The 2019 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...

[22-rimfire]

Thanks for the Distant Early Warning ... snow is coming in tonight here as well.

Happy Halloween everyone don't be SPOOKED by the snow!

We're supposed to have our first freeze tonight and will continue cold at night for a couple days. It begins a little early; this is not abnormal for us......

 

[annr]

...waiting for it to get up to 70*F today...pay now, pay later. The white stuff is coming

 

[annr]

Winnipeg takes the prize, though, not only being close to 5 degrees more Northerly in latitude but also bearing the brunt of more persistent winds more typical of the prairies. Think wind chill. Winnipeg is (in fun) said to be synonymous with cold and foreboding winter weather. This region is considered to be the winter playground for the snowmobilers, cross country enthusiasts, ice fishers etc. from the urban South ... Toronto and surrounds. 'Cottage country' in summer. I am lucky.

Now, there are those Westerners, like my dad from Saskatchewan, who claim no matter how cold it may get in the West, it is a dry cold and does not 'feel' as cold as winter in the more humid Eastern provinces. There is likely a lot to say for this observation. At least here, our climate is tempered by the Great Lakes, even inland where I live. Lots of water courses and lakes and hilly geography carved out by glacial action. Algonquin Park is just NE of me here.

Climate zones are critical for our choice of perennials here, for example. I'm in 4a generally and may have some 4b, even 5 ... niche locations on this South-facing hill property. I consider a hardy for zone 3 to be a shoo-in (and probably originating in Siberia!) Also, I'm in a shallow river valley.

I wonder do gardeners in warmer climes use their zones as guides for planting perennials - perhaps for the heat?

I talk to people in Winnepeg and hear how they walked to work in the snow...when it is still summer or autumn for us.
I don't know how they do it. There is something to the "dry heat" "dry cold" argument -- up to a point IME. (In my book, winter starts at 49*F and anything near 100*F is HOT regardless. ) And with sun or clouds or wind, it can all depend. It sounds like you get a similar benefit from the Great Lakes that we do being close to the ocean. The weather is often much milder than one would expect, or see on the news. Even a few miles inland snow accumulation can be drastically higher and conditions worse.

As far as plant selection, yes, the smart people go with the climate/planting zones and local conditions. I am not one of those people.I go with the average, what they are selling in local shops that are generally compatible with NE weather in MA.

 

[22-rimfire]

Humidity levels make a huge difference as to how you perceive heat or cold. We don't get that much really cold weather where I am, but I can tell you that it really feels cold when it happens.

There is a fairly wide storm system moving eastward today and we are getting more rain. The month went form almost no rainfall to an abundance of rainfall in the last week or so.

I visited Cades Cove yesterday (Smoky Mt NP). Rain was predicted; occasional showers in the morning and thunderstorms developing in the late afternoon and evening..... well, the forecasters were a bit off. It rained all freaking day long there. The most significant wildlife of the day were three sets of mother and cub(s) for a total of 8 bears for the day. That is a bit unusual for the fall... I looked back at my notes and one or two sightings were fairly routine if you spent the entire day looking. It was so overcast with low clouds that you could hardly see the sides of the mountains to get a good feel for the foliage change. I am guessing that about 60% changed or a tad more. To me, that is about perfect as I like the mix of green and orange/reds/yellows.

The kicker on the day is that I may have ruined my DSLR camera getting it wet. Time will tell, but this may be a HUGE blow to my picture taking.

 

[eisman]

Well it's been in the 20's at night for over a week, so that's a little cooler than normal. But I finally got my walkway finished around the front of the house. Had the granite blocks sitting for over a year waiting for time and some help to get them positioned. They are 5" thick and I expect they will stay where we put them. I had planned to fill the space between with decomposed granite, but time and money ran out. Used some black bark mulch instead, and I'm happy with the way it turned out. I could have laid concrete a lot cheaper, but I really didn't want any more water runoff. This will let it sink into the ground and should keep it from flooding under the house.

This is an old picture (3 years) but it shows the difference in what used to be there and now (and the new paint job too.)

 

[taldesta]

Humidity levels make a huge difference as to how you perceive heat or cold. We don't get that much really cold weather where I am, but I can tell you that it really feels cold when it happens.

There is a fairly wide storm system moving eastward today and we are getting more rain. The month went form almost no rainfall to an abundance of rainfall in the last week or so.

I visited Cades Cove yesterday (Smoky Mt NP). Rain was predicted; occasional showers in the morning and thunderstorms developing in the late afternoon and evening..... well, the forecasters were a bit off. It rained all freaking day long there. The most significant wildlife of the day were three sets of mother and cub(s) for a total of 8 bears for the day. That is a bit unusual for the fall... I looked back at my notes and one or two sightings were fairly routine if you spent the entire day looking. It was so overcast with low clouds that you could hardly see the sides of the mountains to get a good feel for the foliage change. I am guessing that about 60% changed or a tad more. To me, that is about perfect as I like the mix of green and orange/reds/yellows.

The kicker on the day is that I may have ruined my DSLR camera getting it wet. Time will tell, but this may be a HUGE blow to my picture taking.

I hope the dslr survived the outing ... I've had technology that went swimming and survived so my best to you on this one. It's so important to your enjoyment of the outdoors so good luck.

8 bear sightings would make a great day ... lots of cubs - nice! All I've spotted here are the caterpillars - the wooly bears - by the score. I'm always moving them out of my way so they won't get stepped on. Wooly bears and shed snakeskins turned up a lot under cover in the woodpile as I sorted and relocated the logs for winter. Snakes do love the woodpile!

My son has not had time to work on the shed so I will probably go to plan B - move the covered boxes from the dilapidated tarp shed to the new shed platform and tarp them in place for over winter. Then cut the remaining tarp material off the frame just to tidy what is a derelict looking structure. This will do and it will take the pressure off my son while he is so busy finishing up his work contracts which are all rush before winter as well.

Time change tonight. Winter tires are on. Snowblower started like a gem. Almost ready for W..w..w.winter

 

[22-rimfire]

We've had two frosts and possibly another tonight. But nothing significant has been killed that I can see. I don't believe the temp dropped to 32 degrees F yet, but almost. I almost wish that my remaining couple of Lantana plants were killed so I can clear out the space without guilt and finish planting the pansies I already have for the area. Believe it or not, I mowed the grass today. Not too many leaves on the ground yet, but I did grind up some. It pays to take care of them in phases and the fact the grass is growing, it gives me an excuse to mow things (and grind up leaves).

Not sure yet about the DSLR. I was told to let it dry out for a few days before thinking the worst. It really didn't get very wet.... some water must have just gotten somewhere it shouldn't. I may end up buying a used one (never bought a used camera body before) of the same model. We'll see, but I don't really want to blow $1000+ on a new camera at the moment. The good thing would be getting a full frame model, but still.... the money would really hurt big time.

 

[taldesta]

New England actually produces decent tomatoes in season but it seems like our go to options are Maine or Canada. (Yea Canada!)

What options do you see in the market?

Hey annr ... I did a quick check of the tomatoes available at the store that starts with a W this week to find only products of Canada and Mexico. The brand name on most was the same ... yet the country of origin was printed very small in a neutral brown on the packaging compared to the colourful brand logo, barely noticeable. The signage reflected country of origin and price more easily read but the product is side by side and one needs to check the package. There are two other large food chain stores in town and another in the town south of me where I also shop produce. Here's to flavour sleuthing urban style over winter

 

[taldesta]

Believe it or not, I mowed the grass today. <...> I may end up buying a used one (never bought a used camera body before) of the same model. We'll see, but I don't really want to blow $1000+ on a new camera at the moment. The good thing would be getting a full frame model, but still.... the money would really hurt big time.

If it helps at all, every camera I've used, except for one new Brownie received when I was in grade 5 and one gift from my daughter, was second hand, lenses et al. You may recall the Nikon brand model Nikormat. Well, mine was a Nikomat purchased from an elderly man who brought it from Japan. It became too heavy for him to use. Of course those were the times of film and slides! Now, my sense of it is that digital at least should be easier to check out on the spot, no waiting for the print processing. Again, good luck with it.

I'm pretty sure the grass is green here (under the snow) and I truly do not care how tall it is

 

[22-rimfire]

If it helps at all, every camera I've used, except for one new Brownie received when I was in grade 5 and one gift from my daughter, was second hand, lenses et al. You may recall the Nikon brand model Nikormat. Well, mine was a Nikomat purchased from an elderly man who brought it from Japan. It became too heavy for him to use. Of course those were the times of film and slides! Now, my sense of it is that digital at least should be easier to check out on the spot, no waiting for the print processing. Again, good luck with it.

I'm pretty sure the grass is green here (under the snow) and I truly do not care how tall it is

You have snow on the ground now?

A Brownie..... now that is a time capsule. I wanted a camera so bad when I was in high school, and probably before. Never happened until I bought my own in college for documenting things on field projects. Remember the Kodak "Open me First" ad campaign? My brothers pranked me at Christmas with a "open me first" box. I was a bit suspicious, but the prank still worked on me.

 

[annr]

Hey annr ... I did a quick check of the tomatoes available at the store that starts with a W this week to find only products of Canada and Mexico. The brand name on most was the same ... yet the country of origin was printed very small in a neutral brown on the packaging compared to the colourful brand logo, barely noticeable. The signage reflected country of origin and price more easily read but the product is side by side and one needs to check the package. There are two other large food chain stores in town and another in the town south of me where I also shop produce. Here's to flavour sleuthing urban style over winter

Thanks for the report.

We got duped this past week. Someone brought home tomatoes for marinara. I looked them over. Hmmm, this one looks weird. From Mexico. (Paler in color)

They had done the same sort of thing at our market: the Canadian and Mexican tomatoes were intermingled in the bin and unless one read each sticker on each tomato, out of luck. Sneaky. Didn’t see which we were charged for.

Good luck sleuthing. Probably nothing will beat the real article, but there are better and worse for sure, IME.

ETA: yes! I had one of those brownie cameras, maybe 2nd or 3rd grade. Nice pictures terrible operator!

 

[22-rimfire]

A couple pictures from my Wednesday visit to Cades Cove mentioned above. The mother bear was looking up the tree at her two cubs. Think she wanted to move on and they were being uncooperative.

I believe the shelf/bracket fungus is called Sulfur. It is edible when young.
The leaves on the other shot have sort of an unusual red color similar to Dogwoods. Nice images are hard to capture on things like this. I'm always looking for natural patterns.

 

[taldesta]

A couple pictures from my Wednesday visit to Cades Cove mentioned above. The mother bear was looking up the tree at her two cubs. Think she wanted to move on and they were being uncooperative.

I believe the shelf/bracket fungus is called Sulfur. It is edible when young. The leaves have sort of an unusual red color similar to Dogwoods.

That sulphur almost glows - misty fall weather can really saturate the colours ... great pics, all. A welcome splash of colour. And the mother bear. My guess is that what she is muttering under her breath is not all sweetness and light.

Snow here ? yes, we've had lots of flurries that accumulated but it is turning rapidly back to green with the (now) rain. Still don't care how tall it gets. I'm not mowing 'til spring! Freeze your little green blades off, grass. I know, bad attitude - but only towards grass.

 

[22-rimfire]

That sulphur almost glows - misty fall weather can really saturate the colours ... great pics, all. A welcome splash of colour. And the mother bear. My guess is that what she is muttering under her breath is not all sweetness and light.

Snow here ? yes, we've had lots of flurries that accumulated but it is turning rapidly back to green with the (now) rain. Still don't care how tall it gets. I'm not mowing 'til spring! Freeze your little green blades off, grass. I know, bad attitude - but only towards grass.

I actually chose the day to visit anticipating some rain as it would brighten up and saturate the colors a bit. But the weather hung around a lot longer than was predicted. Such is life. The Sulfur bracket fungus really did sort of glow otherwise I probably wouldn't have seen it back in the woods 50-75 yds from the road. I was surprised that the one tree stump that has had this stuff growing on it for years had none this year.

I wouldn't expect you to mow at this point. I wouldn't either unless it is to grind up leaves and my fescue likes cooler weather; in fact fescue thrives in cooler weather. The other common turf grass here is bermuda and it doesn't grow when the weather is cooler. The difference is that I have a green lawn most of the year and the bermuda folks have a brown lawn for 4 months or so each year. Bermuda will be brown for the winter after the first freeze (not frost) as is typical of southern grasses.

I ordered a used replacement camera body. This will be a learning experience. They rated the condition as "Excellent". It is an upgrade but the same brand, so my lenses will fit. It was considered the pro/advanced amateur model before the full frame models came out. Anyway, it has a 180 day warranty and I placed the order after talking to the dealer. Absolutely no fleabay for me. I will probably head for the woods as soon as I get it and try it out.

I have also ordered some camera rain protection for the future. This getting wet thing will not happen again.

Added: That bear picture posted above is certainly no magazine cover quality shot, but I just like it. I have closer shots of that bear. It was wet just like me. The mother bear tried to lead the cubs away from that spot but one cub would never come down out of the tree. It was way way up high. So, the picture embodies a story of the day.

 

[taldesta]

As I refilled the feeders for the chickadees early this morning, I was reminded of just how beautiful and peaceful winter can be. Snowflakes cling to the pups' fur and paws, to my boots ... and they puff up every shape on every growing thing with a quiet white.



Path to the veg garden



Looking South down the laneway

 

[22-rimfire]

Nice peaceful shots and pretty!! I honestly like snow; just don't really want snow for months and months or have to drive in it all the time. Either way I would be fine however.

I put out a new small hanging feeder for general bird seed mix this past week. The birds seem to prefer it over the other larger general feeder that has bushes beneath it and hence conceals the little feline predators we keep at the house. The birds can see precisely what is nearby as there are no hiding spots.

I think your re-sizing is just about perfect for the forums and the file size is small. Post card size (or is on my computers)... Been doing to the same size since you told me the dimensions (pixels). Probably one of the best suggestions I have had in years. I used to just resize the pictures I might use here, but now I resize every shot. It's a free batch resizing program. Honestly, I would pay for this program as I use it a lot.

 

[annr]

Final pickings: tomato, red pepper on homemade hummus and homemade bread. A little sad to see it going, but tasted good on the way down.

 

[22-rimfire]

I still have about a half dozen picked tomatoes on the ledge in my kitchen window. I am sort of "tomatoed out" to be honest as we have had continuous ripe tomatoes from the garden or containers since early June. I know I'll be ready for next year when the time comes. My large tomato containers now have pansies in them and are growing well.

The onions I planted in the rectangular container barely came up... only a few. I don't know what the deal is with that. Celery was moved inside the house for a few days it frosted and is now outside on my sunny deck. It will get shuffled in and out as the night time temps dictate for the next month. After that, it will be consistently too cold at night and I'll just pick it or let it go. Nothing is dead yet in the garden due to frosts including the two tomato plants in large containers.

 

[taldesta]

Nice peaceful shots and pretty!! I honestly like snow; just don't really want snow for months and months or have to drive in it all the time. Either way I would be fine however.

I put out a new small hanging feeder for general bird seed mix this past week. The birds seem to prefer it over the other larger general feeder that has bushes beneath it and hence conceals the little feline predators we keep at the house. The birds can see precisely what is nearby as there are no hiding spots.

I think your re-sizing is just about perfect for the forums and the file size is small. Post card size (or is on my computers)... Been doing to the same size since you told me the dimensions (pixels). Probably one of the best suggestions I have had in years. I used to just resize the pictures I might use here, but now I resize every shot. It's a free batch resizing program. Honestly, I would pay for this program as I use it a lot.

Oh, yes .... months and months of snow do seem too much - you know up here we feast our eyes on the seed catalogues starting in December - that's why

I know the birds like their baths and feeders where they have a good view for predators. They love the concave bath under the cool maple in summer, where there is no foliage at all now with the laying of the wood chip mulch. I don't want to lure birds to a platform feeder because of the owls this winter - yet, I do want to help out the recovery of the evening grosbeaks who feed in flocks. And the pine grosbeaks of course and the smaller birds who feed together. Decision time. My predators here are mostly aerial or weasels.

As to the filesize for pics on this forum - out of necessity I have always needed to compress overall filesize just to 'launch' my images from my computer via dialup in order to post them - less than or around 100 kb. Then I had to replace my monitor with one 'new to me' and at that time I resized for my viewing on the new monitor. And, yes, I do like the pixel width of 650 of the photo dimension pics for viewing here - the images just roll out nicely and yet have sufficient clarity.

BF compresses the huge images uploaded I believe. Yet the sizing for viewing makes a positive difference for me.

Here on dialup I was unable to see the cactus pics for example in this thread - not one of them - and I felt bad that I could not 'like' them because that would have been disingenuous. But I wanted to see them and every growing thing folks are enjoying. Perhaps I'll get high speed eventually here in the boonies. Very costly at this juncture.

 

[taldesta]

View attachment 1226895
Final pickings: tomato, red pepper on homemade hummus and homemade bread. A little sad to see it going, but tasted good on the way down.

Yu-um! Master of breadmaking too ... I am impressed. OK - the hummus just looks so smooth compared to my efforts.

annr, if you give me your hummus recipe/secret, I'll figure out my addition to it of the roasted red pepper on my bbq - my favourite flavouring of it.

By the way, LEGION 12 posts some very tasty looking dishes sans recipe. Just sayin'