Praising the Pansies this Year

Most of my landscaping plant budget is spent on perennials. They come back year after year, and frequently supply offspring to give to my gardening friends.

There is one type of annual that is well worth the investment, however. Each Fall, I get a couple of flats of pansies. They provide cheerful blooms as the weather turns cold. Often, blooms persist in winter snow and revive again in Spring.

This year I was treated with a spectacular display in early Summer. No other flowers were blooming after the iris and before the peonies so the pansies filled that gap with a gorgeous yellow burst of color that brought smiles to anyone glancing at the front steps.

Although we're still in Summer, let us all remember to get our pansies this Fall. I will tweet a reminder so follow me @gopamnc.

Introducing New Blog : Gluten Free Products Review

Back in July 2012, I started blogging about cooking and eating Gluten Free on the Garden Lady blog. 

There is an increasing number of new gluten free products on the market. This new blog will be dedicated entirely to product review.

Some Garden Lady posts will be paraphrased into the new blog, and, going forward, the gluten free topic will only be addressed there.

If you have an interest in the Gluten Free topic, please take a look at Gluten Free Products Review.

Worx Grass Trimmer and Edger Is a Terrific Tool

I've never endorsed lawn equipment before, but it occurred to me that I have a product worth writing about. I received the Worx grass trimmer as a gift 4 years ago. It's lightweight and recharges easily.

I use it to trim around bushes and stumps, and along sidewalks. A charge lasts over an hour, and I'm usually ready to stop before the battery quits.

The 18 volt lithium battery doesn't have the battery memory issues. That means you can recharge it once you're done using it rather than wait until the battery is completely depleted. (The current model has an 20 volt battery.)

Restringing the Worx is easy with the (optional) preloaded cartridges. Just pop in a new one when the string runs out.

I recommended the Worx to my neighbor. She thanked me the other day after enjoying hers for over a year. That reminded me to post a blog about this terrific trimmer.

Below is a 2-minute manufacturer's video about the latest model Worx Trimmer.

Burrowing Crayfish: What's that mud hill near the ditch?

Burrowing Crayfish Mud Chimney

The Burrowing Crayfish creates mud columns or chimneys alongside ditches or in low-lying wet ground. The stack is formed as the crayfish pushes mud out of it's habitat tunnel. The chimneys near my home are along a ditch that ranges from a shallow mud puddle to a 2-foot deep creek. The crayfish live in underground water pools and mud. They are rarely seen because they are nocturnal. 

The Southeastern United States has over 300 crayfish species.

This 4-minute video shows a scientist catching a burrowing crayfish. At the end of the video, you get a good look at the crayfish.

Sources:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=665N7MKI5mM&autoplay=1&app=desktop

N.C. Cooperative Extension
 http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Ornamentals_and_Turf/lawn/note126/note126.html

N.C. Museum of Science
http://naturalsciences.org/research-collections/research-specialties/invertebrates/john-cooper

University of Illinois Extension http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=56

UNC Charlotte Publication
http://ui.uncc.edu/story/crayfish-streams-north-carolina-fishing

Eastern Phoebe Nest with Video

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe at Birdbath

I've always admired the Eastern Phoebe with its dark cap, white breast, and flicking tail. Imagine how thrilled I was to discover a nest on a gutter elbow under the roof of my home.

Phoebe nests are built with mud and vegetation. This nest utilized the abundance of moss in the yard.

Phoebe nest on gutter

The nesting pair communicates with short chirps. Even though it was 30 feet in the air, they did not approach the nest while I was observing. There appear to be 4-5 chicks.

Below is a 1 1/2 minute video showing the nesting phoebes being fed by their parents.

If you are watching from an iPad or other device, this video can be viewed here.

Phoebes are members of the flycatcher family. Their appetites for insects are welcome in this neighborhood.

The phoebe can also be heard making a wolf whistle. I have a lot of fun answering the whistle of  a bird at the end of my street.

In a previous post I've remarked on the distinctive call of the bird (fee-bee). A recording is available at that post. I have read that call is strictly for mating, and ceases once the bird finds a mate. As I’m writing, I can hear “fee-bee” so I suspect that’s not true.

Phoebe flies in to feed young

Parent Phoebe at nest

Carolina Wren: Another unusual location for a nest (video added)

Carolina Wren Nest Inside Topsy Turvy

I've written in previous posts about the Carolina Wren nesting in a milk jug and in a golf cart. This year, we found a nest in a retired Topsy Turvy. The Topsy Turvy is a hanging planter for tomatoes. We stored ours in the greenhouse. Leave it to the Carolina Wren to repurpose!

Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter

 I photographed the inside of the Topsy Turvy using my new Canon EOS Rebel T3i . I aimed the camera into the top of the tube, and swiveled the pop-out viewfinder so I could see the camera's view. This is a really nice feature!

                                                                       

Here's a 30 second video of a wren taking a bath on the deck.

Hummingbirds are back!(Video Included)

If you haven't put your hummingbird feeder out, now is the time to do it.

In North Carolina, the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds return from Central America and Mexico in April. It's May 7th and I've seen hummers around my azaleas and deck feeder.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding from Butterfly Bush

Video showing Hummingbird Feeder activity

Hummingbirds are carnivores and devour insects. The nectar fuels their flying and is not their sole source of food.

Some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds winter along the Gulf of Mexico. There is even a small band that remains on the Outer Banks of North Carolina over winter. Since I live in North Carolina, I would love to hear more about this anomaly.

I found this website to be a good source of information on the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

                                                                         

New book to come: How to Cook Spaghetti Squash(And Grow It Too!)

I am behind on my blog posts because I am finishing my book, How to Cook Spaghetti Squash (And Grow It Too!). It will be offered in paperback and e-book formats at Amazon.com. I will add a link to the Amazon page soon. Book Link: http://amzn.to/1fIftj8

Franklin County Tree Giveaway Serves 50 Families

Franklin County Master Gardener

In celebration of Arbor Day, free seedlings were offered Saturday (March 15) morning to residents willing to brave the chill.

Crape myrtle, persimmon, flowering dogwood, white oak, willow oak, loblolly pine and southern crabapple were available.

Master Gardeners of Franklin County provided planting instructions, soil test kits, and other pamphlets on gardening topics.

tree giveaway at Farmer's Market shelter

Sponsors of the giveaway were:  North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Franklin County Soil and Water District, Franklin County Forestry Service, Novozymes North America Inc., and Pruitt Lumber Company.

100's of trees for giveaway

Reasonably Priced and Tasty: Glutino Gluten Free Bread

Glutino Gluten Free bread is blended from potato, corn, and rice ingredients, and is a tasty wheat-free bread alternative. It's available in white and multigrain varieties. It is also dairy free.

I have found it's a little drier than the gluten varieties and address this with extra condiments. 

My son thought the bread was too crumbly for his packed lunch so we solved that by toasting the bread prior to sandwich making.

I'm fortunate that my local Food Lion offers this bread for $2 a loaf less than the other brands.

Thanks Glutino!

Gluten Free Nature's Path Granola Bars: I can't keep them in stock!

Nature's Path Organic Gluten Free Chewy Granola Bars are so delicious that I can't keep them stocked in my pantry. The kids like the Dark Chocolate Chip which I found at Super Target. The price is in line with regular granola bars.


Features:

• gluten free
• chocolate
• reasonably priced

Bonus Features:

• organic
• fair trade chocolate
• non-gmo
• product of USA

Update: This product is no longer available at stores in my area.  I've found it's easy and economical to order from the Nature's Path online store.

Gluten free Heartland Pasta is a very tasty alternative to Wheat Pasta!

Heartland Gluten Free Pasta

TASTE

I discovered the Heartland brand of gluten free pasta at Wal-mart. The pasta is available in spaghetti and fusilli styles. It's a combination of rice and corn which gives it a nice taste and texture.

PREPARATION

I found it necessary to add 2 minutes to the maximum cook time for both pastas.

Recap:

• Gluten free pasta
• Inexpensive at Walmart
• A corn and rice blend

Growing Asparagus

We love eating asparagus, and have always wanted to try our hand at growing it. We've heard that it takes many years to harvest, but,when we came across some inexpensive crowns at Walmart, we decided to plant asparagus for the first time.

Guidelines came with the crowns, and the video below was helpful.

Dig a trench, add composted material, and place the crowns on top of furrows about a foot from each other. Cover with 2-3 inches of soil. Once the plants start emerging, cover again, and repeat this process until the trench is filled.

Here's a 2 minute video on preparing an asparagus bed.

If you are viewing on an iPad or iPhone the video can be accessed here.

An update on the asparagus garden is available here.

The Great Backyard Birdcount 2014 is on!!

This year's bird count started on February 14 and ends February 17. Here's a video of my counting adventure today.

More information on the GBBC can be found at this link.

This video was created with Animoto using photos and videos. I learned about this program in a social media class.
 
Advertising on this blog supports my writing. By clicking an ad, you are under no obligation to buy. If you see an advertisement of interest, please click.

Ronzoni Gluten Free Pasta

This gluten free, rice and corn pasta is delicious. I boiled until tender (taste test) which was about 3 minutes beyond the recommended cook time. As instructed, I rinsed the pasta with warm water before seasoning with margarine and cheese. The kids liked it, and preferred it to the all corn variety. 

Other gluten free posts:

Gluten free Brownies
Gluten free Workshop

Gluten Free Brownies by Betty Crocker

I've written previously about a Gluten Free workshop. There are a lot of new products and I've decided to review the products as I use them.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies are easy to make. I've substituted olive oil for the butter with excellent results. When using a 11" x 7" glass dish to bake the brownies, I found they needed 10-15 minutes extra baking time. In general, most gluten free products seem to take 10 minutes longer to cook than the printed instructions.

The results are a chewy chocolaty brownie. Delicious! No complaints from the kids.

Brownie Batter in Pan 

Raccoon Raids Compost Bin (Link to Video)

This compost bin has ventilation holes on the side. Over the years, a creature has pulled bin contents through those holes. Thanks to a motion-activated camera, the identity of the compost bin-raiding creature is now known.

I had trouble uploading the video, so here's a link to the You-tube location:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YojLHOh9qLQ

What to do with all these leaves?

Fall is here and leaves are everywhere. The variety of shapes and colors is amazing. There’s an inspiring children’s book called Look What I Did with a Leaf by Morteza Sohi. The book describes how to make pictures with a variety of leaves. 

I used old books to flatten my leaves and mounted them on card stock. Below are photos of my leaf artwork.

A leaf project could be used to teach art as well as leaf identification.  I found working with leaves very relaxing. 

The cow is one of my favorites.  The head is made from a Tulip Poplar leaf. (I optimized the photo for quicker web page loading, and lost some color depth in the image.)

The narrow leaves on the butterfly are from a Willow Oak. The dark dots were punched from a leaf.

This aquarium scene has an oak leaf representing seaweed in the bottom right. Remember that White Oaks have rounded lobes and Red Oaks are pointed.

This parrot is perched on a branch made with fern leaves.

The body of the owl is a Birch leaf.

A Ginkgo leaf makes a nice tail on this fish. I laminated the scene on a small piece of card stock and hung it as part of a mobile.

NC State Fair Entry

The theme of the 2013 graphic contest is "A Healthy Forest is a Happy Forest." Below is my entry.

Ghoulish encounter between mole and snake (video)

Just in time for Halloween scariness, I spotted a small snake writhing in the yard. Upon closer inspection, I found a mole attacking the snake. The mole must have thought he had stumbled across the biggest “earthworm” ever!

I've loaded two videos showing the struggle.

Great Information at Gluten-free Workshop

Did you know that body lotion can contain gluten? That’s one of many interesting facts I learned at the “Learn to live gluten free” workshop at Novant Health Franklin Medical Center in Louisburg, N.C.

Some people have celiac disease which causes an immune response to gluten, and breaks down the microvilli in their stomach lining. If you have stomach discomfort and suspect you could have celiac disease, it is best to be tested before eliminating gluten. The tests are unreliable once gluten has been removed from your diet. It is estimated that 97% of Americans with celiac disease are not diagnosed.

Gluten is found in a class of grains that includes wheat, barley, and rye. Grains like oats are often contaminated with the gluten protein during processing so they need to be avoided as well.

Less obvious gluten sources found on ingredient labels are malt, modified food starch (unless corn is specified), caramel coloring (soft drinks), and citric acid (the imports have gluten). When “natural flavor” is listed, gluten cannot be ruled out.

Some lesser known gluten-containing foods are taco seasoning mix, coated French fries, couscous, and turkey (some are basted with gluten containing solution).

Fruits and vegetables are good sources of gluten-free nutrition. I have previous posts with gluten-free peach cobbler and eggplant recipes.

Interesting gluten-free websites:

www.glutenfreely.com

www.gluten.net

http://www.celiac.org/

Thanks to the organizers and presenters of the gluten free workshop: Julie Kephart, Lori Peele MD, Sasha Dunbar, and Susan White. Thanks also to Chef Bobby for preparing the delicious gluten free luncheon.

Russeting of Tomatoes

About 10% of my tomatoes have hard, brown patches on the surface. This is called russeting, and is caused by a number of factors. It is a well-known problem with greenhouse-grown tomatoes.

An expert has told me there are many factors that can cause russeting. I've been unable to find a list, but will update the post when more information is available.

In the meantime, know that if you have tomatoes that look like this,the problem can be identified as russeting.

Gluten Free Eggplant with Garlic Sauce (Includes Video)

Eggplant

This is a delicious way to prepare eggplant. We grow our own, and eggplant prepared this way can be frozen and eaten later.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
about 8 small eggplants
2/3 cup gluten-free soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic

Directions:

Peel eggplant and cube. 

Diced Eggplant

Cover bottom of large non-stick saucepan with olive oil.

Use medium heat to warm oil. When test piece of eggplant starts cooking, add the diced eggplant.

Sprinkle with salt and cover. Stir frequently. If pan seems dry, add more olive oil.

When eggplant becomes soft, add soy sauce and sugar.

Stir and continue cooking. Leave lid off now to reduce the sauce. Add minced garlic to taste.

This is delicious served with rice or by itself. You can garnish with sesame seeds or green onions.

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

Below is an 8 minute video demonstrating this recipe. Enjoy!