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Tree Roots

Aug10

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The exposed roots of this tree along the 1930’s paved N. Spring Street are so unusual.  No other tree in this wooded area has roots growing out of the ground like this.

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Everyone who frequents the Fox River Trail knows this paved area as their “Rocky moment”.  The wooded path has an almost obscured inlet with an uneven, historic brick drive that goes straight up. Whew! I’m tired even now of walking my bike up that hill.
The juxtaposition of the tree roots and brick drive through the dappled sunlight makes quite the dramatic sight.

A Failure (Maybe) from Purchasing Honeysuckle on Television

Aug2

As the frenzy of March garden prep lights up the home shopping channels, I found myself “glued to the TV” with all the fabulous offers and promises of a seemingly ready-made garden bed: “It’ll grow at least three feet in the first season.”  Having purchased honeysuckle from the local nursery in the past, I thought it would be safe; probably not three feet in one season, but they’re hardy plants.

The two little ones (which I got for an “okay” price) arrived sometime in May happily tucked into their boxes looking all fresh and green.  They have since been planted next to my arbor and haven’t grown a single inch in three months, despite continuing to look happy and green (even with the Midwest drought).

No, they didn’t die, but they didn’t actually grow either.  I contacted the company for replacement plants, which their website said is common practice if any plants don’t live up to the promises on television, so I’ll have fresh new ones May 2013.

I think I’ll stick to the nursery in the future.

And Here Come the Fall Bulb Catalogs

Aug2

I just received a free shipping coupon on all $25 or more Fall bulb pre-orders through August 6, 2012 at Tulip World, so of course, I want to share the wealth: enter offer code “New4U” at checkout.  I’ve purchased many a successful bulb from this company in the past; they have all the standard varieties at fantastic prices (especially in bulk) and a few of the more unusual varieties as well.

I purchased drumstick allium (to “snaz up” my early Summer plantings), mixed hyacinth (one cannot go wrong with the majesty of hyacinth), and mixed muscari/grape hyacinth (these little guys fill in any empty space).

Photograph courtesy of Tulip World.

Now the problem is waiting, and I’m not a patient person when it comes to waiting for packages–especially pre-orders.

 

Zucchini Bread Recipe from Paula Deen

Jul18

Now is the season for zucchini.  Yeah!  but what to do with the ones left hanging outside too long that quickly became gigantic?  Zucchini Bread is always the answer for me.

I like the Paula Deen recipe (pretty standard), but adjust it by using whole wheat flour instead of standard unbleached white and scoop it into sprayed cupcake tins for easy breakfast in the car on the way to work.  This makes 3 dozen smaller muffins or 1 1/2 dozen large muffins.  Keep the same temperature but bake for 20-25 minutes until clean toothpick.

Chicago and the Rise of the “Land Hurricane”

Jul10

For the past week, the not-often-used term “derecho” (most meteorologists pronounce this “de-rachel”), meaning “land hurricane”, has been on everyone’s lips from Chicago straight through to Washington, D.C.  I say the new word hesitantly, as I saw the fast-acting storm pass just to the South and am glad I wasn’t caught somewhere in the middle.  It’s not often that we in the rather sedate Midwest have a storm that leaves such a path of destruction.  Sure, we have the occasional tornado (take cover when the sky turns green and the hail comes down), but it’s usually just bluster: the newscaster forecasts torrential rain and 80+mph winds followed by the dreaded tornado, but then we have a light sprinkling–barely enough to water the grass.

Even in the worst of circumstances, the local power company typically has everything up and running within a matter of hours, but this “derecho” (I now type the word with both fear and derision) left my elderly grandmother without power in 90-100 degree heat for more than four full days.  Luckily, she had family to take her in, but in  this storm and power-outage followed by 3 record-breaking days in a row of 100+ degree temperatures, not everyone was so lucky.  This left the Chicago heat-related death toll at 18 for 2012 thus far, which is unacceptable, at best, and outrageous, at worst, in what I feel is one of the grandest cities on earth.

My local municipality, the City of Elgin, selflessly sent out city employees for wellness checks to make sure everyone survived the heat; the poor city workers, however, practically melted onto the steaming sidewalk as they went up and down each sidewalk.  Bravo, Elgin, for taking the initiative.

So, in a very roundabout manner, I come to back to my original thought process (wow, my students would laugh at my terrible lack of organization): If these past few weeks in Chicago, St. Louis, and well the entire Midwest and now sweeping to the East, is any indication of the global warming yet to come, I should invest in flashlights.

And, I’ll end on a pretty flower from my garden to lighten the somber mood.

Storms Rolling In

Jun29

Photograph of the sky above Elgin, IL around 11:00am.  We desperately need the rain (the ground is parched), but with the ominous hail yesterday afternoon, take cover!

Photograph courtesy of Facebook.