Rhododendron

Day 245: No landscaping in Washington is complete without the addition of a Rhododendron. It's our State Flower! The most recognizable native variety resembles those sold commercially in that it makes large clusters of pinkish-white to pink flowers and has the large leaves familiar to gardeners. It is often called Pacific Rhododendron or (ironically) California Rhododendron. Its scientific name, Rhododendron macrophyllum, means "Rhododendron with large leaves" (d'uh!). However, at least four other Rhododendrons occur in the state. R. albiflorum looks like a blueberry bush, and bears its greenish-white flowers singly or in small clusters; R. groenlandicum and R. columbianum are small and shrubby, and carry heads of little white flowers above leathery leaves; R. menziesii is somewhat taller and more woody, and its flowers are bell-shaped like those of huckleberries. None of these four jumps out at the observer to say, "I am a Rhododendron." That distinction lies with our iconic State Flower which can grow up to eighteen feet tall and measure nearly as broad.

Master Meriadoc's Official Portrait

Day 244: I have yet to meet a cat who doesn't dislike the soul-stealer, and Merry is no exception. He posed for his official portrait somewhat reluctantly, and I had to do a fair bit of processing to bring him out of the shadows because I didn't dare use the flash. This is one smart young gentleman. He has already trained me in the matter of plastic spring toys. They belong in the kitchen where they can be batted about on the linoleum, not in the living room where the carpet interferes with their movement. If I throw one across the rug, he takes it in his mouth, trots like a prize stallion out into the kitchen and then begins playing with it. On the flip side, he seems to know that if I point directly at him when he's thinking about jumping up on the bathroom counter from the toilet seat, I mean "that's not a kitty place." There is a lot of give-and-take in raising a kitten and in training a mama, and the largest factor in success is patience, lots of patience. And that I have. Who else do you know who has wild birds (six species and counting) eat from their hand?

Fig Progress

Day 243: Several of the figs have increased in size by double or more since a week ago today. Yes, I do think I will have fresh figs to enjoy later on this year, unless a squirrel or raccoon finds them (and I haven't seen either varmint in some time). Desert King is a green fig, and at full size, a single fruit would fit snugly in a standard coffee mug. Juicy and sweet when picked sun-warm from the tree, they are absolutely delicious. The tree can be kept pruned back to a height which makes it easy to harvest. Mine is currently about 5' high, and I plan to let it grow another foot or so.

Master Meriadoc

Day 242: I promise not to submerge my readers in kitty photos, but I do beg your indulgence for a few. This was a major change in my life, losing Tippy so suddenly, and now my hours are dedicated to Master Meriadoc as he adjusts to his new household. We slept unexpectedly well last night, although having a cat in the "hammock" of blankets between your knees makes changing position quite a production. Merry went right to bed at lights-out, and slept in that cradle until 2:30 when he decided I needed to wake up and play. We did chase-the-fingers for half an hour (gently) and then he was happy to go back to sleep, this time curled up beside my head, and holding hands with me. It did him a world of good, because when we got up, he went immediately into Zoomie Hellcat mode and didn't slow up for five hours. When he did crash, he dropped like a rock in the chair. I picked him up, put him in my lap, and that's where we've been for the last hour or so. He is a bundle of energy, and I swear he can leap sideways without his feet ever touching the floor. What surprises me most is how well he's adjusted to his new environment, i.e., without any real break-in period at all. It is obvious that he was given a lot of love in his former home, because he is very human-oriented, following me everywhere, yowling when I'm out of sight, tangling himself in my ankles, sitting on my foot, leaping into my lap regardless of where I'm sitting. And purr? He has a motor that would do a rock crusher proud, for all that he only weighs two pounds eleven ounces.

Klingon

Day 241: UPDATE: His name is Meriadoc, Merry for short. And he's claimed the chair for his own (see below).

I am not going to have a moment's peace! For one thing, he doesn't want to let me out of his sight. For another, he's a genuine cling-on when he does settle down. He's 10 weeks old today, a Russian Blue/Manx cross with a little stubby tail and as much bounce as a truckload of frogs. And he's cranky about being confined to the bathroom for a while until he adjusts. I haven't picked out a name yet, although I have several possibilities (something Klingon maybe, in honour of his behaviour). Of course we still have some vet visits ahead of us to have a workup done, to continue his vaccines, to have him neutered. These are the drawbacks to adopting from a family as opposed to from a shelter, but when I saw his picture on Craigslist, I fell in love. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go play with the baby.

Sack o' Strips

Day 240: I'm weaving rag rugs again after finally getting over two dozen t-shirts washed and cut into one-inch strips. I wanted to do them all so that I would have the broadest selection of colours to draw from, and I realized I was going to have to find a better way of randomizing them than jumbling them all up together on the floor and then stuffing them into a 5-gallon bucket. I hit upon the idea of tossing them into the dryer, and it worked beautifully except for the fact that they're rather tangled up on themselves. That said, I always stretch each strip before I weave it. Pulling them free from the snake's-nest accomplishes that part of the job quite well. Each rug takes about a pound and a quarter when the strips are cut this size. I haven't weighed the bag, but I've already got one completed rug on the roller, and I've barely made a dent in the supply.

Geum Macrophyllum

Day 239: Although common along roadsides and in ditches, Geum macrophyllum (Large-leaved Avens) is not a weed in the sense of "introduced species." It is native to the Pacific Northwest and can be found from sea level to the subalpine zone in locations where there is sufficient moisture. Its leaves and stems are somewhat prickly to the touch, and can grow to heights of over two feet. Its achenes (fruits which do not open to release the seed) are hooked at the tips, which allows them to cling to animal fur and hikers' socks when dry and ready to fall from the plant. Although its flowers resemble those of buttercups, the species are unrelated.