the common milkweed

Seedlings

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Our very sunny south window is allowing us to grow herbs! Look at this beautiful basil plant growing readily everyday...

Here's a look at the setup:

We have a tree west of the window that shades the pots in the afternoon, but the seedlings (basil, cilantro, parsley and sweet mace) are doing fine thus far. It's very comforting to have little plants growing in our kitchen!

Common Checkered-Skipper...

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

another fan of the lasting calendula blossoms. The mallow family of plants provides foods for the common checkered-skipper caterpillars. Cute little butterflies!

Very Cool Nature-Themed Metal Art

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:38:00 +0000

If you love nature, you'll love the work of Henry Dupere, Metal Artist out of Arizona. Here's our little "Carlita" - she's named in honor of Carlsbad Caverns:

There are many other critters available - check them out here.

Dumpster Workbench, Continued

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:40:00 +0000

Ever notice that once you finally pull together the gumption to get something started then things really get started? "Build it and they'll come." is another way to put that.

Well that's kind of how things are leaning since I built the Dumpster Workbench a couple of day ago. The day after I built the dumpster workbench, we were walking down the road and saw this poor little dresser to be thrown out:

The only good thing about cheaply made furniture is that it's easy to take apart for the wood:

Between the dresser and the extra wood from a trashed piano that I salvaged, I'm pretty well set for awhile. To celebrate, I did a bit of carving today:

It was so darn nice out - teeshirt weather!

To celebrate even more I painted the dumpster workbench some sassy southwest colors:

Not spending money has never been so much fun!

Celebrating Sumac!

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:20:00 +0000

Why celebrate sumac? They provide food/shelter for wildlife and they are beautiful. Although there are many more reasons, those are enough for us!

Here in the Guadalupe Mountains we have about 6 species, 4 of which are the most commonly seen. Lanceleaf Sumac (Rhus lanceolata) has, get this, lance-shaped leaflets. Littleleaf Sumac (R. microphylla) has, believe it or not, tiny leaflets. Fragrant Sumac (R. trilobata) has leaves that are - don't let go of your seat - three-lobed (per trilobata in the Latin name). Finally, Evergreen Sumac (R. virens, var. choriophylla) has leaves that are - drumroll please - evergreen! So I suppose that, from a selfish perspective, another reason to celebrate sumac is that they are easy to identify due to aptly descriptive common/Latin names.

Learn much more about sumacs at the incredible Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center website. You can search the database by species and get propagation notes. You can also use the "Recommended Species List" to determine which species of sumac might be appropriate for planting in your location.

A final note - some species such as Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) are considered invasive in some areas. When in doubt about any species that you plan to bring onto your property, ask for help. Here's a great place to start: beplantwise.org.

Next time you are outdoors keep an eye out for sumac!

Dumpster Workbench

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:09:00 +0000

How does one combine the carcass of a junk dresser and the shell of a junk piano (both of which I salvaged from dumpster fodder)? Well, I needed a workbench and so why not go for that?

The largest piece of left-over piano would be the top and the dresser carcass the base:

The dresser legs had to go as did the top lip of one side of the dresser carcass (so that the top of the workbench would go on level):

I screwed the top down:

Braced-up the back and sides of the base for stability:

And added some "outriggers" on the bottom of the base so that the whole works wouldn't be tippy (for the outriggers I used the piano legs):

Here it is, ready for use. The wood scraps on the top right of the bench are from the piano frame (I'll use those for some carvings):

It's even pretty darn level - and I didn't even try! Just enough pitch for the rain to run off (yes, I'll be working outside - apartment living does not allow for an inside workspace). The weather here is fine for outside work, though, as it's been dry with highs in the upper 60's to low 70's.

Now I have everything I need to finally get back to woodcarving!

What do Curry and Apple Crisp have in common?

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:51:00 +0000

At our house - dinner last night! This was my (Jennifer) first attempt at Indian food and it turned out pretty yummy indeed. I found the recipe in a Nutrition magazine from our local health food store and followed it pretty much true. The recipe follows with my adjustments.

Chana Saag Chickpea Spinach Curry (Serves 6)
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1.5 cups finely chopped yellow onion
5 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs grated gingerroot
1/4 tsp sea salt
dash white pepper (I did not have so used a dash of black pepper.)
1 15-oz can chickpeas
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 lb. baby spinach ( I thought this was too much and added a few handfuls only.)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

1. Warm oil and ghee in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cardamom, cinnamon, curry and cumin. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
2. Reduce heat to medium, add onion and cook 4-5 minutes, until onions are just tender. Add garlic, ginger, salt and white pepper; cook 1 minute.
3. Add chickpeas, tomatoes and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, covered for 10 minutes, until chickpeas are soft.
4. Add spinach and cook 1-2 minutes, until spinach is just wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Garnish with cilantro and serve with basmati rice, if desired.

YUM!

As I typed the UPS man arrived with this:

Yes - Indian spices for my new love affair with Indian cooking! I borrowed the book from the library as one of my first goals after finishing my season at CAVE. This is so exciting!

So now, on to the apple crisp. I know it's not a traditional Indian dish, but we had two apples just waiting to be used and last night seemed the perfect night. Steve was quite happy when he arrived home from work.

Steve's Apple Crisp
(adapted from Rosetta June Stuck's recipe)
4 cups apples
1 tbs water
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter cut into small pieces
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax meal
1/4 cup oats
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease pan. Put apples in pan and sprinkle with water and lemon juice and cinnamon. In small bowl combine butter, sugar, grains and salt with hands until it forms clumps. Distribute the clumps evenly over apples. Bake 1 hour until the topping is dark and bubbly. Makes 4-6 servings. Mm mm good!

Swamp Milkweed

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:07:00 +0000

Isn't this photo gorgeous? (Make sure you click on it to make it larger.) Our friend Paul McAfee, nature photographer extraordinaire, took this photo of Swamp Milkweed seed heads. As you all know, we think milkweeds are pretty cool plants and swamp milkweed is one of our favorites. Paul participates in an annual nature photography workshop at Merry Lea Environmental Center and says this about his experience and photo: "It was a great workshop with Jerry McCoy from Warsaw. He's quite the artistic photographer and I hopefully learned a few things about making more artistic type photos." You can see more of Paul's photographs here.

Dog Canyon to McKittrick Canyon Through Hike

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:07:00 +0000

We are darn lucky to have not one - but two - great national parks to explore. Carlsbad Caverns is known as "a cave park" while Guadalupe Mountains is known as "a hiking park". That's largely true (although there are great hikes and wonderful scenery at Carlsbad too!). Guadalupe Mountains National Park has some of the most striking scenery and the best-built trails we've come across. This summer we'd done a bunch of great day hikes at Guadalupe and this past weekend we did a spectacular two day through-hike from Dog Canyon to McKittrick Canyon (map below from an NPS brochure):

After a winding drive across the Lincoln National Forest we, at long last, crossed from New Mexico into Texas and arrived at the Dog Canyon ranger station. Here's Jennifer and Katie making last minute preparations at the trail head:

Off we go across some nice shortgrass prairie. (Can you guess the top two states for "most species of native grass? Texas and New Mexico, of course!).

Soon we had great views of Dog Canyon and fall colors courtesy of maple, ash, hackberry, hornbeam, cherry, honeysuckle and oaks:

After about 3 miles of up, up, up and chilly winds from the north, we reached McKittrick Ridge and were treated to spectacular views all the way to McKittrick Ridge Campground:

We met Robbie and Mike who had hiked in from the opposite direction to meet us at the campground. Here are Katie, Mike and Robbie feverishly setting up camp (the temps. were low and the winds high):

(Apologies for the lack of campground picks - it was just too darn cold. We woke up to frozen water!)

After saying farewell to Robbie and Mike, we headed back out on the trail.

View of McKittrick Canyon and the Permian Basin to the east:

Views into McKittrick Canyon Wilderness Study Area (closed to the public):

This is the stuff of life!

Heading back east and descending into McKittrick Canyon:

We don't know what this skinny ridge is called but we'll call it "razorback crossing":

Soon we were ready to remove some layers of cloths, have a snack and take in the views. Here's Jennifer and Katie absorbing wilderness medicine:

We would be descending into this gorge-like canyon:

The wonders of an extended southwestern mountain autumn delighted us at every turn for the remainder of the hike...

Good hiking comrades, 15 miles of rugged wilderness and the wonders of forest, desert and grasslands - who could ask for more?!!!

Drying Culinary Herbs is Easy!

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:30:00 +0000

On a whim the night of our first predicted frost, I cut a number of herbs and strung them up in the kitchen to dry. Since our climate is arid the herbs dried in about 1 week.

I stripped or crunched the leaves off and enjoyed a little help from Bounder when I cleaned the catnip. The herbs were so fragrant!

Finally, I put the dried herbs in jars and labeled them. I stored the jars out of the sun to help preserve the freshness and strung up what was left of our fresh herbs since this worked so well. I am so wishing I had dried more!

Late Season Harvest

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Some of our friends in Carlsbad planted an entire garden of heirloom tomatoes this summer which fed them, their friends (aren't we lucky?) and some local restaurants! The plants are still producing and pictured is our latest batch along with some figs from their property as well. We are thinking salsa with the tomatoes and continued fresh eating of the figs.

Fatal Metalmark

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:39:00 +0000

The calendula is putting on all sorts of buds and blooms now that the temperatures are a bit cooler. For most of the summer the plants were in sort of a stasis, just enduring the hot temperatures. One of the yellow blooms attracted a nectaring Fatal Metalmark (Calephelis nemesis) this past weekend. We're not the most familiar with metalmarks so we had to look this one up and it appears this is one of very few in our area, but the only one of this genus. Seepwillow and clematis are listed as food for the larvae. It's quite fun to see a new critter and remember where your first saw it later so we noted it in our butterfly book.

Our Last Day at Work Together...for Now...

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:19:00 +0000

It's been a quick 6 months but we've had the greatest of fun working together at the park! Caves, canyons, desert, forest, wetlands and all the unique plants and animals (and a lot of interesting co-workers as well as visitors from around the globe) - all add up to an immeasurably rich experience. Steve will be at the park a bit longer and we'll both continue to explore the area until the next leg of our work-journey together begins...

Here we are at the entrance to the park on Jennifer's last day:

Here's Jennifer with a fitting memento (a great metal-sculpture bat, made in AZ):

So much fun, so little time!

Alien Space Trees - More Support for Using Native Plants

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:34:00 +0000

Last week we noticed what we'll call Alien Space Trees along the highway South of Carlsbad, NM. They are really just some sort of palm tree (from somewhere else like California) that is not suited to this climate. What evidence do we have to make such a definitive statement? How about the insulation (silver on the trunks) strapped on with duct tape:

There are a lot of resources nationwide to help folks make appropriate decisions when considering plantings such as the above. Here is a great place to start. Of course where there's money to be made there will be plenty of crooks so, when in doubt, check with your local Soil and Water Conservation District/NRCS office.

Natural History Photo of the Week

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:03:00 +0000

In the last Natural History Photo of the Week, talus slope was the topic. This time it's a critter that lives amongst the talus - the incredible Pika:

Go here for the details or just ponder the wonders of an animal that can live in boulder piles near the tops of high mountains!

Super Simple Garden Row Cover

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:07:00 +0000

Sure it's warm in Carlsbad (today was sunny and 70, tonight 46) but winter-like weather will eventually come along even here. Therefore, we thought we might try a simple row cover (mini greenhouse, essentially) and some fall cold weather crops. So while walking through the lumber store the other day we spied some translucent roofing panels and some contractor layout stake and we had the makings of a simple row cover:

Here's how we did it.

The contractor layout stakes were the perfect length once the sharp end was cut off:

Then we simply screwed the stakes to the roofing panel to create the arc of the row cover:

Attachment detail:

One on each end...

.. and one in the middle...

...holds the shape. We'll close the ends up with clear plastic.

We planted some fall greens and such and now are waiting for the first seedlings!

We would have preferred to build a more substantial frame but we live in an apartment for goodness' sake! If you want to get fancier, check in with the masters of 4 season gardening.

Squash and Apple Soup

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:03:00 +0000

The huge Hubbard squash that we grew this summer are starting to come in very handy! Here's how we made Squash and Apple Soup...

First we cut up the squash and scraped out the seeds, etc.:

Then we cut the chunks into strips and peeled the skin from each strip...

...and then cubed each strip:

Next we prepared some bullion...

...and added the bullion to a saute mix (butter, olive oil, onions and curry powder) that we'd prepared previously:

To all of this we added apples, squash, salt and pepper and simmered until soft:

Here it is cooked down:

Then we used our handy-dandy new stick blender to blend it with some apple cider:

Don't have a finished pic because we ate it all so quickly (but it was as beautiful as it was delicious and nutritious!!). Perfect for fall!

Here's the original recipe from Edible Santa Fe - a chapter of Edible Communities (which is a great resource in certain local areas around the country).

On-Going Gardening

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:02:00 +0000

Sure we got a bit of frost but we saved some plants by covering them and then it warmed back up a bit:

Sunny and warm days in the 70's are great for harvesting herbs and hanging them to dry:

Then it's back outside for preparing a spot for planting fall greens:

We use very light and shallow cultivation so as not to disrupt the soil food web:

Can't wait for the weekend and planting time!:

Guadalupe Peak Hike

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:02:00 +0000

The highest elevation (8,751 ft.) in Texas is Guadalupe Peak in Guadalupe Mountains National Park and that was our quest on this beautiful fall day.

As we climbed high above the Permian Basin floor we were treated to expansive views of the vastness of west Texas and some interesting contrasts - such as this abrupt distribution of plant communities with slope aspect (hotter/dryer S-facing slope dominated by desert shrub/grassland and cooler/moister N-facing slope dominated by mixed conifer forest):

Mixed conifer forest (Ponderosa Pine, Two Needle Pinon, SW White Pine, Juniper sp., Douglas Fir):

What's this? Snow!

But still T-shirt weather!

Another first for us: Williamson's Sapsucker:

New Mexico Agave (looks like it anyway). Fascinating contrast with the conifers:

It's a long way to anywhere here:

We made it to the top!:

We wondered how often those canyons below receive visitors?:

Semi-active gypsum sand dune field:

This salt basin used to be a lake when the area received much more rainfall in the long-ago past (not the dark green vegetation which is irrigated hay of some sort - an unlikely place for agriculture?):

El Capitan - a prominent regional landmark:

This hike was a little over 8 miles out and back but we found it easy due to the great diversity of fascinating natural history observations (we just kept hiking and checking out cool stuff!). Ever get down this way - do this hike!

Beans, Rice and Squash Corn Tortilla Casserole

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:47:00 +0000

This one is easy. Just mix up equal proportions of pinto beans and rice and then add winter squash puree until you get a pudding-like consistency (I also added green chile sauce and a tsp. of salt). The main thing is to not have the filling too wet:

Put corn tortillas in a baking dish:

Add a layer of your filling and then more tortillas, etc. until...

...the dish is full:

Add a bit of cheese on top...

Bake at about 375 degree F for 45 minutes or so until the top gets brown and crispy:

Eat with salsa. Re-heat and take for lunches!

Red-shouldered Bug (Jadera haematoloma)

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:11:00 +0000

The other day at work Jennifer noticed a curious happening in the parking lot. It turned out to be numerous Red-shouldered Bugs (Jadera haematoloma) - juvenile and adult - feasting on something.

Taking a closer look we noticed the familiar fruit of the Soapberry Tree - it's easy to notice because of its prominent yellowish color (translucent yellow-orange after they dry out):

The Red-shouldered bugs remove the fleshy outer coating of this fruit to get to the seed underneath. The seed itself has yet another coating - in the photo below the bugs have succeeded in final extraction of the seed. Must be very nutritious!:

The soapberry trees in this particular location are numerous and associated with a cut/fill spoil bank. Apparently this tree reproduces well in our "waste" areas and thus we have benefited both the tree and the Red-shouldered bugs that feast on its fruit. It appears an innocuous thing and we hope so. Our actions always matter!

Talus Slope

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:15:00 +0000

Last weeks' natural history photo of the week was of Alpine Sunflower - a cute little plant that we saw growing on a talus slope. A talus slope is an accumulation of rocks that reaches a certain angle of repose (steepest angle that it can maintain beyond which individual rocks will tumble downhill). Here's the one where we saw the Alpine Sunflower (lower left in photo):

Another resident of talus slopes is the incredible Pika. But that's for next week....

Underestimated Habitat Value?

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Seemingly sterile cityscapes may not be as sterile as they first appear:

While we are not sure if this shrub is native to the area we do know that it provides a valuable nectar source. We saw all of these pollinators in just a minute of observation!

Tachinid fly:

European Honeybee:

Queen Butterfly:

American Snout Butterfly (this was a first for both of us - what a cool critter!):

Gray Hairstreak Butterfly:

Wonders never cease, they say...

Quite a Haul of Antiques

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:14:00 +0000

Advantages of small town life? You can hit all the antiques shops in a morning! Carlsbad has a number of excellent antique shops but it was not until this weekend that we finally checked out a store that ended up being a gold mine. Here's Jennifer excitedly unbagging the finds:

Here are just a few (some must be kept secret as they are gifts). Some are not truly antiques - just bargains for the kitchen. Other things such as the potato masher, mixer and little cookie jar have been around awhile. The weathered wooden "bucket" is actually the remains of an ice cream maker. The woven wool rug was quite a beautiful find too. All in all, a great morning of antique-ing and everything was a bargain!:

Zucchini in October?

kleiny03@gmail.com (Jennifer and Steve) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:57:00 +0000

Yes! And the end of October to boot:

Carlsbad is sweeeet for extended gardening!!