Ramblings from Rabbitbrush Ranch

10 reasons you should work in your yard even when it's cold

Laurel — 2010-03-04T20:27:00Z

Ten reasons you should be working outside now (even in Northern Nevada):

You need exercise. If you're like me and have trouble following through with plans to exercise, you need to incorporate exercise into your daily activities.
You need sunshine and nature for your mental health. All year round.
You need vitamin D.
Repetitive tasks are relaxing and free the mind to solve problems. I couldn't find a good link to document this, but it definitely works for me. (Some forms of meditation involve repetitive motions.)
Jackets keep you just as warm while you're working outside as they do when you're walking out to your car. They also protect your arms from scratchy branches. If you try to work around blackberry bushes or spruce trees with bare arms this summer, you'll wish you'd done it now.
Your hands will be warm because you always wear gloves when you work in your garden, right?
You will get warmer as you work.
It's easier to see what needs to be done when branches are bare and plants on the ground are dead, and the ground is moist if you need to do any digging. (I don't recommend working outside when the ground is wet; besides the mess, it's not good for the soil. However, you can't use this excuse very long because the ground dries out faster than you think.)
Snakes and insects are dormant, so you can wade into overgrown places on your property without fear. They are still dormant, right?
You will get a lot of garden chores done. Now, I can never push myself outside just to get chores done when it's cold and blustery. And I never seem to be able to fit exercising into my day. But, for some reason I've been able lately to convince myself to go out for 30-45 minutes a day just to move around and get some fresh air and natural daylight. The fact that I'm getting things done that I've put off for years is a side benefit.

Just to be clear, the best things to be doing outside right now are cleanup, digging up unwanted plants, and pruning. Warning: Don 't prune shrubs that bloom in early spring (such as forsythia and lilac) because you would be cutting off the flower buds. Local experts also recommend waiting until April or so to prune roses to prevent their getting a lot of early growth that might freeze back in a spring frost.

It's also too early to plant most things; research first. The fact that local stores will have plants for sale does not mean it's safe to plant them! If you absolutely have to have some color, start with pansies and snapdragons. They should be fine.

Signs of spring

Laurel — 2010-02-28T02:04:00Z

Sunbreak: When the sun appears in a cloudy sky for a little while, then gets covered again.Commonly used in Seattle, WA. (UrbanDictionary.com).

We had a perfect example of a sunbreak at the end of the day today. After a day of clouds, hail, and rain, I suddenly noticed the sun was shining. While I was admiring the light making the water drops in the trees look like jewels, I noticed the willow tree a block over is starting to leaf out. It's official! Spring is near.

I tried to get pictures of the jewel-like water drops, but it was impossible. They look best with the sun behind them, and of course it's impossible (at least for me) to photograph into the sun. I tried shading the camera, but it didn't work.

I did discover a robin (Turdus migratorius) in the crabapple tree while I was outside. Now that I've looked up the scientific name, I'll have to try not to think "migrating turd" every time I see one. Since I mention the birds liking the crabapples in my tree in every other post, I won't point out what the robin is doing in the photo.

Since I've been seeing green on the ground ever since December's snow melted, I haven't really been counting it as a sign of spring. However, I think the picture below shows that plants are ready to rip.

This is a corner of what I call my "kitchen garden" because It's a few steps away from the patio door and because it has a few herbs in it. You can see chives and lavender at the top, chamomile (I think and hope) in the middle, and a ground cover and bulbs at the bottom. I'm mainly showing the picture to make the statement that I have lots of cleanup work to do here!

If you can believe the current weather forecast (I'm laughing hysterically along with you), it's supposed to be sunny tomorrow. If it's actually more than a sunbreak, I hope to take care of some of this.

My first orchid! Now what?

Laurel — 2010-02-17T06:04:00Z

Orchids have always intimidated me. They have some kind of mystique; some of the people who grow them seem to be obsessed with them. How could I--who can't make any houseplant bloom unless it starts with a bulb--grow something so beautiful and so expensive?

But prices seem to have been coming down in the past few years, and I finally gave myself permission to try one. When I heard Trader Joe's was selling orchids for $7.99, I got over there as soon as I could and bought the little beauty you see here.

It's small, less than a foot high, and growing in a 3-inch pot that seems too small for it. (Trader Joe's has larger ones for $13.99.)

So far I've learned from the Sunset guide that it will need special soil (made of bark) when I repot it. It needs bright but not direct sunlight; no problem. They only need to be watered when they dry out; I'm pretty good at that.

My problem will be fertilizing it every 2 weeks. I've always had a problem with fertilizing. I have several kinds of houseplant food on hand, but I never remember to use it. That is, I never remember it except when I notice my plants while I'm busy doing something else. My outdoor plants get the help of Mother Nature; the indoor plants that depend solely on me die slow and painful deaths.

But I have every intention of taking care of this orchid. I think I'll try putting the fertilizining dates on my calendar. Wish it luck!

A one-time plug for the Rabbitbrush Ranch Facebook page

Laurel — 2010-02-17T06:03:00Z

If you use Facebook, please consider being a fan of the new Rabbitbrush Ranch page. I plan to post brief updates there more often than I write blog posts.

The page will also be a place where you will be welcome to post photos of your own yard (or indoor plants). I would really like to see what's going on in your garden!

Rainy afternoon odds and ends

Laurel — 2010-02-06T23:48:00Z

I was going to use "debris" in the title, but that would mock the people in Southern California who have real rain-caused debris in their streets, yards, and homes this afternoon. I just went through the photo gallery on the LA Times site. What a mess.

There's still not much going on in my yard yet, but I did clean up the plastic we put over our raised beds last year. Lesson learned: If you have plastic outdoors that's starting to break up, get it out of the yard before it disintegrates into a bunch of little pieces you'll be finding all over the place for months. I think I caught it before it got too out of control.

Lesson I hope my neighbor learns: If you put up a wall of plastic foliage, the leaves will turn blue and then blow into your neighbors' yards every time there's a windstorm.

As I vowed last year, I'm not trying to start any seeds inside this year. However, I did buy some sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes, or Helianthes tuberosus) at the grocery store the other day. I bought them just to plant them (I'll worry about recipes when I get my first harvest--wouldn't want to rush into anything). I was surprised to see in the Sunset guide that it's in the sunflower family. It "spreads readily and can become a pest," so it might have a chance under my care. I think this is the time to plant it (outdoors).

I have another new vegetable on my list for this year: parsnip. I bought one a few weeks ago just to see what it tasted like, and I was pleasantly surprised. If it's sweet, it's for me. Geez, if Mom had been feeding us parsnips when we were kids instead of canned peas and lima beans, maybe we wouldn't have all grown up hating vegetables.

Last but not least, I've set up a Facebook page for my blog, and I'd be very flattered if you became a fan.I think I'll post quick updates there more often than I write full-length posts. (If the link doesn't work, search for Rabbitbrush Ranch.)

I enjoy rainy days because they remind me of my home state of Oregon. I think now I'm going to go have a cup of tea and appreciate the fact my home is warm and dry.

The other side of the mountains

Laurel — 2010-01-28T05:34:00Z

This is what we saw all along I-5 from Oregon to Sacramento yesterday. Sigh.

Just out: Sunset's new book on "edibles"

Laurel — 2010-01-21T21:19:00Z

I'll have to get the new Western Garden Book of Edibles: The Complete A-Z Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits, just published by Sunset Books. (Maybe they should have called it "Soup to Nuts" because it covers nuts, too.)

It includes instructions on growing in containers as well as in the ground, planning kitchen gardens, composting, building raised beds, and more. Of course it provides growing season details for all regions of the West, which is what makes it especially valuable to western gardeners.

I've grown ornamentals for years but have been trying to grow food for just the past few years. I've found that the requirements for food plants are more complicated and not at all flexible. My second season was more successful than the first, so I'll keep trying.

Locally [?] seeds

Laurel — 2010-01-21T20:04:00Z

Do you grow seeds? Produce seeds? Farm seeds? Whatever the right verb is, local people are doing it and selling the results. I learned about Mewaldt Organics from the Local Food Northern Nevada blog. They sell miscellaneous vegetable and herb seeds (plus the Jerusalem artichoke tubers I've been looking for) and have lots of tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds. LFNN author Shelley urges readers to shop early because once this year's seeds are gone, more can't be grown/produced/farmed until next season.

Dreading pruning? Good news!

Laurel — 2010-01-16T21:10:00Z

"
Not all trees need to be pruned." This good news comes in an article by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Leslie Allen in today's RGJ. (As with all RGJ articles, be sure to visit the link within the next couple of weeks because it will disappear.)

More good news from the article for the not-so-ambitious gardener: "Trees have a natural ability to heal over pruning cuts, so there is no need to apply pruning sealants or dressings to the cuts." Yay!

The article has good information about when you do need to prune trees and how to do it.. The Truckee Meadows Community Forestry Coalition also has good information on its site.

Apparently this weekend would be a good time to prune trees. You can see the branches clearly without leaves, and this is the best weather we're going to have for a while since a series of storms is coming in next week.

Houseplants of Rabbitbrush Ranch

Laurel — 2010-01-12T23:37:00Z

The disgust in my neighbor's voice shocked me. "She sends us an amaryllis plant for Christmas every year. I hate amaryllises. Would you like it?"

I hoped my ears weren't playing tricks on me. I'd been looking for a cheap amaryllis bulb, and this was almost too good too be true. I said weakly, "You don't like amaryllises? I love them!" She replied, "I can't stand them." Trying to explain, she continued, "One year when we opened it, the leaves had already started to grow in the box!" The horror! (She allowed that she could tolerate the plants but only once they're in bloom.)

I hurried over to claim it before she changed her mind. While I shop around trying to find amaryllis bulbs for $5, my neighbor's relative had ordered this one from Harry & David and probably paid six times as much. It was pre-planted in a cute, reusable box planter with a moss mulch. All I had to do was add water, as they say. That was a few weeks ago, and this is what it looks like this week.

How could anyone hate this plant? I don't understand. However, if amaryllis bulbs have become the new fruitcake, I'll be happy to take any and all rejects. I'm hoping my neighbor's relative continues the tradition for a long time.

True confessions

Instead of buying paperwhite bulbs to force indoors this winter, I decided to buy ranunculus bulbs (tubers) with the intention of planting some outside and some in pots for indoors. Then I checked the Sunset guide, and it says, "In coldest climates, grow ranunculus in greenhouse, plant after frosts." It also says they need perfect drainage. That's a little intimidating! I may have to try the "wintersown" technique on them. In the meantime, the unopened bag is still sitting on the counter.

I'm too embarrassed to show a current photo of the beautiful poinsettia I showed you in November. One branch broke off for an unknown reason, and a lot of the lower leaves have fallen off. I've tried to keep it watered evenly, and it gets plenty of bright, indirect light. This is why I hate to spend very much on houseplants.

While I'm in confession mode, I might as well tell you that all the seeds I saved from last summer are still sitting on the counter, too. They're near a heater vent, and I'm sure the dryness is not doing anything to help this spring's germination rates.

Hope lives

On the other hand, a couple of plants I brought in from the patio last fall are hanging in there.

One is the heliotrope. I love them, but I've never been able to keep one alive throughout the winter. I know this one (below, right) looks skimpy, but it's still alive and has even bloomed since I brought it in. I've been conscientious about keeping it watered, which I think is the key and which I'm not very good at.

The plant on the left is one I tried for the first time last summer, a duranta. I bought it as an annual flower for the patio but learned it's actually an evergreen shrub. It's too cold to plant it outdoors here, but I'm willing to keep repotting it and bringing it indoors during the winter as long as it does well. I've been amazed that it seems as happy in my house as out on the patio. It has bloomed since I brought it in, too.

I'm trying to keep a fuchsia going, too, but it looks way too bad to show a photo of it. I've never succeeded in keeping one of those alive all winter, either. However, I hate to dump them before they're dead.

Wish them all luck--it will be months before they can go back out on the patio!

Bald eagle update

Laurel — 2010-01-03T19:41:00Z

If you're on Pembroke Drive and see several cars pulled over, look around for a bald eagle.The one I saw before Christmas stayed around for a few days. It was even joined by another one, and they perched in a tree on or near the university farm north of the Rosewood Lakes golf course. My husband saw one eating something (a bird? a fish?) in Steamboat Creek.

I just received and posted a news release to This Is Reno about the annual Eagles & Agriculture event in Carson Valley. Tours and workshops conducted Feb. 19-21 focus on the influx of bald eagles and other birds of prey in the Carson Valley each year during the winter calving season (they feed on the afterbirth). If you would like more information, here are a couple of links:
Eagles & Agriculture tours and workshops
Event registration form

Even I can track animals in the snow

Laurel — 2009-12-23T23:13:00Z

I don't know anything about animal tracks, but I've become interested in them lately. We had a brief snowstorm yesterday that left less than an inch of snow, and this morning we could see where a critter had traveled all over our yard. In fact, it had clearly come up the driveway, moved around the backyard and across our patio, and come out on the other side of the house, going back to the street by crossing the lawn. I guessed the tracks were made by a rabbit and confirmed it on line. I'm further assuming it was a cottontail since that's what we see around here.

Apparently the two small marks, which almost look like one mark, are from the front paws, and the bigger marks are from the back feet. (Was this rabbit pigeon-toed?) In this photo, the rabbit would have been moving toward the camera and to the right of the picture.

I'm including this picture mainly to show off the clear, deep blue sky, although the photo doesn't do it justice. It's absolutely beautiful today. There's nothing like the combination of fresh snow and clean, blue sky. (Although I'm partial to the lavender sky at dusk, too, but I digress.)

Back to the tracks, I think the blurry tracks near the rabbit tracks were left by a feral cat in last week's snow. However, I'm going to have to start learning more about tracks because I'm curious whenever I see them. I bet I'd be amazed to see how many creatures' visits are recorded in the snow if I paid attention.

Winter solstice greetings

Laurel — 2009-12-21T20:52:00Z

Forty winter solstice observances are listed in Wikipedia's entry on the subject. The most popular now, of course, is Christmas. I just like to note the shortest day of the year.

I took this photo of the sunset yesterday, so it's not technically a photo of the shortest day. However, I can't count on remembering to do it today, and besides, it's probably going to be cloudy and raining at sunset today anyway. Well, I suppose I could have taken a photo of this morning's sunrise, but that would have taken some kind of miracle since I'm not a morning person.

Merry Christmas, Good Yule, and Happy Whatever-Other-Winter-Solstice-Celebration-You-Celebrate!

Bald eagle stops neighborhood traffic

Laurel — 2009-12-17T20:19:00Z

My husband came home a little while ago and told me a bald eagle was perched near Pembroke Drive. I grabbed my camera, and it was still there when we went back.

I took this picture from the bridge on Pembroke over Steamboat Creek. At a time like this, I realize how limited my simple little camera is. I regret not being able to get a closer view, but at least you can see the creek, which the eagle was apparently watching for food.

In a quick visit to Wikipedia, I learned that bald eagles are "found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting." As you can see, our neighborhood doesn't exactly fit that description (the creek flows into the Truckee River, but I wouldn't call that open water, either), so maybe that's why I've never seen a bald eagle here before.

Phil and I weren't the only ones who were interested. A steady of stream of vehicles stopped so people could get out for a closer look and take pictures. The eagle didn't seem at all concerned by the attention; it didn't move except to swivel its head back and forth.

In case you haven't been keeping up, the bald eagle was reclassified from "Endangered" to just "Threatened" in 1995, and it was completely removed from the "Endangered and Threatened" list in 2007. Maybe this will become a common sight!

Hardy hawk

Laurel — 2009-12-12T16:29:00Z

This hawk in the neighbors' cottonwood tree stood out in the wintry sky yesterday morning. The temperature was in the single digits when I took the picture.

I hope it was watching for voles to eat.

Attractive nuisance

Laurel — 2009-12-09T16:48:00Z

The wild horse that's been wandering around our neighborhood made it to our yard early this morning.

The tracks in the snow are where it dug down to the lawn to eat some grass. Here's a closer view of the visitor.

It stood there soaking up the sun (it was still 5 degrees) until the neighbor left to take her kids to school. Then it trotted down the street in front of her vehicle. It's probably hard to tell from this photo, but it has a thick winter coat. Note the souvenir it left in the middle of the street.

As I wrote yesterday, I worry about the horses. Yes, they are nuisances, but they don't deserve to have bad things happen to them. This morning I called a wild animal rescue organization (they're not considered wild animals) and Washoe County Animal Control (they're not pets). They referred me to the US Bureau of Land Management and Nevada Division of Wildlife, which I didn't expect to be helpful.

Instead, I called the president of the Hidden Valley Homeowners Association because I know we have a herd living just outside the neighborhood and some of the residents feed it regularly. He said the people feeding the horses have a permit for it and also herd them back onto BLM land whenever they come into the neighborhood. He is reporting this horse to someone who will do that.

Zero

Laurel — 2009-12-08T22:37:00Z

This is what zero degrees Fahrenheit looked like here this morning.

We make a big deal about snowstorms and single digit temperatures around here because we don't have them very often. We have several snowstorms a year, but we can never count on a white Christmas. We got 6 inches between Sunday afternoon and yesterday afternoon. Our record low temperature is 19 below zero, but it's been a long time since it's been zero or below.

I love the way snow covers up my undone chores and makes everything look pretty. I'm also struck every time I go out in a snowstorm by how quiet it is. I am very aware that I would not see it like this if I could not retreat to my cozy house whenever I wanted.

By the time I thought about covering the remaining carrots, it was too cold to go out and do it. Maybe the snow will insulate them.

I worry about the wild horses who live in the hills around here. I may be posting photos soon because we have been seeing them in the next block lately. There was one pawing through the snow on a neighbor's lawn when we left this morning; it was up to 7 degrees by then. I have mixed feelings about them. On one hand, horses are beautiful and I used to read all the Marguerite Henry books about wild horses. On the other hand, they are not a native species and they can do a lot of damage when they are forced to eat landscaping to survive. I'm also scared of hitting one in the middle of the street at night (we don't have streetlights, and most of the horses are dark brown). No one can agree on the best thing to do with them or about them.

But don't worry about the voles--I'm sure they'll be fine.

Mercy for a vole

Laurel — 2009-11-30T21:23:00Z

Taking my own advice yesterday, I went out in the back yard to enjoy the sunshine for a few minutes. I noticed something unusual near the lawn, and when I moved clearer it looked like a gray, furry ball. At first I thought it was a dead mouse or baby rabbit, but then I saw that its head, which was buried in the grass stubble, was moving. I also saw a short tail, so I knew it was a vole.

Here's the picture I took after it moved to the lawn. It seemed to be having trouble digging into it; I suspect the ground is frozen.

When I came back in and told Phil about it, he said I should have killed it. There's no way I could have! I'm sorry, but it looks cuddly to me. (Do I miss our dogs that much?)

We've had voles here for years, and we've never had much damage other than their tunnels on the lawn. It's the moles that have done all the damage. But I couldn't kill a mole in cold blood, either.

Natural vole predators include snakes, raccoons, and cats, all of which we have here if you count the feral cats. If they want to take advantage of a vole's lack of caution when I'm not around, I'm OK with that. I just can't do it myself.

Holiday notes

Laurel — 2009-11-29T21:22:00Z

How was your Thanksgiving? We finally had ours Friday evening after a couple of weeks of crises, but all's well that ends well. I'm getting into the Christmas spirit now and have some odds and ends to write about today.

Feast for the birds

First I wanted to show the bird enjoying the crabapples next to our patio. Yes, those things that look like cherries are apples. Most of them stay in the tree all winter until the birds eat them, and the birds love them. I'm sorry to say I can't identify the bird in the photo.

Garden tools for Christmas

I've been meaning to write a post about the gardening tools I use and recommend, and what better time than the beginning of the Christmas shopping season? I have some suggestions for other gardeners or for your own wish list. I'm an Amazon Associate, so the links go to Amazon.com.

I always use gloves when I'm gardening. Sometimes they're a nuisance when they come between you and the plants or soil, but they save your hands (including rings and fingernails) from a lot of injuries and stains. I personally prefer goatskin gloves. They last longer than cowhide, and they're more flexible. I'm sorry, but fabric gloves wear out too fast when I use them. On the high end, you can get leather gauntlet gloves for pruning roses and other thorny plants. I could use some of those myself but have been too cheap to get them.

I skip the hat sometimes because it flattens my hair, but it's a really good idea to protect your face and eyes from the sun. Did you know the sun can contribute to cataracts?

A tool I like for weeding is the hula hoe. It makes quick work of new weed sprouts in loose soil. It has a few drawbacks, though, so you have to be selective about where you use it. One drawback is it lifts out everything at once, so it's not good where you have a few seedlings you want to save. It doesn't work very well in hard-packed soil, and it doesn't work at all on plants with established tap roots. Finally, it keeps the soil disturbed, which means weeds will keep sprouting there. It's taken me a long time to learn this, but one of the best weed deterrents is to leave soil in as natural a condition as possible if you're not planning on doing anything else in that spot.

My newest favorite tool is a big pair of loppers with "compound action" we bought this year. I don't have the strength to prune very thick branches with the plain kind, so I was amazed to try out the new ones and find I could slice though branches easily. I'm not going to try to explain the compound action, but it makes a huge difference.

You also can browse my Amazon store. While you're on Amazon, check out all the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals.

Indoor flowers

Is this a pretty poinsettia, or what? I bought it last night at Home Depot for $3.97. (Both Home Depot and Lowe's had them for 99 cents Friday, but I hate crowds.) I think this one is the freshest and most perfect I've ever bought.

I've never tried to keep poinsettias. I'll move them out to the patio if they make it to summer, but they are usually pretty ratty looking by then. That's why I try to spend as little as possible on them.

I've never been able to get amaryllises to bloom more than once, either. I'm keeping my eye out for a cheap one. (Before you think it, I've never been able to get expensive ones to bloom more than once, either!)

I also like to buy narcissus bulbs at this time of year. They can be divided and given as gifts if you like.

Decorating with greens from your yard

Yes, you have materials in your yard (or nearby) that would make pretty Christmas decorations. If I have them in my cold desert yard, I'm sure you do, too. See the entry I wrote about it last year. Sunset magazine's website has some really good ideas, too.

Stay in touch with your mother

Even though though it's cold and the days are short here in the Northern Hemisphere, it's good for us to stay in touch with Mother Nature. I'm writing this as much to remind myself as to remind my readers. I need to make time to get outdoors every day no matter how busy I am this season. I'm often surprised at how glad I am to be outside once I'm out there, even if I'm just walking into a store or taking out the garbage, and even if it's cold, windy, or snowing.

I want to believe moles can be chased away

Laurel — 2009-11-13T22:10:00Z

I came across this intriguing item while setting up an Amazon Associate store in preparation for the holiday season:

The solar-powered mole and gopher chaser. If it works, nothing could be easier. You stick it in the ground, and moles leave the area because it emits "sonic pulses." I'm skeptical because I think I've seen studies showing similar devices that plug into household outlets don't bother mice. But I really want to believe.

Reviews on things like this on Amazon are mixed--one person says the only way it will get rid of moles is if you stab one while you're inserting it in the ground, and another says moles have tunneled around hers and seem to enjoy the massages they get from it. However, another person says he's had success with devices like this and you need to use more than one.

I absolutely hate killing anything, but this is the first time I've had anything this destructive in my yard. Walking across our lawn feels like walking across rocks. They've redistributed soil, and seeds sprout in their mounds. So far the chicken wire seems to be keeping them out of the raised beds, but I'm not counting on that indefinitely.

We lived here mole-free for nearly 25 years before these varmints found us. Do I have to accept that they're here to stay?