All About Pocket Knives

Good looking hound. All our animals have went on. We have a large fenced in backyard, it kept the dogs in, but the deer just flow over a 5 foot fence like water.
This one missed his mark in the midst of town residents. I think I've shown him before.

We have a mater about ready to eat. We cheated a little it was raised in commercial nursery, we just set it out a couple of weeks ago, I expect it to taste like a hot house mater, but what the hey.

bighomer wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 11:59 am We have a mater about ready to eat. We cheated a little it was raised in commercial nursery, we just set it out a couple of weeks ago, I expect it to taste like a hot house mater, but what the hey.

What's a Mater?

Almost missed this. Just happened to notice it by chance and I thought Shazam!!!
I have no idea what kind this one is. The pretty kind I guess.
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bighomer wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 11:59 am We have a mater about ready to eat. We cheated a little it was raised in commercial nursery, we just set it out a couple of weeks ago, I expect it to taste like a hot house mater, but what the hey.

So it came to me what a mater is. Sorry for the stupid question. Hadn't heard that word in 30+ years so it had vanished from my vocabulary.

TPK wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 3:36 am

bighomer wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 11:59 am We have a mater about ready to eat. We cheated a little it was raised in commercial nursery, we just set it out a couple of weeks ago, I expect it to taste like a hot house mater, but what the hey.

So it came to me what a mater is. Sorry for the stupid question. Hadn't heard that word in 30+ years so it had vanished from my vocabulary.

Tom you've been gone from Florida too long!
Surely you remember mater samidges with Duke's Mayonnaise!
Treefarmer

Tom it's maters and taters 'round here with a lot of other colorful phrases you probably don't hear in Germany.
Farmer you wuz doing good till you mentioned that nasty condiment.
The tomato was really good I was pleasantly surprised, but as the boss pointed out it was planted in dirt not hydroponicaly grown as most winter time hothouse tomatoes are.

Awesome cactus bloom, Tom. I used to have Christmas and Chicken Foot cacti that would bloom from time to time.

Nice cactus bloom, Tom. We have some little barrel cacti on my place, including one in the backyard which I make sure I don't accidently mow over. The blooms are beautiful, but you have to be quick! They only bloom for a 1 or 2 days each year.

We always have these tall red flowers around the place, and I never bothered to look up what they are. This year we have a bumper crop of them, growing all throughout the woods around here. Come to find out, they are called "Standing Cypress flowers. They are also called by various other names, including Texas plume, Scarlet Gilia, and Red Texas Star. Some of these on my place are 6 feet tall. I took these pics today while I was burning brush.

The darn Emerald Ash Borer continues to wreak havoc on my Ash trees. This one right in front of the house died. I probably have 100 dead Ash trees on my place. I took the Ash and a 2 Chittumwood trees down (carpenter ants). Took me about a week to cut them down, cut them up, haul/burn the brush. I still have to haul the firewood logs over to the pile and stack them up. I only work a couple a hours at a time - it was in the 90s last week, but cooler the last couple of days. Losing trees is hard work for an old man.

Ash borers took out a Texas Ash in my yard. Entire big limbs were dying, seems like one side of the tree at a time over a couple of years, so I finally took it down. It was the only one near the house but there are a lot of them and some Green Ash in the creek bottoms that so far seem to be doing okay.

All the rain we’ve been getting has everything really green. Bad news is the grass needs mowing perpetually! Started cutting hay too. The Mexican Hat, Indian Blanket, Primrose and other summer wildflowers are in bloom now. Different flowers seem to bloom in different pastures for some reason.

Ken

Nice pics, Ken. The EAB is devastating ash trees as it spreads across the USA, similar to what happened to Chestnut trees in the past. I drive around and can see all my neighbors Ash trees are dead as well. Thousands of ash trees just in my little area.

We had a bumper crop of Indian blanket flowers as well this spring. With all the rain, the wildflowers are having a good year.

Sad about the ash trees. The flowers have sure been beautiful this year.

Great pics! Great variety of flowers! Thanks for posting, guys!

Lillies are blooming here now, and the Oakleaf Hydrangea blooms are changing from white to pink.

Ken

Nice, Ken, our Lillies are not quite to that point.
I am not at all familiar with that Oak Leaf Hydrangea, but I like the looks of it. The only time we have ever had any Hydrangea in the yard was many years ago at a house we rented.

Thank you Ike. Oakleaf hydrangea is my favorite plant. They have beautiful character year around. Flowers starting here early summer, colorful fall leaves, and interesting exfoliating bark on the bare limbs in winter. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/orname ... rangea.htm We have 5 of them now, which are the large variety called “Alice” that eventually can get 6 to 8 feet tall or more. I’m planning to redo the bed on the east side of the house this fall and plant two or three more, but a different, smaller variety called Ruby Slippers. They like at least partial shade here, which is good because we have large trees.

They grow native in the woods in southern U.S. I don’t know how far north they can be successfully grown but they’re doing very well in Saint Louis, along the sidewalk in the park at the Gateway Arch, which is where I took the picture below when we were there last June. The plants in the picture were about a month behind the ones here, just starting to bloom. The flowers transition gradually from green, to white, then pink, followed by tan. They then remain on the plant through fall into winter, then fall off with the plant’s leaves.

Ken

Thanks for the info, that looks like something I would really like. I am in Zone 6, and have the perfect spot. I will put out a couple this fall, thanks again!

We’ve been in this house since October, 1979.

A Red Bud Tree came up wild in the back yard with a double trunk, which I tried, in vain, for years, to get to grow together.

A couple of years ago, it went in a growth spree and began resembling a weeping willow.

I recently watched a YouTube video on how to prune a Red Bud and this was the result.

Nice job! That “weeping” tendency is likely that specific tree’s genetics (not the variety of tree) so it will probably need more pruning in a year or two.

Ken

Well the white tails forced me to regroup my planting plans this year as they decimated all of my plantings from last year. I’m in the process of building two 8’x2’x2’ galvanized raised beds that are 600’ from the ocean. The salt air is definitely a consideration but the new location is too risky for the deer to make a meal.

I’m going to create layers of raw wood chips, straw, manure and topsoil to occupy the 32 cu. ft. in each bed. I thought the hard part was done in assembling and setting the raised beds but moving the material may be the bigger job

I’ll post the finished result in a few days.

Tom, I recommend finished compost instead of wood chips and straw because when those decompose they take nitrogen from the soil mix you’ve described. By adding raw manure with the raw wood chips and straw, you’re essentially making a compost pile but it won’t be ideal for growing plants until the composting process is done. Plants need that nitrogen so won’t do well during the wood chip and straw decomposition process. Don’t ask how I know this!

Compost is already decomposed so it’s not going to deplete the nitrogen, and will keep your ”soil” from compacting. Your plants will love it. In fact I’d recommend your mix be 50-60% finished compost. Add in about 10-20% sugar (dry molasses or whole ground corn meal) and the rest native soil. You can buy compost in bags, or make your own if you have time before you need it. You should be able to get dry molasses and whole ground agricultural grade corn meal from a feed store.

Wood chips and straw make a good mulch layer to put on top of the soil mix. They will eventually decompose and become compost, after which you can mix it into the soil. Meantime they will help retain moisture and retard weeds. Just keep it to the top 2-3 inches deep.

Ken

Thank you Ken, very helpful advice that I will follow.

Mine is a very modest garden. I started each of these poants from seed. I line the ground with thin cardboard (cereal boxes, etc.) then cover that with grass clippings. That keeps me from having to hoe out grass and weeds, keeps the soil moist and loose, and the mulch breaks down into soil for next year.