September 30, 2014 by Born To Organize

September Flew

Metaphorically speaking, the month of September flew. Between back-to-school night, college application night, our anniversary and a trip to the DMV for my son’s driving learners permit, I find myself at the end of the month.

Am I sad? Halloween no!!!

I mean…well, you know what I mean.

October is one of my favorite months. Cooler weather prevails and if we’re lucky, we might get a drop or two of rain. For the past nine years I hosted a Halloween party for our boys. All the children on the block joined. It was loads of fun, but exhausting too, however I always looked forward to the energy of the day. This would have been our tenth year, but alas, tiny children become teenagers and the party this year is a no-go.

Initially disappointed, I quickly rallied when I received a lovely party invitation from my friend, Kirra. The theme: under the sea. Three more party invitations followed and amazingly three of them land on different days.

Realizing all the time and energy I’ll save not planning the party gives me time to make a costume again, but without the mad-dash rush. Plans are already underway.

Of course, the month of October is also filled with land minds: Halloween candy. It’s one of my downfalls.

Chocolate Pumpkin

The other thing that flew this month: seven pounds. I’ve been following a healthy eating plan and slowly the pounds are coming off. The last thing I want to do is reverse that trend eating candy. When I say it’s everywhere, I’m only mildly exaggerating. The grocery stores started stocking bags of it weeks ago. The drugstores have it too. No need to go looking for it as its right there at the check-out aisle. The next land mind arrives closer to Halloween when I buy candy to give away. I’ve learned to stay away from my favorites and that helps. Close to 200 children grace our doorstep over the course of three hours on Halloween night. We give away a lot of candy.

So, starting tomorrow and for the next 31 days, I’m going to keep track of the candy that I **don’t** eat. My Halloween countdown will also include my candy-free countdown as well. If you struggle in a similar fashion, I hope you’ll join me in this challenge. I’m going to enjoy all the things I love about October while continuing to lose the extra pounds.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Cassidy, Pilates instructor extraordinaire, for her ongoing support.

Here’s what the garden looks like as we head into fall:

September 29, 2014 by Born To Organize

Seedy Business

California’s drought drags on. To that end, I’ve planned my seedy business judiciously. About two weeks ago, this sweet little box of seeds arrived in the mail, my modest order from Botanical Interests. They even included “thank you lettuce.” You don’t see that ever day.

Botanical Interests Box of Seeds

When I first starting buying seeds, I didn’t pay much attention to the source. Now that I’m better educated, I prefer buying organic where possible, while supporting small, independent companies.

Cover Crop:

Once the unidentified behemoth, aka the pumpkin/zucchini mystery plant, dies back, I’ll plant both vegetable boxes with a cover crop. Purchased online from Botanical Interests,

This hardworking combination of field peas and hulled oats is a legume and grass cover crop that quickly benefits the soil with nutrients and green matter, while helping suppress weeds. A great cover crop for established gardens, the mix is also perfect for improving areas being turned into gardens such as lawns and vacant lots.

Pea plants fix nitrogen and condition the topsoil while the pea flowers attract bees and other beneficial insects. As an added benefit the young pea shoots and tendrils are edible and can be used in salads or as a soup topping. Oats hold nitrogen, provide green matter and provide support for the pea vines.

Cover Crop Seeds

When planted in the fall, the oats and peas benefit from the cool weather but are killed by the cold temperatures of winter and won’t regrow in the spring. The dead plant material provides a wonderful winter mulch that helps prevent soil erosion and is ready to be tilled into the garden as soon as soil can be worked in the spring

Not bad for $2.99 a packet! I bought three.

Broccoli:

This is my only cool-season crop. I’ve grown it before and it got by on very little watering. I’m hoping for the same success to keep my water usage low.

Butterfly Flower:

After reading earlier this year about the decline in butterfly populations, I learned that one of the problems is the reduction in Milkweed. I’ve never seen it offered in our nursery centers, but found the seeds online. It’s a perennial, and will replace the seasonal flowers I’ve grown for the past two years in the triangle near our front sidewalk. The plant prefers swampy conditions, but they say it will do okay with ‘regular’ garden watering.

Butterfly Flower and Broccoli

I’m trying not to get my hopes up, since San Jose is anything but swampy. I’ll be thrilled, though, if I can plant a healthy shrub that attracts Monarch’s and helps them on their way south.

Cat Grass Oats:

My sister’s indoor kitty, KT loves his greens. He prefers home-grown to what’s available at the market and I can grow it for a song year round. Pretty cool, eh? So I plant a pot every few weeks and place it near the kitchen window. My sister brings me the empty pot, and I start a new batch so we always have them in rotation.

I tried to get Mr. Personality to pose for these pictures, but we wasn’t having any of it. He eventually nibbled on the corner of the envelope, before jumping down and moving on.

“Clever” Photo attempt Number One

“Clever” Photo attempt Number Two

Here is the lovely KT moving in for a nibble. Isn’t he the sweetest? KT started out as a foster cat, but she couldn’t let him go.

KT Loves his Greens

So, that’s my seedy business this fall. How about you? Are you dropping a seed or two into the earth, a greenhouse, or the time-honored pot in the windowsill?

September 25, 2014 by Born To Organize

It Rained!

Yes, folks, right here in San Jose, California, in the midst of a protracted drought, it rained. In September.

Real rain too, not that “did I just feel a drop?” kind of rain, but puddle-forming, windshield-wiping, garden-refreshing rain. I lingered in bed this morning with the doors flung open and took in the mesmerizing sounds and smells. Then I got dressed and went outside.

Rain, glorious rain!

Good thing, too, since the sun was out by 10 but I enjoyed the refreshing drops while they lasted.

Acer leaves

Cloudy skies and Salvia reflected on the deck

This is a tremendous gift to the firefighters battling the King Fire in Northern California. We are not in harm’s way, but others are. Many of the state’s late-summer fires are the result of lightning. Sadly this one was arson. Fortunately they’ve made an arrest, but the fire has raged out of control for two weeks.

The good news today is that the fire is 43% contained, but the damage is unbelievable. 95,000 acres burned and a dozen homes lost. Their are over 8,000 fire personnel from across the country battling the flames.

Today I celebrate rain in my little corner of the world, as well as the potential relief for crews on the fire lines and displaced residents in our parched state.

Let it rain, let it rain!

Here’s the latest from the Weather Channel:

Western drought status as of Sept. 16, 2014. Darker shading indicates progressively worse drought status. (NOAA/USDA/NDMC)

Yes, runoff triggered by soaking rain from this September storm in far northwest California will raise a tad.

However, the key to drought relief in California is not rain, but snow.

Critical to water supply in this part of the country is the buildup of winter snow pack in the mountains, whose melt water in the spring replenishes reservoirs.

Snow melt provides up to 75 percent of the West’s freshwater supply. The Sierra and, to a lesser degree, Colorado River snow melt, is crucial for California.

In short, California and the West needs a persistently wet winter, with a combination of significant rain and mountain snow to replenish groundwater and reservoir levels.

September 24, 2014 by Born To Organize

Planting Bulbs: I’ve Learned a Thing or Two

This Year’s Bulb Lineup

Planting bulbs isn’t complicated. Keeping them under wraps till show-time is a whole different story.

Apparently most bulbs prove irresistible to squirrels. Three seasons later, I’ve learned a thing or two.

In the past, fall catalogs arrived brimming with the most beautiful bulbs imaginable. I let my imagination run amok, mentally placing an order for 500 flowering bulbs in every shape and color. After tucking them into the earth, effortlessly and without two days of neck pain to follow, I would put my feet up and smile. Rounding out the fantasy, the following spring would arrive with the garden awash in yellow, purple and pink fragrant bulbs.

Ha! I crack myself up.

So, back to reality, I’ve learned to temper my expectations. A little reading on the various bulbs and corms revealed this useful nugget: squirrels do not like the smell or taste of daffodil bulbs. I planted fifty daffodil bulbs last year and they all came up. Further, they kept the curb garden looking bright and cheery in February, often our coldest, grayest month.

Here’s the plan:

I’ll add 30 more daffodils to the curb garden in case a few of the bulbs from last year don’t recover. This year’s variety is ‘Ice Follies‘, a blend of softer yellows. They’ll provide a nice contrast to the bright yellow variety. I’ll also be able to determine what comes up from last season.

The Narcissus ‘Paperwhite Ziva‘ are for indoors. Two summers ago I bought a beautiful glass vase at a craft fair, but find it difficult to use for traditional flower arranging. It’s long and narrow. A friend suggested bulbs. It never occurred to me. The wall in our bedroom is a rich blue, the perfect accent for the bulbs.

Finally, the pink and purple hyacinth, the ‘William and Kate Blend‘ will go in a large planter just outside my back door. I don’t know why they’re named after royalty, but it made me smile.

Once planted, I’ll lay a screen over the pot to prevent digging. I’ll be able to keep my eye on it, so that when the time is right, I can remove the screen and allow them to grow into fragrant goodness. They remind me of my mom.

That’s the plan from here, folks. Fingers crossed, salt tossed over my shoulder, spin around three times in a circle and a graceful bow to our dear Mother Earth ought to do it. You know I’ll keep you posted.

September 23, 2014 by Born To Organize

Two Flowers Standing

One by one, the sunflowers faded. There are now two flowers standing.

Salvia flanked by two sunflowers

They look spent, but as long as the birds and squirrels keep coming, I don’t have the heart to pull them out. It’s been nice seeing the Salvia in all its glory after a summer spent in the sunflower’s shadow. The Salvia continues to bloom into late October. The bees and hummingbirds love the velvety purple flowers. Salvia thrives in dry conditions, making it the perfect drought tolerant plant.

Salvia leucantha (Mexican bush sage)

I wasn’t sure if the tiny finches were still coming to eat sunflower leaves, but then I spotted one from the kitchen window.

Goldfinch takes a bite

I’ve got my eye on you

Squirrels are still climbing the trellis, looking for what remains of the seeds. They aren’t staying as long, so I’m guessing what’s left are empty seed shells. I’ll give it one more week.

Checking out the seed supply

I love his perfectly aligned tail

There is a lot to do this time of year, but it’s work I enjoy.

Our Japanese Maple (Acer) is dropping a few leaves out back, but the Chinese pistache (Pistacia chinensis) is still green. When it does turn, its glorious and one of the reasons we planted it nearly twenty years ago.

Over the weekend I pulled out the last of the tomatoes. I left several tomatoes behind to go to seed in place. I hope to repeat my luck next year: an all-volunteer crop of delicious heirloom Roma tomatoes.

The last of the tomatoes for the season, emptied box with basil in the corner, the drooping plant as it ends the season, a wheelbarrow full of plants, some kind of infestation just started at the base of the tomato plants

The basil is hanging in there and still making into a few meals each week. It looks lonely in the otherwise bare planting bed.

Basil hanging in there, all alone in the box

Meanwhile, on the other side of the vegetable garden, the ‘pumpkin plant that ate New York’ is taking over. The leaves are as long as my arm now, with several small fruits at the soil line. Though the leaves, stems and flowers all looked like pumpkins, the fruit is a dark green. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Late-season, over-the-top, self-supporting pumpkin plant

Japanese anemones (hupehensis var. japonica) dominate the rock wall and frankly, grow like weeds. I’ve tried to thin them but they come back stronger than ever. They’re a lovely sea of white flowers and the last to bloom before winter.

Last week I picked up some flowering bulbs, a little wiser than I was in previous years. I’ll share more about that later in the week.

I hope your week is going well.

Japanese anemones (hupehensis var. japonica)

Japanese anemones up close

September 22, 2014 by Born To Organize

Autumn in the Air, Confusion in the House

Fall? How much time do I have to scavenge nuts and seeds?

According to my Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar, today is the first day of fall in the northern hemisphere. It’s officially known as the autumnal (fall) equinox. It’s my favorite time of year. Of course I say that on the first day of spring too. I can never decide.

What’s fun when you blog, is you find yourself keeping up with people from around the world. Today I thought I was celebrating the first day of spring as well with Sarah the Gardener, The Contented Crafter, Teddy and Tottie, and the Road the Serendipity but further reading tells me that September 23rd is their official spring (vernal) equinox.

Our wedding day 19 years ago landed on the first day of fall, however it was September 23rd, not the 22nd. Now my head hurts. I checked out a couple of sites today and got differing answers:

An excerpt from Timeanddate.com says:

Fall is called autumn in many countries

Fall equinox, Northern Hemisphere:
September equinox 2014:
September 23, at 02:29 UTC

(USA & Central America, Asia, Canada, Europe, Northern Africa)

Fall equinox, Southern Hemisphere
March equinox 2015:
March 20, at 22:45 UTC

(Australia, New Zealand, South America, Southern Africa)

The Old Farmer’s Almanac website says:

In 2014, the autumnal equinox brings the fall season to the Northern Hemisphere on: September 22 at 10:29 P.M. EDT.

Math isn’t my strong point, so while trying to work this out in my head I discovered The World Clock – Time Zone Converter and now it all makes sense. Using UTC or Coordinated Universal Time, the first day of fall in California is technically September 23rd.

Happy Equinox, wherever you presently call home.

I’m going to rake a few leaves and then sit down with a hot cuppa. All these math calculations hurt my brain.

September 15, 2014 by Born To Organize

Postage Stamp Giveaway: Stamps on the Move

If you took part in my August postage-stamp giveaway, please keep an eye on your mailbox. Packets of postage are in the mail. Soon they’ll be making their way to different parts of the world.

Our neighborhood post office, though the extra spacing makes it appear to be “United Post, States Office”.

It was incredibly therapeutic going through Daddy’s stamp albums. I really took notice of the small details. He wrapped some stamps in cello paper, others not. In a few places, he added his own section for additional stamps for a particular country, something I hadn’t noticed before. My dad had a meticulous hand so it was easy to overlook. Some countries issued the same stamp in five or six colors. A few were over-stamped with the word “service” in black ink, another new discovery.

It’s fun for me to contemplate the stamp’s trajectory. Dad started his collection in England. He continued to collect while living in Darjeeling, India, then moved with his albums to Seaforth, Ontario Canada. They traveled with him one more time to Millbrae, California before he died.

Of course the original stamp traveled its own path. At some point someone in Egypt affixed a postage stamp to a letter and mailed is somewhere else. That destination remains a mystery.

The stamps are on the move again, though ironically the postage used to mail them is a computer-generated label. Times have changed.

Signed and sealed with custom forms at the ready

I never acquired Daddy’s love for collecting stamps, but I’ve always enjoyed their individual beauty. I rarely buy ordinary ‘flag’ stamps, the utilitarian postage you might receive from a place of business. I choose flowers, writers, movie stars, cartoon characters, whatever might be new and interesting.

International Postage

Packets of postage are on their way to:

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Duncan, BC, Canada

Dunedin, New Zealand

Mt. Brydges, ON, Canada

Santa Clara, California

and a few bookmarks head to:

Tasmania, Australia

Victoria, Australia

I’m happy to share them with you.

Bookmarks

A few notecards

Postage Table

I came up with one more way to honor my dad with the remaining stamps: I’m going to collage a small table top. Stay tuned for details. I have a few things to work out before I get started.

Thanks for your gracious and loving comments on my original post. My heart is full.

September 10, 2014 by Born To Organize

My Garden has a Sense of Humour

A summer combating nasty little squash bugs did not prepare me for this:

Garden humour: Bug free, late season plant

A peak under ‘the hood’ reveals an apple-sized pumpkin

…and a companion fruit

Yes, folks, my garden has a sense of humour.

It’s September 10th, just a few weeks shy of the first day of autumn, and here we have a happy-go-lucky, bug free, healthy pumpkin plant. This particular variety is out-shining all efforts to date. Further, it’s growing in the planting bed I’ve been preparing for the winter. I removed the drip irrigation lines, so the beds are dry. I covered most of the exposed dirt with cardboard to keep the cats out. I ran out of boxes before I had enough to cover the whole bed. That was all the invitation this plant needed to get started.

Just one week ago

Day time temps remain high, but once regular night-time lows hit the fifties, this plant will close up shop. Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy it while I can, marvel at my garden’s sense of humour, and be humbled yet again. I’ve been promoted from gardener to garden supervisor, just like that.

Safety net: a small tendril wrapped around the flower, catching it when it dropped from the plant

Is there something unexpected in your life this week putting a smile on your face?

September 9, 2014 by Born To Organize

Victoria: City of Gardens

Boomdee poses in the Empress Hotel gardens

After a lovely week on holiday in Victoria, BC, I’m ready to move there. I’m originally from Ontario, Canada, so I felt a bit of a reconnection to my roots, even though I lived on the other side of the country. Victoria is known as The City of Gardens, another good reason to live there. Of course any good vacation is joyous and fun-filled with minimal responsibilities. Toss in a best friend and her cousin and it’s easy to see why I didn’t want to leave.

Back home and settled in, I’m still dreaming of this beautiful place and making mental plans to return.

Floribunda: Even the art is covered in flowers

According to a Wiki article on the island:

Victoria’s equable climate has also added to its reputation as the “City of Gardens”. The city takes pride in the many flowers that bloom during the winter and early spring, including crocuses, daffodils, early-blooming rhododendrons, cherry and plum trees. Every February there is an annual “flower count” in what for the rest of the country and most of the province is still the dead of winter.

Flower perfection

Due to its mild climate, Victoria and its surrounding area (southeastern Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, and parts of the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast) are also home to many rare, native plants found nowhere else in Canada, including Quercus garryana (Garry oak), Arctostaphylos columbiana (Hairy manzanita), and Canada’s only broad-leaf evergreen tree, Arbutus menziesii (Pacific madrone). Many of these species exist here, at the northern end of their range, and are found as far south as southern California and parts of Mexico.

Outside the Victoria Regent Hotel

Non-native plants grown in Victoria include the cold-hardy palm Trachycarpus fortunei, which can be found in gardens and public areas of Victoria. One of these Trachycarpus palms stands in front of City Hall.

I felt right at home.

Classic Victoria: Flowering baskets beneath signature street lamps

Intrigued? Check out Tourism Victoria for a list of activities on the Island

Take a ride on a water taxi. We did, and it was loads of fun.

Butchart Gardens: My own take on this national treasure.

September 8, 2014 by Born To Organize

When Technology Takes a Hike

Slinky lending moral support

Our resident tech support, aka, Mike, spent hours this weekend rebuilding my computer from the ground up. It’s extraordinary my dependence on that technological gem known as a laptop. Though grateful for Mike’s technological prowess, I’m also painfully aware of how little I know. The mechanics of operating systems, platforms, routers and all the other things that make computers go leave me cold. Don’t you hate it when technology takes a hike?

What I do know is that I want my computer to go and I feel like a spoiled child when it stops. [insert stomping of feet, pouting face and colorful language here].

Okay, so it wasn’t that bad, but I can’t tell you how often I headed to the computer, only to encounter the latest system ‘updates.’ They’re not nearly as interesting as the updates I’m after: the blog and Facebook variety. I’ve got a social life to run here. I live with two teenage boys with zero interest in monopolizing my attention. So while they’re dipping into the latest and greatest on their mobile devices and dad is watching fall ball, I like to log on and catch up.

Instead I headed outdoors and pulled a few weeds. I did some pruning till it got too hot. I treated myself to an hour at our local craft store, shopping and chatting about the merits of water-based versus alcohol-based inks. I even read from the miniscule print on my phone, but these old eyes were never meant for teenage technology. Yes, I left some comments here and there, but it wasn’t long before my hand cramped and my battery failed. Then I was back to my panting dog impression: is it ready yet, is it ready yet, is it ready yet?

I started a craft project, but needed my Silhouette to cut some block letters. Nope…the computer wasn’t ready.

I went to address a few envelopes for my blog postage giveaway, only to realize I’d trapped the addresses in email limbo. The individual email was too old to be on the server, but not new enough to be on my phone. Addresses would have to wait for my Outlook rebuild.

At least I had Pauline’s address. I’d asked her for it twice. Alas, it still had not synced to my mobile phone. Tapping in the requisite letters, the phone turned up nothing. It was taunting me. I KNOW I have her address! Nope. Siri is never wrong.

Today, in need of a good Skype with my bestie, all technology-based bets were off. Sigh

These are all first-world problems. I know in my heart the extraordinary privileges of my life. But just for today, I’m reminded of the Judith Viorst classic: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

When’s the last time your technology took a hike?