Photo(s) of the Week: The Ipatiev House in color

    Like many of the photos saved on my computer I don't remember where I found these. The four color photos depict the Ipatiev House or House of Special Purpose where the Tsar and his family were killed in 1918. The photos were likely taken sometime in the 1970's, shortly before the house was torn down.

    In gardening news a squirrel gifted me the seed of a Juglans nigra or eastern American black walnut this past Saturday. It even helpfully removed the husk so I didn't have to stain my hands brown. I planted this in the front yard, almost in a straight line from the front door. As for my cedars, the backyard tree is still green as far as I can tell, one front yard and one north side windbreak have started turning brown/yellow, the other front yard and second north side windbreak are still green but haven't grown much at all, and the third north side windbreak is not only deep green but seems to actually be growing.

    Also in the front yard are three small plants that have sprouted up. I assume they are mulberry trees but at this stage they are far too young for me to accurately identify.

    To wrap things up my potted maple is doing well although it has dropped some of its lower leaves while every last one of my cottonwoods has shriveled and died. I'm also planning on sowing my apple and cherry seeds starting this week.

Intrusive Thoughts

    A thing happened today while I was sitting in my home passing time until my shift at work began. My neighbor across the street, a young woman, happened to walk around the front of her house with her two dogs. A completely innocent, harmless act. And yet a thought popped into my head. Of her. Of her husband (or partner, I don't know if they're married). Of them being intimate together. This made me angry. Not at her, or them, or anyone or anything in particular, just a general anger and resentment. It wasn't the first time I've felt this, just the most recent.

    I don't know if it's because I'm a 31 year old kissless virgin or not. This feeling was overwhelming when I was in college. It could be that since I am an only child I'm feeling the pressure to produce grandkids for my parents. A few years ago I began to wonder if I really wanted a girlfriend/wife or if it was just my parents' expectations rattling around in my head. I manage to suppress those feelings for the most part but they still pop up from time to time.

    Anyway, I'm going to make a short post tomorrow updating my gardening adventures as well as the photo of the week.

Photo of the Week: The Little Pair

Tree-mania

    I've recently become obsessed with planting and growing trees. I want them for fruit, for shade, and for windbreaks. I'm trying to cultivate a diverse 'forest' but locating seeds or seedlings from anything other than mulberries and cedars is difficult. I pulled what I think is a maple that was growing in a crack in the pavement near the shipping dock at my place of employment and put it in a pot.

    It's been about a week and it seems to be surviving. I hope to transplant it outside next spring. I also pulled up three small plants again growing in the pavement at work. I think they're cottonwoods or aspens but I'm less sure than the maple.

    Unfortunately when I got them home I immediately put them in direct sunlight outdoors and they have since shriveled up and died.

    Today I tried my hand at cuttings. I took two mulberries, one small and one big, and a mystery plant whose leaves and stem resemble a branch from the crabapple in my backyard. I put the small mulberry in a cup of water and placed it on my dining room table. The large mulberry and mystery plant are in a jug of water sitting on a patio table outside. Time will tell if they survive and root.

    Later this year I plan to walk around my town collecting seeds from various trees, primarily oak acorns and sycamore seeds. I know of two locations in my town where there are sycamores and there should be plenty of oaks in the town parks.

Hope

 

Photo of the Week: Imperial Facepalm

All of their reactions are great but Anastasia's facepalm takes it. Almost set this as my desktop background.

 

Portrait of Grand Duchesses Anastasia and Maria Nikolaevna

 

A miniature portrait of Grand Duchesses Anastasia and Maria Nikolaevna. Google tells me this was part of a Faberge egg but I can't find any solid confirmation of this. I also thought the Maria portion of the portrait was based off this pic:

Source: Klimbim on Flickr

but that assumption appears to be wrong.

Alcohol consumption linked to nearly 750,000 cancer cases in 2020, new study says

 

"Alcohol is an irritant. It irritates the lining of our mouth, of our throat, of our stomach." Even moderate consumption opens the door to cancer.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alcohol-cancer-cases-2020-study/

Eastern red cedar seedlings

    As promised in my last post here are some pictures of my chosen Juniperus virginiana. Absent are two more that have started turning yellow, one the got uprooted during a strong storm Friday night, and one that appears to have been snipped by a rabbit.

Backyard tree

Front yard #1

Front yard #2

North side windbreak #1

North side windbreak #2

North side windbreak #3

Plenty of backup seedlings

Growing cedar, cherry, and apple trees

    Recently I have taken up an interest in growing trees. My house currently has only one crabapple tree, located in the backyard. I have tried in years before to grow trees but this year is my first major undertaking. To this end I have transplanted ten cedar saplings that were growing round one of my downspouts. I planted six in the front yard, three on the north side of the driveway (with the explicit intent of preventing snowdrifts during winter), and one in the backyard garden. My transplant method was little more than scooping them out with a garden trowel and depositing them in the selected location where I simply slammed the trowel into the ground and opened a small hole.

    The last time I was able to check them (thank you 12-hour work shifts) only one was turning yellow, perhaps not a coincidence that it was also the smallest of the bunch. I also possess seven apple seeds and eighteen cherry pits. I plan on planting the apples in the backyard and the cherries in the front yard, with three cherries to be planted in the verge (the area between the sidewalk and the street).

    I'll take pictures of them this weekend and post them here, assuming more haven't begun to die since I was last able to water them on Tuesday.

    I've also considered letting one or more of the mulberries that the birds "leave" everywhere grow although I'm not sure what my neighbors will think.