CULT:tough iris

Three cold rainy days ended about daybreak and the day dawned
surprisingly mild. Was joined at late breakfast by two goldfinches at
the feeder outside the kitchen window. They, in turn, were joined by two
housefinches and a junco (which I have always called Dominican sparrows,
because of their black mantles). A downy woodpecker showed up and
evicted the squabbling lot of them, while a chickadee looked on from the
nearby dogwood and a pair of wrens searched the crannies of the patio
for insects. Inspired by this unexpected late-November display of bird
business, I hied myself out to the yard, stripped three new seedling
beds of their black plastic, sprinkled them with Preen against the
winter weeds, then tilled it in. The black plastic has been on these
beds since June or July, and I wanted to open the earth up to winter's
moisture before I solarize the RIGHT way (with CLEAR plastic and
moisture -- thank you, Rick) next year. I found several clumps of
wiregrass alive and well, though colorless, after all those months of
darkness and drought. Apparently, there is no way to get rid of that
stuff except by spot killing with chemicals. The other surprise was an
iris rhizome turned up by the tiller -- a mother rhizome with increase,
and the increase equipped with roots and start. Well, that earns the
critter a place in the sun, to see which culled seedling has such a will
to live.

Griff Crump. along the tidal Potomac near Mount Vernon, VA, whose other
accomplishments for the day included covering the mushroom soil mound
with plastic, camo-painting a couple of parts for the blind on the duck
boat, and widening the path through the carport (which only those who
have seen the carport can appreciate). jgcrump@erols.com
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