It’s Quite Dandy

The early arrival of unseasonably warm weather has brought lots of invasive wildflowers to The F&P  yard like chickweed, birds- eye speedwell, purple deadnettle, henbit AND bright yellow dandelions.

The name of this perennially, herbaceous plant with long, lance-shaped leaves and jagged flower petals is presumed to have originated in France. The French term dent de lion meaning lion's tooth  was translated in English to dandelion.

Early uses for this wildflower were for food, a dermatological and gastrointestinal aid, cure for sore throats, analgesic, blood purifier, sedative, laxative, diuretic, love potion, and general tonic for good health. Dandelion leaves are used to treat high blood pressure because of their ability to reduce the volume of fluid in the body. Dandelion root has been shown to stimulate bile production and to cleanse the liver. The root is also considered one of the most effective detoxifying herbs.

Dandelions are still consumed; dandelion leaves are boiled like spinach or mixed in salads.  Baby dandelion leaves are often found in haute cuisine (Fr. for high cuisine, an elaborate and skillful manner of preparing food).  The dried dandelion root has been used as a coffee substitute.

• The flower opens in the morning and closes in the evening.
• It’s thought to represent three celestial bodies – yellow flower (the sun), puff ball (the moon) and dispersing seeds (the stars).
• Every part of the dandelion is useful: root, leaves, flower.
• Before the 1800s, folks would pull grass from their lawns to make room for dandelions and other useful “weeds” like chickweed, malva, and chamomile.
• The average American knows the names of less than five plants growing in his/her yard, excluding dandelions.
• Dandelions have one of the longest flowering seasons of any plant. Seeds can be carried up to 5 miles from their origin.

Friday's Frivolous Fen Frolicks

Actually today we are not Frolicking on the Fen. A half inch of rain overnight has caused us to take a long weekend. And speaking for myself, it is a welcome occurrence. Some of you may be wondering about this covert organization i mention now and then, Master Naturalists. First, to dispel all rumors, we are NOT a group who loves cavorting through the woods nekid.... in fact the mear thoughts of that nature could cause neurological paralysis and instant blindness.

We are a cadre of trained volunteers that are able to assist the public with questions, projects, and education relating to the local environment where we live. That said, you may wonder if we are 'tree huggers'?  Well, sort of. BUT there is a definite apprenticeship to be a tree hugger. 

This is Amanda. Next to her is a Morella cerifera or Wax Myrtle shrub. Apprentices start by planting shrubs. They are the folks who yesterday were following the shrub droppers. After a sufficiently long period of 'Shrub Cuddling', you may graduate to 'Tree Hugging'. BUT you have to maintain a certain number of hours per year hugging to be a 'Certified Tree Hugger'.  Someone told me that makes us 'Certifiable'. I'm not sure if they were to be believed since they were holding a bunch of 'used teabags'.

As of yesterday at noon, all 3550 Wax Myrtles had been planted. Not bad for 2.5 days work by a lot of very dedicated volunteers (and there wasn't even free lunch involved, just snacks). 

So what happened to those 90 Willow Oaks that were delivered. Well they are getting planted. 41 got planted yesterday, which was more of an experimental day to see what would be the best planting method. The remaining 410 will be planted over the next three weeks.

 To the right is the awlgar that drills the hole for the rootball. And below is the Bobcat that spins the awlgar. This is truly a 'blessed event'. Fr. Richard has really made our fields 'holey'.

Over the years we have devised (correction, Richard has devised) a simple method of getting the trees from where they are delivers to the holes.

First, the bottom wire bands that hold the root ball together are removed. Next the tree is lifted by tractor and placed on the trailer, where they are neatly stacked three in a row by Michael. Then they are towed out to the field by tractor this year since we have one capable of the task.

Next, if you notice the reddish crane on the back of the trailer, we use that to lift the rootball off the trailer, swing it over the hole, lower it half way into the hole, the rest of the wire basket is cut, and in the hole it goes.

Lastly, the excess burlap is pushed down, Soil is packed into the sides of the hole, and on to the next hole. If all things go right this operation takes 7-10 minutes per tree. Moving to the next hole usually takes another 3-5 minutes depending on location. So even at the longest, we can plant a tree every 15 minutes and on average every 10 minutes. Here are pics of the final operation.

Tomorrow is back to the Historic Onley Train Station. For that update you will have to visit Possum at http://onley-spots.blogspot.com/

Grenville

Backyard Birding

This week, I am out of state visiting my mother in Plainfield, NJ. These photos were taken from The Frog & PenguINN kitchen window in late February. The feeders were very busy.

There were the usual unwelcome visitors of grackles and cowbirds . . .
And, one which we don’t often see – until he has caught a meal , which unfortunately has happened over the last several weeks. This appears to be Sharp-shinned hawk, an agile flier that surprises its prey, typically songbirds.There’s been an assortment of male and female cardinals . . .
Also house finches and goldfinches . . .
A tufted titmouse sometimes visits, but never stays long enough for some good photos.Sharing is nice . . .

Just a little break from reading about Grenville’s fabulously fantastic fun-filled fen adventures this week. 

Fen Fun is in Full Fling!!!!

Hard to believe i could string all those F words together, and have it come out clean....
Oh Well!!!!!  Sorry for no post last night. By the time i got home my fingers were too tired to type. Here is part of our happy group Tuesday morning after unloading the tractor trailer.

I didn't have time to get a pic of the tractor-trailer that delivered 3550 Wax Myrtles and 90 Willow Oaks yesterday morning. We all were to busy trying to figure out how to efficiently unload them. Shrubs and trees were mixed into the load and required many hands to untangle them. Then the first shrubs were loaded directly onto the trailers that would be going to the field.

As far as we can tell each field trailer (there were two of them) held about 300 plants. After they were filled the rest of the shrubs went on the ground in a holding area. Well they went on the ground where ever we could find room. We formed rough conga lines and just kept passing them along till we ran out. The 90 Willow oaks were unloaded by tractor since they are about 7 ft tall and the ball and all weigh about 200 lb. each. You'll see them tomorrow (if i survive another day).

 It may not look like a lot of shrubs here but there are almost 3000 of them.

So after a lunch break we started the dropping/planting operation. This is where teams of 6 people (driver, crew chief and arranger, and 4 droppers) take a trailer load out to the field. The driver moves along at about 2 mph and the 4 droppers come up to the trailer and grab some shrubs. They walk along the rows and drop them (pot and all) into the pre-drilled holes. You remember all those holes Michael drilled last week. As the shrubs get depleted from the edge of the trailer the crew chief/arranger pushes more from the center to the edge. All this time the tractor is inching along, unless someone yells to stop. Yesterday afternoon my crew dropped 3 trailer loads, or about 900 shrubs.

Here we are heading out with our second load of the afternoon. So what happens to those potted plants that are in the holes?????? Well another crew comes along and takes them out of the pots and plants the shrub. That is probably the most intensive part of the operation. Finally a Q/A person walks each row and checks for missed holes, improperly planted shrubs (green side down , brown side up), and lastly removes the yellow flags at the end of the rows to say they are done.

This morning my crew dropped 3 more trailer loads. We do have about 200 shrubs left over but they will be used for fill ins and replacements for shrubs that don't make it.

The rest of our day was spent helping the planting crews. As of this afternoon the entire 110 acres had been planted with shrubs.

So who made up this band of intrepid planters????? Many are members of the Eastern Shore Chapter of Master Naturalists www.masternaturalistesva.com.  Others were from The Nature Conservancy, Va Dept. of Inland Fish and Game, Va. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation main office in Richmond,  Va. Dept. of Forestry, Va Dept. of Environmental Quality. Now if you are reading this and were there and i have forgotten to mention you, I apologize. Just think of how tired you are right now!!!!! And remember i'm just as tired.

Tomorrow we will start the second part of our operation which will be planting trees. So stay tuned for more Frolicking Fen Follies!!!!!!!

Grenville

All Day Snow Storm

YES,,, those little white streaks are SNOW coming down. And it did this all day long. Of course a March snow here is the non-sticking kind. Tomorrow should be clear but a little chilly and a nasty east (off the ocean) wind.

We did get some stuff done on the Fen like setting up the tractors and marking rows that are muddy or flooded at the far end making turns with a trailer impossible.
















Tomorrow our 4700 plants arrive. To the "Old Bike Rider", most are Wax Myrtles since the deer done eat them. It sounds like we will  just unload, tag, and load onto the trailers so we can get them out into the field on Wednesday.

The rest of the day was spent re-staining the foyer. It seems like that task will never end. Probably cause it goes so slow with the wiping and reapplying.

I'm so glad everyone liked our Indent-A-Rod post. I just could not resist. Apologies to Elaine (Alaska).

Grenville

Eastern Shore Indent-a-rod is on!!!!!

'Nuff said.

We did have snow over night,,,, almost covered the shovel.

Possum,,,, isn't that car they are in??????? Do you think they stop at Hardee's to pick up some "Hot Dogs" for the race?????? Well they alway say "It's a dog eat dog world!!!!!!!"

Grenville

Back To The Fen!!!!!

NO,,, NO,,, this is not the sequel to the sequel of that movie about the future. Most of you remember the Mutton Hunk Fen project i have been working on. Well there really hasn't been a lot to post about. Since november we have been mowing the last 100 acres that we will plant. Then there was subsoiling and rough discing, finish discing and hole drilling.

As of last week this is what the Fen is looking like (below). Nice neat mounded rows every 25 feet with a nice hole drilled every 35 ft.

And then this past week the rains came. Imagine all that nice turned up dirt mixed with almost 3 inches of rain ......

Well on the bright side, in January we got our new 75hp tractor with the 7 ft bush hog. Unfortunately it was NOT GREEN..... BUT it did make the cutting go a lot faster.

Tuesday we will be getting a delivery of over 4000 shrubs that will get planted in those nice holes out in the muddy field. With any luck we will also have 35-40 volunteers to help with this. Of course this all depends on the weather. Tomorrow the crew (See below) will be getting the final equipment preps done like putting buckets back on tractors, auger attachments on the Bobcat, and trailers ready for transporting shrubs to the field.
Unless it snows!!!!! Yes, our prediction for tonight and tomorrow morning is SNOW!!!!!

Michael and Richard (the rest of the crew)

SOOOO Campers, check back for "More Fun on the Fen" (depending on how tired i am).
Grenville

Honey of a Trade

Ever tried bartering?

While we haven’t done much ourselves, lately we’ve had a couple of tasty trades as we’ve started going through the process of sorting “stuff” that’s managed to collect in The Frog & PenguINN. Sometimes, we’re not sure HOW this “stuff” got here, but we know a lot has to leave. This has become an ongoing process to  de-clutter so we can downsize to a smaller home.

Grenville had purchased an assortment of canning jars over the past several years. They were stored in the attic which is being emptied now, so the jars needed a new home. Our friend, Matt is a fellow gardener and bee keeper who is always in need of clean jars. So, we worked out a trade – canning jars for fresh honey. Tea never tasted better !

Then, last weekend while participating in the Heritage Celebration, I arranged an eggs-stra special trade (awful pun)  and bartered another trade, photo cards for these beauties. A potter we know – NO not Harry – Elizabeth raises chickens, otherwise known as “the girls” and brought this colorful selection this week.

More colorful than store-bought eggs and delicious for this weekend's breakfast.

Note: Fellow bloggers who may also be facing the challenges of accumulated “stuff” can check out the Space Wars Rant  posted on Dancing With Daisy’s  blog this week.

Grenville and I concur with Daisy’s observation about needing less after a certain age. We’ve also found that having more “stuff” requires more maintenance, and as Daisy stated, “they become a nuisance.”

We’re finding that having less “stuff” is a great feeling and we’re not missing anything that’s been donated – or better yet – traded.

It gets easier too !

Friday Funnies

My, what long lashes “she” has . . . Any suggestions for a fun caption?
(It was too early this morning to think of a clever one.)

Salmon Dinner

Salmon was on the Frog & PenguINN menu last week and here’s an easy dry rub courtesy of Tammy who posted it on Simple Southern Happiness. Check out her blog and click on the Good Eats section for mouth-watering recipes. But don’t look if you’re hungry because Tammy also posts awesome photos that look good enough to eat!

Note that for this dry rub, I estimated the amount of seasonings needed. Also I used smoked paprika and substituted dried nutmeg.

Prepare dry rub of dried garlic, paprika, dash of fresh nutmeg, and pinch of salt. Rub ingredients on salmon, wrap in plastic wrap, and marinate overnight in fridge.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle olive oil on salmon and bake until done. Cooking time varies depending on the size and thickness of the fish; ours took about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with dill and pour pan juices on salmon before serving.

While we often serve salmon with a side of wild rice and vegetable, this meal was enjoyed with fresh beets from friends (thanks Matt and Grace) and green beans from last year’s harvest (thanks Grenville).

AND, a big thanks to Tammy for posting this wonderfully easy salmon rub. We’re planning a repeat soon.