial. I'll tell
you, however, that some of them had roots straight to Hades. I would
advise you to do as much as you can as soon as possible on this one,
because if it's allowed to stay around, it will only grow huge and
ferocious with horns and gnashing teeth!
Of course, we have a lot of invasive mustards, and we need to work on
all of them, but this one is a dilly. You will need a weeding tool.
As with all weeds, bag all flowers and seed heads. Mail them to your
worst enemy.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Alfalfa is Back

Hi All

After combing the back hill and downhill for the remains of my dog,
thinking a bear must have gotton him, just five minutes ago Alfalfa bounded
up the stairs and he is fine!!! No idea where he has been but we're
abiding by the "Don't ask, don't tell" rule.

Thanks for your good wishes.

Terry

[puma-news] My Dog is Missing

Hello All

Alfalfa, my lab/sheperd mix with a white chest has been missing from very
early this morning, or it could have been in the middle of the night.

I'm afraid he might have been taken by a bear or other predator. If
anyone has seen him today, let me know.

Thank you.

Terry
303-443-1409
303-917-0243 (cell)

[puma-news] Windflower

This gorgeous anemone,which is in the Ranunculaceae, or Buttercup,
family, is just beginning.
I have seen it along 359 and on top of Winiger Ridge. This one is in
Stilson's Meadow.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Mummy Squirrel

As yu can see, this female has a litter in a nest, probably near the top
of a near-by Ponderosa. Tummy fur has been shed to fascilitate feeding
of babies.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Oregon Grape

Later in the summer these low-growing plants, Mahonia repens, in the
Berberidaceae, or Barberry, family, will have blue grape-like berries.
One western slope species, M. fremontii, is a small tree.
Photo taken in Boy Scout Trail area.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Erysimum asperum

A happier note --- beautiful Wallflower is out everywhere. This mustard
is a native!! Celebrate!

Best,
J

[puma-news] Cheatgrass

Dear Friends,
Here is our good friend, Bromus tectorum, or cheat grass. This horrid
stuff was introduced in the late 1800's in packing material, and has
since spread to just abut every nook and cranny of our country.
Because it greens up and sets seed so quickly in the spring, it
outcompetes native grasses. It is in a symbiotic relationship with
fire. Its awns, once dry, are harmful to animals, and collect in socks.

This plant will never be controlled on public land. Its extent is too
great. Consequently, we can only hope for control on our private
properties. Fortunately, it is an annual, not a perennial.

First of all: Control seed production and dispersal. Mow, pull, and
then bag seed heads.

Then seed ground with healthy native seeds.

Be alert to new growth. You will probably have to treat this stuff
repeatedly during the summer.

Recommended reading: Holistic Management, by Alan Savory & Jody
Butterfield. It is available throught the Savory Center at
www.holisticmanagement.org. Ask Dan for more info --- he loves talking
about it.

www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07232.html for info on ornamental
grasses adapted to Rockies

www.hcn.org search archives for cheatgrass

Just google cheatgrass and see what happens!

More on weeds to come!

Best,
J

Re: [puma-news] Energy savings

Don Van Wie wrote:

> On that note, think about a tankless water heater when its time to
> replace. They have gotten a lot better, and they avoid keeping 50
> gallons of water at 130 degrees 24/7 for a few minutes of use each day.
>
> *Don Van Wie*

A note about tankless water heaters. There are two basic types:
electric and propane/natural gas. If you use the electric type, a
rather large capacity circuit is required to raise the water temperature
to a reasonable temperature for washing dishes, bathing, showers etc. A
130v/30amp unit will NOT sufficiently raise the water temperature of the
cold water that is obtained from wells up here. I have one installed
and I have to use some hot water through a mixing valve with the cold
water to raise the temperature for use. To get sufficient hot water
without mixing hot and cold at the input of the unit requires a 220/240
volt unit and a lot of amps, something like 3-40 amp circuits. I don't
have experience with the propane/natural gas units.

Allen

[puma-news] Penstemon virgatus

I know I've sent a photo out on this one already, but it just has to be
mentioned again because it is absolutely blooming its brains out on
Lower Magnolia right now! It would be worth a short cruise down to 119
and back up just to see it. At least, I think so, but how nuts am I?

Best,
J

[puma-news] Wild Grape

This native plant,Vitis riparia, is growing along with the poison ivy on
the wide right hand pull-out on Lower Magnolia. Its family, Vitaceae,
includes Virginia creeper, which is an alien ornamental common around
Boulder.

Best,
J

[puma-news] Tradescantia occidentalis

Commonly called Spiderwort, and in the Commelinaceae family, this plant
is going nuts on lower magnolia. It is native.

Best,
J