Toads

“Toad in the Hole”

ESPatch Mar 12, 2010 14 comments

With the painting in the Patch almost finished, it was time I created some more work for myself, today the Eye of Sauron cast a cold gaze on this garden scene…

The scale of this Mexican weeping bamboo and the stock-tanked golden bamboo where the Tahoe hit has disturbed me for quite some time. The plants are just too tall in front of the house, what had been my thought process here? A momentary loss of sanity? Anyway, my primal Advil taking instinct told me this was going to be one tough dig! The one-ton rock you can see in front of the feeder tank has not moved since it fell off the back of the wagon that delivered my last six yards of decomposed granite, six months ago.

“Fascinating ESP, your rock strangely resembles and parallels this similar unmovable rock on Vulcan.”

I was supposed to get a bunch of rocks that weighed in at a ton, I ended up with one, yes just the one, one that I have no chance of remotely moving by myself.

It is a really cool rock though and it looks like the shape of Texas from the right angle, with one eye shut, standing on your head, etc, etc. Today I was overhauling this area. I knew that the Mexican weeping bamboo was not going to go down, or out of the ground for that matter, without a major shovel fight, it was quite established after all…

…quite established indeed. The root-ball was about four feet around and about ten feet deep, okay I exaggerate. My plan was to split this plant in half and relocate it to the back of my property. Splitting a bamboo’s root-ball seems good in theory, until you actually get into the actual splitting process.

Once again I was so happy I had a full steel shovel, nothing else would have taken the strain that I was subjecting this implement to as I worked my way around the root-ball. I could hear things snapping and popping, I just hoped it was the plants roots rather then some of my tendons.

Oh yes you had better stay rigid trusty old shovel, because a Darwin Award could be awarded to me if you snap right now! The plant moaned and groaned, and my shovel and I followed suit with an occasional “why you little…” thrown in on my part for good measure. Eventually I felt the final roots give and the beast was finally freed from the earth, it immediately started to scream and object like an unearthed mandrake root. I laid on my back looking up at the sky, seeing stars.

Next stop…the Tahoe dented stock-tank that housed my golden bamboo.

This extraction was easy in comparison.

I removed all of the soil and rocks out of the tank, then wheeled it to the back of my back garden to hunt for a relocation spot. I did have a surprise when I first moved the tank…

I found this poor pale Gulf-coast toad hunkered down, hibernating underneath it. This ‘toad in the hole’ quickly retreated deeper into his winter sanctuary at my rude disturbance. I feared for him as the ESP Witches have already hung up their nasty hessian sacks in the post oak in anticipation of the spring toad cull.

B. valliceps

has the most extensive ridging of any toad in its geographic range. The ridges extend from the nose, to the back of the head. With a branch that wraps around the back side of the eye. I placed a few strategic rocks around and over him to offer once again some semblance of privacy, I just hope it was enough.

Here are both plants transplanted into their brand new homes:

And that takes the stock-tank count up to seven in my back garden. Now if only I had a small Roman garrison to help me move that one-ton boulder at the front.

Moving on…

The Patch catching some late afternoon rays. The post oak and giant timber bamboo create some interesting shadows on the house. The Gopher plant in the foreground is in full swing right now…

I like the way the blue – silver foliage echoes the color of the Sedum reflexum ‘Blue Spruce’.

The emerging purple blooms of this mountain laurel looks great against the new green color of the house. This confirmed to me that I need to a) get some more laurels around the Patch and b) plant a large bed of Mexican bush sage at the front of house to replace the bamboos that I have just ripped up.

Finally…

These gangly chaps are all over the Patch right now, both indoors and out.

Although some people think these flies look like Texas-sized mosquitoes, they are wrongly called “mosquito hawks.” Crane flies are large tan-colored fragile flies with long legs. Adults and larvae do not feed on mosquitoes, in fact adult crane flies feed on nectar or they do not feed at all, once they become adults, these noble creatures exist only to mate and die. Crane fly larvae feed primarily on decomposing organic matter, in compost piles, they often occur on the soil surface below the pile of decaying vegetation. Adults have long slender legs which are easily broken and may be missing in some specimens.

Crane flies are a food source for many birds and many other insects and carnivores…

“Well, we love them don’t we honey?”

“We certainly do George”.

To finish on a “Ewww” note…

Giant carnivorous plant

Nepenthes Attenboroughii

A plant that just happens to reflect the new color scheme of the Patch, and a plant I could have really used when all of this rat nonsense was going on in my shed: http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2008/11/dead-in-a-shed/

Botanists have uncovered a carnivorous plant in the Philippines that is large enough to digest a whole rat. (The plant is about a meter across with these cups at the end of stalks to catch prey).

Nepenthes northiana

Here is the carnivorous pitcher plant preparing to tuck into a rat. Can you believe this? Look at the remarkable painted coloration on the lips of these cups.

“Oh no! I told him he should have become a head-chef ” Brrr… (whiskers involuntary twitch and large teeth bite upper lip, tiny limb and small ear movements).

Stewart McPherson, one of the botanists who trekked deep into the Philippine forest to make the discovery, described the plant…

“Around the mouth of the pitcher are secretions of nectar which attracts insects and small animals. The rim has lots of waxy downward-pointing ridges which help prey fall directly into the pitcher. The pitchers are half full of a liquid consisting of acids and enzymes which help break down its prey. These plants grow in really harsh areas where soil quality is very poor — often pure gravel or sand. Catching insects allows the plant to augment nutrients that it otherwise wouldn’t have access to.” … Mmmm perhaps a mass planting in the hell-strip? That would be novel!

Inspirational image of the week:

Talking about the top of a remote mountain! I have decided that this is where I want to spend my Autumn years when they arrive, a house nestled up in the trees, a Heli-drop of deli produce and beer once a month, fast internet connection, and “raised” (ahem) vegetable beds…you get the absurd picture.

“I like that place Carl”

“Me too Ellie”!

Stay Tuned for:

“Life and Death”

All material © 2010 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

"Gardening in a Furnace"

ESPatch Jun 11, 2008 0 comments

This is how I want to feel right now . . .ahhhhhh

and this is how it actually feels outside right now . . .arrrrrrgh!

Imagine wearing all your jerseys and a small convection oven
on your head. Slowly dial up the heat whilst lying on a bed of
smouldering coals for 4 Months…then keep turning up the
heating…
that is what Summer is like in Texas.
Only the hardy survive.

Needless to say, outside of watering, almost all outdoor activities in my yard have, for the time being, significantly diminished (the Mars effect). I did catch this guy cooling down under some containered lavender. He caught my attention as I dumped a rather large bucket of water on his head, he must have really liked it because I got the camera within millimeters of his face as he hung onto the edge of the container!
Is he smiling?

This picture reminds me of that incredibly irritating StarWars character Jar Jar Binks:

or maybe …

The Gulf Coast Toad is frequently seen in yards around the Austin area. Although they need some moisture, they are not as reliant on permanent water as frogs and do well in gardens, where they eat numerous insects.

Oh no, It is the Eye of Sauron! Get the eye drops imediately Sam Gamgee!

“But Mr Frodo, his eyeball is so huge and Gollum has drank the eyedrops – lets just return to the Shire for some Brandywine”.

“Can we Mr Frodo”?

This was the closest I have ever got the lens into any toad’s face – If you
look really closely you can see my hand and camera reflected in the pupil!

These Prickly Pear cacti don’t even reach for sunscreen in 100 degree weather. I have been growing this bed for 3 years, not allowing off-shoots to develop, swells the individual pads. “Why do this”?, you may ask, well, to make the individual pads large enough to carve faces into them. The cacti will “heal” around the cuts, without any harm to the plant – at least that is the theory. You can see all the acne scars where I have cut or snapped the off-shoots over the years. I am looking forward to “Carving Day” (more obligatory Lecter noises).

Prickly pear cactus represent about a dozen species of the Opuntia genus (Family Cactaceae) in the North American deserts. All have flat, fleshy pads that look like large leaves. The pads are actually modified branches or stems that serve several functions — water storage, photosynthesis and flower production.

Medic! This Banana plant on the other hand forgot to apply the SPF 50 sunscreen.

The cool silver foliage of the Pride of Barbados gives a frosty impression even when it feels like your ears are melting. I use a lot of silvers in my landscape to at least help “visually” cool down the Texas Summer.

Artemisia – ‘Powis Castle’ is one of my favorites for cooling down a scene – I lost most of the plants on the left picture due to last years unusually wet conditions. Plants tend to open up in summer and are susceptible to root rot in moist soils, particularly poorly drained ones. The whole wormwood family is remarkable for the extreme bitterness of all parts of the plant: ‘as bitter as Wormwood’ is a very Ancient proverb.
The genus is named Artemisia from Artemis, the Greek name for Diana. Now you can sleep tonight.

A quick update on my dying Agave – it has now developed hundreds of “pups”
on the “beanstalk”. My plan tomorrow is to get a hundred tiny pots, fill them
with sharp cactus potting soil, and plant the pups as they fall from the beanstalk
to the ground. I found one today already self-rooting on the ground, amazing.

The host Agave in decay, the ants are already infesting this rotting carcass.

The life on an intergalactic cruise ship was simply too much for him.
He decided to quit his entertainment career for the simple country life.
(I bring him inside every night for some well earned AC and a hot meal).