Roll Call

Okay, where is everyone? Kathleen is having a RU in March and unless some of you guys don't start checking in now and then....you won't get to come!....and start thinking food.....I would maybe make the Irish Cream Brownies for this RU that didn't get made for the last one....but I think I told everyone about my experiences with the Irish Cream...lol...

Hey Sherry,

I'm here now. It's been busy around here and just get a little time to check in at DG. Things should start slowing down now, other than the garden, where fall is another busy time in the garden.

Donna

Good to hear from you...we've missed you.

Too many people unaccounted for at the moment...where is everyone ?

Still here, been out of town.

Hi:
I'm new to Dave's Garden, I guess I'm a legacy, since my Dad, Trois, convinced me to join. I know he was greatly loved in the DG community, and I just wish I'd done it before he passed away. Anyway, I've been reading his posts, and his threads, and I see how much he enjoyed going to Round ups. Is anyone planning one near me soon? I find it difficult to sit for long, and was hoping to find something relatively local. If so, can I come?
Please let me know.
Thanks,
SingingWolf

Well, you missed the one in May in Temecula at drdon's ranch,which is a shame since it's so close to you and we have a wonderful time with a very large turnout. He and Pam have held RU's there for the last several years and I believe next year's will be the last there. There have been other gatherings this year...BBQ at weegy12's iris farm, potluck at TwinLakeChef's (Arlene) place in Orange, then kaperc (Kathleen) is holding a RU at her place in Bonsall in March (as per the thread we're on right now). We hope that you can make it to join us at whatever gatherings take place in the future. I did not know your father, but he definitely seems to have been much respected and cared for here....he'll be much missed.
Sherry

Singingwolf, I do hope you can make one of our RU's, I enjoyed your dad so much. I 've had the pleasure of knowing him for the past few years. Yes, he was greatly enjoyed and loved. He and I had in common the fact that we both had blue jays eating out of our hands!

SingingWolf, please come to our little get-together in March - here's the thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/896968/
We'll be talking about details later on.
And you will definitely want to come to the one later in the spring at drdon's - neither is very far from you.

Here! yet kicked in the head too many times. Please keep us up to date on the festivities and we'll do our best to get there. March, what a wonderful time of year for your area KaperC. It should be a real show with all of your natives showing off. Anyone who may be interested in water wise gardening on this forum should make a point of attending Kathleen and John's RU as they have been diligently planting natives for a long time and many will be in there prime at this time of year. It should be spectacular.

best to all,
don

Eeek! Talk about pressure! Nothing so grand, I assure you, though the lady who fills in for our regular mailman loves to stop and smell the salvia. :-)

Will KaperC fold under the pressure? Will there be an Easter Egg hunt ? Stay tuned.
Film at 11:00

I think I'd make that into a t-shirt.......
Stop and Smell the Salvia
Hmmmm...or maybe a banner even....

This message was edited Sep 10, 2008 7:31 PM

Yay on the slogan. Cleveland sage especially.

I piped in on the organization thread and I am here too.

I missed last June's big RU but made the two before that, so I know quite a few of you. Also my Mom, BloomsWithaView, made it to one (the third-one-ago) and plans to be visiting us for the March get-together! I'm in OC so I have been able to attend smaller gatherings at Weegy's, SoCal's, and Arlene's as well.

~'spin!~

Spin!

So good to see you, and just the thought that Blooms would join this get together is just huge!!!

Let's not forget Salvia gesneriiflora or dorisiana for scent.......lol. It's all about the Sage.

hugs,
don

There you go...another t-shirt or banner..."It's All About the Sage"

Hi DrDon -- Was just forced to remember, cannot make it on the fourth :-(
Have a formal benefit to attend that evening. Boo hoo.

~'spin!~
The S.sagitatta and S.sinaloensis I have from you are both doing very well in large pots, throwing a few flowers and FILLING their areas with foliage!

okie dokie,

Enjoy the dress up party!

So glad those two are doing well for you as they are not the easiest to grow. S. sagitatta has always been one of my favorites, but the two of them may very well be the truest blue flowers in the genus.

best,
don

OK, wcgypsy - you show up and bless us with sale info, then bug out without saying anything. I'm getting the urge to plant!

Did anyone else get the thunder this morning? It was really banging near here, but the sun was shining at our house. Very weird. It's been extremely muggy all day.

No thunder here yet but it's mighty dark out there. Kind of eerie.

Yep, that's how it was this morning. Thunder around the corner, sunshine on the house, and big gusts of wind from out of nowhere.

boy are we hoping for some much needed monsoonal rain over here. It's positively crispy out here. Even the native Yuccas on our other ranch are in wilt mode. I've decided to dig a pond, stock it with alligators and pirana and toss all of those global warming naysayers in for poops and giggles.....lol. That's really what we need here in California, more alligators and Amazonian carnivorous fishes protecting our lakes and preventing propagandists from telling us we're not smack-dab in the middle of a climate shift.

Sweaty in Whine Country,
don

Hi:

Checking in from Oceanside. Just to make you all feel bad, we had real rain here this morning, complete with a thunderstorm and lightning! Then the clouds cleared and we had Sunshine at the Beach! Which is great because it has been damp and foggy out here for the last 4 days. Kept the sun worshippers away for the weekend, but also made the surfers real happy.

We found a bunch of sand dollars during low tide today, I'm going to try to get some pictures tomorrow. Dr. Don, should know that while we were out today, a lady was "stung" by a stingray. She must have been wading in the warm surf. I haven't ever heard of anyone getting stung around here since the 60's. Maybe he could use one of those in his pond! LOL, they wouldn't survive in fresh water! I do like his idea of critter food. Would certainly give the carnivores something to chew on.

Oh well, we'll be back home on Sunday, but the weather is supposed to cool down.

Loving the Beach!

SingingWolf

Singing wolf, are you by any chance camping at the marina? We were there last week and it was wonderful.
We had a little rain this afternoon and this evening is beautiful.
Hey Don, need some koi for that pond?!?!?!

Waaaahhhh! We didn't get any rain at all and the air turned so dirty smelling I used the a/c this afternoon. DH said when he got to work there was a river running down the street. After 60 years in SoCal, I can't tell you how many climate shifts I've been through! lol

I grew up in South Oceanside on the Beach.........it's probably why I find the heat out here so oppressive.

Stingrays?........Bring em on.....but wounding a banker that has run a financial institution into the ground and expects to be bailed out deserves a much more voracious carnivore....lol. Might I include all politicians onto the menu for my pond?

Weeg, Koi are honorable animals........It would be a shame to feed them to my pond denizens. Heck it would be downright cruel
best to all,
don

We got a downpour of about three tablespoons of rain around noon.

Hot and muggy for the rest of the day. Still is.

My sasanquas are blooming...all three of them...even "Yuletide" , and it aint even Halloween yet.

Oy !

Weegy,

DH & I bought into a timeshare right on the beach. It is on the south side of the pier between two tiny parks. I "encouraged" DH to invest in the timeshare because he wouldn't take a vacation unless I did something drastic. We got to choose which unit, and the weeks we come. Right now we are on the second floor right over the entrance to the parking garage. Which is good because we have two rowdy boys, and we wouldn't want to disturb the downstairs neighbors. The big plus for me is the lovely wrap around balcony. I usually set up my easel and paint. Too sad about Dad to paint right now, but I also like to people watch, and you just can't beat the sound of waves to help put you to sleep. I know the campground you were at, a very nice place. It didn't used to be there when I was a kid. You want to jump in drdon? The some of the best years of my childhood were spent at Wire Mountain #5 at Camp Pendleton. We used to love to walk to the beach following the San Luis Rey river. I like the very slight temp. fluctuations here. At home we can have a change of 40 to 50 degrees from day to night. Too extreme. Don't mind the dry heat though. Too much humidity isn't what I'm used to.

I have to agree with drdon about the Koi. I just put feeder fish in my pond in the backyard, and cover it during the migratory season with a bird net. Also we made hidey holes for the goldfish. Some of them got to be about a foot long. I have such an overgrown pond right now, I can't see much. Must weed pond when I get home. Does any one want some water hyacinths? I may have some pickerel and some water lillies to divide too. We have a bigger farm pond down a ways. We have to put water in it for the wild critters. Keeps them away from the house, and they don't tear up our irrigation lines either.

KaperC, I got to say, the climate has shifted many times, and will continue to do so. It's all a part of the planet staying in balance. No offense to anyone when I say, that nothing is constant except change. On the geologic scale this current climate change is a small blip (I'm not a nay sayer, just haven't got enough info to decide yet). So sorry you didn't get any rain, be thankful that usually we do have clean air.

I'm with drdon about the feed for his pond critters. Then again, my community just became the newest city in CA, so now I'll have to deal with a whole new bunch of bureaucrats. I'd lay a bet on the carnivores being bitten first. Not the politicians or the bankers. Hmmm, unless the Politicians toss the bankers at the carnivores. LOL!! It would make a great UTube Video.

Personally, I'd like to see those responsible for so many people loosing their homes to be staked out in the desert, for the ants to consume. They (the ants) probably wouldn't get indigestion, and the other carrion eaters would help them out. LOL!

JasperDale, my DH estimates we got about .10 of an inch during a 10 minute period. There were some great pictures last night on the news of the storm. Also can you send a picture of your sasanquas? I bet they are beautiful.

Another beautiful day at the beach, cool, but sunny. I'm going down in a little while and take some pictures. I really want to try to get the gold colored iron pyrite contrasting with the black sand. Also want to see if I can find some live sand dollars.

Hang in there you all. They say that we'll be cooling down like 10 degrees by this weekend.

SingingWolf

Did you go to the "Harbor Days" there, sw? The Marines on the beach in the hover craft was awesome, seeing the "Mash" unit was pretty cool and seeing tanks up close was great. We got to go onto the hover craft, what a beast.
Next time we go down there, I'll let you know and we'll hook up! (if you don't mind.)

weegy12:

I'd love to hook up! I arrived on Sunday afternoon of Harbor Days. Most of the cool stuff was already over, so I missed the hover craft, although I have seen it before. I never got to go on it though, LUCKY YOU!

Listen, we will be opening up our pumpkin patch when we get back, and I am extending an open invite to anyone who wants to come out and visit our farm. We have a small but magnificent oak grove, we grow Monterey Pine Christmas Trees, and the farm has been in DH's family for over 100 years. Dmail me first, and I'll give you info on how to find us, and if it isn't too cold, I might even give you the .50 cent tour. Don't feel obligated to buy a pumpkin or a tree. For gosh sakes, we aren't pushing that stuff. At least I'm not. I'm taking a break this year, and letting DH and our kids handle things.

I enjoyed the walk on the beach, and I finally figured out how to use the macro on my NIKON CoolPix L1 camera. It's mostly a point and shoot, but still my Dad would be proud. I am sending a couple of pics.

Here is the first one! It is just a picture of a clam shell, I think, but I was using the macro.

SingingWolf

Here is another one of the elusive sand dollar hiding under the sand with a wave washing over it. I guess it didn't hide well enough. Kinda hard to do when you are already dead. I couldn't find any live ones. Rats, will look again today.
SingingWolf

Here I am holding a sand dollar while I get a close up of the "star flower" on it's top.
SingingWolf

OOps!!
Forgot to attach the picture! Here we go again!
SingingWolf

A picture of rain pocked sand from storm day before yesterday. Pistachio is in corner for scale.
SingingWolf

Okay:
This is the last one for now. Just as I was leaving the surf line, a lady found this cool hermit crab in a shell. I asked if I could take a picture. She was really nice about it too, unfortunately it isn't as crisp as I'd like, but then again we were both laughing about me having to take my camera out of the ziploc baggie. I really don't want my camera getting wet!
LOL! Enjoy!

SingingWolf

I see you've inherited your dad's fine talent! Beautiful photos SW! Did you find those sand dollars in Oceanside? I will have to start looking harder.
I'll let you know the next time we're down there and we'll get together.
Yes, being on the hover craft was great, those propellers were gigantic. And when it took off into the ocean, the poor souls in it's backdraft (?) got water and sand all overthem, even the cars in the parking lot. It was really something to see.
I just might have to drive down to Menifee to see your farm. I bet you're busy with the pumpkins right now.

Yes, let's all swoop down on SW! LOL

You can swoop in on me if you want, I'm still in Oceanside and will be until this Sunday. On Monday, we start setting up the Pumpkin Patch. We officially open on the 9th. Not much point before then. I can't resist adding one more pic to the collection. It made wallaby laugh. It is of a broken sand dollar, it is sitting on it's side, and looks like a smile : )
I'm going back down for more pics in a few minutes. I hope to find a live sand dollar today.
Enjoy!

WIB,

SingingWolf

I agree with wallaby - that's a hoot. Does your CoolPix have the swivel to it? DH was able to take this photo with our CP990 because he could put it right down to the ground, but see the view monitor as well. The turtles had just hatched and were racing to the water.

Is there a season to sand dollars, do you think? We haven't been down to the beach for ages and with company coming over the holidays, it might be fun. I love the beach in winter.

Great picture KaperC! Tell your husband he did good! No, I don't have a swivel. I am thinking about getting a tripod though, because I get tired so easily. I'm glad you enjoyed the broken sand dollar pic. The next wave turned it on the side, so it was laying flat (I was only able to take the one picture). I took the pictures while standing in the surf, holding the camera (sans baggie) about 12 inches from the "subject".
Re: Sand dollar season. I don't think there is one in particular. DH did find about 40 sand dollars that weren't broken yesterday. I always look for sand dollars at low tide. No matter what time of year I can usually find some along the edges of the sand bars that parallel the beach. I'm usually knee deep, in the surf. You tell when you reach the edge of a sand bar by the grittiness of the sand and the broken bits of shell and sand dollars, and sometimes the water temp. (I'm very sensitive to temp. changes). We come to the beach in February also, I love the beach in the winter too! I have found just as many in a day then as we do now, and sometimes more. Maybe because of winter storms and the normal migration of sand. Things have changed since they built the breakwaters. Lots of times, if you aren't looking for the right thing, you can't find them. Usually the star flower is the first part of the sand dollar to be exposed by the wave action. I usually look for that, as the wave is coming in, then watch to be sure as the wave receeds. I also look for color, usually they are white, sometimes if newly dead they are purplish, (live ones are placed under the sand near the ocean edge of the sand bar to protect them). This year they have a yellowish cast due to them have been buried under the sand, and minerals leaching into them. Didn't have any luck yesterday finding a live one, but I'll look today at low tide. I may not be able to find another one on this trip.
Say, I just got off the phone with my Eldest Son (ES), and he informed me that he heard then experienced a small quake last night/early this a.m. (about 2:00 a.m.) Did any one else feel it? He said that it was just a little one and was mostly surprised that he heard it coming. Other news from the farm, is that the neighbors pigs are now trying to "forage" in DH's lawn. So far he's chased them off twice. I asked him to try to get a picture of them. Then I can go talk to the neighbors. We don't let our pig roam, and this sow has three piglets (getting bigger every day). They have destroyed our drip irrigation lines on numerous occasions to make wallows. DH, didn't mind because they were weeding under the Pine trees, but ES has to repair those lines, and he isn't happy for the extra work.
On the bright side, ES said the most fun he's been having is answering Political polling calls, and telling the pollster he is voting for the other guy, then hangs up. He is easily amused, and has a perverse sense of humor. He is a never ending source of amazement and amusement (sometimes frustration) to me. Got to love 'em.
Weather at beach today is intermittent sunshine. Still warm. Kind of damp due to low clouds. I hear there might be some rain inland on Saturday. I don't know if it will reach my place, but I do hope it reaches some of yours. Hope I can get some good pictures today. Yesterday, there wasn't as much to see. It's a good surf day, the waves have been up to 3-4 feet in height.

WIB,

SingingWolf