First Snow!

Highway 61 on the East side of Mt. Josephine - Taken on my commute to work last Sunday morning. It sure was a beautiful drive with all the fresh snow sticking to the trees!

New Girls in the Owl Wood

Snow, sleet, hailstones, heavy rain, biting northerly winds.

Hardly the ideal way to welcome four semi-plucked ex battery hens to the big wide world of Owl Wood.



We collected them from a farm on the far side of Lincolnshire. When we arrived there were some two hundred blonde and balding hens taking their first breaths of freedom in the bitterly cold yard of the farm. One of the assistants caught four hens for us, and as we put them into the cardboard boxes two characters immediately shone through.

The one who has most of her feathers is definitely a feisty one, she decided that she didn't want to be in the box and made to escape, I had to restrain her. The other one which came to our attention was plonked in the box and immediately fell flat on her face.. and stayed that way. Once we had assisted her to the upright position she was fine. Bewildered, confused, hen-pecked - she has a bald neck and few feathers.

The feisty one to the left, the confused one is to the right.

It distresses me to see them looking like this, but they are in far better condition than the first batch we had, and they went on to enjoy several happy years with us.

These girls will soon settle in and get their cosy feather duvets to keep them warm.

Welcome to our little woodland, girls.

You are about to have the time of your lives.

You will be pampered and loved - and you will have your freedom to roam and do "hen things".

Symposium - Day 2

Today, I had to take a photo of what I could use as a bike rack inside of the Convention Center. OH well.
The day started with coffee & rolls in a session called "Trail Talk". I sat at the table where the topic was "Trail Maintenance - You Built, They Came, Now What".
After coffee, it was off to the meeting rooms. There were 2 session in the morning that I was interested in: "Inviting the Community Back into the Woods - Nature Trails in Urban Landscapes" and "Biking Toward a Sustainable Future". Both of these were lead by IMBA.
We broke for lunch where the SHORT business meeting was held (elect the board and adjourn). Keynote Addess was made by Dr. Richard Jacksin, UCLA School of Public Health.

In the afternoon, I attended presentations titled "Buy, Sell, Beg, or Borrow: Creative Funding Ideas from American Trails" presented by Friends of the Katy Trail (the Dallas, Katy Trail) and "Understanding Sustainablity and Boulding Better Trails" presented by IMBA and Elakah Expeditions.
The day closed with the "Trails Rock" Party at the Clinton Library.

Raspberries

Raspberries, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Berries for sale at the SLO Farmers' Market.

Indecisive cropping

I'm growing Zinnias for Hospice again this year. They're perfect for me: varied, easy, prolific, and forgiving. And, good for Hospice: long vase life.

I'm growing the same types as before, but their behavior this year (when not totally drought-stricken) is wildly different. The large varieties are doing so much better that I'd think they were different plants. (They're actually from the same batch of seeds.) We watered them last year, but apparently, that doesn't compare to actual rain.

The only problem I'm having...

... besides Japanese beetles...

... is indecisive cropping.

Can't decide which looks best.

I have that problem a lot.

Gave up after one try on this Peppermint Stick variety.

A Little Fall Color for Thanksgiving

This post has few words - just photos of the Oakleaf Hydrangea looking good in its first autumn in Texas soil
and another look at the 'Marilyn's Choice' Abutilon...a plant that grew large but bloomed little since spring. The buds began to form on the abutilon almost as soon as the first leaves fell from the pecan tree, which may be a sign that its spot is too shady.
Whatever the trigger, this Abutilon is now covered in flowers
just in time for freeze warnings on Friday.
This is the abutilon's first year in my garden- can Marilyn keep blooming after a freeze?)
The fig tree made a small, late crop following the 12" rain in September. These 3 figs are almost ripe. Shall I pick them now or take a chance on a freeze?
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from Philo & Annie

Jumps, Ribbons, and Horse Shows

Another year of shows is able to begin this Saturday. Here's Darcie on her horse Red at one of the local shows.
She won second place overall in the Walk Trot Division. I was pretty proud of her since it was her first year showing.
Red is half arabian and half thoroughbred. The circuit she rides in is hunter/jumper. He's not the best horse for this circuit since he doesn't jump anymore. He's sixteen and has a little bit of arthritis. He really should be showing in an Arab circuit...oh well.
So considering all that, she did pretty well last year.
I took some photos last night during a jumping class which she's suddenly loves. She used to be scared of jumping, and I don't blame her! The horse she's riding belongs to the stables. I only stuck around long enough to snap a few....makes me too nervous to watch for long.