Ginkgo

Last week the weather was rather hot and the ginkgo in the berm was looking a little droopy. I don't water there much and the tree had been in that spot for three years - it was one of the first things I planted when we moved into this house. I cut up a little circle of lawn and put in the ginkgo seedling I grew from seed I harvested from a tree in our previous neighborhood. The tree thrived and grew to a height of 8 ft over the few years.
I gave the tree a nice, deep watering and went on with my life. Last night I looked out the kitchen window to see the ginkgo tilting at an angle. When I pulled it out there were no roots and just a chewed lower trunk left.

gopher damage to ginkgo

I wondered why the gophers left the tree for three years and I also wondered why hollyhocks still stood in the berm, when in years past those hollyhocks would have been long gone.
I am now accustomed to the loss of plants to gophers, and I do feel sad about the loss of this tree. It is somehow different to grow a nice tree than to buy a nice tree. I felt a certain pride in the tree. I was also excited at growing a seedling ginkgo, which creates diversity in the gene pool, unlike grafted male trees.

Ginkgo

The tree will not go to waste, the leafy branches will become mulch for the persimmon tree in the back yard and the trunk will perhaps become a bean pole or a stake for something or other. Perhaps I could fashion it into a spear with the special power to pierce the earth and get a gopher every time.

Gardening for the birds

With the gopher invasion taking down tomatoes everywhere I look, microtus helping themselves to the squash plants, right at the start of their stems, thus rendering the remainder of the plant dead, and the destruction of other various plants by other various rodents, I find myself appreciating the birds who come to the garden. This little yellow bird sat atop this blooming/seeding catnip plant and picked away at the small, black, seeds inside the seed pods, while I stood not more than 8 feet away. While I stood still, with my camera pointing in his direction, I heard a delicate rustling under the plants to my right, and when I looked that way I saw a small, furry creature and the opening to its burrow. I remained calm, so as not to interrupt the feasting bird, and made a note of where that little rodent has made its home. A spade will be dispatched to that area later. A small fig tree I grew from a cutting has had its roots eaten away, and I fear for my larger fig trees. I feel a certain vigor returning in my setting of gopher traps.

Hummingbirds have flown the nest

Today was the big day for the baby hummingbirds. Early in the afternoon I saw them practicing flight, hanging onto the nest by their toenails while whirling their wings. They took a break to sit on the edges of the nest. A while later only one bird was in the nest and I watched the other rather closely. At some point the bird started the pre-flight practicing again, and then lift-off occurred! Oh it was magical, and the bird flew to a spot about two inches away from the nest. There it sat for some time. An adult bird (not sure if it was the mother or an intruder I'd seen yesterday) came along and nudged it away from the nest. It took flight again, to sit atop the beam around which the string lights are wrapped—still not very far from the nest. It sat awhile there and then flew back to the nest. A few minutes later it whirled its wings and left for good. It was a magical moment to see that little bird take flight for the first time.

An adult bird, perhaps the mother or the intruder, started amending the nest, picking out feathers, fluffing the lining. I'm not sure if a new mother is looking to make the nest her own or if the original mother is making adjustments. It seems as if another round of babies is somewhat likely.

Here's a photo of the two earlier in the day, getting a feel for perching.

First Apricots

Yesterday and today the first two of four apricots were picked and eaten. One of the four had been tasted by birds a few weeks back, and one remains, ripening on the tree, soon to be eaten.
Peaches are filling out in size and a few, here and there, are starting to show some color. The chard is starting a new cycle, so fresh, baby leaves are ready to eat, and the arugula reseeded itself and is ready to harvest in small quantities. I lost another tomato plant to the gophers today, and of course it waited until fruit was on the plant before severing its roots. I've been tasting the black currants for a week or so now, and they are finally starting to sweeten a bit. The fall gold raspberries are done with their spring crop and have started work on their fall crop. The red raspberries are producing delicious fruit every day. Even the strawberries are putting out a few small fruits. I ate a lovely fig yesterday, from the Mission Improved tree, and all the breba Conadrias are long gone. The Conadria is looking to make an impressive late-summer crop though. One tomato plant, that got in pretty early and wasn't battered by the hail storm, has one fruit on it with a hint of color. I refuse to get my hopes up, but the gopher in the area of that tomato plant seems not to be too interested in tomatoes. Fingers are crossed. Many of the leeks have succumbed to gophers, and the top-setting onions are starting to disappear too. I've been lax in my trapping regimen, and so I pay the price. Much of the popcorn is about 18 inches high now, and some squash plants are finally spreading out. The pumpkins in the front yard have a couple of growing fruits on, and some new ones too. I just planted Alphonse Karr bamboo in the front yard. It is a clumping bamboo with beautiful green stripes on the stems. I am going to try to use the culms (stalks) as stakes once the plant gets established. Around the base of the bamboo I planted seed of popcorn and pumpkins and pole beans. It's a guild! I've started moving the alpine strawberries from the way back yard into the area nearer the house. Back to zone 1 where they thrive and belong. I'll be giving some to my friend who provided the Alphonse Karr bamboo, along with many other plants in the yard. It is very  much a friendship garden.

Well, onto the hummingbird photo.....

The babies are growing up.

View a series of photos of the mother bird arriving to feed these two babies here.