And unfortunately it’s not a good one. All the hard work folks in Oregon have done to manage landscapes sustainably, and the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on water quality and salmon recovery don’t amount to a hill of beans. Why? Two reasons. First, we aren’t learning as we go, a necessary step toward … Read more
Hi Folks, Yep, it’s a beautiful world. If only we can keep the sociopaths from destroying it. But that is a topic for later in the week. What can you do today? How about you buy some cherries?! The chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var demissa) is another great climate-adapted local plant that is actually thriving right … Read more
Alright, before we talk about birds and bees, I just gotta say..it’s HOT. And sticky. I took a year off college and worked construction in New Orleans in 1983. Swinging a hammer in New Orleans in summer is brutally, mind-numbingly sweltering. We’re not that hot and sticky, but things are veering uncomfortably in that direction. … Read more
Hi Folks, It’s been a few days since I wrote in the blog. It has been hot, and we are mid-stride on field prep for next year’s crop so I’ve been sitting on a tractor when I might otherwise have been writing. I tend to have profound thoughts when I’m doing mundane chores like tilling … Read more
Hi Folks, Yep, it’s hot. We hit 101 on Friday, 104 yesterday, and we just hit 100 today. Gotta love it! My crop of Himalayan blackberries that I have been tending behind the farmhouse is literally getting broiled on the vines. So depressing.. But the Viburnum out front that hasn’t had anything appreciable to drink … Read more
Well, aren’t they all? Otherwise they wouldn’t be here.. There’s been a lot of interest lately in what plants might be adapted to our changing climate, so I’m going to toss in my two cents about what “climate-adapted” might mean. Climate-adapted plants are the ones that survive whatever the future climate throws at them, and … Read more
Not much of a cone crop this year, except for Ponderosa pine and incense cedar. Everything is advanced and the IC is already beginning to open, so my son Max and I had to hustle today and climb some trees before all the seed flutters away. We work really hard to keep this place going, … Read more
It must be mid August, because the great golden digger wasps have shown up, as usual. They are especially fond of Asclepias fascicularis, the narrow-leaf milkweed, and together the milkweed and wasp make a striking display. There are more of them this year than I have ever seen, probably because we have milkweeds naturalizing all … Read more
In some plant groups, actually, seed dispersal may be secondary in facilitating migration to the other major mode of gene flow, which is pollen. Pollen is by far more buoyant and dispersible than seed, with an ability to travel thousands of miles in a few days. So if a long-distance pollen grain encounters a compatible … Read more
Penstemon hesperius is our endemic beard-tongue here in the Tualatin Valley. Described by Peck in 1932, tall beard-tongue or tall western penstemon was presumed extinct for many decades until former Scholls employee Rachael Roberts found this unusual plant in 2008 growing adjacent to an abandoned farm field at the Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge. Since then, … Read more