Sand County Almanac–Book Review

3 Comments

A Sand County Almanac (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)

This is not a gardening book. It is a classic book on conservation. I at least somewhat consider myself a conservationist and thoroughly loved this book. One of the fun things I did while I was reading it was compare what the author thought should need to happen and what actually is happening now, 62 years after the book was written. There definitely is more progress being made, but we aren’t there yet. So go read the book.

One thing I though of when reading this book was related back to gardening. As gardeners we are stewards over a certain patch of land and I believe we can do of conservation and improvement on the land we use and own. I wrote a senior paper in college about it, which I put up over here. A lot of it is planting a variety of good plants: as gardeners we can preserve native plant species, along with a hoard of cultivated species that are useful to the overall ecosystem. We can create healthy ecosystems in out own backyards by cultivating a healthy soil, not killing off everything “bad” with pesticides, and planting a diversity of plants.

I’ve seen great examples of this in a few gardens I’ve visited or heard of. Botanical centers do lovely jobs. There is an occasional neighborhood garden I stumble across that is growing a lovely assortment of native plants. I love the certified wildlife habitat program. I have yet to do much myself–it is one thing I aspire to do as a gardener, especially when I have a little more to garden with. I want to garden with the natural ecosystem and environment, not ignore it or even worse, try to get rid of or change it.

Toddler Peter

Leave a comment

Peter is so much fun. He’s actually old enough to take places just for his enjoyment. This week we went to Cabella’s, the park, the library and lots of just going outside. He has a lot of my personality in him, and with that is the love of wandering. Whether we are at church, a store, outside or the park, he just loves to be able to walk wherever he wants to and find new things. I love that in him, even if it means I’m constantly running after him.

He’s talking lots more. Sometimes I understand what he is saying. Mostly I do not. But he does speak in real words: my mom took him to the toy store while Joe and I were at the temple and realized he said “dump truck.” It’s more like “ump tu” but he says it. I think there are many word I don’t understand but some he says include up, down, mama, dada, bye-bye, ball, oo-da (not a read word, but still communication), and occasionally some random thing like duckie, or Elmo. He’s do really good for a 15 month old. I love that he can understand me more too: he gets all excited when its time to go bye-bye or outside and will go get his shoes and jacket. He’ll go get whatever object I ask him for, which is great to delay him a bit when he wants attention from me.

Peter also has learned how to hit and thinks its fun to hit and wrestle his parents. He’s learning. He doesn’t get that much interaction with other kids. We did have some friends over the other day and Peter even learned some new dance moves from one. He’s added waving arms to his rocking. He seems to do alright with other kids though, just doesn’t quite understand what to make of all their actions. They start playing with all the toys, make lots of noise and even try to hug him. He didn’t hug back.

As a Man Thinketh Vol 2

2 Comments

I finished it! I’ve been reading this book for a long time. It was a present from my husband, but not from last birthday or Christmas. Sometime before that. It’s a small volume, and the only reason I took so long to finish it is that I would read a chapter and need to think about it for a while. Then other books were lots more compelling. So it often sat on the shelf with a bookmark in it. But I never stopped, and last week I got done.

This book is amazing. It is written by James Allen who wrote a whole book on, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” He has written 19 books in total. This is actually not one of his works, it is a compilation from all his other books. It is wonderfully put together. The main message of the book is to seek higher Truth and try to be good people: we do so by controlling our thoughts. When I was reading it, I would feel my soul being drawn up to a higher plane of thinking. I would stop making excuses for all my faults and just want to be better. And I also had complete confidence that I could.

He mentioned at one time that when we start trying to live a higher life, it’s hard at first. It’s the same as learning any other thing like learning to play a musical instrument. But as we practice it gets easier. Righteous correct living can get easy, but it certainly doesn’t start out that way: like anything we need to practice. I try to remember that when I’m improving some aspect of my life.

Another thing he mentioned a lot was meditation. Not the sit in a cross-legged position and hummm while focusing on the image of a tree. Preferably in the wee hours of the morning under open skies (is that not the most meditative setting?) you concentrate on some aspect of Truth and righteous living. You draw your thoughts up to eternal Truth. I do this a little, trying to wake up before the rest of my family and study the scriptures and think. It is the best part of my day.

Random Holiday

1 Comment

IT WAS VERY VERY WARM!! The temperatures were in the high 40’s. I thought is was January, the long horrid month of never ending coldness. But today was warm, and we are over half-way through the longest month of the year (although some years that’s actually February).

We made it hiking today. Not snowshoeing, since the trail did not require it. There was tons of snow melt. Some parts of the trail were a little dangerous because of the rapid melting of snow. There was even a scary moment when snowballs came crashing down the mountain on top of us. Joe was the only one hit, and not badly. But it was gorgeous and worth the small amount of danger. We hiked my most frequented hike (I’ve been doing this since I could hike) and one of my favorites–Battle Creek Falls. Not long, gorgeous waterfall, and lots of fun memories.

Of course hiking there meant visiting my grandparents down the street. We had a great lunch together, and Joe scared Peter with a remote control race car. While we were there Peter blew out his diaper, and I did not have a change of pants. This was before the hiking, so I thought our opportunity to hike was lost. Luckily I layered today. My purple shirt turned into purple leggings for Peter. I am not so proud of my mommy-preparedness skills but very proud of my creative mommy-skills.

Here are the pictures:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

*P.S. What do you do when your kid goes to sleep at 5:30 because he still needs two naps, but not all the time, and he was extremely tired and you were just not fighting any more with him to stay awake? He’s still asleep at 7:15, I guess I should go wake him up and at least get some dinner in him.

Two Trips in Wet Snow

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

If you haven’t noticed, I love to go hiking and snowshoeing. I was able to go Friday and Saturday this week, and I even have plans for tomorrow. It’s a lot of fun to be able to still get out and do things in the winter.

Now, the last two hikes were short, just about and hour and half each, and probably under two miles as well. That was okay by me. On Friday I went with my mom, who had never been snowshoeing, up the Alpine trail (Dry Creek Canyon, maybe, with a turn-off to another canyon that I don’t remember the name). I discovered that my mom, who goes running, is in excellent shape. I had Peter with me and was attempting to carry him. After much wheezing, my mom took over. She wasn’t having a hard time with him at all. The trail we went on was a lot less snowy that it has been in previous years. The snow was rather wet too, but at least it was iced over. Even without ideal snow, I had a great time and enjoyed introducing something to my mom that she enjoyed.

Saturday, it was the normal group of Joe, Peter and I. We went up Hobble Creek Canyon to the Jolley’s Ranch park. If I go there again I will go ahead and rent some cross-country skis. Way too tame for snowshoeing. We didn’t have a lot of time to go, and fought our way up a side canyon for a while and then went on the boring, marked trail. I didn’t have to carry Peter (which is getting to be quite a task). I love my strong husband!

And Peter went to nursery for the first time today! (He technically isn’t old enough, but I was teaching Sunday School, and Joe was subbing in Primary so it was needed.) He did quite well. I kept peeking on him (peepholes in all the primary room doors is a brilliant idea) and actually really wanted to be in there with him, but he just didn’t need me. He is growing up and getting so big! (Seriously–too big. He dwarfs all the other kids his age, and is already starting 3T clothes. I guess I’m just getting stronger from lugging him around everywhere.)

Good Information

8 Comments

I want a search engine that can do two things:

  1. Be able to search through my Internet history for a page I remember viewing but I just can’t find.
  2. Search through a selected group of pages, not the entire web: i.e. garden blogs, Extension sites, print-published items, etc.

If anyone finds anything like this, let me know. Or you might even get creative and start something yourself.

At garden rant, I read a post about the web being overrun by articles  not written by experts. There is a ton out there. However, I’m not completely opposed because I’m my mind there is no way to find absolutely correct information anyway. There’s a lot of garbage written by people who have no clue what they are doing. At the same time, I’ve found very valuable information on so-called junk sites.

You can try to find articles written by experts like professional gardeners, extension service agents, people with big degrees and lots of experience. But even the supposed experts aren’t always right. There’s an old Extension bulletin in the USU system that advocates fertilizing lawn every two weeks. It is written by an expert, but the information is bad and outdated. I’ve even worked for the Extension office and (I’m sorry to admit) have offered supposedly ‘expert’ advice that was completely wrong.

Scientific literature and printed information can also be good sources. But scientific literature is far from fact, as discussed on this post at greensparrow gardens. Printed stuff often come from writers that may or may not be actual gardening experts.

The way to get good information:

  • Cross-reference a bit
  • Try and find the most current info
  • Dig up the experience/qualifications of the writer
  • The library, associated resources, and real people beats Google
  • Nothing can replace your own experience and trial and error

If you really want to know something go out and experiment. Often there isn’t a wrong or a right way, just the way that works for you.

And someone should really start a new type of search engine.

Sewing

3 Comments

I sew a little. Lately I’ve been thinking of things to sew. I’ve got quite a list:

  • Curtains for Peter’s room
  • Curtains for the kitchen
  • Gardening apron
  • Smallish bags
  • Green knit skirt
  • New waistband on workout capris
  • Mend/quilt quilt

I have three problems:

  1. I don’t ever make time to sew
  2. Peter and sewing don’t mix
  3. I’m a horrible sewer

Well today at the library, I stumbled upon a book about sewing. I feel 300% more able to sew a good project. I also was thinking this book is going to do me no good if I have to turn it back into the library. I hardly ever check out a book that the same day I want to buy it.

I realized I need to cut my fabric more straight, not just willy-nilly. Than I actually need to pin or baste it. I should also pay attention when I am sewing, so I keep the allowance the same and actually sew straight. I also learned how to finish a seam so it looks good and doesn’t fray several different ways, without a serger. Most of all, I need to use the iron more. The author mentioned that you should spend as much time pressing as sewing to get good projects.

After writing all that done, it’s very clear why I am not a good sewer. I rush it through it too much. So next up is the kitchen curtains. Whew, curtains are pretty hard to ruin. Although I did start once and ended up unpicking everything and changed what I was doing.

Cheap Can Be Better

You get what you pay for. I was thinking of this saying and plants while lying in bed. I do not think you get what you pay for when you buy plants. For instance:

  • A pack of seed can turn into hundreds of great plants and costs only a few dollars. You have to spend extra work making them into those great plants, but at the same time you have control and know it’s done properly.
  • Larger plants cost more, but often just develop transplant shock when you plant them, and their smaller counterparts outgrow them quickly. This is especially true with perennials. I love 4 or 6 inch perennials. I won’t buy a gallon plant unless there is no other option.
  • Big box stores often stock from local and reliable wholesalers, but they don’t have the mark-up that many garden centers do.
  • Neglected plants are usually knocked way down, but can often quickly be brought back to life.
  • More expensive, newer varieties aren’t necessarily better: sometimes the older cheaper ones are.
  • If you get starts from neighbors it’s completely free and you know the plant will grow well in your exact location.

My neighbors redid their landscape right after I move here. Later on, I inspected their lawn and was pleasantly surprised to see a turf-type tall fescue. Tall fescue lawns are more drought tolerant, pest resistant, and often just look healthier and greener than their Kentucky blue counterpart. It also still handles traffic well, and the newer turf-types aren’t as stiff and spiky as the regular species. I inquired about there lawn later on and found out the reason they bought it wasn’t because it’s one of the best type of lawns to plant. (They had no idea.) It was the cheaper variety of sod.

Another time I was going to buy perennials. I went to about every garden center and store and finally found what I wanted at Smith’s Marketplace. They had the largest selection of perennials in the area, all in 4 or 6 inch parts, and a fraction of the price of the other garden centers. I noticed that a lot of the perennials came from local wholesalers–reliable companies that grew some of the best perennials to plant in our area. I ended up with better plants than many of the traditional varieties sold in garden centers and for a fraction of the price.

I have also bought plants that are poorly taken care of and succumb to rot or other problems soon after purchasing. I have also bought more expensive plants because it was the exact variety I wanted, or even because I loved the garden center it was sold at. But more expensive doesn’t mean it’s better.

Perennials

2 Comments

My day flew by today. It’s already almost over and I’m thinking of all the stuff that I thought I could get done today. I didn’t do half of it. Mostly I took care of my toddler, along with a lunch date/shopping trip with my husband. The toddler is pretty high maintenance right now, but a joy too. Sometimes I have I think of what I could be doing if I wasn’t taking care of him all the time. So many things I want to do just don’t get done, nor will they for a long time. But mostly I love being a stay at home mom. There’s a slew of other things I wouldn’t have dived into if I hadn’t been home with him. Like this blog and my fledging hort business.

Right now I’ve working on lots of stuff for the above venture. One of which is making a plant list that is taking forever, mostly because I get distracted and start to read all the cool things about plants. I’m working on perennials right now. I got up to over 380 species, but have since consolidated some. There are so many different plants to plant out there! I wonder why people plant so much lawn when you could plant big borders of beautiful perennials instead. It’s been a really good project because I’ve increased my knowledge immensely. (I didn’t know 380 perennials before. Okay I still don’t know that many, but more than I did before I started.) It’s also nice to have a list I can copy/paste out of to make plant lists for clients. I will share when if I ever get done.

I’ve used two books for the plant list–Still’s manual (Manual of Herbaceous Ornamental Plants), and Graham Rice’s book (Encyclopedia of Perennials (American Horticultural Society). Both are good books and complement each other. I like Still’s better as a basic reference, but Graham’s is the better read. I get very distracted by all the wonderful pictures and fun facts. And so many cultivars are listed! That is one thing I do not think I will ever learn unless I go into the nursery business. What do you think about learning cultivars? For me, it’s best to learn general facts about the species and worry about specific cultivars when I am at a nursery about to buy a plant. No point in finding the perfect cultivar that no one sells!

Bread

1 Comment

I was making bread. After I got the yeast going, and measured the flour, I realized my mixed was broken. At the same time I dumped half of the flour down myself and onto the flour. Peter quite enjoyed playing with it. I let him while I tried to figure out what to do with my mixer. It was a little lot frustrating. Eventually I did figure out that on small piece was gummed up, and hopefully I can get it cleaned out or order a new piece. The mixer is still broken, however. I also learned today that you can actually make bread by hand. Wow. It wasn’t that hard and actually a wonderful way to work away the stress I had built up over the broken mixer.

Peter has been grumpy, not only because his mommy ignored him while she tried to make bread. He has the rest of his teeth coming in. All at once. Poor kid. We made it through the day. The kitchen even got clean even with lunch spilled all over, and flour everywhere. We went sledding with Daddy. (Which scared little Pete, but Joe and I liked it.) And we played at the library. Most wonderful of all my bread was delicious. I was so worried that after a morning of trying to get it made it would fail. But it didn’t. I would say it is the best bread I have ever made. I’m not in any hurry to get my mixer fixed. I wouldn’t mind just kneading again. 🙂

*Oh, and congrats to sister who had baby Annalee today!