A delightful day of this and that and the other and this again and...

But my seed flats are unchanged. My cuttings are wilting.

My ever patient partner knocked up a few more temporary shelves on our upper deck where they'll get more morning sun. I don't know whether to give up on the cuttings. I don't feel like giving them a lot more effort. The seeds might come along.

I also planted a couple clumps of Redwood Sorrel (Oxalis oregana) at the foot of some redwoods and put a bunch of chicken wire around them. When I get a bit more organized I'll put in a little deer fence (chickenwire corral) and maybe try some other redwood habitat plants that deer eat there - like wild ginger (Asarum caudatum). Maybe a balance between growth and munching will emerge after a few years.

Other than that, did a bit of weeding, buried a drip irrigation pipe that was a hazard to those crossing the path, and also dug up soil to dry for testing in my Soils class, and trimmed back some culinary sage that I never use but it looks nice. I took the soil from the mixed evergreen forest part of our property, the slope down behind our house on the north side. It looks really nice, dark and crumbly. So different from the powdery sandy soil on the chapparal side.

Oh and I took some pictures of what's blooming which I'll put up soon, for the bloom day, which I understand is a tradition but I'm not very clear about it yet.

Yesterday was pruning class, with Kevin Raftery (review and contact info), a pruner of deep wisdom and long experience. He walked us around campus and pruned things as he went. I came home and practiced on a clump of junky ornamental fruit trees that maintain their membership in the garden by stabilizing the top of a steep sunny slope. I'd like to replace them but am not sure what with. I am a pruner of little wisdom and less experience but I'm working on it. It's difficult with trees that are so badly out of shape as these ones, though.

Lovely to potter around on a sunny day in early California spring.

Comments

Unknown said…
Re: your recent email about dandelion. The address you gave doesn't work countriemoosie@gmail.com. So I am using your blog to communicate.

Sounds like nice metaphor for the unwanted dispersal of non native species.

I am happy for you to use the image freely. Please note that I always retain copyright of my image, and retain the right to be attributed.

Regards
itchypixel
Town Mouse said…
My seeds took quite a bit to sprout, two weeks maybe? So, don't despair. Though a sprinkle of extra water might be a good idea, I can't believe how hot it's been. 66 at 5pm in January???