On 11/26/12 4:49 AM, songbird wrote:
the roof is done, the yard projects are also
about as done as they are going to get this
season other than some branches i'll be cutting
back this week. the ground will be frozen soon
if we don't get some snow cover and the night-
time temperatures keep hitting the low 20sF.

which means it's time to get out the reading
list and start getting caught up on advances in
biology, botany, etc. and also a bit of fluffy
reading here or there.

for light reading i'm going through
Joel Salatins books, the first one was
_the Joy of Being a Lunatic Farmer_, which
was at least entertaining and informative
in parts. the repetitive phrases wore
thin after a bit. next up a _Salad
Bar Beef_ and _Everything I Want to Do
is Illegal_.

for heavier reading i'm into a college
plant biology text that needed someone
who knew how to write. i won't even list
the title as there are much better books
out there. ugh. it's like reading sludge.


songbird


For the next few weeks, it will be rake, rake, and rake some more.
Right now, it's the oak and zelkova. Then it will be the liquidambar.
They probably won't drop as many leaves combined as the ash tree;
typically, I make mounds of ash leaves 2-3 feet high on my patio and
paths. After I fill my own compost pile and mulch all the beds, it
sometimes takes me until March to draw down the piles every week to fill
the green bin for the county's composting program.

A month from now will be pruning: 14 roses, a peach tree, and 3 grape
vines. All this has to be done between rain storms, my weekly duplicate
bridge game, and twice weekly shift as a docent at Gardens of the World.

Somehow, my doctor does not think I get enough exercise.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary