Can't somebody somewhere do SOMETHING about the weather???!!

We are getting colder down here in Nevada because your weather is falling down our way. Thanks a lot you guys. Actually it feels good. 70s instead of high 90s. Sharon.

I hope it falls all the way to Mexico and leaves us all alone for the whole summer.

OK, who finally did something about the weather?! Our long national nightmare is over!

I'm super disappointed to report that something got to my hummingbird; she's gone & so are the eggs. I was buzzed about a week ago while creeping under the rhodie & searching for evidence of what happened, so I was hopeful that she would re-nest, but no luck so far.

But today I discovered something new! When I walk through the Village of Deliverance up the road, I cut through my neighbors' back yards along the river, and Gerry has a small natural pond buried in the shrubbery at the foot of his bluff. The other day I noticed some really large lizard-y things (anyone who's ever lived in Florida immediately thinks PANIC PANIC ALLIGATOR upon finding anything unexpected gliding through the water but thankfully they are not) ... so today I crept up quietly to spy on them. And they were all over, pairing off before my eyes! Big grey ones riding along on the back of smaller goldish ones. I assume that they were mating, rather than eating each other. It was really cool. They are nearly a foot long & have flat tails like eels. Yellow underpads.

There was so much else going on in the sunny shallows -- bright red specks darting around & twigletty things creeping along the bottom -- none of which I can identify so a bit frustrating. I could have sat there for hours but was crouched in an unnatural position.

Giant salamanders? Don't know if there are such things.

There is one, but it's spotted. These are plain. Couldn't find anything on the Internet to tell me exactly which kind of salamander these are.

OMG--Where is Rose Lodge? I hope it is a long way from the coast. Those things would just freak me out, and I like wasps, bees,spiders, and lots of insects. I am not a wimp. But , Summerkid, you have posted something that really does creeps me out. Lizards and snakes not my thing. You were so brave to sneak up on them!

I'm only 10 miles from the beach but very very far north of you. Lincoln City.

Ha ha, bee, and THEY WERE MATING. Making lots & lots of baby monsters.

I had a very angry garter snake on the path today. It just sat there for hours with its mouth open wide. One of the cats must have been messing with it. I horsed around with it too, determined that it wasn't injured, and eventually it slithered off. I watched it go but couldn't see it move, it just disappeared slowly, like the Cheshire cat! Isn't it amazing how they do that?

I think it may be a pacific giant salamander. Check it out. These can get up to 13" long.
found in both OR & WA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkIzYiLfcdA

OMG. Two things we do not have in Las Vegas. Salamanders and rain.

My worker and I were summer cleaning the garage on Saturday. He came flying out of the garage panting and ranting in Spanish. He is very frightened by lizards. It was a very small baby lizard living in my bags of potting mix. He was probably keeping the bugs out of the garage.. I picked him up very gently and moved him to a flower bed.

Oh, cool, giant salamanders-fantastic! I'll bet they've been loving this spring (SOMETHING had to, right? right???). Do they eat slugs like the other ones do? If so, there couldn't be better creatures to find nearby!

Don't know if this helps. The Burke museum description says that adult Cope's salamanders might not have spots: http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/herpetology/dcopei.htm

Pacific newt is also a possibility. I've seen those on Mt. Hood around 1200 feet elevation at Wildwood recreation area.

I'm leaning toward Pacific newt, only because these are in a pond & not the nearby river. (Small river.)

It must be spring! My house has turned into a zoo. I came home from Portland on Sunday afternoon to find the back door open (either I don't shut it all the way or the raccoons have learned to work the handle) ... and clumps of soft grey & black fur all over. The cats seemed unperturbed & unscathed but I puzzled over this. Wrong color for raccoons but musty-smelling. No blood anywhere. Then Monday morning I woke to the sound of incessant scratching in the catbox, which only Rosie uses. I started coffee & fed the cats & the scratching stopped. Then it started again & Rosie was in the kitchen!!! I crept up to the catbox by the washing machine & there was a big black furry creature trying to dig to China!

Startled the heck out of me. It was a MOLE, of all things. In the catbox. Via dishtowel, I got it out to the back yard. Those things are STRONG -- it was like trying to relocate Robocop with just a rag.

Who brought a mole into the house? Rosie's no bigger than he was, the dog was with me all weekend, Jack & Julie are good hunters but mostly sleep these days.

Then, that night, Rosie kept making crazy running leaps at the fabric hanging on my quilt walls. She finally pulled a big folded chunk down & I went to pin it back up & a lizard fell out! Startled again! Lucky little critter narrowly escaped having a big pin stuck through his head by accident.

Oh, Summerkid---You have so much fun!!

Well, I AM a kid in a candy store out here -- all the plants & animals are new for me & simply fascinating. Compared to Illinois & Montana, this is like the Amazon.

It's warm enough some nights now to leave the sliding door off my bedroom open, and like clockwork, around 2 a.m., a bat swoops through, zips around, and off she goes again. I love that -- it reminds me of warm nights holed up in an aging French chateau many years ago with the shutters opened back against stone walls. I find the susurration of bat flight very comforting. Plus, it's my signal to turn off the light & GO TO SLEEP.

There is a short list of things I miss about the Midwest. Heat waves. Cardinals. And why are there no fireflies?

Well I got out of the shower, slipped into a robe and went i to the kitchen to get a cup of tea. My DH had opened the back door to the patio so the male dog could come and go because he will not use the doggy door. I took about two steps into the open area by the back door and startled two doves that had walked into the breakfast nook. I do not know who jumped more, me or them. About an hour later and every window upstairs and downstairs open, they were again outside telling their friends all about it.

Beautiful weather here today. 83 degrees. I am co ing to Washington and Oregon on Thursday for 10 to 12m days. Dropping DH is visit one daughter and grandchildren and I will stay there in Portland/Vancouver area for 4 or 5 days and then taking the train to Spokane. Want to see all your beautiful landscape deep in the canyons of the railway. Then spend 5 days with my Son and his family and 1 year old grandson. And then back to Vancouver to pick up DH and hopefully the irises will still be blooming.

So the doves stayed for breakfast?

I have plenty of room here at the coast for guests, hint hint!

looks like now I have to fly to Spokane and then take the train down from Spokane unless I want to ride the train in the dark. LOL. .

You folks do have a menagerie of visitors. The only wildlife I have found in the house recently is ants.

While I usually cannot claim any credit for the weather, I do think my family helped keep away the rain and even deliver sunbreaks yesterday (Sunday). We were planning an outdoor party and prepared for the worst with tarp covered areas for people to congregate. Therefore, of course, it did not rain.

Note the artfully disguised compost heap covered with grass clippings in the foreground.

The band also had a canopy.

Our new chicken coop was a big attraction.

Looks like a happy gathering, and we thank you for defying the rain-gods.

Could you keep your tarps up until September !!

I'm with springcolor!

Maury, that looks like just the best day. And the best host & the best little farm.

Breaking news: I've been here for 2 of the coldest years in the history of the Oregon coast & I'm about one day away from admitting that it has broken my spirit & my house might be going on the market. I just can't be happy when my tomatoes have to wait till after June 1st to go in the ground & I have to turn my furnace on in August.

What's not to say we won't see the 3 coldest years running?

Hey Summer, where are you going to move. Missouri, Kansas with the tornadoes, Texas with the drought, Montana, Mississippi or anywhere above Louisiana with the floods. Florida, with bugs as big as your foot and hurricanes.

My parent's gardened in an area where you could not plant vegetables until Memorial day and when they first moved there, when I was a baby, they were going back to Oregon where they came from. 1942. They lived and died in the mountains in Nevada, near the Utah border. They loved it and they had a fantastic garden every year. They just had to learn different seasons. Mother's green beans were the best ever and so wsas her sweet relish made with cucumbers and red peppers.

I live in Las Vegas where it gets to be 110 ( lying Chamber of Commerce temperature) and I still have a lovely garden. This last winter has been brutal but you are just starting. Wishing you good days and hope. Sharon.

Sharon, my dear Mother Winter ... I have no idea!

My priority list is so long & wide, and my options so open ... have cash, will travel. Ideals, anyone?

Sadly, the gazebos holding up the back of the large tarp had to be returned to the people we borrowed them from. We took them down this afternoon. I still hope it won't rain too much tomorrow in spite of this.

Summer, the last two winters have been somewhat unpleasant, but not compared to the weather in the midwest (I grew up there). Have you been here in the PNW for the summertime? It really does get better!

So far I've narrowed this down to:

1) I'm NEVER going back to the Midwest (sorry, Jack)
2) Tricked-out Quonset huts have always seemed like the perfect home for an artist who loves space, hates confinement

Maury, last summer here on the coast was TERRIBLE. It seldom got above 57 degrees.

Perhaps you are too close to the coast (cooler and foggier). Maybe check out some of the banana belt areas of either Washington (lee side of the Olympics) or Oregon (not sure where, but I'm sure they have some micro-climates), or move further inland.

Up here we never went camping on the Straights after mid-July. You can freeze your can off. But it does get better inland and lower than we are here at 600 ft above sea level. I can hardly wait to get into Bremerton. NO deer. Less cold.

Summer I too have experienced the wet, cold, cloudy miserable last 2 years in Montana. But SE AK has been wonderfully sunny, warmer, and less wet than they have had in years! I have sailed my boat when winter storms should have decimated my travel only to experience 5 out of 10 days this winter in sun and the last 2 months have been wonderful! Oh the only way to grow tomatoes in AK is a heated greenhouse. Stay out of Juneau and Ketchikan still a soggy armpit, but Wrangell, Petersburg, and Sitka have been awesome.
Of course you will need a change in wardrobe. LOL

Looks like my spring pajamas. Gets any (*$#@ colder & I will sleep in my parka.

Well I arrived in Spokane by air yesterday at 6:30pm. Before we descended into the srea we ran into snow and then when we landed we arrived in a rain storm. Then, just as we were getting ready to go downtown this morning it started to really rain.

Since rain is novel in the desert I really enjoyed it. The river going through town is roaring with a high abundance of water flowing.

So summer, Winter is enjoying your weather but I do not live here. Sharon

Katie59, are you still watching this thread?

You said:

>> I can't get Salvia to look very good, ...

Do you have theories about why the salvia didn't do well, or a list of species and varieties you tried?

I became fascinated with them a few years ago, and finally got many seedlings into the ground this year, with another tray coming along behind.

Anything I can avoid or encourage, i will give a try. Any tips for growing salvia in the maritime PNW would be appreciated!

They are in raw, new soil made from clay, sand, bark and compost, but so much sand, bark and compost that it drains well. Also, it's raised 6-8" above a layer of cardboard. They are planted between lavatera bushes.

Outdoors, in the ground already:

S4 - - - S. nemerosasylvestris - - - - "Amethyst Blue"
S5 - - - S. transylvanica - - - - - "Blue Spires"
S7 - - - Salvia superba - - - - - - "Violet Queen"
S11 - - - Salvia nemorosa - - - "Sensation Rose"
S21 - - - Salvia farinacea - - - - "Victoria" (Parks or trade)
S32 - - - S. coccinea, Texas Sage [P] - - - - - - Forest Fire

Potted up:
S2 - - - - Salvia farinacea - - - - "Victoria Blue"
S3 - - - - Salvia coccinea - - - - 'Coral Nymph'
S13 - - - Salvia nemorosa - - - "East Friesland" (2 of)
S21 - - - Salvia farinacea - - - - "Victoria"
S31 - - - Salvia coccinea - - - - - "Lady In Red" (1 of)

Next Tray:
S9 - - Salvia farinacea - - - - - "Strata"
S10 - - Salvia splendens - - - "Bonfire"
S14 - - S. x superba - - - - - - "Blue Queen"
S15 - - Salvia splendens - - "St. John's Fire" comm.
S16 - - Salvia splendens - - "Vista Burgundy"
S22 - - Salvia farinacea - - from evelyninthegarden
S20 - - Salvia farinacea - - from tuinkabouter
S30 - - S. coccinea - - - - "Scarlet Sage"
S31 - - S. coccinea - - - - "Lady In Red"
32 - - - S. coccinea - - - - "Forest Fire"
S51 - - Salvia viridis - - - - 'Marble Arch Rose'
S52 - - Salvia viridis - - - - pink & purple
S71 - - Salvia ??? - - - - "Blue Chiquita"
S72 - - Salvia greggii - - "Wild Thing"
S75 - - Salvia ??? - - - - "Pineapple Sage"
S77 - - Kansas native - - "Blue Sage" from joeswife


(very few sprouts from:
S. splendens,
'Marble Arch Rose' ,
"Blue Chiquita' ,
"S. coccinea Scarlet Sage S#30"

When you said you were into Salvia, you were not kidding. Sharon

I "tend" to go overboard when fascinated. I "did" delphinoums for three years before proving conclusively that they were slugs FAVORITE food, during the sluggiest years in my area.

Got one survivor!

Corey

Hi Rick -

I think they need more heat than my north-facing slope in the middle of the woods can generate. Interestingly, the $1.49 sage plants from the grocery store do great - they overwinter, they bloom, the hummingbirds love them.

It's the fancy cultivars that just don't last for me.

My lavatera has had to come back from its roots three years in a row now. And each year it flops. I think this is the last year it will be in my garden . . .

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your salvias in bloom!

>> It's the fancy cultivars that just don't last for me.

Ohhhh! I'll find out. When I sprout in a tray, some varieties have 50-80% germination, and the rest closer to 10%. It might be overwatering, wrong temps, soggy medium, old seeds, seeds crushed by the post office, or just plain fussy verieties. A few strains are very slow to sprout, and then very slow to grow.

I'll keep trying.

>> I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your salvias in bloom!

Thank you! Me, too. But it would not surprise me if some of the perennials, and some of the very slow ones, don't flower this year.


>> My lavatera has had to come back from its roots three years in a row now.

Aren't they supposed to do that? I was told to cut them down to 1-2 feet in the late fall, and then 6-12" sometime in the winter. Mine are coming back from that and looking happy (my second year out of the tiny nursery pots).

>> And each year it flops.

I was told to withold water and fertilizer, and give it poor sandy with low fertility but good drainage. I'm afraid mine are going to get too much water, if I water nearby plants enoguh.

Back to the weather.....It's glorious here today. Finally!!!

Good tips about the Lavatera. I was comparing mine to the plants I used to see in Ballard in North Seattle, but that climate is AT LEAST a zone warmer than mine and the sun in the summers is much hotter.

I didn't fertilize, but the soil drainage could be better. I wondered if the flopping couldn't be due to soil richness as I've also read that that's the cause of Penstemon flopping (not really a rose companion then, I guess, huh?).

Here's a picture of my Salvia (at the bottom of the picture) - it's not in bloom yet, but I see lots of promising blossoms. You can see one of them here.