January 07, 2022

Melissa has been texting me in bed lately about the birds that have been hitting my feeders early in the morning.  By the time I get up and around they are mostly gone, but I still have been able to get some shots of the smaller sparrows and wrens that frequent after the larger birds have had their fill.  This morning I was determined to catch the larger birds, but when I came to the window, they had been replaced by a flock of several hundred starlings.  A smaller flock had descended on the feeders in December but there was no food available.  Instead, they smarmed the field behind our house for a short time and quickly left.  This time the feeders had been recently filled so there was food available.  The starlings swooped in, drove the other birds out, and had their fill.

When I looked online, I found the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a very successful family of small birds that inhabit much of Europe as well as Asia, Africa, and North America.  An interesting fact on coloration is their ability to turn from spotted white to glossy and dark each year without shedding their feathers.  The new feathers grown in fall have bold white tips, giving them their spots.  By spring the tips have worn away, and the rest of the feather is dark and iridescent brown.  This color change is called “wear molt.”  Starlings are most famous for their fantastic flying displays, called murmurations, where they gather in the thousands and move across the sky in one synchronous swirling mass.  Starling murmurations are considered one of nature’s most remarkable and ethereal displays.  These displays are performed as a survival strategy that makes it more difficult to single out a bird by predators.

When the starlings invaded our feeders, Melissa tried to rap on the glass to scare them away.  This is true for many people who try and keep starlings away from their gardens and bird feeders.  The starlings will quickly consume anything available and leave nothing for other birds.  Starlings have evolved to feed in flocks, and consuming vast amounts of food in a short space of time is an advantage.  Most of our flock spent their time in the grass rather than the feeders.  Even in the cold of winter, the grass contains an ample supply of worms, larvae, beetles, and other insects, as well as seeds, grains, and nuts. Moving across the grassy field is easy for starlings as they have particularly strong legs developed for hopping. After the starlings left I refilled the feeders.

Thoughts:  The Bird Facts site suggested if you want to feed starlings you need to remember they are a soft bill species.  Soft bill seed mixes are also suitable for robins, thrushes, blackbirds, and wagtails and contain a mix of soft grains, sunflower hearts, raisins, sultanas, and mealworms.  The site warned that a flock of hungry starlings will make quick work of almost anything you put out for them.  That includes the more expensive suet or bird seed mixes that are put out.  Whether it is a swarming flock of starlings or a single marauding squirrel, I have found there is no effective way to keep them out of the feeders.  I have instead learned to enjoy the antics of these occasional visitors as part of the amazing cycle of life.  Do the work.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 06, 2022

When Melissa put some of her succulents in the ground last year it was toward the end of summer.  That meant temperatures were still warm, but not too hot to risk killing the small plants before they could get set in the ground.  Our winter was initially a mild cold, but we knew it would eventually drop below freezing.  That is why we created the back porch greenhouse and placed cover cloth over the outside beds.  The greenhouse worked great, and even though it dropped to -20F (-29C) outside the plastic and space heater never allowed the temperature to drop below 26F (-3C).  The front beds did not fair so well, and we lost most of the uncovered hen and chick and several of the covered larger agaves.  As the temps began to drop again this year, we are hoping the outside plants will fare better.

When I looked online, I found there are thousands of varieties of succulents, but it is hard to identify the exact number of species.  In botany, succulents are “plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions.”  This characteristic is not used as a scientific definition of most succulents as it can often only be an accurate characteristic at the single species level.  Erin Marino, plant expert and director of brand marketing at The Sill explains, “succulent is an umbrella term that can be attributed to any plant that has evolved adaptations to survive arid conditions [and] does not refer to any specific family of plants.”  It is also possible for non-succulents to become succulents in response to changes in their climate conditions.  The site recommended growing succulents if you do not have a green thumb as they grow better without constant monitoring.  While that may be true with a single plant, it is not the case with over 300 of the little guys.

When we built the porch greenhouse and covered the front beds last year it was a labor-intensive task.  That does not mean it was hard, but it took a long time.  I measured and cut the plastic, figured out a way to attach it to the windows, and then set it in place.  I used gromets on the outside cloth to keep it from tearing.  This did not work and caused the mesh to tear in the wind.  This year setup went better.  The outside plastic went up quickly, and we only resealed one of the seven sheets we had kept from last year.  Melissa decided to move most of the outside hen and chick and repurpose them inside, so we only covered the bed under the Chinese Elm.   I omitted the gromets, reset the stakes to keep the cloth off the plants and along with Melissa’s help had the entire bed covered in less than 20 minutes.  This was not only quicker, but the results seem much better.

Thoughts:  In the Merriam-Webster online dictionary I found, “bet·ter (adjective) 1 : higher in quality, 2 : more skillful, 3 : more attractive, appealing, effective, useful, etc.”  As I compared this to our succulents and their care, it seemed to match all three usages.  The placement of the cloth on the front bed was done with higher quality by eliminating the gromets this year.  It was done more skillfully as we laid the cloth both faster and achieved more even coverage of the plants.  Finally, the result looks more compact and attractive than it did before.  We did better.  As we continue to struggle with the lasting effects of the pandemic we need to do better.  Better when it comes to caring for others.  Better with showing compassion for those with different understandings.  Better when it comes to supporting essential workers.  Better when it involves our children.  We just need to do better.  Do the work.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 05, 2022

Over the last years Melissa and I have enjoyed the turkey sculpture made from hay bales we have encountered along the road to one of the outlet tubes we fish.  This usually arrives before Thanksgiving with a pilgrim hat and is later given a red felt hat for Christmas.  The body of the turkey is comprised of one of the large round bales and the tail feathers and neck/head or made of painted planks of wood.  I decided to take the back way to work last week and encountered another hay bale sculpture along the road.  This time it was a snowwoman painted white with a fancy hat and gloves on its stick hands.  It was even equipped with solar lights.

When I looked online, I found hay balers have been around since the late 1800’s.  This was the same time the agricultural industry was evolving through the introduction of new machines.  Before the introduction of the baler hay was stored loose in the field or the upper story of a farmer’s barn.  Both took up valuable space and the balers were a welcome invention.  Hay was taken from the field and put into the machines bale chamber by hand.  The baler was horse-driven to compress the hay until it reached the right size, then twine or wire was wrapped around the bale and tied.  Steam engines took over from the horse and then the internal combustion tractor replaced the steam engine.  In the 1930’s, balers were attached to tractors, allowing them to pick the hay up from the ground.  Thirty years later, hydraulics allowed the introduction of the large round baler.  The most popular baler on the market today is the round hay baler which produced the two bales that made up the snowwoman.

Today the small rectangular bales that once prevailed are primarily used on small acreages where large equipment is impractical.  These bales are about 15 x 18 x 40 inches (38 x 46 x 102 cm) and are wrapped with two strands of knotted twine.  The bales are light enough for one person to handle, or about 60 pounds (27 kg) but with more pressure can be up to 100 pounds (45.5 kg).  The round baling machine produces bales that are approximately 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in diameter, 2 meters (6.6 feet) long, and weighed about 270 kilograms (600 pounds) after they are dried.  The other form of today’s bales are the large square baler developed in 1978.  This produces bales that can be easily transported and stacked.  Depending upon the baler, these bales can weigh from 1,000 to 2,200 pounds (450 to 1,000 kg) for a 3 x 3 x 9 foot bale (0.91 x 0.91 x 2.74 meter), or 3 x 4 x 9 foot (0.91 x 1.22 x 2.74 meter) bale.  These bales are wrapped with 4-6 strings to maintain the bale’s shape.  Both are too big for one person to move.

Thoughts:  One of my memories in high school was bucking bales on my grandfather’s farm.  While most of his energy went toward growing wheat, he also ran cattle on pastures where wheat would not grow.  The hay was pressed into small bales and then two of his sons would supervise the grandsons as we moved the bales from the field to the trailer, and then to the loft of the barns for storage.  I recall the comradery we enjoyed sweating in the heat as we worked, joked, and told stories about life.  That is harder to find as one person on a tractor now moves the round or large bales around the farm.  As our world become increasingly mechanized and digitized, we can still find ways to create community.  All it takes is a willingness to create comradery by sharing a part of yourself.  Do the work.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 04, 2022

While compiling my bird list for 2021 I came across another way for birders to track the birds they have identified called a life list.  A life list is a cumulative record of the bird species an individual birder successfully identifies, and keeping a list is the easiest way to track which birds you have seen.  Birders often keep life lists for other reasons as well.  Some are motivated to see a greater number of species than just the same species annually.  Others keep the life list as a source of prestige that comes from having higher count numbers than another birder.  A life list can even be submitted to some birding organizations for recognition or for contest purposes.  For most birders, it is just fun way to list the number of bird species you have seen throughout your life.

Like the big year, a life list has guidelines, but since it is your list, you can record species any way you want.  Casual birders may record every species they see no matter what the circumstances of the sighting.  This could include an aviary or birds in a zoo as well as wild birds.  For an “official” life list to be accepted by most dedicated birders and birding organizations, birders need to follow certain guidelines.  First, the species should be positively identified through field markings or sounds.  Second, it should be ethically Observed.  That means no laws were broken and the bird was not harmed or harassed.  Third, the bird must be alive (and no eggs).  Fourth, the bird must be observed in the wild and behaving as a wild bird would act, and not as zoo or domesticated fowl would act.  Finally, the bird must be free rather than captive or restrained.  While I understand identification by bird call, it seems odd to “officially” count a bird you never see.

There are also guidelines for what birds cannot be added to your life list.  These include birds that are just different color morphs of the same species or different genders of the same bird.  Hybrids of different species or subspecies of a bird are not acceptable.  Lastly, birds identified by a band or other mark rather than through field sightings or sounds are not eligible.  For most birders, neither the big year nor the life list is a competition.  Instead, it is an enjoyable way to keep track of sightings and share and compare your lists with other birders and others.  All that said, my life list stands at 62 recorded species.  Obviously, the peacock is not included.

Thoughts:  It seems every time I hear the phrase, “It is not a competition”, it is uttered by someone who would be losing if it were.  While it is true that most of life is not a competition, it can be fun to make a competition out of many tasks.  When Melissa and I fish we always track the number of fish caught by each of us.  While I rarely win the “numbers” category, I often do “win” the biggest fish.  That is due to the different fishing techniques we use (Melissa tends to use live bait while I tend to use flies or stink bait).  When I checked the Worldometer list for the current number of covid cases in the world, I found that as of this morning we are at 293,264,764 cases with 5,468,191 deaths.  The US leads the world with 57,131,187 cases and 848,885 deaths.  It is a good thing it is not a competition.  We would not know whether we were winning or losing.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 03, 2022

As 2021 has ended I wrapped up my bird count for the year and this is my “official” report.  During my first attempt at birding during 2020 I recorded 26 different species.  I had decided for my totals I would only count those birds I was able to take photos of (not the permissible “hear or see”) so while I had identified several other species, they were not included in my count.  When I tallied my birds for last year, I found that I had exactly doubled my identifications, with 52 species.  This was due to being more purposeful in looking for birds, being willing to stop along the road to take a picture, and by increasing my ability to identify the birds I see.  All three need much more work before I become proficient.

When I looked online, I found a big year is “a personal challenge or an informal competition among birders who attempt to identify as many species of birds as possible by sight or sound, within a single calendar year and within a specific geographic area.”  This was popularized in North America, and big years are commonly done within single US states and Canadian provinces, as well as within larger areas such as the entire world, the lower 48 continental US states, or within the official American Birding Association Area (ABA).  The ABA big year record of 840 species was set by John Weigel of Australia in 2019 and the world big year record of 6,852 species was set in 2016 by Arjan Dwarshuis of Netherlands.  The 1969 foundation of the American Birding Association standardized and regulated North American Big Years, with the ABA area defined as “the 49 continental US states (excluding Hawaii), Canada, and the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, plus adjacent waters to a distance of 200 miles from land or half the distance to a neighboring country, whichever distance is less.”  Hawaii has since been added to the official ABA area.  Only 788 species to go.

Several things changed to allow my bird count to increase last year.  I received a single lens reflex (SLR) camera with a standard and attachable telephoto lens to get photos from variable distances of more birds.  I increased the number of identification tools from my two identification guides to three manual guides, along with two online guides, all augmented by two phone identification apps.  I was also given an identification course to help with bird identification.  This year at Christmas I was given another tool, a digital class on photography and how to take wildlife photos (birds!).  I realize it would be a lofty goal, but what about again doubling my identifications to 104?  What, it could happen.

Thoughts:  Traditional big year birders have drawn criticism from environmentalists for failing to consider the ecological impact of their travel.  Several birders have attempted “green”, or alternative big years to raise awareness for both birding and the environment.  One teenager and his parent’s traveled over 13,000 miles by bicycle and tallied 548 species, raising more than $25,000 for bird conservation in the process.  The first continent-wide “green year” took place in 2014, as Dorian Anderson bicycled 17,830 miles around the United States, amassing a self-powered, petroleum-free 618 species during his 365 days on America’s roads.  Dorian visited 28 states and raised $49,000 for habitat conservation.  Big years require a combination of knowledge, skill, determination, and luck.  The same could be said about outlasting the pandemic.  It takes more than just luck.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 01, 2022

During the first rainfall I encountered after moving to Arkansas I noticed several long thin worms wriggling on the driveway.  I assumed they were some sort of long worm, and probably parasitic.  Since We still had Bella, I was worried whether this could cause her problems, or even if the worm had come from her and been deposited on the grass.  When we took her to the vet, she checked out fine and got her quarterly deworming.  Studies show that prevalence of intestinal worms in dog populations can be as high as 54.3%, depending on location, and these can spread to humans.  The worms looked like a long horsehair from the mane.  They went away when the water dried up, and off my mind.  They frequently appear after rains and did so again last week.  I asked my gardener friends and they confirmed they have seen them as well, and only after a good rain.  I decided to find out what they were.

When I looked online, I found horsehair worms are insect parasites that belong to the phylum Nematomorpha (round worms), and one of the most common species of these worms in the US is Gordius robustus.  The body of the horsehair worm is extremely long and thread-like.  They are creamy to blackish in color and are frequently twisted and coiled like a discarded thread.  Not much is known about the life of horsehair worms.  The stage seen most common are adults who may appear late summer or fall in streams and ponds.  They are more commonly noticed in domestic water containers such as bird baths, swimming pools, water troughs, pet dishes, sinks, bathtubs, and toilets, but they may also be found on damp garden soil or vegetable plants after a rain.  Or in my case, on the driveway.  Despite their scary appearance, these species are not harmful.

Horsehair worms are about the size of a kite string (1/25 to 1/16 inch or 1 mm to 1.3 mm wide) and are very long (4 to 14 inches or 10 to 35.5 mm).  Amazingly, the entire horsehair worm grows and develops as a parasite inside the body cavity of large insects like crickets, grasshoppers, katydids, beetles, and cockroaches.  This internal parasite of insects does not harm humans, animals, or plants.  Because horsehair worms are parasitic, they are assumed to be beneficial in control of certain insects, but their value as a parasite is questioned as the worm does not kill its host until it matures.  The creatures are primarily of interest as one of nature’s oddities.

Thoughts:  Horsehair worms resemble hairs from horses actively moving in the water. A superstition once surrounding the species held the worms in water troughs and puddles had miraculously come to life from the long, thin hairs of a horse’s mane or tail that had fallen into the water.  The worms often squirm and twist in the water, knotting themselves into a loose, ball-like shape, resembling the “Gordian Knot,” so another name for horsehair worm is Gordian worm.  The Gordian Knot is a legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great.  It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem (untying an impossibly tangled knot) solved easily by finding an approach to the problem that renders the perceived constraints of the problem moot (“cutting the Gordian knot”).  Both superstitions surrounding the horsehair worm illustrate finding a simple solution to a complex problem.  In the same way, there is a simple solution to the complex problem of the pandemic.  Get vaccinated and wear a mask.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

December 31, 2021

It seems appropriate to provide a public service announcement as we prepare for one of the busiest celebration nights of the year.  Last year many chose to isolate during the holidays, but the vaccines have provided new confidence this year.  Contrary to Thanksgiving and Christmas where we gather around family or close friends, New Year’s Eve is the traditional time to get out and mingle with unknown crowds.  This celebration comes as the Omicron variant continues to spread around the country, meaning more people, including those who have been vaccinated, will test positive for the virus.  For many, taking a self-test or being tested at a recognized center may give more confidence to not risk spreading the virus.  The CDC tells us 74% of the US population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 63% have been fully vaccinated with the highest rates among elderly and nursing home residents.  This population will probably not be out socializing on New Year’s Eve.  Even at best, one in every three people is at risk, and as we have found with the latest variant, we all may be vulnerable.

When I watched the news this week it mentioned despite major surges and record numbers of cases, the reality is much worse.  Like many others, Melissa, and I self-tested (negative) prior to visiting family over Christmas, but many who self-test positive do not report their case and are not counted in the numbers.  I looked online at USA Facts to find out what to do if you test positive.  If you are in public or around people when you get the test news, immediately put on a mask, and isolate yourself as quickly as possible, even if you do not have symptoms.  The CDC now recommends isolating for five days if you are asymptomatic or if you do not have a fever and your other symptoms are improving.  Isolation should be followed by five days of wearing a mask when you are around people.  If you have a fever, the agency advises you to stay home until the fever ends.  That means isolate for the short term.

Over the last year I have encountered several businesses who inexplicitly closed and never said why.  While I have assumed the answer was covid, I also know that is the default answer for everything now (went on vacation and forgot to post info?).  The real question becomes, who should you tell?  You do need to contact your employer so they can follow their protocols for contact tracing when an employee tests positive.  You may also want to alert anyone you have spent significant time with over the last two days before the test or when the symptoms started.  If you took a self-test, you should also inform the local department of health.  It is not numbers; it is about accurate numbers to ensure safety.

Thoughts:  It may feel overwhelming to tell people about your positive test.  Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said “A lot of people think it’s some failure if you get infected.  This is an incredibly contagious variant.  A lot of people are going to get it.  That is not a moral failure.”  Several scientists have publicly stated there is a good chance that everyone (at least most of us), will end up contracting the virus before the pandemic is over.  That is why the vaccine is so critical.  When/if you get sick, the chance of anything more than a mild case is significantly reduced.  If you get the virus, it is safest to isolate to protect others.  Until then, we need to adhere to the guidelines for the same reason.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

December 30, 2021

When we were coming home after Christmas, we stopped at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in Tulsa.  I admit one of the reasons we eat there is because it is located next to a large outdoors supply chain where I shop for fishing supplies.  The supply store has a fishing pond next to it which allows customers to test different rod and reel or fly-fishing setups.  As we drove out of the restaurant’s parking lot it took us by the pond and I stopped as a mom and her young son scrambled across the road on their way toward an afternoon of fishing.  As usual, there were several mallard ducks wintering on the pond, along with a few white and black geese.  I initially dismissed them as Canada, but the more I looked I realized they were a new species of goose I did not have on my bird identification list.

When I looked online, I found the Chinese goose (Anser cygnoides domesticus) is a breed of domestic goose descended from the wild swan goose which originated in China.  Chinese geese are much larger in size than the wild goose, with males weighing between 11 to 22 pounds (5-10 kg) and females between 8 to 22 pounds (4-9 kg).  They often have a strongly developed basal knob on the upper side of the bill, with the knob more prominent on males than females.  It takes several months for the knob to become pronounced enough but it can be used for determining sex by the time the juveniles are 6 to 8 weeks.  The Chinese goose are a close cousin of the African goose, a heavier breed also descended from the swan goose.  The Chinese goose have two varieties: brown, like the wild swan goose, and white.  While many domestic Chinese geese have a similar body type to other breeds, the breed standard as defined in the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection call for “a slimmer, taller fowl.”

The Chinese goose is said to be the most beautiful and graceful member of the goose family.  They have long and graceful necks and are sometimes referred to as ‘Swan Goose’.  The Chinese goose was brought to the US early, and both varieties of the goose were well established in colonial times.  The breed was admitted into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection in 1874, and into the British Waterfowl Standards in 1954.  White Chinese goose have orange-colored shanks, beaks, and knobs.  The brown variety also has orange-colored shanks but it’s beaks and knobs are black or very dark green.  Both varieties have blue eyes.  The Chinese goose are not only lovely to look at but are easier to raise than many other goose breeds due to their exceptional foraging ability.  It is because of their great foraging that they have been used as a weeder goose in strawberry, tobacco, and other crops.

Thoughts:  While the Chinese goose may be a domesticated bird, the ones at the pond had obviously flown the coop (pun intended).  As I watched a pair on the shore nearby, I realized they were in process of building a nest.  Chinese geese are among the better laying breeds of goose and a female can lay 50–60 eggs over the course of the breeding season (February to June), although there are reports of Chinese geese laying up to 100 eggs during that time.  The mated pair I saw seemed to have been fooled by the warm weather into thinking spring had arrived and were preparing their nest in late December.  Breeding in the wild can be a tricky event.  If the chicks come too early, they will die in the shell from the cold or not find enough food after they hatch.  If they come too late, they risk not being mature enough to fly and will be left by the flock.  Either way, there are dire consequences when you misjudge what should be the appropriate action.  The same is true for humans.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

December 29, 2021

I was recently sent a link to the National Park Service web site addressing the use of dichotomous keys in species identification.  The sender knew I often struggled with a variety of identification tools to find what species I am blogging about.  The dichotomous key is a tool created to help scientists and the public identify objects and organisms.  Typically, a dichotomous key for identifying a particular type of object consists of a specific series of questions.  When one question is answered, the key directs the user to what question to ask next.  Dichotomous keys stress identifying species by their scientific name, as each individual species has a unique scientific name.  By contrast, common names for organisms often refer to many different species that may look like each other or share common characteristics.

When I looked the definition up online, I found the first known use of the English language word dichotomous occurred in 1752 and was used to refer to “dividing into two parts.”  The word is borrowed from the Late Latin “dichotomos,” which was borrowed from the Greek “dichótomos,”, meaning “cut in half, or divided equally.”  A dichotomous key then, is a key for the identification of organisms based on a series of choices between alternative characteristics.  The first known use of the phrase dichotomous key was 1889.  An example for using a dichotomous key in tree identification might ask whether the tree has leaves or needles.  The key then directs the user down one list of questions if the tree has leaves, and a different list of questions if it has needles.  This is like a questionnaire I just completed, where it stated, “If no, skip to question 3b.”

Dichotomous keys are useful because they allow non-expert users to identify organisms by directing them to look at known, important features.  Many people might not know how to distinguish different species of pine trees based on the arrangement of needles on a branch, but the key would be able to ask that question and give them useful information based on the result.  A dichotomous key arrives at the answer to species identification by presenting a series of questions with two possible answers.  Each answer given cuts down the list of possible candidate species by eliminating incorrect characteristics.  Dichotomous keys are useful to identify an organism as a member of a single, closely related group of organisms.  Complications may arise if multiple closely related species with similar characteristics live in the same geographic area.  Still, the key will get you closer to an identification than you were.

Thoughts:  The information on the National Park Service (NPS) site was part of a national program developed to educate children about the outdoors.  While this was online training, the NPS also offers in person education events, youth conservation corps, and young ranger internships.  This is part of the larger national education effort to train youth with skills in science, technology, engineering, and math, including computer science, collectively known as STEM/CS.  It is of growing importance to understand and solve the complex challenges of today and tomorrow, and literacy in STEM fields is essential.  This effort is designed to transcend where children live and provide access to quality learning environments.  If you do not build it, they will not come.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

December 28, 2021

While I was cleaning up my garden last week, I noticed the one of our large Clematis had become overrun by tree shoots.  I had noticed this earlier in the year, but the leaves and flowers that graced the vine obscured many of the limbs that were now exposed.  I decided it was a good time to remove the intruding tree since both the vine and the tree were dormant.  I retrieved my loppers from the garage and quickly cut the tree away.  I did notice this was not the first time the tree had been cut out, as there was an established root system that had sprouted the limbs.  I guess I need to go to the outside of the fence and dig it out before spring.  Or maybe just decide to grow a tree?

Our two clematis plants are of the Clematis President variety.  The genus name Clematis is from the Ancient Greek klematis, (“a climbing plant”) and is also translated as “twig, sprout, or tendril”.  Clematis patens is native to Japan and was introduced to Europe in 1836.  The wild clematis species (Clematis florida) is native to China but made its way into Japanese gardens by the 17th century and are the species brought to Europe from Japan.  The plant acquired several symbolic meanings during the Victorian era and was said to symbolize both mental beauty and art, as well as poverty.  The climbing varieties are valued for their ability to scramble up walls, fences, and other structures, and will grow through other plants, such as shrubs and trees.  The opposite happened with our clematis, as the tree grew through the vine.

In the American Old West, the white clematis (Clematis ligusticifolia), was called pepper vine by the early pioneers who used the seeds and the acrid leaves of as a pepper substitute.  The entire genus contains essential oils and compounds which are extremely irritating to mucous membranes and skin, and in large amounts cause internal bleeding of the digestive tract.  Native Americans used very small amounts of clematis as an effective treatment for migraine headaches and nervous disorders, as well as an effective treatment of skin infections.  Clematis has also been used to prepare a variety of remedies as an alternative medicine.  However, according to Cancer Research UK, “there is no scientific evidence to prove that flower remedies can control, cure or prevent any type of disease, including cancer.”  When has that ever stopped people from using things however they might.

Thoughts:  When I was researching the clematis vines, I found that while the vines and flowers flourish in full sun, the roots prefer to be shaded.  It was suggested the way to accomplish these opposites is to either grow a low ground cover or mulch around the vines.  Even though my vines have put out great blooms think what they could be doing.  It is said that when a researcher on sleep patterns was told that Einstein only slept four hours a night rather than the minimum of seven the response was, “Think what he could have done if he had gotten enough sleep!”  Humans tend to follow what has been suggested by others as fact, regardless of what the science may say.  I wonder where we would be if people had decided to follow the experts when the pandemic first began?  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.