Speak Softly...

... and annihilate evil with... well, could there be anything more effective than Mr. Stick?

CALLING GARDEN PRODIGY

When you look at this photo the conifers might tell you that it wasn’t taken in Texas – in fact it wasn’t taken in this century. A woman named Pam snapped the shutter in June of 1993, as she looked out on the Vermont countryside from the Tearoom of the VonTrapp estate. Pam was part of a group of gardening friends who were touring New England, but not as part of a garden club or a horticulture class. Back in those pre-blogging days, they’d all met on the Prodigy garden bulletin board, where they found soulmates – other people who were obsessed with perennials, bulbs, flowering shrubs and creating personal landscapes.
The Prodigy gardeners went to Readsboro, Vermont where these Hostas graced the grounds of North Hill. Garden authors and partners Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd started this garden in 1977 and thirty years later, they’re still holding open days for groups and fundraisers.
I was one of those long ago perennial maniacs, going online as Kat in N-IL whenever I had time to spare. Despite having only plain text to express our thoughts, slow response times, single phone lines with dial-up, and no way to post a photo or a drawing, it was addictive and exhilarating. Since I couldn’t meet with the others in New England, the garden at North Hill and the Von Trapp estate came to me in photos sent around the country after the trip.

This is also from Vermont - I think it's at Cady's Falls Nursery in Stowe. We never met in person so I can’t even put names to the faces, but loved their words and wonder where they are and if any of them are now garden bloggers, too.


Shout out to all you Gardeners from the Prodigy bulletin boards – Niko in Norwalk, Connecticut, Allen in Linwood, New Jersey, Marion from Waterbury, Vermont, Denise in Minnesota, Ellen & Deb from Illinois, Margaret in New York, Pam in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Bargyla in San Diego, California, Don from Saginaw, Michigan, Joyce in South Carolina, Nancy from Norcross, Georgia and all the others - I hope you’re still in the garden!

Freightliner, and Allison, and Cummins, and Onan … Check

22 March

When we purchased our “gently-used” Phaeton, we had everything checked out before plunking down the purchase price. That was in May . Granted we didn’t get to use the coach much last year, but we hope to change that this camping season. So, with that in mind, we decided to get the annual inspections done on our Freightliner chassis, Cummins engine, Allison transmission, and Onan generator.

At first, we were going to take the rig to two different service centers. Then we found out that the Johnson Truck Center in Gainesville, Virginia was qualified to handle all of our inspection needs. Well, the decision became a no brainer at that point.

If you peek into the first bay, you’ll see what we saw.

We dropped the Phaeton off on the 15th. A few days later, we received the news that all was well — with the exception of a few warranty/recall items that were quickly taken care of. One part had to be ordered, so we left the rig at Johnson over the weekend. We were notified this morning that the coach was ready for pick up. All I can say is … WOW! That’s the fastest we’ve ever been in and out of a service center. And it certainly wasn’t for lack of business at Johnson; the service bays were busy with ongoing work and the yard had rows of vehicles (including a couple of RVs) waiting for their turn to be serviced.

A busy place to be sure.

“We’re RV friendly,” Jeff, the branch manager told me when I met him this afternoon. I would agree. The quality workmanship, and excellent customer service, including prompt communication, earns the Johnson Truck Center two thumbs up from us.

With the toad hooked up, we were soon on our way. Next stop — the Fannon station where we filled up on diesel at $3.87/gallon. Not bad for this area! Then, onto the storage lot, where we put the coach to bed. Now that she’s greased, lubed, and oiled, and all her fluids are topped off, the Phaeton is ready for her first outing of the season. But first, Mui has a few maintenance things he wants to take care of this weekend. And, I want to take some of the stuff we took out of the coach at the end of the last camping season back and start getting organized again. But the weekend after that we’ll definitely be going camping.

This is how you replace the water filter.

By the time we were on our way home, it was past 6:30p. With stomachs grumbling, we decided to have our weekly date-night a few days early. We could have gone someplace new, but decided to go to the Copper Canyon Grill again. This time, we shared a Caesar side salad, and split Mary Ellen’s Crabcakes. I have no idea who Mary Ellen is, but her crabcakes were delish; as were the sweet glazed carrots and orzo rice with a southwestern twist. We topped off our meal with an excellent Key Lime Pie. The dessert was rich and creamy, and very tasty, and there was enough to not only split, but also bring some of it home for tomorrow night’s dinner.

Yummmm!

12 months ago today...

It was on this day in 2006 that I added another dimension of self-sufficiency to my cycling armoury.
Traditionally I had never been mechanically inclined. Apart from something simple like changing a flat tyre or applying some lube to a chain, my solution was always "take it to a bike shop". In fact, when I broke a gear cable in 2004 at Wilson's Promontory on a bike tour, I simply rode with only one gear on the front for two days until I got to a bike shop to do the repair.
These days I'm more inclined to do it myself, but it took something to bring out those instincts. That something was breaking a pannier rack (which basically held my full touring load) in New Zealand last year, and having to do an emergency repair on it. The positioning of the break (right near the frame mount) meant that simply taking it to a service station and getting it welded was impractical.
In short, I needed to hold it together for 600km* to get to a bike shop (including 100k of dirt), where I could obtain a replacement. It was on February 24, 2006 that I made it -- although when I crested the final climb of Mt Cargill and prepared for the final descent into the city, I wasn't thinking about that. I was merely thinking of negotiating a particularly treacherous wind without being blown into Otago Harbour. I'm as proud of surviving that as I was of surviving the 600km to get there.
* It would have been much less than 600 km, had I not been hammered by a headwind en route to Cromwell which delayed my arrival until the bike shop in that town had closed. Interestingly, the tail light mount on the replacement that I eventually bought didn't stand the test of time so well, and snapped off the new rack at Springbrook shortly after my return. I built my own replacement from otherwise useless spare parts, which is still holding together.

Bay Area Tropical

A stunning Heliconia schiedeana flower. This species is one of the cold-hardiest heliconias available.

Autumn on Mt. Sophie

Mt. Sophie is probably my favorite place to view fall colors, and each year during the peak of fall color season I make many trips to this area to photograph the changing leaves. This year wasn't as "good" as most years, but was still quite beautiful. There is an old fire tower at the summit of Mt. Sophie which provides for some amazing view of Trout Lake, Swamp Lake and the surrounding Maple ridges.

During one of my morning ventures to Mt. Sophie I was accompanied by my friend Roger and his cousin from California. The morning that the three of us hiked up to the summit we walked through a beautiful light blanket of snow that had fallen during the night. The freshly fallen Maple leaves resting on the snow made for an interesting contrast in color.

(Above: Morning fog over North Lake)
(Below: A blustery, snowy morning over the forest)

(Below: Morning steam over North Lake as I drove up the road to Mt. Sophie)

(Below: "Sky-blue waters" - Clouds reflected in the waters of Trout Lake)

Nokian Extreme 294

A week ago, on bitter cold day, I decided to install my new studded tires on my hardtail. A good day to work in the house and I was anxious to see how well they work.
You are supposed to ride them on pavement for 30 miles as a break-in. Before doing that, I rode 4 miles in the snow, singletrack at Lake Manawa.
On the snow-packed trail, they performed abut the same as normal mountain bike tire (riding with less than 25# air pressure). As the temperature climbed, I watched for snow packing on the tread. The fork of my Trek4300 hardtail was starting to pack with snow, but the tire tread kept pretty clear. At icy spots, I noticed that I did not slip on the hills (a very good sign).
The next day, I headed out on the local paved bike trail (11 miles). I upped the air pressure for this ride - about 35#. As expected, the trail is mostly clear, with spots of ice from snow melting. This is where the studded tires excelled. Previously, I would lift my feet off of the pedals and spread my legs for better balance as I rode across the ice. With the studded tires, I could continue pedaling right across the ice. As a test, I found I could even accelerate on the ice!
The other test was section was riding on a packed snow/ice trail which was plowed, but not "cleared" (see photo). Where previously I might walking the section, I was now able to ride right through.
Finally I finished the break-in with a 20 mile ride on pavement. Air pressure upped to 40-45# (probably should have been higher). On a 20 mile ride, I noticed the higher rolling resistance of the studded tires. My riding pace was slower and my legs sure felt it the next day!
Bottom line - The Nokian Extreme 294 Studded Tires are AWESOME. Now I am not an aggresive rider, but I did not feel slippage on either bare pavement or ice. They do the trick riding on ice or packed snow. However, for the higher rolling resistance of the tires, I will ride non-studded tires for normal riding - use the studded tires when you know you will encounter icy conditions.

Alabama Soap Meeting

Darlene was selling Shea butter fresh from the calabash, so her hands were greasy.

Darlene: Just put it in my pocket.

Jen: What do you mean I have to get change?!

Sadly, I did not win the grand prize on either day. Friday's was a $250 gift certificate from Snowdrift Farm, and Saturday's was a "Tank" cutter donated by the soap meeting itself. DebbieT is demonstrating hers in the picture above.

Debbie also organized a business card swap, and made the cutest little card holders I've ever seen. Isn't she brilliant?

I think I changed a setting on the camera by mistake (I took Hubby's since it's small), so a lot of the photos didn't turn out well. All the ones I accidentally took of my feet were perfect, of course.

Mar crowned (and knighted!) our new President, Sandi, while our outgoing boss, Jen, was giddy with joy. She's been our President, our benevolent dictator, and fearless leader for the past 11 years, and has never steered us wrong.

We were so lucky to have Anne-Marie from Brambleberry as our main speaker. She taught us how to make massage candles, and also spoke on the topics of Goal Setting and Rules to Succeed in Business. She should know, because she had a company grossing over $1 million when she was only 25 years old! I believe that was about six years ago, and her success continues to build. She is smart, smart, smart, but also very personable, kind, and sharing.

The other personality of Cudgen...

It's astonishing that a relatively non-descript locality such as Cudgen (or was it Duranbah? The Tweed Shire Council can't seem to decide) can be the gateway to a pocket-handkerchief sized area of incredible beauty. Martin and I weren't satisfied with 200km on the Saturday, so on the long-weekend Monday, we decided on a ride through Urliup, then onto Cudgen nature reserve for some exploration of that area.

The ride through the rainforest of Urliup for the second time in three days would have been worth the price of admission alone, and yet we wanted more. We detoured slightly over Eviron Road toward the climb of the Condong Range, and on to the end of Duranbah road, where the real ride would start.

The condition of the "track" meant that there was probably going to be more walking than riding. The gradients were almost as steep as the legendary Mt Buggary in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, and combined with the wet conditions and the fact that I have a 400km brevet this weekend, I simply wasn't going to take any risks. Fortunately, we didn't have to go far to observe some stunning fauna and changes in the vegetation.


We detoured along a number of side tracks, trying to find the one that might lead to Cabarita Beach, to enable a circuit to be completed. On that score we wouldn't find anything. There were, however, some other surprising finds, one being a lone Tangello tree in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, the fruit on it was too bitter for human consumption, but it was a notable find nonetheless.


After this, and all the dead-ends, there was little for it other than a ride home in the rain. This time we detoured through Tumbulgum and Terranora. There was some disquiet that perhaps we could have visited the John Hogan rainforest, but in the end it mattered little. Neither option would have prevented us from having to negotiate the parade of total and complete idiots on the Queensland side of the border.
Anyone who wonders why Queensland tops the national road toll in Australia year after year need only visit the Gold Coast on a day when the idiots are out. I'm thinking of turning it into a lucrative side business by charging people money to observe the imbeciles in this part of the world. I'd make a killing if I wasn't on the receiving end of one.

Ever feel like you're being watched?

What exactly is that structure supposed to be?
It was noted on Upper Ormeau Road, a slight detour I took this morning just to ensure that the ride reached century proportions. For now I'm still riding computerless, and consequently have to rely on previous knowledge of rides to be sure I'm getting the distance I want to prepare for the 600k brevet on July 15 (more on that later). All in all I kept today's ride to a leisurely pace, just revelling in the near perfect winter conditions. Some of the mountain views, particularly on Tamborine were lovely too.


Something I noticed on the climb of Mt Tamborine today was that I didn't see the famous piano rock -- the rock that someone has painted what is supposed to represent piano keys onto. It's entirely possible that I just wasn't paying enough attention, but it's a feature of the Tamborine-Beenleigh road that I've always taken for granted, one of those things that adds a certain charm to an area.
As for tomorrow, I think I'll head back to the Tweed Valley to try to rack up some kilometres down there. I'm not entirely sure of the exact route I'll look for, but that always keeps things interesting in itself.

Garden Finds

Attention, gardeners- I found great garden items at Hungryneck today.
LOVELY BIRD BATHI'm not a fan of most bird baths because the scale is usually wrong for the garden and they can seem dinky. But this one is the perfect height (almost waist-high on me) and has a beautiful scalloped edge. It would work well in a downtown courtyard or suburban garden. And $125- I've seen tacky bird baths for more than that.
CLASSIC URNS
I also like these urns. For under $130, you can have all three. Perfect for a lazy gardener like myself because you can "stage" plants in them if you have a party coming up. Here's what you do:
1. Go to the garden center and buy three gorgeous hanging baskets. Remove the wire hangers from each basket.
2. Take a few empty soda cans out of the recycle bin and put them in the bottom of each urn.
3. Put a hanging basket in each urn on top of the soda cans (the cans make a lightweight base for the hanging basket to sit on so you don't waste any potting soil). Do not remove the plastic "basket" from the plants.
4. Prepare to wow your friends with your horticultural skills.
TOOL CADDY
I think this tool caddy was only $18. It would be a great gift on its own. Or you could make it an extra-special gift if you filled it with daffodil bulbs and a bulb planter (Wilcox brand, of course).
WICKER HAT

I had a horticulture professor in college who wore the silliest-looking hats. Now, I've joined the club. I can't believe I let this one get away.....

I Get Exhausted After Working Too!

I know how hards Mama and Dad's work is, but I put my two cents' worth in too. Don't have the pictures of today's workout, but I'm so tired after obedience training that even Ma's flashie beast doesn't faze me in the least. Pawesome treats, but dinner was sparse, cause my teacher called me "fat" again tonight. Arrrgghhhhh.

Cookies for My President

In a few hours it will be Inauguration Day, and in a small, domestic way I'll witness and celebrate the Inauguration of Barack Obama, our 44th president. There will be floral trumpets!

There will be special cookies. Today I picked a Meyer's Lemon from the little tree in the breakfast room...
...using the microplane to get all the zest. Lemon and orange zest, amaretto and cake flour are some of the ingredients in Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies. The recipe was in Family Circle Magazine.
Instead of using regular white sugar I decided to sprinkle the cookies with Hawaiian sugar. They are fabulous.
And there will be red, white and blue decorations. This homemade grapevine wreath won't win any awards but I like the starry blue ribbon and the gold glittery stems poked in to represent fireworks. And as a gardener I also had to tuck in a few green leaves. Representing hope.