Open Thread - Thurs 10 Aug 2023 - Stuff Grows!
Stuff Grows
It's been a busy week! More than normal! Imagine someone you haven't seen in over 40 years (a friend/roommate from my early college days), or heard from in most of that time, suddenly contacting you, saying they are going to be in your area of the country for a very short time and wanting to meet up for lunch - yesterday. Yep, that's been my week. It's been great!
We didn't have a lot of time together, just a few hours at lunch. But boy, we talked and talked. 40 years means a lot of stuff has grown (and passed away, but I'm not talking about that today!), including us, kids, grandkids, trees, houses, plants, dreams... heh. She's changed a lot since we lived together in college. I have too, I'm sure. But the basics are still the same: her pretty face, lovely smile, nice voice. The changes I saw in her were basically very good ones; she's blossomed! Maybe growing up does that 
I bet many of you have had similar experiences with friends from the past. What have you learned from them? One thing I learned, don't assume the 'bad' things about the friend continued into later life. For example, she was very, very religious when I knew her. She's, now, not like that at all.
Stuff Grows! Here's evidence. I planted these poplars about, hmmmmm, 25-30 years ago. They were 3 feet tall sticks with one little root. They are now close to 80-100 feet tall.
As you can see, I've not got much for the open thread, so it's really, really open! Thanks for reading and post whatever you are interested in. We wanna know about it!
Comments
Thursday, almost the weekend!
Happy Day, everyone!
Busy week so far, as I said above. But fun! That's a great bonus. In farm news we chopped and then blended the first bucket of tomatoes we picked (been eating them fresh off the vine for about a month). We ended up being able to freeze about 6-8 pints of tomato puree a few days ago. We also froze 3 quart bags full of chopped up mild peppers. So gathering and preserving has started, and we are getting ready for the non-growing season(s)! Husband is pickling the Hungarian Hot Wax peppers and really enjoying eating them pickled, although they are HOT (he sez).
Hope everything is well where you are! If it's hot, I hope you are keeping cool, and if it's wet, I hope you are staying dry. Let us know what's up!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Hi Sima
How nice to re-encounter a pretty face, lovely smile, nice voice, after such a long time. It sounds like you both might have enjoyed the mutual pleasure of surprise.
Fresh tomatoes and hot peppers are a dream away for now.
Hi! Good to hear from you!
It was very much a nice get together with my long lost friend, that's for sure. Since you are basically in the winter in New Zealand, you've no fresh toms and peppers :(. However, maybe you've got some nice mushrooms? lettuce?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Hi Sima
Commercial greenhouse ones are available. They're not bad.
I bought shiitake mushrooms today at the veggie shop. Oddly, now that you mention it, I have seen very few mushrooms growing naturally, despite the moist ground and debris on it. Maybe it's just too wet.
I have some winter lettuce, lots of arugula, herbs, and not quite mature leeks ... and lots of weeds ; )
Leeks!!!
Our 'early' leeks (summer ones) are almost ready for harvest. Our 'winter' leeks will take a bit longer. I LOVE what is called 'leek and tattie soup'. Leek and potato soup, from Northumberland. YUM!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning Sima, et. y'all. It's officially "Lazy Day".
that's probably National lazy day or world lazy day or something like that but I'm too lazy to look it up.
Some significant happenings happened on August 10, like Magellan's Fleet departing Seville for their world cruise. The French stormed the Tuilleries Palace anc bagged Louis the King. The US Army started spraying poisonous defoliants and herbicides all over rural Viet Nam. The cops arrested the "Son of Sam" and two hellacious earthquakes hit New Zealand.
OK, so the important stuff
Leo Fender, Bobby Hatfield, Ronnie Spector, Ian Anderson, Fred Ho, and others were born. Hatfield was the tenor "Righteous Brother", who soloed on this gem -
Ronnie Spector, before she got married to Phil, gave us the Ronettes
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Leave it to you!
To send me down a very satisfying rabbit hole of learning. I love that song by the Righteous Brothers, but of course, I'd completely forgotten about it. Until listening to the video. Now I'm kinda laughing and crying in memory. His voice was so good! And the song was released when I was 3 years old! And the two members of the band grew up in the same areas around LA that my Mom and Dad did, at the same time. Rabbit holes rock
As for Lazy Day, boy, does that fit how my day worked out. I had a nap, did a bit of leaf raking, spent 10 minutes on the phone with American Express and that was IT!
Hope you had a good lazy day too!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Not sure that these two are related but for some authorities
climate change is not a priority.
Yep, climate change is not a priority..
with so many of our leaders. They like to talk that way, but do something? Naw. The destruction of Lahaina is insane. So is drowning in flooding in Germany, fires in Greece, Italy, Spain. Heat waves that are beating all records. Bleh.
Thanks for stopping by and for highlighting those tweets. I didn't know that's the way the protestors are being treated in Germany. Sucks!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Nice poplars Sima
Hi all, Hey Sima,
My what lovely poplars you have Sima! Great work with the trees! Are those Lombardi Poplar? There were some in Big Pine, but I think all were landscape plants, not natural. Nice trees though, and good for birds and windbreaks. One summer there was a vagrant male Indigo Bunting spent all summer singing from one.
EL - Thanks for bringing up the U.S. defoliant program, which BTW is still working, on the people there. Leo Fender born today? Now that ought to be a national holiday! I wonder if Fullerton has a big statue of a Bandmaster and Telecaster or somesuch?
have good ones all!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Poplars
Those poplars aren't native, for sure. I think they are hybrid or Lombardy, as you guessed. They are taller than Lombardys tend to grow. But, this is the PacNW, stuff grows a lot taller than normal here, sometimes! I got them to make a windbreak. I got them through the mail from, I think, Stokes.
As for birds, yes, the birds love those trees here! It must've been great to hear the Bunting singing from one. One thing we hear a lot, are mourning doves cooing and singing from our poplars. They are a 'local' species, but never came here to the farm until the climate stuff really changed things, about 5 or 6 years ago. Now, they stay all year round and we like them!
Thanks for stopping by!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
I haven't counted,
but I moved to my home and it had 2 trees in the yard. It now has about 20. All of the newbies were planted by me, and I started planting them in 1992. Cedars, elm, crepe myrtles, red buds, mimosas...and others.
Outside my yard fence, I planted a few, but thanks to wind and birds, I have at least 10 more than there were in '92.
Sadly, a giant pine tree outside the yard fence is dying. If it falls, it just might fall on the power lines. The electric co. will send a crew to cut it down, it will be up to me to get rid of the mess. Cheaper, safer, let them come do it. It could fall this direction, damage my yard and fence, not sure it would reach my house.
The heat is simply insufferable. It will be 105 highs for 2 or 3 more weeks. The forecasts only go that far out. For all I know, it will extend into September.
I am off in the morning to run and play for 10 days. That said, I will be checking in with my office and my clients via email all day, every day, because that is how I rock.
I won my trial today. My client, the man, was awarded custody of his 2 yr old baby girl.
I told him to dress up for court. Afterwards, I complimented him for showing proper respect for the place and the situation. I told him he looked great. He said after today, he was going to make that his new look. He liked the way his dress and appearance changed the way people treated him. Not just in court. He said it was a life changer for him.
Thanks, sima!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
What a great gift to nature!
All the trees and plants you planted and fostered. 1992 was just a couple years before I started to do the same thing. This was a cow pasture before I moved here, not a tree, or anything but grass, to be seen. Now it's got so many trees can't see the house from the road! Most of them I planted. Great minds think alike!
I'm sorry about the pine dying. Such things really suck. I have/had a tree that I grew from seed, a black locust. Yea, I know, it's spiny and such, but the flowers are heavenly and it makes great fence posts. We got hit with one of the weird windstorms we get now, thanks to climate change, and a mini tornado took the tree out. It feel over our driveway and front yard, and missed the house (phewww). We cleaned it all up, cut it up for fence posts and so on. And it grew back! Maybe the pine can do that?
The heat is awful, just awful. 105? Gads. Here, it's colder than normal right now! Hit, I think, 69 here today. Just nuts. The victory in court sounds great, as does the guy deciding to keep wearing nice clothes. He's smart! Have fun on your 10 day run and play! And thanks for stopping by!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
heat and stuff
.I live in the Piney Woods area of Texas. From time to time, pine beetles take them out.
That is likely the problem. It is enormous, way over 100 ft. tall, trunk would be over 2 ft. in diameter. It has no real second life/purpose. Maybe wood for an indoor stove. Splitting it would be very labor intensive. Good for a campfire.
I have been in the rain forest in the Amazon, and the jungles of Africa. I have been on a bus in China where newly planted trees lined the highways for hundreds of miles.
Some people somewhere on the planet understand the importance of trees.
You and I do, so we are perfect, aren't we?
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
We are!
Perfect, at least about trees, or something
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so