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Category Archives: Gardening

Sneeze, Cough, Wheeze

29-Mar-07

It has been in the high seventy’s and low eighties here in Georgia for a couple of weeks now. We even broke a record high for March one day.

This warmth has caused the grass to grow. It has also caused everything to take on a pale greenish yellow cast. That’s because dang near anything that is exposed has a thick coat of pollen on it.

This natural chain of events means I have to once again start cutting the dad burn grass. I did so Wednesday evening.

Can Something Be Learned From Cutting the Grass?

Of course! As I cut the grass, I noticed I was leaving a cloud of yellow billows behind me. Sometimes, this is due to flatulence, but not this time. It was the pollen.

By the time I had finished, complete with blowing off the driveway with my high powered, professional leaf blower, I had created a mystical wonderland of swirling pollen clouds and sent them traveling towards the neighbors’ homes. (I’m always finding ways to create stuff).

So, seeing as how the pollen was invading my life, causing myself and others to sneeze, cough, and wheeze, I decided to find out about this stuff and see if I could determine what a grain of pollen actually looked like. Google to the rescue.

Some People Have Unusual Interests

Electron beam microscopy provides images of eeensy, weeensy things in great detail. The link above takes you to one of those off the wall scientific research places where a group of people has bothered to make it their goal to photograph lots of different grains of pollen with an electron beam microscope. How interesting eh? Sounds like a great idea for a date.

Well, oddly enough, some of these little grains are quite unusual and interesting.

I chose to sketch this particular pollen grain because it looked “itchy” and “sneezy” to me. I mean look at it. Get a few hunerd thousand of those thingys up your nose and you’re going to sneeze pardner.

So I now know what is going up my nose during pollen season. It helps to know one’s enemies.

In the process of sketching it, I decided to see what plant creates the little buggers. Turns out it’s a “Henbit Deadnettle” (who names these things?? What do they smoke??). I found some photos of it here and a photo of a bunch of it’s seeds. The seeds were equally as interesting as the pollen grain so I sketched one of those as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen seeds that were spotted like a Hereford cow.

So there you have it folks. Another day of learning by sketching the mundane things of everyday life. Now if I could only stop sneezing.

Also filed in Everyday Objects, Nature, Postcard Art, Stories | | Comments (4) »

How To Rake Leaves

06-Nov-06

I thought it might be interesting to draw the handy, dandy new mower mentioned in the previous post. It isn’t a Lexus or Jaguar but it is from a foreign manufacturer. That alone gives it “esteem”.

It’s a Honda. As mowers go, Hondas are sort of like a Lexus or Jaguar. High end. But hey, as I said before, it was a bribe. A motivational tool used by my dear wife to get a neat yard all spring and summer and a yard free of leaves in the fall. All without using a rake. In fact, a mulching mower, particularly a Honda mulching mower, is the ANTI-RAKE.

Chances are high that a $79 disposable mower would not have illicited the intended results my wife desired. Keep that in mind ladies as you devise motivational training for the man in your life.

Also filed in Everyday Objects, Machines, Quick Sketches | | Comments (0) »

Savannah Door

11-Jul-06

I like old brick buildings because of the warm texture and friendly, grounded appearance they present.

When someone says man, if these walls could talk, I always think of brick walls. Walls that have been around for a loooong time and seen a lot of stuff go on within their confines.

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia has the most beautiful brick structures in my opinion. And yes, Savannah has some attractive brick structures as well. The river front has multi-story, old brick warehouses, and even a brick smokestack or two if Im not mistaken.

This residence, a townhome, caught my eye because of the bright red blooms on the plants and the blue doors. Wrought iron, brickleafy, green, running plantsblue doors and bright red blooms. It all just looked comfortable and inviting.

By the way, Brick Masons are still called Brick Masons. In todays world of high tech, one would think they would be called SCPEs Structural Clay Placement Engineers.

Im glad they are still called Brick Masons. Im even happier that the acronymn for Brick Mason is already spoken for and Brick Masons dont have to suffer with it. (The acronym that is.)

Also filed in Building details, Travel Sketches | | Comments (0) »

Home Grown Tomatoes

09-Jul-06

My wife gets her gardening tendencies from her dad. Hes eighty-something and still manages a large garden each year. How large? Among a myriad of other vegetables, he has at least 120 tomato plants each season.

Thaaaaaats a bunch of tomatoes!

We get our share of the Famous Rivermont Tomatoes from Rome, Georgia each year (thank goodness!).

Rivermont happens to be the name of the neighborhood where they live in Rome. So I call them Rivermont Tomatoes. Theyre famous because they are exceptionally tasty, BIG tomatoes, and because of what he does with them.

You see, he gives them away. He just shows up, whether the lucky recipients are home or not, and delivers the goods. Many come home from errands or work to find a bucket full of Huberts tomatoes in their carport. No need to leave a note. Its like the rain in a drought. They know where it comes from and theyre relieved to see it.

The recipients are relieved because there are lots of people on The List. Demand is high. The chosen get pretty nervous if they dont get their tomato delivery as usual each season.

Many start calling early, before he even plants, to make sure they are still on The List. Of course, they have some other reason to call, they just ask about their list status in passing.

Yeah right! Theyre free tomatoes for cryin out loud!

Tweeedle tweeedle, Tweeedle tweeedle

Hello?

Hi Hubert. Bob. How ya been doin?

Pretty good Bobwatchin the Super Bowl right now. Just fed the beagles during halftime and noticed one of the pups had

Am I still on The List?

uh, why sure Bob. I wont be planting for a couple of months though.

OK, thanksjust wanted to make surelookin forward to gettin my tomatoes ya know. Glad youre doin well. Enjoy the game.

Click.

The Power of Free Tomatoes
Fortunately, Hubert understands people after 80+ years of being around them. He knows theyre just home grown tomato addicts that are haunted by a lack of maters in the winter. So he doesnt mind the early calls. Besides, the calls keep him motivated and happy that hes appreciated by folks.

Gardening, and particularly those tomatoes, have made Hubert and a lot of other people feel good over the years. Funny how small things are really big things in disguise.

Also filed in Quick Sketches, Stories | | Comments (0) »

Daylilies By The Log

06-Jul-06

Up in the mountains of North Georgia we have a dinky little cabin. By my observation, it’s the smallest one up there and also the least expensive. That’s how we were able to swing getting it a few years ago. It has no air conditioning so when we go during summer weekends, we pretty much stay outside until sundown.

That’s a good thing because my wife spends her outdoor time tinkering with flower beds, birdhouses, shrubs, and even a black bear she met picking blackberries.

He didn’t like her I don’t think because all she saw was the pads on his feet kicking up dust trying to get away from her.

Note: She only saw that for a split second because she was kicking up dust likewise, headed in the opposite direction. I know this because that is about all the detail she remembered about the bear…the pads of his feet kickin’ up dust.

Ten minutes I think it took for her to get that small tidbit of information to my ears as I tried to interpret her story amidst the deep gasps for air, flailing hands, and eyes big as quarters…all while standing upright briefly, then bending over gasping with hands on knees…up, down…up, down…yep, it was at least ten minutes before I understood the magnitude of that bear’s feet kicking up dust.

I shall pass along here too that I know her. I’m certain she said a bad word when she saw the bear. But only one bad word…I’m certain of that as well.

But I digress…
As I said, being forced to spend most daylight summer hours outdoors at the cabin is a good thing because of all the stuff she does to keep the plantings going. Case in point…the Daylilies at the end of the drive. This year they were really nice and bloomy. They get plenty of sun and she is really proud of how well they did after all her care late last summer and fall. I’m proud too. She is a true gardener.

So, once again, the Garden Queen provides subject matter for a sketch. She hasn’t seen this one yet because it’s after 4 a.m. and I just finished it…(couldn’t sleep). So, she’ll see it later and I think It’ll get the official “teehee” of approval.

By the way, not all my sketches get the “teehee” of approval. Sometimes my sketches get the “hmmmmmm”.

I haven’t figured out yet if that’s the equivalent of a disapproval.

I do know that the “Oh Gol” is definitely a disapproval though.

FYI, in the South, “Oh Gol” can mean two things:

Shock and sympathetic disbelief as in…”Oh Gol! I can’t believe all your ink pens leaked into your shirt pocket while you were on the plane! How frustrating! I’m so sorry.”

or…

Disapproval as in…”Oh Gol. You might ought to practice a little more on those flowers sweety.”

I think I’ll get the “teehee” on this sketch though.

Also filed in Nature, Stories | | Comments (4) »

Iris Seed Pods…Not Pickles

03-Jul-06

My wife loves gardening so I thought I’d sketch something she could directly relate to. These seed pods came from her iris bed. In the beginning, to me, they look a lot like little green pickles.

I saw them lying on the wicker foot stool as we went out the door and said to her, “Where’d ya get the little pickles?”

“Those aren’t pickles!” she said. “They’re seed pods from the iris.”

“I knew that. Just making sure you did…nyuk nyuk.” (My wife puts up with a lot.)

She picked up the semi-dry one and shook it. I could hear a few little seeds rattling inside. “This one is almost ready to break open.” she said.

I knew then I had the makings of a sketch.

“How long before I can break it open?” I asked.

“Another week why?”

“You’ll see.”

“You can’t eat them…you know that, right?”

To which I replied in a slow southern drawl, “You ah smaaah-ty aye-us leettle wuhmun ain’t cha?”

Anyway, this is the resulting sketch, which did receive the official “tee-hee” of approval upon presenting it to the Garden Queen. It’ll be interesting to see if she plants the seeds and they amount to anything. If they do, I’ll be sure to sketch the flowers.

If she doesn’t plant them though….well, I’ve got myself a snack.

Also filed in Quick Sketches | | Comments (5) »

A Whimsical Garden Rabbit

02-Jul-06

Sometimes you just have to draw from your imagination when there’s nothing obvious that inspires you. I saw a greeting card a few years ago with a rabbit wearing a “coat of many carrots”. For some reason it popped into my head as I was thinking about something to sketch. That got me to thinking about gardening. So I put the two together while thinking about the best gardener I know.

My father-in-law has a garden every year, a big one. He has gone to great lengths to keep deer and rabbits from making regular visits to the “Forest Friends All You Can Eat Buffet. As I sketched this, I thought about how he surely must have hollered “get outta my garden!” (plus an expletive or two) many times over the years before he finally came up with a cracker jack solution.

Now he relies on a tall, electrified fence to keep the critters out. They just get a “little tingle” when they touch it. Nothing harmful. The rabbits can’t dig under and the deer can’t jump over.

When they try…..ZZZzzzzzzzttt!! The rabbits high-tail it. But the deer bolt, stop, and then stare at the fence with a look of “wha’ happened?”

One benefit of having a garden that attracts bunnies though, is that he can safely coral them and take them to the best place a bunny could ever hope to be. That would be the Lookout Beagle Club.

No such benefits have yet been discovered for attracting the deer however.

Also filed in Nature, Quick Sketches, Sketching and Drawing, Whimsical Sketches | | Comments (0) »