Accessible Gardening: #5 - still laughing with joy

It is a pity there is no way to make money from lizards. Amargia would be on Easy Street if there were. We have always had an unusual number and variety of them, but they have been EVERYWHERE lately. Particularly, hanging around on the front porch. Twice this week. They’ve slipped into the house and I had to catch them and put them back out. (Lizards are under Kay’s protection because they eat bugs.) The only ones that people show any fear of are the glass lizards. I suppose because those have undeveloped legs and people mistake them for snakes. On the other hand, people actually seem fascinated by the Alabama bluetails (Technically, a skink, not a lizard.) and the anoles (chameleons) I did discover why there have been so many hanging around the front porch. That was my inspiration for this week’s drawing.

Papa Jim was laughing about once seeing Texas Jackalope milk for sale at the counter in a restraint near Austin. Think I could market Alabama lizard milk? Alligator turtle milk? ~Nadine

Photo: “A Bug Zapper Thanksgiving”

Nadine, If you attached Organic to the milks name, You'd probably make a fortune.
Does'nt organic Alabama turtle milk sound so-o-o-o good? LOL
I bet not one city person would know turtles don't make milk. Except the ones on DG of course.
We have the bluetail skinks here but they are rare. I'm another one who protects lizards,and frogs and toads. The only thing i kill is copperheads. We don't have chamelians. I'd love to see one. Don't the glass lizards lose their tails when frightened and grow new ones?
I was a medeocer colorer in grade school.

The times i've been in hospitals for deprssion. They always bring out the crayons and coloring pages. It is good therapy to color. Kinda like doodling.
Vickie

Nadine, I LOVE a bug zapper Thanksgiving!!! That's a winner for sure. But Vickie, doesn't EVERYONE learn that only mammals give milk?

Maybe that car insurance co. ruined geckos, but they are sure adorable, outdoors please.

Vickie, coloring is lovely fun, as long as YOU decide what colors go where!

Your probably right, Carrie. I would have to make it Armadillo Milk. Most people aren't quite sure what category those belong to. Think Texans have already been there and done that?
Even I would have colored inside the lines for a fried chicken dinner. ~N~

Yeah, I was 8, the oldest of four, and Mom and Dad had split up again, so she was having a hard time feeding all us. We weren't exactly going hungry, but that fried chicken just sounded soooo good. :-)

Could have figured you were an oldest child! Me too! (They must have studied MS and birth order, right?)

OK my article about Enterprise is almost done. Nadine, can you confirm the # or % of peanuts grown near Enterprise? I got into US history and Carver and crop rotation and all KINDS of unrelated stuff! There is even a song!

Celebrate. :-)

The wind blurred it a bit, but the Geranium really is that bright.

Well, even if there were stuff like that outside, it would be too could to look at it ...

But that's why I'm going to keep you supplied with bright, pretty flower pictures. I'd try Smell-o-vision, too, but Geraniums stink. :-D

Debra

I think I saw that here.
http://www.nationalpeanutfestival.com/ ~N~

Thank you, thank you, Debra and Nadine. Gotta check that link!

Every time I turn on the radio now, I hear Christmas songs. That's kind of the inspiration for this week, well, that and wondering what Santa feeds his reindeer


Photo: Getting ready for Christmas

I was trying to write a story earlier this week and ended up drawing my main character, a plant dragon. I thought that she may fit in here.

Photo: Em the Plant Dragon

I am up to my ears in potted Brugs....Not complaining though. I bet there are 30 at lest that people sent me stalk cuttings of and this year they nearly all developed the nubbies & roots necessary before planting in dirt. I will definitely have to find someone to do some springtime digging for me!

I want all of yo to meet my newest family member. Jazz (JazzMan P. Bosley) He is 3 yrs and 4.6 #'s of pure toy Poodle love (except the little fool growls at Elvis who is 30#'s and blind so of course defends himself---I hope all 3 of us survive this intro period!)

Sheri

Clematis florida Sieboldii - budding out in December. I luhhhv Texas. :-)

this is a very cool thing that you just might enjoy watching-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g1wDQKqpPQ

Oh, I've seen that, yes, extraordinarily cool.

I hadn't seen that before, it was fun to watch. :-) thank you.

I’ve re-joined the living. Was it really me who told the doctor I didn’t need a flu shot? Naw, couldn’t have been. I would not have been that foolish.
Carrie, when I was little, the statistic was that half the peanuts in the world were grown in this area. Dothan, a community near Enterprise and the largest city in the area, rightfully called itself “The Peanut Capitol of the World.” You still hear that claim sometimes. But, in truth, Texas and Georgia farmers, foreign growers and the increasing profit in growing soybeans has significantly reduced that. Dothan still calls itself the peanut capitol of the world on the basis that large scale peanut growing got its start here. The fact is we now only grow about 1/3 of the peanuts in the U.S. Places like Whitesboro and Floresville in Texas now have their own peanut festivals. I got the 1/3 statistic from an Auburn University pamphlet. You hear different statistics thrown around, however. Like this one that says ½, but it is a promotional site.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5738074/things_to_do_in_dothan_alabama.html?cat=16
I would be more likely to believe the current Auburn stats. Auburn is the premiere “cow college” in Alabama. (BTW, Vickie, I’ve decided to forgive you for being a University of Alabama fan. After all, no one is perfect. ;-) Anyway, I’ll scream “Roll Tide” as loudly as anyone else when their opponent isn’t Auburn. As for Auburn being a “cow college,” I’ve heard the same thing said of Texas A&M. It sounds like Auburn is in good company.)
Here’s an EOA link, in case you haven’t come across it, Carrie.
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-2016
While reading this article, it will help to keep in mind that Coffee, Houston, Geneva and Dale counties are adjacent to one another. The article doesn’t mention Coffee County (the county Enterprise is in) by name. I assume the statistic changes from year to year as farmers rotate their crops so you might want to write around it somehow.
Ironically, I’m seeing mostly cotton in the fields this year. Perhaps, I should explain how I “see” these fields. When Nadine was very young, Mike had to take her out into a cotton field to let her pick some because she was adament the farmers were growing marshmallows. lol. I know the fields around here are in cotton because she still squeals “Marshmallows!” and laughs whenever she sees a field ofcotton. Inevitably, she buys a bag of marshmallows while we are out. We have plenty of marshmallows in the house right now. They are still baling the cotton. Kay*

Thanks, Kay ... the article is scheduled for Dec. 11, her 91st anniversary (or 89th). I'll have to check what I said about the % of peanuts. I did explain that Coffee County was named after a Mr. Coffee, not the beverage.

I had my flu shot at Walgreen's today!

Just for the record, cotton taste really bad. Not at all like cotton candy. :-) I know this for a fact.
Hey, I didn't know that about Coffee Co. You can learn new stuff everyday hanging around here.
With a little help from PlantFiles, I finally understand Mama Kay’s version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

She sings:
On the 12th day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Twelve artimesias
Eleven stephanotis
Ten rosemary bushes
Nine, damask roses
Eight Madonna lilies
Seven sweet Michelia
Six Milky Way trees
Five lavenders
Four cedar sage
Three mock orange
Two wax vines
And, a silver dollar hanging on a tree.

I guess “a silver dollar hanging on a tree” is silver dollar eucalyptus. Wax Vine is Hoya carnosa A “Milky Way tree” is Stemmadenia galeottiana. Sweet Michelia is the flowering tree that provides the key ingredient for the perfumes Door and Joy, the tree seeds she recently planted. I get it! A fragrant Christmas to all! lol. ~Nadine~.

Took this photo this afternoon for anyone who needs a little brightening today. :-)

Thank you - came in handy!

Gorgeous! Like, living sunshine.
This is a lean Christmas so I’ve been working on gift drawings today. I’ll try to have something here for those winter Monday blahs so stay tuned. Hugs all around. Remember, if you find yourself in Alaska, it is against the law to give a moose beer. ~N~
http://www.totallyuselessknowledge.com/laws.php

Nadine, never had the talent for drawing, so you have a perfect gift to give. I used to make "coupons" in lean years. For cooking services (three dinners) or childcare (two Friday nights) or housecleaning or five hours of personal errands, etc. Something I could do that didn't take money, but would be meaningful to the recipient. My niece used to beg for the childcare coupons (four kids). LOL

Debra

Here's this week's drawing.


Photo: Reindeer Envy

Nadine, you could quite certainly sell that to Hallmark to make Christmas cards. Excellent!

Nadine, Loved it!!
Fits the times,huh?

Yep, Vickie, unfortunately true. Thanks, Carrie. Maybe, when I’ve gotten consistently good enough Amargia can come out with its own line of greeting cards. lol. My abilities tend to vary wildly, depending on how much Lexapro I have in my bloodstream. Kay has seriously talked about our own Zone 8/9a garden calendar that includes the local sowing schedule. People new to this area are often confused about when to plant what. Since there are lots of military bases around (meaning lots of military families coming and going), we never have a shortage of people new to the area. I'll propose original art every month.
Papa Jim could do an appropriate monthly quote. He’s been spouting quotes for EVERY occasion and situation lately. I actually like his George Burns quotes. My favorite, at the moment, is:
“For true happiness you need a warm, loving, close-knit family….that lives in a distant city. “
I bet there would be a lifetime’s work of scholarly papers for any psychoanalyst brave enough to study holiday family get-togethers.
I’m getting off easy this year, just Mama Kay’s family on Christmas Eve. They have only good natured fencing at their family events. It is always very polite and civilized. The food is the only thing uncivilized. It is DELICIOUS, but tends to be rustic fare. Only a problem if you don’t like venison and wild game which shows up in a lot of dishes. Every year someone makes the joke, “You know, we would probably get more presents, if we didn’t eat the reindeer.” I think they take turns with that joke. Wonder whose turn it is this year? :) ~Nadine~

You definitely could create a line of greeting cards, Nadine, if you got funny like THAT every time! Do you remember The Far Side?

The Far Side was a little before my time, but I remember it because my elder sister collected Larson's stuff. Also, you still see reprints from time to time of his better and more controversial panels.
Mama Kay let me in on the family's joke. People of purer Scandinavian stock called Scandinavian-urgricks "reindeer chasers." Some of her ancestors really DID eat reindeer. ~Nadine~

You really missed out, little one.

Scandinavian-UGRIC. I guess "reindeer chasers" was easier for them to spell. :-) Nadine thinks any meal that contains cabbage or brussel sprouts is "rustic." Many people do. Cabbage, especially, has a reputation as "peasant food."
Her work seems to get better and better as she adjust to being on an anti-depressant. Kay*

Yum. Nobody will eat cabbage except me - probably too many cole slaw side dishes at chain restaurants. Now cole slaw with good cabbage and a good vinaigrette dressing - not out of a vat - yum yum yum. My husband has the misfortune of being Irish where cabbage has a very bad rep.

I like cooked cabbage with bacon and vinaigrette. And sauerkraut. And sweet-and-sour red cabbage. Can't get more Irish than Colcannon which is really good, especially if you like 'taters.

Here's this week's drawing




Photo: Holiday Blues

Reminds me of myself - but I think I like the reindeer one best.

I don’t think anyone needs me to explain the inspiration behind this week’s drawing.
My Da was much older than my friends’ parents and I didn’t look much like him. He got tired of explaining to people over and over that, no, he wasn’t my grandfather and that, no, I wasn’t adopted. He got so frustrated after a while that he would roll his eyes and tell the idly curious all about how he found me in a cabbage patch. :-) That would not have been so bad if I hadn’t come along just after the CabbagePatch kids phenomenon. (Those one-of-a-kind dolls with the funny faces that people went nuts over in the 80’s.) I got teased a LOT about cabbage. Why were babies always found amongst the cabbages anyway?
I HATED cabbage and all of its relatives until recently. (I still don’t like southern-style slaw with the white sugar in it. The apple and raisin sweetened version, is sometimes good.) Things like Brussels sprouts roasted with chestnuts and cabbage strudel have been a pleasant surprise. I never imagined you could create a meal with a sort of rustic, elegance working with ingredients like wild game and cabbagie veggies. You really can. They still haven’t sold me on all the cranberry stuff though. MK says my cranberry experiences were profoundly limited by that sauce that comes in the cans. When I was a kid, I did like the way it slid out with those ridges and impressions from the inside of the can intact. Lol. I like cranberry juice, but that is about it. ~Nadine~

Have you read my cranberry article, Nadine?

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/315/

Cranberry bread is almost like banana bread. From there you can move on to cranberry jam, jelly and sauce with lots of sugar. Thence to whole-berry cranberry sauce -- YUM YUM YUM.

DH swears he will die at 64 which is the age at which his older brother died. If he does that, I will make a trek to to Armagia.

Miss Nadine, Where did you come across my picture? Add a few wrinkles and a few lbs and thats me.My curly hair, my glasses. Only now my hair is grey and no glasses except to read.
I love cranberry everything.No one else in the family does. They don't like pumpkin either. Thats sad.
I knew i'd die at 28 as my mother and grandmother and here i am 70. Like my great grandmother, she made it to 96.
I'm gonna make a trek to Amargia anyway.I simply can't resist.