March 7, 2016 by Born To Organize

International Women’s Day

Today is International Women’s Day. I’m sharing this from my friend Laurie’s blog, Life on the Bike. Laurie recently ran for state delegate in an effort to balance the disparity of women in office. She’s also a health care practitioner, serving the needs of women every day. Let’s spread the word.

Life on the Bike and other Fab Things

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day and the 2016 Campaign Theme is Pledge for Parity.

“Worldwide, women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievement, and while there is much to celebrate, progress towards gender parity has slowed in many places”.

Let’s all do our part to take concrete steps to help achieve gender parity more quickly – whether by

helping women and girls achieve their ambitions,
calling for gender-balanced leadership,
respecting and valuing difference,
developing more inclusive and flexible cultures, and
rooting out workplace bias.

Each of us can be a leader within our own spheres of influence and commit to take pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity.

Please share through your social networks, using #pledgeforparity and #IWD2016

In the meantime, check out this Timeline of Women’s Footprints in History

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

* Much of the verbage in this post was taken from the…

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February 25, 2016 by Born To Organize

The Rewards of Letting Nature Take Its Course

By early to mid August, our white Japanese anemone are in full bloom. They line the rock wall, taking on more and more real estate with each passing year. They’re considered non-invasive, but prolific bloomers. I’ll say.

September, 2012 Japanese Anemones Line the Rock Wall

The blooms are generally spent by November and the flower stocks dry up and turn brittle. The entire stem pulls up easily, no pruning required.

Last year we had some late bloomers so I didn’t get around to “trimming” them back.

Then I had surgery.

And the wonderful consequence is this:

Female Anna’s Hummingbird Gathering Nesting Material

I wish the photos were clearer but I had to share. That’s a female Anna’s hummingbird gathering Anemone “fluff” for her nest. She’s been back several times to gather more, along with others nesting mammas in the neighborhood. She plucked at the fluff over and over till her mouth was full, then flew back to the nest. One of the Anna’s appears to be nesting in the orange tree. That’s the direction she goes once her beak is full. Another one gathers, then heads to the neighboring pine tree.

Fluffy Anemone Seed Heads

Earlier in the week I sat still in a chair for half an hour hoping to capture this wonderful event on video. I forgot to close the back door, however, and within minutes, one of the kitties was asleep in my lap.

I could have taken him back inside, but once I was resting there in the warm sun, I found myself “in the zone.” Sitting in my wicker chair in the garden, warm kitty in my lap, watching nature unfold was mesmerizing. Alas, the mama hummingbird didn’t return for her closeups so I had to make do with these blurred pics and the happy memory to go with them.

Oh, and remember what I said about anemones flowering in the fall? Check out this one, flowering away in late February.

Anemone Blooming in February

I wonder if the lack of rain along with weeks of unseasonably warm weather is playing tricks on the flower’s programming?

February 24, 2016 by Born To Organize

The Economics of Going Native

California Native Plants Replace the Lawn

There are a number of things to consider when converting lawn to native plants. Economics is one of them. Up front costs are costly if you are unable to do the work yourself. If you live in the Bay Area/Silicon Valley as we do, labor is expensive.

When we bought this house in our thirties, my husband and I did most of the work ourselves. We spent hours removing ivy, digging a faux creek, planting and hauling stones from a quarry in the back of my hatchback. I mowed the lawn with a push-mower, and reluctantly got down on my hands and knees every few weeks to trim the blades of grass away from the curb.

Then life became more complex. I had two boys, three years apart, one requiring a number of early interventions. My husband traveled for one or two weeks each month and often worked long hours beyond a typical day. It made more sense to pay for big jobs then to attempt to do them ourselves. We’re both pretty handy, but we knew our limits.

Now that life is simpler again, I turned my back for five minutes and I’m now in my fifties.

What?

So while we now have more time, we lack the strength and the energy. Between the two of us we have problems with our backs, feet and knees. We used some of our savings instead.

Here’s the math:

Professional landscape design and installation: $7,658

This included labor for hauling of old sod and other debris, site prep, laying of irrigation, planting and mulch. A crew of three worked for five days to complete the project.

RJ Landscape Crew Installation

Material costs included irrigation pipe and emitters, edging, pea gravel, paving stones for the swing area and plants.

The Santa Clara Water District offered a handsome rebate incentive for converting your lawn. After submitting all the paper work, I received a $2,530 rebate.

Santa Clara Valley Water District Landscape Rebate Program

This reduced the overall cost by a third, bringing the price down to $5,128.

I am no longer paying a lawn service, saving $1,800 a year in maintenance alone this year or $3,600 over the next 24 months. There will be additional savings in our water bill as well.

Between the rebate and the savings on lawn maintenance, the overall out-of-pocket cost of the conversion is about $1,528. In three years, the project will have paid for itself.

Why replace your lawn? Here’s a handy list published by Green Town Los Altos:

1. Healthier Creeks. Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides are top polluters in our creeks, killing aquatic life and spreading disease.

2. Less Storm Water Runoff. Deep roots of native plants and trees surrounded by mulch retain more water on site.

3. More Free Time. Native plants don’t require fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides and benefit only from annual or semiannual pruning.

4. Save Water. Lawns require more water than our climate can provide. Reducing our draw of water from the Delta and the Sierras helps maintain their ecosystems.

5. Save Money. All the mowing, fertilizer, herbicides and irrigation of lawns cost a lot of money. Native plants need substantially less effort and money to maintain.

6. Cash for Grass. Santa Clara Valley Water District will pay you up to $2000 to replace your lawn. Note: Sadly, this program is currently out of money, but local citizens can put their name on the waiting list.

7. Good Bugs, Not Bad Bugs. Mosquitoes in our dry summer? There must be a lawn nearby. Frequent watering creates tiny pools just right for mosquitoes to breed. Native plants attract good bugs and birds, ones that eat mosquitoes and other pests.

8. Biodiversity. Other than hardscape, there isn’t a more inhospitable surface to biodiversity than the mono-culture of lawns.

9. Less Greenhouse Gases. Manufacture and transportation of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and mowers has a substantial carbon footprint. Transportation, pumping and treatment of water requires energy. When you save water, you also save energy!

10. Smart Choice. Landscaping with plants that are native to our climate is a smart choice. If you want soft areas for kiddies to roll in, native grasses come in all three flavors: seeds, plugs and sod.

You can read the full article at Green Town Los Altos.

One last thing: An amazing thing has happened since removing the lawn. Now that I’m taking care of the entire garden once again, I feel more connected to my little patch of earth. It’s been a welcome and unexpected gift.

February 23, 2016 by Born To Organize

To Prune or Not to Prune?

There are different theories on the proper time to prune a plant. When we bought this house twenty years ago there were dozens of rose bushes, front and back. I “hard” pruned them once a year in January, removing crossing branches and dead limbs and leaving little more that a few inches of stem. My neighbor looked on aghast, but I assured him all was well. Sure enough, the flowers bloomed year after year.

I’m not a big fan of roses, so we gradually replaced them with other plants. One of our neighbors took all of the pink roses and transplanted them in the garden of her rental property. It was nice to see them go to a good home.

2010: Rose bushes on their way out.

About five years ago we added some hydrangeas in a few shady garden spots. The first year I pruned the plants in the fall after the blooms turned to a crumbly brown. A few of them came back looking good, but some of the others looked so-so. When I researched the proper time to prune them I got mixed answers. Some of the articles said to prune in the fall if the flowers bloomed on new wood. Others suggested pruning in the spring. I got up close to each plant and honestly couldn’t tell which was which

Last fall I decided to split the difference. I left a few of the plants untouched, while pruning the others just above the buds.

Now I know.

All of the hydrangeas are showing new growth, but the ones I left untouched look healthier. The growth appeared just below last year’s spent bloom. It was a wonderful experience cutting off the dead blooms and exposing the lovely lime green of new growth below. Don’t you just love that color?

Hydrangea: Spent blooms and new growth

Hydrangea: New growth on old wood?

Hydrangea: A small bloom…in February.

Hydrangea: New life underway

According to this first article in Fine Gardening, “knowing if your shrub blooms on old or new wood will help you make timely cuts.”

The same site shared this video, saying it depends on when your hydrangea blooms, spring or fall. Since ours bloom in the spring but continue to bloom through the fall, it seems that I should have pruned last fall after all.

I’m back to being confused.

I’ll report back in a few months when the plants are in bloom. Life in the garden is never dull.

February 18, 2016 by Born To Organize

My Garden at Dusk

View from my back door at dusk

Though our temperatures are unseasonably warm, the sun tells a different story. The angle of the sun reminds me that it’s still winter. Dusk comes early in the garden.

It rained last night, a welcome bit of moisture in this otherwise dry month. It smells wonderful.

I’m spending half an hour a day in the garden, pulling tiny weeds and bits of leftover lawn. When we converted the lawn to native plants last fall, they offered to put a chemical in the soil to kill any remaining grass. I’m an organic gardener, so I declined. I’m only finding shoots of grass here and there so it’s been quite manageable. I sheet-mulched most of the back garden beforehand, eliminating most of the grass organically.

It feels great spending time in the garden. I’ve been sweeping up pine needles, dead-heading the Camellia and enjoying the clean air. I bring in half a dozen lemons each week for our morning lemon water, a wonderful new habit. The female Anna’s Hummingbirds are nesting nearby, which means long drinks at the feeder. I love hearing them overhead as I work.

Female Anna’s Hummingbird at the Feeder

African Iris

Loropetalum ‘Burgundy Fringe Flower’

These yellow flowers self-seeded under the New Zealand Flax.

Plum blossoms on the four-in-one fruit tree

Pink Hyacinth ‘William and Kate’

Life is busy again now that I’m back to working with clients, so a lot of my garden time is catch as catch can. The time among the flowers and weeds feel like stolen moments but I don’t mind. Time in the garden is always a joy.

February 15, 2016 by Born To Organize

Robins and Daffodils and The Case of the Missing Rain

If the Daffodils are up, it must be February. Who needs a calendar when you can look out your front window and see this:

Daffodils: Just the Beginning

I’m amazed year after year that those tiny, brown orbs buried beneath the soil know exactly what to do and when.

For years I drooled over the Holland Bulb catalogs, but so many of the flowers need a really cold winter to do well. I tried tulips, refrigerating them first for six weeks in the crisper. Time in the cold environment simulates winter. The first year nothing came up. I wondered if I planted them too deeply or perhaps upside down. Maybe they rotted in the ground? There was no evidence that they’d been devoured by a critter. I tried again about a decade later, once again lulled by the promise of beautiful tulips in my garden. About half of the bulbs produced beautiful blooms, but by the following year I was down to one.

After a bit of research I learned that Daffodil bulbs (narcissus) are toxic to squirrels so they leave them alone. They don’t require a cold winter and they can stay in the ground year round. Now that’s my kind of bulb.

Using the broadcast method where you toss the bulbs to the ground, then plant them where they land, I filled the curb garden box with 50 bulbs. Every last one of them bloomed!

Daffodils: February 5th and 10th

Daffodil Trio

Emboldened, I bought 25 more bulbs the following year, this time the two-toned variety. They’re coming into bloom about a week after the original planting.

What’s Up, Buttercup: A Two-toned Daffodil

Also outside my kitchen window this past week: A thirsty flock of Robins.

Trio of Robins

Though the American Robin is common throughout the States, we don’t usually see them flock in our neighborhood. Over the past two weeks, no doubt prompted by our strangely warm, spring-like weather, they’ve been gathering in nearby trees and drinking at our watering hole. Robins are handsome birds with an equally delightful song.

They prefer a meal of worms, but once the ground is frozen, they’ll migrate and then feast on berries. All that flying back and forth between trees means they’ve left quite a mess in their wake. You take the good with the bad, right?

I made myself late to Pilates last Thursday as I went into the kitchen for some water and fled for my camera instead. There were at least a dozen robins, one sitting in the water fountain, and the rest taking turns for a drink. By the time I put the microchip in the camera, then found a place to take pictures hiding around the corner of the garage several had moved on. I still got a few shots in and around my MacGyvered watering hole and garden.

Robins taking turns at the watering hole

The garden is coming alive with color. We’ve had ten days of unseasonably high temperatures but only a trace of rain. Today, San Jose may tie a record high set in 1943. February is traditionally our rainiest month. In a state that counts its rainfall in fractions, February is the star with an average of 3.31 inches (8.41 cm) of rain. Our annual rain fall is only about 15 inches. It’s February 15th and we’ve only recorded 0.05 inches! So while it sounds uncharitable to complain about blue skies and warm weather…well, I’m complaining. We desperately need more rain.

If your swimming in surplus precipitation, please send it our way.

February 1, 2016 by Born To Organize

Hummingbirds, Spiderwebs and My Left Foot

Anna’s Hummingbird at the Feeder

Hummingbirds flap their wings about 55 times a second! The resulting sound is soothing, like a constant heartbeat. We have three feeders in our garden, in addition to several of their favorite flowers. When the plants are in bloom, the Anna’s Hummingbirds enjoy Salvia (we have four) and Abutilon (we have six).

While taking pictures of my lemons for a different post, I could hear one flapping over head. I took a few shots near one of the feeders, before she flew past me into the shrubs. For the first time, I saw her dip her beak into a spider web. I managed one shot before she flew away.

Anna’s Hummingbird Gathering Spiderweb for her Nest

Did you know that hummingbirds line their nest with spider webs? They also eat soft-bodied insects when they’re feeding their young. The prospect of a nest of hummingbirds nearby has me feeling giddy.

Footnotes

It’s been almost three months since my foot surgery. If you’re new to my blog, you can catch up here. Dr. Sheth said I’m actually “ahead of schedule.” She kindly added that she thought my positive outlook and my commitment to following the healing protocol all worked in my favor. So while I still have some pain and swelling, I have the all-clear for walking again. I’m one happy woman.

January 28, 2016 by Born To Organize

Negative Ions and The Wondrous Benefits of Rain

Blueberry Bush After the Rain

My love affair with rain dates back to my youth. I feel a sense of euphoria as clouds gather and a lightening in my heart. Once the rain falls, I have an intense desire to be outdoors. Last week I pulled a few weeds in the rain and it was bliss. Unfortunately my foot started to throb, not happy about the flex involved in the weed-pulling crouch. If not, I would have been out there for hours. It’s all about the negative ions.

According to WebMD

Negative ions are odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that we inhale in abundance in certain environments. Think mountains, waterfalls, and beaches. Once they reach our bloodstream, negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy.

While this doesn’t explain why some people hate the rain, it speaks volumes for my personal sense of glee. As clouds gather, I have more energy, an enhanced awareness of things around me and a feeling of joy. It’s extraordinary.

Daisy-like yellow flower

As I drove home from physical therapy today, I heard an interview with author Cynthia Barnett. Her book Rain: A Natural and Cultural History has just been nominated for a National Book Award. I couldn’t wait to come home and look it up. The synopsis reads:

Rain is elemental, mysterious, precious, destructive.

It is the subject of countless poems and paintings; the top of the weather report; the source of the world’s water. Yet this is the first book to tell the story of rain.
Cynthia Barnett’s Rain begins four billion years ago with the torrents that filled the oceans, and builds to the storms of climate change. It weaves together science—the true shape of a raindrop, the mysteries of frog and fish rains—with the human story of our ambition to control rain, from ancient rain dances to the 2,203 miles of levees that attempt to straitjacket the Mississippi River. It offers a glimpse of our “founding forecaster,” Thomas Jefferson, who measured every drizzle long before modern meteorology. Two centuries later, rainy skies would help inspire Morrissey’s mopes and Kurt Cobain’s grunge. Rain is also a travelogue, taking readers to Scotland to tell the surprising story of the mackintosh raincoat, and to India, where villagers extract the scent of rain from the monsoon-drenched earth and turn it into perfume.

Perfume!!! How has this escaped my grasp for so many years?

Fragrant Pink Hyacinth

As I write this, clouds gather.

Magnolia Tree Reflections on a Rainy Day

Rain is on the way.

Be still my heart.

January 26, 2016 by Born To Organize

Not Your Grandmother’s Bird Bath

Last summer, a friend of mine passed on this charming, child-sized table and chairs. They sat in the front garden for a while, available to our neighbor’s daycare kids. Small children don’t do much sitting, as you know, so they didn’t get much action.

Child-sized mosaic table and chairs

At one point I planned to use the pint-sized furniture to hold potted plants. Eventually that plan morphed out of necessity: The table and one of the chairs is now a bird bath, and a source of water for bees, butterflies and squirrels.

MacGyvered Bird Bath and Watering Hole

We’ve had a wonderful series of storms passing through all month, but last summer was a different story. When I spotted a squirrel drinking the morning dew off of our garden umbrella, it spurred me into action. I bought a pair of heavy-duty dog food bowls, and filled them with water for all the thirsty critters that pass through our garden.

California Grey Squirrel looking for a drink

Finding a good spot in the back garden was easy: one of the bowls sits elevated on a gardening bench out of harm’s way.

Dog food bowl + water = happy squirrel

It was trickier in the front garden, since the planting bed at the curb is only a few inches tall.

Short term, I grabbed the small table, turned it upside down, and rested the bowl between the table legs. It worked perfectly. It was tacky, but effective.

In order to improve the look, I bought a can of Forged Hammered Spray Paint, masked off the butterfly mosaic, then painted the rest. It looks earthier than the original white paint and I really like the hammered effect. It’s also a nice match for the bowl.

Table and chairs, before and after painting, forged hammered spray paint and a large dog food bowl

I put the chair in the center of the planting bed, added the upside-down table to the chair, then wedged the bowl between the chair legs. It’s now accessible, but harder to negotiate if you’re a cat. The table After removing a drowned bee, I added a small ceramic bird so the bees and butterflies have a shallower place to drink.

Do you know the expression, necessity is the mother of invention? It would never have dawned on me to turn this charming furniture into a bird bath, but I’m so glad I did.

Rain-filled bird bath

January 25, 2016 by Born To Organize

Gardening Indoors: Paper Whites and Tulips

I planted Paper White Narcissus and Tulip bulbs indoors last week and they’re growing like weeds.

Just a month ago the idea of planting the bulbs seemed overwhelming. It’s so good to have my energy back.

This beautiful vase holds Narcissus in our bedroom once again. The white flowers look gorgeous against the blue wall and their scent is heavenly.

Paper White Narcissus in our bedroom

A few more of the Paper Whites are growing on the kitchen windowsill, along with a vase of tulips. The tulips were a gift from a friend last year as a thank you for helping her move. After the flowers died back, I saved both the vase and the bulbs to replant this year.

Paper White Narcissus Blooms in the kitchen window

What I didn’t notice until cropping this photo, is a bit of dusty mold. I’ve had the odd bulb rot while stored off-season, but the ones I planted seemed fine. I’m wondering if the water level is too high? I changed the water, “dusted them off” and returned everything to the vase. So far so good. It will be fun to see what flowers this year.

Tulip Bulbs in a vase in need of some TLC

I think it’s fascinating that bulbs store their energy in that little brown orb, knowing when it’s time once again to grow. I know that eating healthier is helping my energy level, in addition to physical therapy and Pilates. I’ve been seeing the PT three hours a week, and I’m back to Pilates two days a week.

I’ve been tracking every morsel of food to cross my lips since the first of the year through a free app called My Fitness Pal. You track food, water intake and exercise. The app tells you how you are doing in terms of healthy fat, protein and carbs as well as sugar and sodium. I’m hooked.

To further aid in my accountability, I’ve added the My Fitness Pal widget to my side bar. It shows my weight loss to date. There’s nothing like a bit of public accountability to keep you on track, eh?

Though I could happily eat chocolates tomorrow, the cravings have subsided. I’m better off without it for now, perhaps forever.

As January draws to a close, how are you doing with your plans and goals for this year?