flowers

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I usually go through work boots as fast as cowboys-of-old would have gone through beans and mullein.

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No idea where that analogy came from.

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http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2013/05/brains/

Most disintegrate within a year but these Timberlands just keep on going like stinky protective slippers.

This is year three and I must say, apart from some disapproving downward glances from the flamboyant mustache brigade in my local Quickie Pickie they are holding up ‘relatively’ well.

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With the leather long-worn from the toe (exposing bone), the boots pair remarkably well with a disheveled iced turban on a hot work day.

I refer to them as having ‘character’…you know…soul

(oh dear).

Smoking-GunBut the best thing about these old boots is the fine particles of decomposed granite that now waft out of the prow when feet are inserted.

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‘Smokin’ hot boots’!

Staying with bowls and beans for a moment:

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The recent rains have grown a dense mat of these “birds nest fungi”,

Cyathus striatus

 

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The nest acts as a splash cup…when raindrops hit the nest, the eggs are splashed out at a distance. If they land on a suitable medium they will grow into new fruiting bodies. These fungi usually grow on wood and mulch and are common in the fall months, (very hard to spot though).

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I did notice some subtle differences in the eggs.

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Okay, perhaps the reptile guarding this gold was a little more…

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Moving humbly Along:

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Pyracantha berries are ripening up for Halloween.

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“Yes but let me see you get a candle in there.”

Here is a silvery pairing that works really well:

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Whales tongue agave and thunder cloud sage,

Leucophyllum candidum

 

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Inland sea oats are now wearing their fall coats.

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These decorated plants transform so much throughout the year you can guess the month by looking at them.

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panning back a little:

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 Mexican firebush,

Hamelia patens

 

also starts to bloom this time of the year. This plant dies to the ground in the winter but quickly gets to 5ft by fall.

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Whatever you do do not fall asleep…

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…on my garden bench.

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This evergreen wisteria would envelop you overnight…there is a reason we no longer sit on this garden feature.

Finally:

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Some great Japanese Aralia on Trinity.

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First blooms from duranta ‘sapphire showers’ (Picotee Sky Flower)

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Bambusa multiplex ‘Fernleaf’ (one of my favorite Clumpers along with alphonse karr).

Stay Tuned For:

“Under the Knife

 

All material © 2014 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

 

“Oh Drupes!”

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“My, grandma…what a big nose you have!”

“And my, grandma, that is some serious halitosis you have going on!”

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“All the better for smelling out stinky dead things and rolling-in / eating them.”

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Oh yes with this decapitated little snake (rough earth snake, perhaps a Texas blind snake, I don’t know?)

I had them on their toes wielding dustpans…

…they were totally disturbed as I danced toward them shouting “its goin’ doon yer back…

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…and “the wee beastie is goin tae land on yer noggin’.”

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…in my really bad Billy Connolly accent.

I have never seen them move faster.

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It has been a week of odd findings.

I found three clusters of drupes at the base of this needle palm, yes I said drupes, drupes.

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Needless to say (ahem)

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I got sufficiently punished for taking this macro.

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The needles on this palm are virtually impossible to see among the debris and they are extremely sharp.

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For anyone remotely interested here is drupelet split open to reveal the kernel.

DSC07009This cypress tree contained in my pond has also set some large fruit,

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all it needs are some wings…a quidditch field, a lick of gold paint, some wizard folk on broomsticks, ability to fly…etc.

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Staying in this pond for a moment,

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this Florida native swamp lily,

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Crinum americanum


is putting on a fine show.

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Another super white bloom has taken over two other places in the patch.

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I vaguely remember collecting and planting some seeds from the datura mother-plant last fall.

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I have tried planting the seed before without much success.

But not this year. This year the story is quite different.

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I now have enough Devil’s snare to keep a small army of tribal Shamans in psychotropic trances for a very long time.

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Inland sea oats are on the turn, greens turning to browns as fall encroaches.

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I allow them to spread where they want to toward the back of my property,

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as I do with this beach vitex…at least for now.

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Finally:

How about this for an agave bloom:

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This one is the tallest I have ever seen.

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Stay Tuned For:

Pain In The Neck”

 

All material © 2014 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

 

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