Studiology

Still April

On the last day of a busy month, there is much to share. In a wide space in a trickle of a creek on the farm I found some interesting squiggly things in early April. They turned out to be American toad embryos, strung out in a long flesh-like tube that looked like intestines. They have since  turned into tadpoles and I have banned all 4wheelers from crossing the creek. The toads will populate the woods, oh joy, oh joy!

They can camouflage themselves so well, just this morning I almost stepped on an adult as she huddled, maybe waking up from a winter slumber.

The stealth cams are still recording the comings and goings of wildlife. A coyote sat in front of one for a full hour one night, maybe watching a tree directly ahead that houses something, I think racoon or possum. 

The turkeys were still traveling in groups but are probably separated into mating pairs now. 

My garden maintenance is in full swing and has been for over a month. Last year's rains boosted many plants and we are seeing incredible bloom in the gardens. It has been a heavenly spring!

A trip to my daughters house for Easter revealed a forest of pawpaw trees, all in flower, they had no idea there were so many and the grandkids had their first pawpaw tasting last summer as they gathered them creekside. The pawpaw tree has also been aided by the unusually wet year of 2018, so it may be a record year for fruit.

Little Junebug will turn 2 next week and she is such a precious little granddaughter. With our last visit she dressed as a veterinarian and tried to put a cloth mask on Duke's face. 

He's patient, kind and gentle, but not so sure about the practicality of a mask for the dog.

There have been frantic times in the studio creating pieces to put in the gallery in Occoquan. There are a few reveals but I will save that for May, which I hope is calmer. 

 

The Land of Oz

Today was green. Right now the green is rich, luscious and soft, take it in and breath it deep, because it's lovely and fleeting. 

In a week it might be a different, not the green of Oz, but the green of olives and pesto. 

Tomato Time

Back in the days of the plant farm, there was a field in the back that was home to tomato plants. Leftover plants from spring sales ended up here; we picked and sold all summer. There was little in the way of urgency in our field patch, it was another stream of income and a source for tomatoes for us as well, although we had a large garden with special varieties at home too.

In summer there would be a tomato tasting party. Fruit from home, our employee’s garden patches, and our own field grown plants became the reason to gather and rank the best of the best we had to offer. A necessary practice in the scheme of things, this would decide what tomatoes to drop from our ever growing seed list to make room for others.

For our tasting parties, sliced tomatoes would be placed on plates, the names hidden underneath; this was a non-biased way to find the best red, yellow, cherry, etc. Among our favorites were 'Brandywine', 'Kellogg's Breakfast', Cherokee Purple', 'Black Krim', and 'Sun Gold'. Most of these are labeled heirlooms, passed down from family to family or open pollinated varieties introduced before 1940, which pre-dates the modern hybrid era. Often thin skinned, easily bruised, but delicious in varied ways, one of my employees confessed that she didn't even like tomatoes before our tasting parties.

Fast forward to 2019, I was intrigued by podcast coverage of a new book titled "Epic Tomatoes" by Craig LeHoullier last summer and began following him on various social media platforms. He is the current "Tomato Man", with his own breeding program and a desire to introduce dwarf heirloom varieties. Both 'Black Krim' and 'Cherokee Purple' were named by Craig, the seed sent to him, the man that wants to prove that heirloom tomatoes are not difficult to grow or less productive.

His garden or driveway of containerized plants is located in Raleigh, NC. He uses straw bales and two to five gallon containers for all of his plants. Hundreds of plants are evaluated each year; he keeps a running spreadsheet on growth, color, taste, yields and weight of fruit. His book grades the flavor of 73 varieties with grades of A to B-.

As his spring list of available plants was sent, my plotting began. This tomato venture had to include a drive to Raleigh, NC since he doesn't ship. My choices were based on my desire for sweetness in tomato taste, but it was hard to ignore his ten favorites. I was also keen on trying dwarf plants, especially if they were heirlooms. And so the great tomato caper went, up early to beat traffic (the Saturday before Easter), I made great time and had a delightful time talking tomatoes with Craig. Six plants were added to my purchase as I am now part of his testing of new hybrids, unnamed plants to report on and send seed of.

Twenty-five plants later and a very long drive home, I am now planning on how to stake them and keep them labeled, which is not as easy as it sounds. I am already regretting a few that I didn’t pick up, but there’s always next year, and the year after, and... 

Daffodils

First off, my daffodils are amazing. I splurged on a few newbies last year and I have been very patient, or so it seems, because I have watched them from the moment they sprouted. One purchase was truly a splurge because it is not very perennial, to really and truly have it from year to year, you almost have to buy it like that. It's one of the orange cupped types, maybe it thrives somewhere in the world, but not here. Many years ago I would plant this daffodil every year and take time to admire it, unlike the passing glance at Daffodil 'King Alfred' or  'Tete A Tete'. It's name is 'Ambergate', with a large orange cup and orange petals that remind me of crepe paper or aged cloth, in an antique way.

I also purchased Daffodil 'Altun Ha', one I have raved about but never owned. A very large, very pale yellow beauty, that shines like a beacon in the garden.

Lastly is the well known Daffodil 'Pipit' which blooms longer because each stem has multiple flowers and each bulb carries multiple flower stems. Especially fragrant, it's a dainty daffodil, often referred to as a jonquil. The softness of the color is great for partnering, think blue brunnera, grape hyacinths, or the creeping veronicas. 

The Upperville Daffodil Show was held 2 days ago, and for the first time that I can remember, the timing was perfect. Most years it's too late or too early and they rely on daffodils from Philadelphia or Richmond. So I made it a priority to go, spending 2 hours in Buchanan Hall, taking photographs of my favorites. My camera is a new Nikon, the full frame, mirrorless Z6. I've been shooting with it since last November. The camera is built on a digital platform, rather than converting the film format or concept, it's more like a fancy, fancy smartphone with detachable lenses. I took lots of photographs but once home there were none. I will add that I had taken photographs of my own daffodils in the meantime. 

As it turns out, the camera will take photographs without a card. It will not tell you it's doing that, but it will let you continue as if nothing was awry. The images are then kept as "demo" and can be accessed through the camera, as long as you have not turned it off. My older cameras will not let you take a photograph without a card, most won't! And yes this is a rant. So I have nothing from the show, but it was beautiful.