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| The upside-down Nuthatch was designed to make feeding from the bark that much easier. Likewise, squirrels are engineered to max their speed and ability in trees and designed with split image eye lenses to judge distance to my bird feeders. From Norma A. Boeckler |
I used to depend on Mr. Gardener's weather reports, because Weather.com and Accuweather (sic) seldom agreed. Worst of all the weather sites overreport the next rain, which means we often see the storm sail on from Oklahoma to Eastern Arkansas.
When Mr. Gardener got on his riding mower and grimly cut down the growth of his lawn, as if the storm was about to break, I knew the rain was coming.
Yesterday I began by watering the enormous Cat Mint mound that started last year and decided 2018 was its leap year. The combination of mint roots and clay soil meant I wanted some soft soil to move most of it to the Butterfly Garden (the sunniest area) and to share with others. Ranger Bob has two cats and I told him how one comes over just to rub herself against the Cat Mint. Our dentist's mother also wants Cat Mint. Do not worry - I could start a business from that one mound and I have more besides.
I decided to soak most of the rose garden, just in case the "maybe rain" forecast turned out to be another fantasy. As Ishmael wondered in Moby Dick, "Did you ever feel like the whole world was a practical joke and you were the butt end of it?"
I heard thunder and rain last night, and the rain continues. The radar suggests that rain will continue today a bit, a prelude to rain tomorrow.
Ranger Bob, in spite of his work in landscaping, hates rainy days. However, I love to see a long, slow rain. Watering and then seeing the water bill can make anyone appreciate free rainwater expertly applied, packed with usable nitrogen compounds, lacking chlorine - God's best liquid fertilizer, guaranteed not to burn. However, flooding may occur.
Some organic gardening book probably calculates the fertilizer laid down by one rainstorm over several states. The amount of water itself is impossible to imagine.
Rain is like news, good and bad - I cannot control the rain, only what I do about it. Every plant serves to channel rain downward, which is very good, so that also means storing the water in its tissue. Every creature is mostly water and also stores the rain. A good rainstorm is captured by the growth of plants, bacteria, protozoa, mold, earthworms, and all soil creatures. The plants also build channels for the water to penetrate more deeply and be stored.
Some say "Boo hiss" when they hear about clay soil, but God made clay soil to hold a lot of water and to exchange mineral ions easily. When I am ankle deep in super-saturated clay mud and possibly falling over, I am not so keen on clay. Nevertheless, clay plus organic matter is the best foundation for most crops.
This is where I have to put in a good word for the God-created and wind-sown weeds - and the weeds squirrels work hard to plant and manage. Weeds are Guardians of the Soil (a classic work that will crush your bias against weeds). Weeds build the soil and hold it in place. They often have taproots that send rain water deep into the soil. Squirrels manage most of mine, by planting nuts where they will be watered most - under a rose bush. So cute, not. But I counter their trickery by cutting deep-rooted weeds at the soil level, a landscaper's trick. It uses no toxins, keeps the roots at work, and prevents the little trees from becoming a nut plantation.
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| That is my Lowe's feeder, but not my photo. |
Pleasant Surprises
Ranger Bob had too much storage on his property, so he asked, "Do you want a storage shed?" I always thought that would be great for gardening tools and convenience. Soon we were carrying it over from his place, and he was painting it white, black, and silver. He loves to paint.
When I spotted a roll-top desk, never used, in his barn, he offered to bring it over on his truck. Three of us could barely manage it, and it barely fit. He likes to work on cars and fix things, but hates paperwork. I help him with taxes and dealing with various bureaucrazies.
Someone was watching our service and a prayer was answered, so he wrong a long letter about it. There are so many consequences of broadcasting the Word - one never knows.
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| From Norma A. Boeckler |
