CORN

As I mentioned before, I started out creating jewelry - I always loved beadwork, and did the normal bead and wire necklaces and earrings, as well as some Peyote stitch amulet bags, things of that nature - and many years ago, I received a catalog in the mail with Native American jewelry, clothing and crafts. I looked thru it, and ran across a necklace and earrings incorporating tiny ears of Indian corn made out of glass seed beads with leather husks. I thought they were the cutest things - till I saw the price. The necklace was $100.00 (USD), and the earrings were $40.00! Plus shipping!

My "ears" compared to the originals I discovered in the catalog

Now, I'm NOT saying that they weren't worth it - I'm just saying that I was not willing to pay that much for them. And it was a good cause - I'm always behind anything that benefits the Native American people - they had gotten the short end of the stick for sure thru our nation's sordid history, and I personally feel that we owe them much more than they will ever get back!(...but that's fuel for a posting some other day....)

SO, anyway, I still wanted some, and decided to make my own. Now, I'm sure there's a pattern online somewhere, but 15 years ago, not so much! So I worked my own pattern out using Peyote stitch, and I like them more than the ones I initially wanted! A lot of people see them and think it would be a cute craft for their children to do for a project - but I think mine are have finer details and are a lot more work than folks realize. I know they're not really art, but I'm still sorta proud of them...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Plant Snobbery

Years ago, when i really started to become a plant maniac, i began to feel like less of a gardener if i planted 'common' annuals, such as Marigolds, Petunias, Geraniums (Pelargoniums), things like that. i sent for all the uncommon seed and plant catalogs, and thought, "Why would i plant the average stuff when i could be growing Salpiglossis and Clarkia, Bacopa and Euphorbia and Datura and cool things like that?!

 i would look down my nose at Impatiens

( Note to a few of my fellow gardeners - they are not "Impatients"! Impatient is what i get with people who mispronounce it!)

....and roll my eyes when everyone rushed out in May to purchase many flats of Salvia and Rose Moss. Not me- for me there was Zea Mays and Papaver Somniferum (grown by me from seed), variegated Abutilon, Persian Shield plants, and "Flirtin Skirts" hybrid Coleus from Glasshouse Works or comparable unique plant purveyors like that. So here i am, Ms. Master Gardener, Ms. Plant Collector, going along for a few years like that, some of the oddball plants did OK, and some-not so much.

*Note to novice plant maniacs- beware of Thompson & Morgan- while they DO have unusual seeds and exciting descriptions, don't get carried away by them. One warning - when they tell you a plant has "very fragrant" blossoms, keep in mind that "fragrant" means it has a smell - doesn't necessarily mean a NICE smell! Learned that the hard way. LOL   - Also, they'll stick photos in the catalogue that look like dinner plate sized blossoms, and when your little seed grown guy blooms after months of constant care under fluorescent lights, you find out that you SHOULD'VE read the rest of the description, which tells you that those huge looking flowers in the book actually could just about cover your little fingernail!*

Anyway, my  "unique" plants didn't seem to have the stamina that, well, plants like Marigolds had. I started to realize that there was a REASON that everyone planted these "boring", run of the mill annuals! They're dependable, long lasting, and long lived. Well, like today, November 21. Today i passed a flower bed with orange and yellow Marigolds that almost looked as good as they did a month ago. Didn't see any Datura still blooming...

So, these days, myself, being slightly more mature and slightly less manic than i used to be, i have Marigolds, Petunias, Pansies and all those Walmart standards AS WELL AS the collector plants. ~PLUS 'tunias are nicely fragrant! :-)

Make A Simple And Quick Pond Plant Pruner (AKA- Good Old Polish Ingenuity) :o)

So the weather got cold sooner than you expected (or hoped), and you still need to get those Waterlily and Lotus leaves trimmed off before they rot in the pond. i don't know about you, but i don't want to get into 50 degree water for maintenance! SO, i use the handy-dandy pond plant trimmer i 'invented'! i use this thing all season and thought i'd share the instructions. 

Here is what you'll need:

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  One of those cheap plastic envelope openers you can find at office supply stores or that a lot of places give away (at least around here!)
  
  
  
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  A long sturdy stick (mine is bamboo, about 5-6 ft long, enough to reach at least halfway across the watergarden) with 2 or 3 notches cut into the end
  
  
  
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  Cable ties or 'zip' ties, the kind that lock securely. i like to use a dark color - it seems to be more resistant to the UV rays that make them brittle
  
  
  
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  A file or tool that will cut notches into the plastic letter opener - i use a pair of wire cutters, but whatever works for you
  
  
  

Cut 2 or 3 notches into the plastic - you just want to make sure it's secure and doesn't pull off and fall into the water (sharp plastic with RAZOR BLADE attached- get it? Very bad around pond liners!) i also cut off the little plastic guide piece that was near the blade - you want that a little wider by the blade

Attach the letter opener with the cable ties, making sure that you have it secured in shown direction, and that the ties fit in to the notches on both the opener AND the stick. Tighten the ties as much as you can, so that the opener feels secure and doesn't move.

Cut off the excess ends of the cable ties. 

If you can't picture how it works, here's a pic of how the cutter is placed around a lily stem.  

After you grab the stem with it, give it a sharp tug! Try to get as much stem as possible along with it. You'll get better with practice

i have become pretty good at using the flat side of the cutter to lift the leaves out, but you could just net them out as well.

One of these usually lasts me a season, and the cable ties have to be replaced periodically- check them before each use so you're sure they won't break when you're using it

Here i am using it to cut a Lotus stem (can you tell i'm really behind at my pond maintenance, too?) Yuck! Look at those skanky leaves!

Here is another 'invention'. This one works well to pull string algae out of the pond. Same principle - different tool - a toilet brush!

Speaking Of Fish....

...This is MY fish tank...

....And these are MY fish! Since i'm almost always outside in the warm months, my allegiance lies with my outdoor pets! i have Goldfish, a few Koi, a bunch of Rosy Red minnows, and Japanese Trapdoor snails (at least i think they're still in there!). i always thought that Shubunkins were just as hardy as these others, but i have never had one live through a winter (...or a season, come to think of it...). So for now, these are the residents of my "tank".

Fish: Inside And Out

                                    Male Guppies

When i was a child, i went to a county fair and won a silver goldfish in one of those  games along the midway. Thee fact that it was a SILVER goldfish was - i thought- the greatest thing (even back then i liked the unusual).. Of course, i learned later on that the silver color is the "junk" color, the color of feeder fish! But i thought it was cool! Anyway, in a few months, i had the whole shmear: the tank, the filter, some "gold" goldfish to keep the silver guy company, and it grew from there as well. i eventually had several tanks, tropical fish, plants, snails, catfish, breeding tanks, etc., and became quite the young fish expert! i especially liked the live-bearers (as opposed to egg layers), most notably Fancy tailed Guppies.

Female Guppy (...notice the EYES in her belly!)

 They came in brilliant combinations of colors, the sexes were easy to tell apart, they bred constantly, and it was fun to watch the babies grow inside of the mothers' bellies and predict when they would be born. That was some of the most interesting stuff i did during my childhood!
The funniest part about this is when i met my husband to be, he told me that HE had been into tropical fish during his younger years, and had tanks all over HIS parents' house! We now own a 72 gallon tank in our house, but it is mostly his fish - i'm more interested in my fish in our watergarden.
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