Baldur

Happy Birthday to Jeff Roehl, Brian 'the Blue Meanie' Heffron, Tina Fey, Chow Yun-fat, George Strait, Rick Wakeman!!!, Tom Udall, Jimmy Snuka, Pernell Roberts, Pope John Paul II, Perry Como, Big Joe Turner, Frank Capra, Walter Gropius, Tsar Nicholas II, Matthew Brady and Omar Khayyam.

autumn

Baldur I love your new profile pic!

Baldur

Thank you autumn, it was time for a change.

sheftali52

Sheftali is also fond of the new Baldur profile pic. And how is Baldur's garden so far? Baby bok choy and other delectables???

Baldur

merci beaucoup

The only thing we're eating from the garden so far is the Asparagus.
There is no sign of the bok choi yet. What has come up from seed so far has been the lettuce, dill, French marigolds, Good King Henry (which is a very exciting addition to the garden!), wild chicory, convulvulus, morning glories, parsley and baptisia.
We have had nothing but rain here since Satyrday. The April showers arrived quite late this year.

There will be a major massacre of lunaria on the first dry day. I love it in reasonable amounts. Unfortunately there are literally thousands of seedlings across the North end of the property this year and they are inundating everything else. The population will be reduced from thousands to maybe a couple dozen.
Baldur introduced the plant to Boughbreak some 15 years ago, along with thistle, rose campion and dandelion. Can you imagine that there were no dandelions in my neighborhood? All have flourished.
Most likely, the neighbors do not realized that the dandelions first appeared as transplants into my herb garden. They are scattered across every lawn now.

All three of my butterfly bushes lost their upper branches to frost over the Winter and have been cut down to the roots. There is lots of new growth coming up. By the Fall it will look as if nothing happened to them.

My white Forsythia survived but did not flower, it is still quite small and probably just not ready yet. At first I thought it had perished, the leaves were very late in coming out.

The Hosta are doing beautifully. We have Hollyhocks that should bloom this year after not a single one came up last Spring. The whole colony of them had vanished. I saved some seed, so new babies were coddled last year.

Lupines give us trouble here, but I have a huge self seeded one along the road that is throwing nice sized buds. It should be blooming within the week. It's mother did not return, though it looked happy by the fishpond last year.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Marcedes Lewis, Eve Angel, Natalia Oreiro, London Fletcher, Psicosis, Jodi Picoult, Nicole Brown Simpson, Dick Slater, Joey Ramone, Archie Manning, Dusty Hill, Grace Jones, Andre' the Giant!!!!!, Pete Townshend, Peter Mayhew, Nora Ephron, Dick Scobee, Pat Roach!!!!!!!!!!, David Hartman, Jim Lehrer, Malcolm X, Ho Chi Minh, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Dame Nellie Melba and Jacob Jordaens.

Baldur

It's time for a musical moment here on Radio Baldur.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, by Carole King

Tonight you're mine completely,
You give your love so sweetly,
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes,
But will you love me tomorrow?

Is this a lasting treasure,
Or just a moment's pleasure,
Can I believe the magic of your sighs,
Will you still love me tomorrow?

Tonight with words unspoken,
You said that I'm the only one,
But will my heart be broken,
When the night (When the night)
Meets the morning sun.

I'd like to know that your love,
Is love I can be sure of,
So tell me now and I won't ask again,
Will you still love me tomorrow?
Will you still love me tomorrow

Dragon

Ah, we haven't had a garden update or musical moment in quite some time. I always love hearing about Boughbreak's garden. I would suggest that Baldur never let his neighbours find out about where the dandelions came from. They may never forgive him. I don't believe I've ever heard of anyone desiring them in their yard before. Everyone I've ever known has fought them vigilantly.

Dragon has wonderful news of her own! Last night my fiance and I signed the paperwork to start building a new home. The only step we have left is approval from the bank which is nearly a sure thing. We are terribly excited and are looking forward to picking out colours and deciding where things will go. We weren't planning on registering for our wedding before as our condo is already overflowing with stuff but it's all old crappy stuff so now we are going to register so as to fill our new house with some new goods.

Dragon

I'm looking forward to having a little garden of my own (though nothing close to the grandeur of Boughbreak, hehehe). Our move in date is predictd to be mid-november so there won't be any gardening until next spring, but I'm terribly excited about getting some lilies and perhaps a few herbs going, and of course some sweet peas as I now know I can grow them.

Dragon

I'm wondering how Baldur transplanted the dandelions. Did he dig some up from somewhere and plant them or collect the seeds and spread them about the yard and allow them to do their thing? I can't imagine it would take more than one plant to get a whole yard full in short order.

sheftali52

Savored Baldur's garden report, and congrats to Dragon on the new house!

Baldur

Baldur transplanted dandelions from other locations into his garden.
They are odd creatures, but I have learned something about them that apparently no one else has.
Anyone who has tried to dig dandelions out of his lawn as a method of killing them has always failed miserably. A small piece of the taproot will remain and the plant regenerates itself.
If you dig them up to transplant them however, the plants are quite cooperative. Somehow dandelions know the difference.
Get on your knees next to the plant with am empty flowerpot (it should be rather deep), a hand trowel, a small amount of garden loam and some grass seeds. Dig out the dandelion root by removing a deep divot about 5 or 6 inches in circumference. As you do this the tap root will contract itself somewhat and the entire piece can be gently lifted and transferred to the waiting pot.
Fill the hole with the replacement loam and sprinkle grass seed over the surface.
Take the potted dandelion to your herb garden and did a hole the same circumference as the root mass but a few inches deeper and tapering to a point at the bottom.
Lift the dandelion from the pot and gently pull away any grass or other plants that are clinging around its base.
The taproot will becom evident as you do this.
Hold the root in one hand and grab a handful of loam with the other.
Lower the plant into the hole and as you do so sprinkle the soil beneath it so the terminus of the root is packed in fresh soil at its base.
Continue to hold the plant as you pack more loam around it until the hole has been filled in.
Water it generouslyand arrange the leaves back into a neat sunburst pattern.
That is all there is to the process.
Dandelions are very perceptive. If you follow the beginning of this procedure in an attempt to eradicate them, having no intention of replanting them elsewhere they will staunchly resist.
The taproot will dig deeply into the soil and break off as you tug at it.

Originally I had planted a row of them in my garden. They lived there for several seasons and reseeded themselves elsewhere. To Baldur it doesn't matter if they prefer the flowerbeds to the herb garden.

The leaves are prepared by picking them from the crown of the plant.
Consensus is that you want to pick young leaves before the dandelion flowers. Supposedly these are less bitter.
I really see no difference, and since I enjoy somewhat bitter foods pick them throughout the growing season.
Wash the greens well and tear or chop them into 1" lengths
Saute' some minced garlic in olive oil in a large shallow pan. Chopped bacon can also be added if you eat such things.
When the garlic and/or bacon is cooked to your liking scatter the dandelion greens in the pan and stir them about with a wooden spoon.
Cook briefly until wilted. You may add some hot red pepper flakes at this point
Serve over pasta with grated cheese if desired and freshly cracked black pepper.
I tend to add a sprinkling of well drained boiled white beans on top.

Baldur

Dragon, also let me add my congratulations on your impending home.

I had to accumulate just about everything for my first apartment, but bought nothing new. Much came from the side of the road as I was moving in as the school season was ending. Students abandon everything on the curbside in college towns. It's a trashpicker's paradise.
Over the years I upgraded, though I still find things the same way.
Last Summer Baldur found a (reproduction) Mission oak sofa, Morris chair and footstool being tossed out.
They ended up being the new furniture in my Family Room.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Busta Rhymes, Tony Stewart, 'Road Dogg' Jesse James, Susan Cowsill, Cher!!!, Joe Cocker!!!, Jose' Mujica, Sam Etcheverry, Bud Grant, Zelmar Michelini, George Gobel, Moshe Dayan, James Stewart, William Fargo and Dolley Madison!!!

Baldur

Today I went to the garden centers with Mother, and despite the headache she caused managed to buy 3 more tomato plants for my garden.Now we have enough of them.
Last week I put in 3 San Marzano plum tomatoes. Today 1 Beefsteak, 1 Early Girl and 1 Brandywine were added.
Despite my better judgment last week some Trader Joe's Yellow Terror tomato seeds were sown directly into the bed.

Last Winter (2009-2010) Baldur bought a quart of cherry tomatoes at Trader Joe's. These were in assorted colors and were a good bargain.
One yellowish green little tomato went bad before it could get eaten.
It went out in the compost, which seemed a safe enough thing to do.
Come Spring 2 rather boisterous tomato plants sprouted at opposite ends of the garden.
Had I only known then what were were in for.
Each plant formed a many armed octopus of a bush. each arm reaching 8 or more feet in length. Then as time passed each bush got covered in a continual succession of yellow blossoms.
Eventually the fruit started. Yellow-green tomatoettes, many, many yellow-green tomatoettes, first dozens, then hundreds, eventually they were hanging like absurd bunches of grapes all over that end of the garden.
This could have been the solution to world hunger.
Except...
....They were the nastiest tasting tomato I'd ever encountered.
At first we tried to let them ripen to a full yellow color. They weren't meant for that. After several days of semi-greeness they would split open and dribble tomato guts everywhere. Even bravely tasting them at that stage was not good. They remained somewhat sour, but not enjoyably so. There was no sweetness. Basically they tasted wet, with a hint of acid.
Baldur hates to think how many of those he ate last year.
When The first frost hit we harvested thousands of these little terrors and kept them on tray in the garage to ripen.
Baldur prayed that they would rot. Instead I ate them through the month of January.
Why did I intentionally replant them this Spring?
Maybe they will cross breed with something more flavorable.
Maybe they won't sprout.

AuntieB

I think my nephew has been out in the sun too long.

clorophilla

Baldur your new look is stupefying!

mdawrcn

Funny.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Brandon Fields, Edson Buddle, Ricky Williams, Fairuza Balk!!!, The Notorious B.I.G., Dorsey Levens, Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit, Danny Lee Clark, Judge Reinhold, Mr. T !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Al Franken, Leo Sayer, Ronald Isley, Peggy Cass, Andrei Sakharov, Dennis Day, Raymond Burr, Harold Robbins!, Fats Waller!!!, Robert Montgomery, Henri Rousseau, Alexander Pope and Albrecht Durer.

mdawrcn

Comment 9022 was referring to AuntieB's comment about Baldur and I have to thank Baldur, as I have been singing "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" for about 24 hours now.