Tag: oak

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01/07/2024 making lemonade out of lemons

Pile of month old oak logs along the back wooden privacy fence. A squirrel is eating birdseed on the feeder in the foreground.
We had to get the lone red oak trimmed back by the power company. This resulted in a pile of fresh oak logs. The Chef was inspired by a book we listened to recently called To Boldly Grow by Tamar Haspel. It is available from the Norman Public Library as an audiobook.
Two of the chosen oak logs standing end up on the concrete patio.
And what was he inspired to do? First, The Chef chose several big logs. He wants to grow… mushrooms!
Metal conduit stands upright out from the edge of the concrete block compost area. Leaves cover the ground.
After a household discussion and reading about shiitake requirements, The Chef leaned some conduit over rebar and old concrete blocks near the compost structure.
The chef holds a log down with his booted foot while drilling holes wearing work gloves.
The Chef drills holes for the plugs.
Paula taps mushroom plugs into one of two visible logs, on top of the workbench outside.
Paula taps the mushroom plugs into the drilled holes. To the left you can see the beeswax candle the Chef made for this purpose.
I point at wax seal spots on an upright log that’s been finished.
The plugs are sealed in with clean beeswax.
Five logs are leaned up against the metal conduit rail.
We ended up with five logs full of mushroom plugs. We shall see what happens!
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07/24/2023 blackjack oak!

A blackjack oak seedling has six leaves on its thin and barely visible stem. It is growing in the shade surrounded by dry red oak leaves from last season.
This beautiful young friend has obviously been growing for a while since it has half a dozen leaves, but I only spotted it recently. We had planted blackjack acorns under the red oak in several places in hopes of starting a grove (they’ll probably stay understory height until the red oak dies in the hopefully long-distant future). this one is north of the blackberries and south of the one beautyberry.
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11/20/2022 frostweed!

With every freeze I’ve checked our frostweed. This morning, a low of 20F was enough to freeze beneath our still-fully-leafed red oak.
A close up of the left stem.
A close up of the right stem.
Another nearby plant.

The oak tree has been protecting the Texas mallow from freezing too, so once it gets above freezing today , we’ll see if that finally got “got” too.

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05/27/2022 home

Stripey plant hoppers are still abundant. Often on ironweed.
Briar observes Shackleton from an enforced respectful distance.
Shackleton does not want to be observed from any distance by a Dog. Gross!!
The Chef has designed and had printed reusable vinyl labels for his brewing endeavors. Art deco cat, maybe?
I think this is a common oak moth, Phoebaria atomaris. It’s on coreopsis flowers. I don’t think I’d seen one in town before, only at home in the woods, so this was pleasing. Correction from Mom: this is Isogona tenuis, the thin-lined owlet. Thanks for the catch, Mom!! Matches the striping much better. Internet says a hackberry tree specialist, and happily I have a little hackberry tree in the backyard I keep trimmed so it won’t get into power lines, but it can still feed our neighbors like this friend.
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04/23 checking on the backyard

Blackberry has started blooming.
Native currant continues blooming.
Probably non native oxalis that was here already.
Maybe baby Salvia coccinea by the oak.
No idea.
Lyre leaf sage has just started blooming.
Giant ragweed baby (self seeded from last year’s volunteer).
Not sure who this friend is on the other side of dividing fence.
Frostweed is coming back.
The extra Maximilian sunflower we planted seems to be thriving.
A type of Solanaceae, I forget which one, but native. A volunteer.
A pokeweed coming up! Always good for the birds.
The right half of the clump is goldenrod that was already here.  The left half is something non native but I forget what.
The fancy something is going to bloom though I guess. I remember it’s not native anyways. So eventually it will probably go.
New Clematis is surviving.
New from yesterday Cleome (Rocky mountain bee plant) is still alive.
Rattlebox from yesterday settling in fine. Wild onions from home in front.

I’m becoming convinced this is the New Jersey tea I put out last year. Ironweed leaves around it.
Showy evening primroses are starting!
Frog fruit I transferred from prairie area to east of the patio appears to have taken root.
A seedling that probably got transplanted from home. 🤷🤞🤞
I seeded a native lawn mix in this area and I believe this is the buffalo grass.
The other item in the mix was blue grama grass; hopefully this is it.
The fragrant sumac was starting to wilt again so I gave it some water in a pot to leak out slightly slower.
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Afternoon walkies

Here at Camp Arthritis we’re taking lots of slow short walks. Perfect to admire the resident plants! This is a blackberry in the old, less productive patch. These plants keep their leaves over the winter. They turn a dark purple.
The new blackberry patch is expanding rapidly. These plants lose all their leaves in the winter. This patch is where our yard ones were dug.
A trailing winecup leaf (Callirhoe involucrata). I have seeds for this in cold stratification in the fridge right now.
A true armyworm moth is having a very bad day. Its mate appears to have died and is stuck to it. I guess really both of them are having a bad day.
Tiny tiny tiny ants. Diane says probably Monomorium sp. Thanks Diane!!
Cute little new leaves on a post oak!