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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 15, 2023 6:16:11 GMT
That is disappointing, but at least I guess it answers the question of whether you want to keep it.
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Post by bjd on Nov 18, 2023 19:46:42 GMT
I pulled out that rose bush today. Another reason it grew so well was that the soil was really rich, black and full of worms there. I had a hard time getting all the roots out.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 18, 2023 21:54:21 GMT
What a relief, though! And the spot is all ready for something more deserving now.
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Post by bjd on Nov 24, 2023 18:50:56 GMT
I took advantage of a couple of days without rain to move a few things around in the garden. I extended one of the flower beds, moved some irises that I had planted years ago but were now too far to the back of the bed and replaced them with hardy geraniums which I have lots of and which grow absolutely anywhere.
Also moved some edging along a bed to make it follow the curve of the path running in front of it. It seems obvious but I didn't do it properly when I originally laid the edging. It's much harder to pull up and move than it was putting it in the first time.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 27, 2023 15:55:29 GMT
Our gardening waffle for the Sanibel yard is how much to keep it as a wildlife preserve and how much actual landscaping we want to do. We have enjoyed seeing a few bobcats, lots of birds, and more than a few alligators in our yard in its previous wild state, but Hurricane Ian has changed our wetland neighborhood and there’s no going back. Mother Nature is having her way with the comeback, having poisoned many nice native species with salt water inundation and gifting us with seeds of unknown heritage and questionable desirability that are now taking over the yard. Since 70% of Sanibel Island is dedicated wildlife refuge lands, the loss of wildlife habitat on our postage stamp lot isn’t a big deal to the wildlife. And many of our neighbors have scrapped the wetland jungle look for a more manicured yard. But we’re on the fence. As we get older, the seasonal bursts of yard work required to tame our jungle become less enjoyable and more painful! With the waste removal service that our taxes pay for we get weekly yard waste removal, and we take advantage of it when we’re on-island, which is only 11 weeks a year. Each of the past two weeks we have put out 25 bundles of dead branches and bales of vines that we pulled out of palms and off our steps. Plus 4’ long log sections that are too heavy to bundle. Mr. Kimby wonders if we shouldn’t just mulch large areas of the yard to prevent rampant growth. I’m still hoping for a return to a more tropical native look.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 28, 2023 16:34:19 GMT
I like that clump of vegetation in the first photo, but you would probably need to put borders around it to indicate that it is not just neglect. And of course there's nothing stopping you from trimming it a bit when necessary.
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Post by bjd on Nov 28, 2023 19:46:40 GMT
I don't think mulch with keep down the growth and weeds if you are not there most of the year.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 28, 2023 22:15:30 GMT
Ditto.
The only thing that would keep down that kind of growth would be to smother it with something heavy like roofing felt, then put mulch on top of that. Really, any kind of mulch that would break down, like leaves, would be fertile ground for any seeds blown in or dropped by birds. You'd need to invest in something like cedar mulch -- invest being the operative word, as the amount you'd need would be expensive.
If you could severely cut or shave back what's there now, you might be able to contract for a monthly or bi-monthly service to keep everything in check. No idea what that would cost now.
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Post by bjd on Nov 29, 2023 7:17:48 GMT
Whenever it hasn't been raining, I have been moving a few things around as well as extending the flower bed at the front of the garden to make a nicer curve. When I put in the first beds, back in 2018/19, they were rather narrow, some things have grown, others haven't. I had ordered irises online but they didn't bloom much even though the rhizomes got quite big. They were in fact under a tea tree (leptospermum) and behind a rose bush, both of which have grown a lot. So I dug out all the irises, moved them over into a deeper bed. The edging I put in had to be pulled up and moved. And the "grass" in the "lawn" is some kind of weed with thick roots and thick leaves. It does stay green even in drought but it's a pain to dig out.
I found loads of worms, including tiny ones stuck in the roots of the grass. A blackbird followed me as I dug along the bed. I would have expected, and preferred, a robin. I also tried to bury the worms back into the soil immediately so the blackbird wouldn't grab them all.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 30, 2023 2:34:36 GMT
I like that clump of vegetation in the first photo, but you would probably need to put borders around it to indicate that it is not just neglect. And of course there's nothing stopping you from trimming it a bit when necessary. That clump of vegetation is vines, K2, and fairly tender ones. They pull right out of the bushes and trees, but I doubt they could be trimmed, as it’s all a tangle with no way of knowing where it starts or ends.
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Post by bjd on Nov 30, 2023 7:52:00 GMT
Given the warm, humid climate there, cutting the vines right back along with everything surrounding them would probably not be a problem.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 30, 2023 13:10:08 GMT
We rented a pickup instead of a sedan this trip, and put it to good use yesterday.
We filled the truck bed with 1/2 pallet (35 bags) of mulch for our paths and for spreading around the house perimeter. In the king cab with the back seats folded up, we piled 27 20” square stepping stones (60# each!) for a path through the gravel under the stilt house. The truck was riding a little low, but we were probably within the 2600 pound safe hauling limit. Barely.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 30, 2023 16:30:20 GMT
A blackbird followed me as I dug along the bed. I would have expected, and preferred, a robin. Okay, I'll bite -- what is the reason for that preference?
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Post by bjd on Nov 30, 2023 16:59:04 GMT
Robins are a lot cuter and don't dig holes in the lawn.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 30, 2023 17:02:46 GMT
True, they are as cute as can be. I think the European robin was invented so its image could be on greeting cards. But blackbirds sing so beautifully!
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Post by bjd on Nov 30, 2023 17:05:33 GMT
Blackbirds sing beautifully only during spring evenings.
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 30, 2023 17:24:03 GMT
Talking of birds we were surprised by the arrival of a couple of blue tits in the garden, one of which decided to pick dying leaves off the apple tree and drop them. Never seen that before.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 30, 2023 17:26:30 GMT
There are no European robins nor Eurasion blackbirds here, but I have lots and lots of great-tailed grackles. (Quiscalus mexicanus). In Texas I also had bunches of boat-tailed grackles (Quiscalus major). Even though Q. mexicanus ranges up into the US, I'm pretty sure about the IDs because the songs are distinct, with the Mexican variety being more melodious. They're really bold, which makes them endearing. They congregate in the backyard where the vegetable garden is and take off in a big flapping whooosh when I go back there. So far they have never attacked any vegetables, so I assume they're eating bugs, which is a good thing. I don't know if I've told about this already, but: merlin.allaboutbirds.org/(wasn't ignoring your post, Mick, it just took me much time to make mine)
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Post by bjd on Nov 30, 2023 17:30:10 GMT
I saw grackles for the first time in Texas, I had never heard of them before.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 30, 2023 17:38:21 GMT
Sometimes you see them there in the thousands. They return to big trees in public squares in Mexico at dusk all over the country, making a huge noise. I learned to take that noise as the cue not to sit under the trees in the square at that time.
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Post by bjd on Nov 30, 2023 17:51:04 GMT
Starlings do that, although less here than in Toulouse or further east. The village we went to in the Aude several times had to hire someone to scare away the starlings which roosted in the plane trees along the main street every night. Cars parked underneath were covered every morning, as were the ground, benches... They first hired someone who shot firecrackers into the trees but the birds returned after a while. This year they seemed to have finally discouraged them from returning.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 30, 2023 20:28:18 GMT
Back in the early '70s there were many news stories about giant invasions of starlings. They would gobble up crops and break trees and overhead cables when roosting in their zillions. Apparently they have declined in the US by @50% since then. They're widespread! mnbirdatlas.org/species/european-starling/
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 30, 2023 20:35:13 GMT
After searching the forum I find there has only been Mossie on the 10th February 2021 who has used the correct word, murmuration, regarding a large number of starlings doing their thing.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 30, 2023 20:57:53 GMT
That's why there are so many fewer members now. Slowly but surely any member unable or unwilling to use "murmuration" where appropriate is being terminated -- sometimes digitally and sometimes ...... Well, let's just leave it at that.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 1, 2023 1:24:57 GMT
After searching the forum I find there has only been Mossie on the 10th February 2021 who has used the correct word, murmuration, regarding a large number of starlings doing their thing. Pretty sure I’ve used it. Maybe not on this forum, but just I used it on Facebook yesterday. A friend who knows I love murmurations sent me a video of a fantastic one on Sardinia. Hope one of these links works. /?mibextid=ngobeXctTp5pD3Zm www.facebook.com/reel/2388441491363548?mibextid=ngobeXctTp5pD3Zm
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 4, 2023 23:17:22 GMT
Bjd asked this question and it occurred to me it's something we probably want to talk about, as we're all over the globe: Do you have a year-round growing season, Bixa? Bjd, the short answer is "yes". Technically, I guess any place with no freezing days has a year-round growing season. But the baking days of Spring in Oaxaca were brutal for plants and planting, so there are gradations of growing season. The climate in Coatepec, by comparison, could be called "soft" and much kinder to growing things. The weather right now, for instance, is similar to that of New Orleans in January, when many people start plants such as peas or fava beans. It is warmer, though, and no chance of losing everything to a sudden frost. weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,coatepec-veracruz-mx,Mexico
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 5, 2023 7:48:33 GMT
You say that as I wake up to another cold and wet morning.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 5, 2023 15:33:09 GMT
There is a cure for that: ✈️
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 11, 2023 13:00:39 GMT
The weather was so good this morning I was able to get out in the front garden and tidy over the veg bed and the side bed. Been waiting 2 months for that. Looks good!
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Post by bjd on Dec 11, 2023 14:57:42 GMT
I took advantage of the nice weather too. There is not that much to do in the garden but I poked around outside just to enjoy being outside. With our recent mild weather, I saw that some daffodils gave grown about 6 inches, as have some Dutch irises.
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