Slouching Tigers with Hidden Flagons
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The backyard fruit class was fascinating. The woman who taught it had an encyclopedic understanding of the micro-climates of the San Francisco Bay Area, and could discuss (without hesitation) which types of fruits would grow in which areas. The Bay Area has very unique topography, and weather varies dramatically over very small distances. For those interested, here's a link to websites, describing what kinds of fruit can be grown in the Bay Area.
I exercised admirable self-control, and only bought a single pluot tree, which I planted before heading out to the Chinese New Year's Treasure Hunt.
This is an incredibly fun event, held the same night as the Chinese New Year's parade. Teams have to race all over Chinatown, North Beach and Telegraph Hill. You have to figure out the locations of the clues, and then map a route that won't get too tangled up by the parade. Prizes are given for best team name (based on combining the animal of the current lunar year with film noir references and bad puns -- not surprisingly, this year had a lot of Tiger Woods team names), and best team costumes, as well as for finishing correctly and quickly.
Our team had a great time, and I think we solved all the clues. We didn't win any prizes, but we also didn't run the entire time, like some teams. It was a glorious night, really balmy, with an almost-full moon.
While I was out, Allie stopped by and gave us a generous gift of plants and seeds. She and I are both really enjoying planting the gardens at our new houses. She brought us crocosmia, as well as some irises. I got them all in the ground today, and can't wait to see how they do. Allie took some of our excess arums and some lemons, and made a request for some callas. As soon as these go dormant, I'm going to divide them up a bit.
Robb worked on his bee hives, and together, we started work on a bamboo tomato cage trellis structure. I had gotten some unwanted bamboo from some gardeners in my area, which will be put to good use for growing tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and hops.
I love Spring!
The backyard fruit class was fascinating. The woman who taught it had an encyclopedic understanding of the micro-climates of the San Francisco Bay Area, and could discuss (without hesitation) which types of fruits would grow in which areas. The Bay Area has very unique topography, and weather varies dramatically over very small distances. For those interested, here's a link to websites, describing what kinds of fruit can be grown in the Bay Area.
I exercised admirable self-control, and only bought a single pluot tree, which I planted before heading out to the Chinese New Year's Treasure Hunt.
This is an incredibly fun event, held the same night as the Chinese New Year's parade. Teams have to race all over Chinatown, North Beach and Telegraph Hill. You have to figure out the locations of the clues, and then map a route that won't get too tangled up by the parade. Prizes are given for best team name (based on combining the animal of the current lunar year with film noir references and bad puns -- not surprisingly, this year had a lot of Tiger Woods team names), and best team costumes, as well as for finishing correctly and quickly.
Our team had a great time, and I think we solved all the clues. We didn't win any prizes, but we also didn't run the entire time, like some teams. It was a glorious night, really balmy, with an almost-full moon.
While I was out, Allie stopped by and gave us a generous gift of plants and seeds. She and I are both really enjoying planting the gardens at our new houses. She brought us crocosmia, as well as some irises. I got them all in the ground today, and can't wait to see how they do. Allie took some of our excess arums and some lemons, and made a request for some callas. As soon as these go dormant, I'm going to divide them up a bit.
Robb worked on his bee hives, and together, we started work on a bamboo tomato cage trellis structure. I had gotten some unwanted bamboo from some gardeners in my area, which will be put to good use for growing tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and hops.
I love Spring!
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