Tales from a Missing Naturalist

I see that my last blog was April 6 and maybe some of you were wondering what happened to our talkative naturalist: probably too many things to include in one blog.

First of all, it is spring in Texas, early summer actually, and all gardening needs to take place now. For the first time ever since I've lived here we have had a ton of rain, creating a spectacular wildflower display. Of course, along with the profusion of wildflowers comes a profusion of weeds.  I know, I know, there are no such things as weeds, only plants growing where we don’t want them!

I reserve my ire primarily for those that sting, prick or cling to my dog. Today I have to give my hand and arm a rest from two days of pulling the offenders out. Plants like Malta Star thistle that hurts long after you have removed it, stinging nettles, some other plant that appears to be in the carrot family from the look of the leaves but rather than producing carrots, produces the zillion black “stick tights” that can coat a dog or a pair of shoelaces with hitchhiking seeds in a nanosecond! 

I know I've moaned about the burr clover but at least it has a softer burr and lately I have noticed many ladybugs on it so it can’t bee all bad!

Our yard has plenty of plants wanting my attention already but it is hard to resist the “babies” in the nursery. Even my husband, never known for his shopping excess, goes a little nuts buying fruit trees. They are much easier to buy than they are to plant. If you have read this blog for a while or if you live in the Southwest, you know that your most important gardening tool is a pick ax and, not that we have one, but a back brace wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

 He has had to remove tabletop size boulders simply to plant a 4” potted plant! So, reason number one for not blogging, is an overload of yard work.

 

Reason number two is an overload of volunteer work in the spring. I love teaching at the nature center and it's in full gear from February to May. I could work there every day if I chose to. It's also the month of Earth Day, which brings its own round of weekend activities and teaching requests.

However, the biggest roadblock to my writing has been, can you believe it, a broken left wrist!  

 I was just barely over the fractured leg! Incredible, but before you jump to the conclusion that I am a poster child for osteoporosis, I will point out that both the tibia and the wrist are some of the most common breaks, no matter what your age. The wrist was my own fault though, for ridiculous extrovert that I am, I want to teach the kids everything I know and to keep from wasting time, I often walk backwards pointing out things as I go along. Usually, I ask them to tell me if I am going to walk into something, but for some reason this time, I didn't.

What I walked into was a low rock wall around our lily pond.  Tumbling backwards, I put out my hand to stop me but it hit a rock and in the tradition of  “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, the rock won. As with my leg, it couldn't come at a worse time for my grandchildren arrive in five days. It's going to be wonderful having them here and really a broken arm is proving a lot easier than a broken leg. As soon as they leave, I am driving off to the University of Illinois to dog sit for two weeks while my daughters hike Machu Picchu. Then I'm to help one daughter move to West Point where she will be teaching this fall. Lots of driving with one hand but it'll be fine. My hope is that when I'm in Illinois, without a 2-acre yard to maintain or volunteer jobs to go to, I will finally catch up with all the blogs that are clogging my mind.

So, for anyone who wondered why I haven’t written lately, that's the explanation. Now back to trying to transplant some milkweed single-handed. May your May be glorious and free of any untimely injuries!