tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post1488227356052234238..comments2024-03-29T08:37:07.724-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: Sowing’s HarvestJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-71390700611657503012012-08-12T20:13:37.188-04:002012-08-12T20:13:37.188-04:00Hey EB -- It was interesting watching them excavat...Hey EB -- It was interesting watching them excavate the basement. They found mostly clay and "pea gravel" (boulders dropped by the last glacier) except for in the SW corner, where they cut across a stream bed worth of grey sand.<br /><br />The sand was about eighteen inches wide and six inches tall. I wished I knew enough geology to understand when it was deposited.<br /><br />Between three and four feet below the surface they hit hardpan. I knew of the term, but was amazed as a big backhoe scraped across it as though it hit bedrock.<br /><br />Eventually backhoe beat hardpan, but it was a hard battle for a while.<br /><br />~ JimJim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-42335505100977155552012-08-12T19:37:49.591-04:002012-08-12T19:37:49.591-04:00Around the Potomac River, we have nothing but clay...Around the Potomac River, we have nothing but clay. Your environment looks beautiful, Jim. Thanks for posting the pictures when most of the country has a sever drought. It was a sight for sore eyes for many people.E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-47786754378169049912012-08-12T15:38:27.370-04:002012-08-12T15:38:27.370-04:00We couldn't grow grass in our shady back yard ...We couldn't grow grass in our shady back yard so we planting "creeping jenny" AKA 'creeping charlie." The rabbits love it and it smells great after an occasional mowing.Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-33712120379465414812012-08-12T14:17:29.252-04:002012-08-12T14:17:29.252-04:00Kaye,
After a number of years of drought conditio...Kaye,<br /><br />After a number of years of drought conditions up here and a very dry spring, we've been blessed with adequate rainfall. It's not enough to make up from prior deficits, but at least we're not going further in the hole.<br /><br />And thanks for the good wishes regarding my writing.<br /><br />~ JimJim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-67400433532780789402012-08-12T14:15:18.241-04:002012-08-12T14:15:18.241-04:00Linda -- so sorry the weather did in your woodland...Linda -- so sorry the weather did in your woodlands garden. Isn't is a sad commentary when neighbors are upset because instead of a "pristine" lawn maintained only with massive doses of chemicals, fertilizers and water one of their neighbors enjoys a natural flower garden needing mostly TLC?<br /><br />I remember a few years ago walking in St. Paul, MN and seeing a front yard garden with all kinds of veggies and berry bushes and even a patch of corn!<br /><br />The flip side are some developments with covenants that forbid brown spots on lawns. In the middle of a drought people are being fined for not watering their lawns enough -- talk about a bad policy.<br /><br />~ JimJim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-40357775585300479202012-08-12T13:54:19.270-04:002012-08-12T13:54:19.270-04:00Leaving my flowerbeds and veggie gardens behind is...Leaving my flowerbeds and veggie gardens behind is always the hardest part of moving! I'm SO looking forward to our next move, which should be our last, and being able to cultivate a lasting yard. Yours, Jim, is looking gorgeous already! May you be spared drought, both in your plantings and in your writings.Kaye Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05596677617002735674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-81655204073214056912012-08-12T13:43:36.770-04:002012-08-12T13:43:36.770-04:00Jim, I love this as an allegory for writing. True ...Jim, I love this as an allegory for writing. True wisdom!<br /><br />Taking it literally, though, is a lot of fun for me. I have been transforming my front yard into a native plant/herbal/drought-hardy perennial garden for years. It's so beautiful in spring with tons of various blooms that cars slow down as they pass to take in the garden. My newer neighbors hate it, though, and consistently call the city on me, trying to force me to get rid of it all and go to grass.<br /><br />Purple coneflower can be invasive, at times, but I love it. I have a bed just for native goldenrod. They are beautiful and don't seem to invade anywhere else. What I find the worst invaders are plants people have bought at nurseries and let go--Virginia creeper (which can be as toxic to some, like my husband, as poison ivy), euonymous, Japanese honeysuckle.<br /><br />Tansy, yes, and lemon balm, even fennel can become invasive, as of course, do mints. It seems as if I'm fighting a different battle each year, but the major problem is the vines I mentioned earlier.<br /><br />In a shaded part of my front yard I had a woodland garden that was just wonderful--columbine, mayapple, yellow bells, wild ginger, crane's-bill, etc. It's thrived for many years, though folks told me it wouldn't in our climate. This year, though, has been so brutal that I've lost most of those plants. I'll have to start my woodland garden over next year.<br /><br />Your garden looks and sounds wonderful, Jim. And I know what you mean about the treelets. Mulberry, black walnut, need I say more. Loved this post!Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-9868043617441758322012-08-12T11:10:32.945-04:002012-08-12T11:10:32.945-04:00cheryl -- Glad you enjoyed the post.
Gloria -- I ...cheryl -- Glad you enjoyed the post.<br /><br />Gloria -- I did transplant the jack-in-the-pulpet in a shady area, but it just didn't work out. I may try again if I stumble across a large patch to "borrow" from.<br /><br />Invasives are, of course, like weeds -- all in the eye of the beholder. I love black-eyed daises and since they are bi-annuals have some for each year. I even have a small area I allow common tansy to grow. But I pay the price when I need to continue to weed them from "forbidden" areas.<br /><br />~ JimJim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-54584378872376660962012-08-12T10:32:52.096-04:002012-08-12T10:32:52.096-04:00Loved the blog and especially the pictures, Jim.
...Loved the blog and especially the pictures, Jim.<br /><br />I agree with Cheryl. It could be an allegory for our writing life.<br /> <br />I plant flowers like coneflowers and others considered wildflowers in my gardens. Even some of those I planted can become invasive like black-eyed Susans and trumpet vine. The biggest bane of my life is not what I've planted, but the wildflowers that take over like goldenrod, Queen Ann's Lace and buttercups. Even ox-eye daisies can become invasive. Still, when I'm not pulling them, I use the flowers in flower arrangements.<br /><br />As for Jack-in-the-pulpet, it'sa woodland flower. Did you plant it in a woodland setting? I have a lot in my woods, and I've transplanted some in my shady areas and they've done quite well. I had an amazing one this year that grew thigh high. I've never seen something like that before.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-2730485848922459462012-08-12T09:06:01.164-04:002012-08-12T09:06:01.164-04:00This is a good lesson for my writing life. Start w...This is a good lesson for my writing life. Start with a blank page. Draw from what you already know. Unplanned words will surprise you. What you meant to do may not work. It takes time. Thanks, Jim, for a thoughtful post.Cherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00254463325902348758noreply@blogger.com