Fall Colors on the Mountain

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.  

~John Muir 

This past weekend the philosopher and I went on a hike in the Talladega National Forest.  The Pinhoti, as I've mentioned before, is a really long trail extending from south of Birmingham to the Georgia state line near Cedartown.  We're hiking all the parts of it nearby, bit by bit.  This time we went from the County Road 94 crossing about 3 1/2 miles up the mountain and along Augusta Mine Ridge.  It was a perfect day - upper 70s with a nice breeze and low humidity.

Wilson Ridge

This is looking east from Rocky Top, elevation @ 1850'

The trail cut through an ancient grove of cedars and pines - I kept thinking of Tolkien, for some reason.

Looking down into Piedmont Valley

Looking back to Oakey Mountain

It was a frabjulous day, all in all.  And the best part?  We didn't talk deep philosophy, or make plans about what we might do if the philosopher doesn't find a full time job.  Instead we talked about where we might move to be closer to the (soon-to-be-his-we-hope-and-pray) job he will have next year.  So we talked about houses, and where we'd like to live.  And where we might live if we BOTH got a job at the Happy Southern School, and where we might live if I stay where I am.  My friends, I have to say, that was the most hopeful and encouraging Hiking Talk we've had... ever.  So keep up the prayers.  We know for sure that one way or another things will be settled by Christmas.  And ... hopefully! ... our yearly Christmas letter will bear happy tidings for us at last!

Hitchcock is Laughing

Birds.  Birds!  BIRDS EVERYWHERE!!  They're following me!  ACK!

I've mentioned before about the long desolate journey I have every day to work. And I've mentioned some of the ...odd ... wildlife I've seen. So last night, driving home, I was swooped by a bird.  (It may have been a bat, but who can tell when it's dark?)  It was an omen, though, of my pending morning commute.  (Cue the menacing "Twilight Zone" theme music here...)

This morning, I passed a rafter of turkeys.  They were congregated in the large area around (I kid you not) the Etowah County Bow Hunters range.  Maybe they had a death wish? Or maybe they were showing their machismo and daring the bow hunters to take the field?  I don't know, but they were looking at me as though *I* might be Thanksgiving dinner, not them!

Later, I saw a murder of crows perched among the branches of an enormous dead tree.  Can you say "creepy"?  Just imagine - the skeleton of an oak, filled with large black birds silhouetted against the rising sun.  Yeah.  "Creepy" about sums it up.

There's a beautiful creek area on my way to work, too.  It's a nearly mile-long stretch where the road crosses several creeks feeding into the nearby Coosa River.  What did I see?  Swans!  Black ones and white ones!  At least these birds didn't seem menacing in any way... but after my first two experiences - and the fact that Halloween approacheth - I'm staying on my guard!

Rose Identification?

This will be boring to everyone, except those interested in figuring out what kind of rose this is.  Feel free to ignore at your leisure!  ::grin::

(The information provided is based on this data sheet from Garden Web)

STUDY NAME: "Mamie's Rose"

BUDS: round and smooth, with pointed sepals.















BLOOM: vibrant pink, 80+ petals, looks a little like a hybrid perpetual in shape and density

FRAGRANCE: very fragrant, sweeter smelling than the "old fashioned" rose smell you find in potpourri and perfumes

BLOOM DISTRIBUTION: clustered

REPEAT BLOOM: blooms at least three times a year (in fact it has buds on it now, in October)

HIPS: few, dark brown


 


LEAVES: smooth, medium green and glossy, usually 5 leaflets, no spines, each leaf about 3" long

LEAFLETS: uniform and medium-spaced

 
STIPULE: light green, no striping












THORNS: many, straight, strong and light brown (I actually like to call them "wicked and evil" when pruning!)

CANES: Upright and straight, stout

GROWTH HABIT AND FORM: 5-6' high shrub, upright

VIGOR AND HEALTH: fast grower, susceptible to black spot

HISTORY:  Mt great-grandmother (late 1800s, it is guessed) moved the parent of these shrubs to Haleyville Alabama from Carrollton, Georgia.  About 60 years ago my grandmother moved them (or propagated offspring) from Haleyville to Collinsville, Alabama.  I transplanted these bushes to my house (about 40 miles away) two years ago.  They were growing in part shade in very rich, loamy soil in Collinsville, and had been untended for at least five years.  Before that they were very well cared for.

 (new growth in October!)

A marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth

That full phrase is actually "Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth."  What, you don't know what I'm talking about?  It's an old radio announcer's test.  When I was in college it was a "repeat after me" memory test (usually dragged out when the spirits were... heh.) You should try it sometime!  But I digress - I actually am going to rant a little bit today.  So if you'd rather not be bothered, you should hop on over to wikipedia and try to memorize "one hen, two ducks"... it'd probably be a lot more fun!  8-)

OK, let the rant commence.  (Don't forget, I warned you!)


That old announcer's test came to mind yesterday when I read about the House of Representatives voting to adjourn before they voted on the tax cut extension.  So that means all of us are sitting here waiting for the lame duck session to find out whether or not our taxes are going to go up.  And it's going to affect everyone, regardless of your bracket.  I'm not going to go on a rant against the Democrats, because that wouldn't be fair.  But I am going to go on a rant against ANY politician who wants to put off a critical vote in favor of campaigning to keep their jobs.   Your salary comes out of MY salary, remember?  All those pet projects you want to fund?  Again, MY salary pays for those.  All those entitlements you want to keep funding without changing?  I am one of those who's going to be stuck in the middle.  You keep taxing my personal savings and investments to oblivion, and I'm convinced there won't be any funds left in Social Security when I finally retire at .... what ... 85?  Geez.

And you know what?  There's also talk that during the lame duck session that other bills will be voted on which will directly impact our checkbooks - things like Cap and Trade. And the EPA is off the reservation with its Tailoring Rule, which could make our power bills go sky high.  And then we have the health care issue - with none of the promises coming true ("bending the cost curve down" anyone?) and a lot of the negatives starting to surface (premiums rising, doctors considering shuttering their offices). Which brings me round robin to "A marked prospensity towards sloth and procrastination."  One of our House members actually said about health care, "we need to pass this bill so you can find out what's in it."   No, ma'am.  That's not the way it should work. You need to read the bill carefully, and give the American people time to read the bill carefully.  Then you need to listen when we say what we think - that goes back to the fact the we pay your salary, remember?  So to all our Senators and Representatives: don't be lazy and self-serving.  It doesn't become you, and it certainly doesn't become the office you hold.

The Shrub Bed - Almost Done

Well, for all intents and purposes it IS done... except for the colorful perennials which I'll add in the spring.  But the hard part - the hard work - is all over.  The holes were dug (and the digging bar was utilized - darn that Alabama red clay!) and the happy hummousy composty earth was mixed.  Then the plants were released from their plastic bondage and set free to root deeply.  They were all a bit root-bound, which is to be expected for a fall planting.  I took especial care with the camilla.  At the last minute I decided to go with the sasanqua instead of the japonica.  The sasanqua variety is a little less formal, but more importantly it is more cold hardy.  And seeing as I live in north Alabama, you can never quite be sure what the weather will do.

My biggest worry is the crape myrtle.  The three main trunks were taped together, and it looks as though they'd been that way for a while.  When we took the binding off, the tree didn't relax much - you can see in the photo how tightly the trunks are bunched together.  If it doesn't relax this fall, over the winter I'll stake them separately (after pruning, but NO crape murder!) and see if I can gently encourage them to grow a bit more spaced out.  In the long run it will make the tree happier, and prettier too.

So here's the whole bed - the picture was taken from the sliding glass doors facing the yard.

The row of hollies is probably close to 40 years old, as is the big holly tree in the back.  It's hard to see, but at the far end of the bed is one of my grandma's rose bushes.  All the rest is the new plantings.

 

This is a close up of the three gulf stream nandinas and the tea olive (osmanthus).

 

This is the sweetspire, the crape myrtle (see how close the trunks are?) and one of the gardenias.

Finally, this is the other gardenia, the camellia - and did I mention it already has buds? - and the barberries.

I am really proud of this project.  I designed it, and we implemented it perfectly (well, I suppose I can't really say that until the plants survive the winter, can I??)  So I'll pamper my new plants this winter, water and talk to them and encourage them to grow.  As Tom Bombadil said, "Eat earth!  Dig deep!  Drink water!"... though I hope none of my trees grows as angry as Old Man Willow!

Laugh or cry?

Back sometime around the first of the year, I blogged about starting to eat healthier.  And generally, I do.  I don't think I get my FIVE daily servings of fruits and veggies every day, but I get close enough to feel fine about my consumption.  And I've definitely reduced the amount of fat and sugar and salt - (but I was doing that before, so can I count that as an improvement in my diet)??  Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good, and as I approach Middle Age (curses be upon it, ack-phtooie) I'm still managing to keep my weight at a constant level.  Now of course the holidays are right around the corner - What? Yeah I know it's three months away, but have you been to Hobby Lobby recently? - anyway, we'll see how I do then.

Along those lines, I'm sure many of y'all have heard of Mrs. Obama's healthy eating campaign.  So she's got to be a bit distressed to hear about a recent Gallup poll that asked 175,000 Americans whether they had easy access to fresh fruits and veggies (92% said yes) and whether they actually ate the recommended daily servings (46% said yes).

Oops.  So the LA Times has a great (and a bit sarcastic!) article about what this poll really means.  The author's conclusion?  We don't wanna!  ::heh::  I suppose I have a bit of libertarian streak in me - I don't want to be told what to eat, but once I decide for myself, it's a goal I can keep.

A bit of inspiration

“Gardens are not made by singing "Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade.” - Rudyard Kipling

So this weekend we're planting our shrub bed. Or, well [ahem], we're going to START planting our shrub bed. With twelve large holes to dig, it might take a bit longer - especially when one of those holes will be for a ten-gallon tree. Yeah. Um.... SO! Anybody got a spare shovel and want to come to Alabama for a weekend???

Here's what we're planting....


Osmanthus fragrans (Sweet Tea Olive)
Itea virginica (Henry's Garnet Sweetspire)
Nandina domesticus x (Gulf Stream Nandina)


Gardenia jasminoides (August Beauty Gardenia)
Camilla japonica (Professor Sargent Camellia)
Berberis thungbergii (Crimson Pygmy Barberry)

And the centerpiece will be a Dynamite Crape Myrtle...

(I nicked the photo from my World's Best online nursery - if you live in the southeast and need to order plants, check 'em out!!)

And yes, I even have a garden plan. ::sigh:: Are you surprised?? As I played around with garden designs, I had the notion that I was actually pretty good at it - at least the layout. I'm still struggling with plant choices and what will do well in our soil and with our sun exposure.

This plan includes a couple of long-range projects (the arbor right next to the house and the patio with a pergola out by the hollies) but even without those two elements, I think the space will look really good come next spring. I'm still agonizing over perennials to plant around the shrubs, so I'm sure I'll inflict that agony on my hapless readers at some point. My colors for the bed are white and red, and that's only because I wanted to focus on sweet-smelling plants - which are mostly white. So the tea olive and the gardenia and the sweetspire are all amazingly fragrant, and they even bloom at different times. (I feel so gardener-ish!)

So that's what I'm sitting inside dreaming about today. And on Friday, we'll make the trek to the nursery, and the digging will commence! You'll be there with your shovel and garden gloves around noon, right? ::grin::