Petrichor

Petrichor

(PET-ri-kuhr) noun. The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.

[From petro- (rock), from Greek petros (stone) + ichor (the fluid that is supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology). Coined by researchers I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas.

"Petrichor, the name for the smell of rain on dry ground, is from oils given off by vegetation, absorbed onto neighboring surfaces, and released into the air after a first rain."

Matthew Bettelheim; Nature's Laboratory (Mt Shasta,Ê California) Jan 2002.

Moving Dirt

I started working on my garden. It is exciting yet difficult to start creating a new garden after the last seven years of hard work. Hard work that resulting in a wonderful garden that is open of my proudest accomplisments.

Now is time to begin again.

Strawberry

Yesterday, I ate the first fatty strawberry from my garden. Currently it looks like I will have a very nice strawberry crop! The plants are growing very tall, quickly putting out runners, and setting a huge number of berrys.

Big Gardening Day

Lots of work to do! Got to roll around in the now warm soil!

UPDATE: Planted 60 tomatoes and chili peppers. Lots of weeding, and yard keeping.

SAD: While using an electric trimmer, I cut most of the fingers off of a toads left arm.

Happy Day !

Today was Toad Day in my Garden. Two medium sized Toadies were busy hopping around!

A Happy Garden has Toads!

May 2003 Garden

Just pictures:

Gardening Time

I spent a large part of my afternoon in my garden. I planted a variety of flowers and herbs. Tended to watering and weeding, and generally had a good time. I think that this will be my best gardening year ever. It is very fun to have an established garden with many perenials already to grow on their own.

History of the Jerusalem Artichoke

I just read the convoluted history of the Jerusalem Artichoke or sunchoke or sun root.

I find it interesting that it is in fact related to sunflowers given that the Jerusalem Artichoke has a tuber, and I am not aware of any other sunflowers having tubers. Maybe I will collect and cook some of the tubers this year.

Dahlias Planted for the Full Moon

Christella Lans and I planted Dahlias in my garden this afternoon. I also planted potatoes in my new Potato Drum Mark II.

My garden is doing quite well, even if I have not been quite well enough to give it the early season attention that it needs. However, I now have a very nicely established set of perennials that do not need a great deal of attention.

Snap Dragons, Peonies, Delphiniums, Penstemon, Naked Ladies, Iris, Yarrow, Jerusalem Artichoke, Grape Hyacinth, Echinacea Purple Cone Flower, Butterfly Flower

One day

Yesterday, no sprouts

This morning, sprouts!

This evening, lots of sprouts!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, and my Birthday is tomorrow

Cold and Wet

The Winter storm patterns have begun in Grand Junction.

Of course, we are only half way through the Fall. It is strange. While the seasons officially change with the Equinox or Solstice (December 21, March 21, June 21, September 22), my perceptual or emotional idea of the seasons is rather different.

Fall - begins with the start of my grade school which was the end of August.

Winter - begins with the first wintry storm

Spring - begins with the first greening an blooming

Summer - begins with grade school getting out which for me was the middle of June. (Thus the official summer and emotional summer start are nearly the same for me.)

Taller Butterfly bush

Ideas for next years garden. I have been worried that my Butter Fly Bushes were growing rather large, this maybe the solution.

Hot Smoke

I picked and roasted about 20 pounds of peppers from my garden. About half of the peppers were roasted in a smoker to give them a wonderful hickory flavor.

Cold Snap

Ouch, it might get below freezing tonight! That seemed quick. I had to throw sheets over my tomatos.

Optical Magic

It rained. And the creator of the universe who developed the physics of both optics and atmospherics rewarded us with a magnificent rainbow. This was a wondrous rainbow fully expressing the entire beauty of this jewel of nature. The colors were brightly luminous from the full range between ultra-violet through infra-red for the entire arch of both the inner and outer bows. Inside of the arch, the sky glowed silver. My father said that as an airline pilot he had seen countless rainbows, even many which make a full circle. Yet, this was among the very best he had every been so privledged to witness. I wish that I had a wide angle lens that could have captured the rainbow in it's entirety. But then again, one can not trap the essences of a work of art on film.

Fri, 28 Jun 2002 04:08:13 GMT

Worked in my garden a fair amount this afternoon. Lots of watering.

Mon, 24 Jun 2002 03:25:19 GMT

Saturday: Finally made spaghetti pasta with the new pasta maker that my mother gave me. Fresh pasta is very nice! Its even better with a nice sauce made from tomatoes grown by a neighboring farmer and season with oregano from my garden.

Mon, 10 Jun 2002 05:10:31 GMT

Sunday: This wind has been nasty. Sustained 30 mile per hour winds for hours on end. 50 plus miles per hour of sustained gusts. My poor garden has been badly beaten due to the mechanical damage of the high winds and the rapid drying of the ground and vegetation of the this hot dry wind.

Of course, I have had it easy. Damage to the garden and an apartment full of wind blown dirt are nothing compared to the wildfires that have run through Glennwood Springs and Glade Park.