Hey everyone--The place for the next meeting has been changed. Ben is going to do a powerpoint presentation for us, and he has secured the North Liberty Library Meeting Room for us. Meeting time is the same--7 pm--just the place is different.
Hail to the dirt! See you then!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Something ever so fascinating
Hey everybody--Here is something for all the junior scientists.
My friend, Susan, who is a dedicated gardener north of Chicago, sent me an article that a friend of hers had mailed to her. It seems this friend is a Botany chair at the University of Iowa or someplace (I will have to verify his exact title so I don't seem too ignorant or disrespectful). Of course in my usual lame attempt to be organized I put it someplace and now it's evaporated into thin air. But I can at least pass along the gist of the content, because it is truly remarkable.
The article was about plant evolution and genetics; how flowering plants evolved and the impact the "act" of flowering as a behavior had on the earth and everything that came after. In explaining this concept, the article delved into the science of plant genetics. Did you know that plants are genetically much more intricate than we are? Their genes are subject to mutation and adaptation at significantly higher rates than ours. The belief is that plants evolved to be this way for a very simple reason--they can't (for the most part) move. The junior scientist term for this is "sessile". If they are in a bad spot, they can't get up and go somewhere else. But what they can do over time is set seeds which will contain babies that have a higher rate of mutation than animate creatures do. This increases the probability that a baby with altered genetics will sprout and be able to tolerate the poor conditions, or the seeds are designed in a way that allows them to be moved to a better spot--either by birds, the wind, the fur on our dogs or our pantlegs. Plants can't physically change locations, so they compensate by changing THEMSELVES to better exploit the location they find themselves in.
Now don't get confused by the semantics here and think this is a conscious process--it's not. Plants don't stand around and say "I have a headache--I think I will mutate into a plant that grows aspirin in its head so that doesn't happen". Its more of a numbers game. When the plant reproduces, the genes get shuffled and copied into the new seeds, and the probability that the copying process will get a glitch in it that causes an innacurate copy to result in a seed is higher. So the chance of a seed having a spontaneous mutation is fairly high (the term "fairly high" is relative--one in a few thousand maybe). And in a certain number of cases, the mutation will be one that gives that particular baby an advantage, so it will thrive in the site where it happens to land and sprout. The other babies that landed in that spot will be less happy, so over time they will die out and the thriving baby will be left to rule over the space. As it reproduces, the altered gene will be copied into its babies, and they in turn will be successful. And on and on it goes; all because they don't have the ability to have a tantrum and storm out of the room.
Is there a lesson for people here too?
Just like Dorothy said--"Theres no place like home".
My friend, Susan, who is a dedicated gardener north of Chicago, sent me an article that a friend of hers had mailed to her. It seems this friend is a Botany chair at the University of Iowa or someplace (I will have to verify his exact title so I don't seem too ignorant or disrespectful). Of course in my usual lame attempt to be organized I put it someplace and now it's evaporated into thin air. But I can at least pass along the gist of the content, because it is truly remarkable.
The article was about plant evolution and genetics; how flowering plants evolved and the impact the "act" of flowering as a behavior had on the earth and everything that came after. In explaining this concept, the article delved into the science of plant genetics. Did you know that plants are genetically much more intricate than we are? Their genes are subject to mutation and adaptation at significantly higher rates than ours. The belief is that plants evolved to be this way for a very simple reason--they can't (for the most part) move. The junior scientist term for this is "sessile". If they are in a bad spot, they can't get up and go somewhere else. But what they can do over time is set seeds which will contain babies that have a higher rate of mutation than animate creatures do. This increases the probability that a baby with altered genetics will sprout and be able to tolerate the poor conditions, or the seeds are designed in a way that allows them to be moved to a better spot--either by birds, the wind, the fur on our dogs or our pantlegs. Plants can't physically change locations, so they compensate by changing THEMSELVES to better exploit the location they find themselves in.
Now don't get confused by the semantics here and think this is a conscious process--it's not. Plants don't stand around and say "I have a headache--I think I will mutate into a plant that grows aspirin in its head so that doesn't happen". Its more of a numbers game. When the plant reproduces, the genes get shuffled and copied into the new seeds, and the probability that the copying process will get a glitch in it that causes an innacurate copy to result in a seed is higher. So the chance of a seed having a spontaneous mutation is fairly high (the term "fairly high" is relative--one in a few thousand maybe). And in a certain number of cases, the mutation will be one that gives that particular baby an advantage, so it will thrive in the site where it happens to land and sprout. The other babies that landed in that spot will be less happy, so over time they will die out and the thriving baby will be left to rule over the space. As it reproduces, the altered gene will be copied into its babies, and they in turn will be successful. And on and on it goes; all because they don't have the ability to have a tantrum and storm out of the room.
Is there a lesson for people here too?
Just like Dorothy said--"Theres no place like home".
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
A perfect use for a garden
Hey everybody--last night's meeting was just terrific--and it reminded me that I wanted to post about the week before. A fellow garden club, the Iris Elm Garden Club of Winimac came to visit the garden. I sat next to Darlene Fritz, the club president, at the board meeting, and we hit it off immediately. Darlene is a wonderful down to earth person--you don't have to be around her long to KNOW she is a gardener deep in her soul. She remembered me from several years ago when Mary Ann McG and I attended a garden show in Winimac, and asked about coming to spend some time at our house. Of course they were more than welcome, so on a very fine Thursday morning, they arrived. Darlene and 4 other members spent several hours here, looking at the gardens and flowers. Then they unpacked a picnic lunch and we all ate together in front of the little house. The weather was simply perfect, the flowers were blooming beautifully and we had such a terrific visit. One of the members was Edna, who is in her 90's. I want to be Edna when I grow up. She walked most of the garden with the help of her trusty cane, and enjoyed every inch of it. Her love of gardens flowed from her like a river--she asked questions and made notes about daylily eyezones so she could pass on what she learned to the club, and told me all about her daughters, who it sounds like were also passionate gardeners. Meeting Edna was a vivid reminder of how important it is for us to impart our love of gardens by mentoring others. After spending time with her I don't know how anyone could restrain themselves from heading to the nearest garden center!
Our lunch on the lawn was delicious--Darlene had prepared it and brought enough for everyone--the friendship these ladies feel for one another is so infectious I felt like I had been a part of the group for years. When they left there were hugs all around, and a firm desire to see each other again. It is my hope that we can spend some time doing a fun activity with this terrific bunch in the future.
The more dirt, the merrier!
Our lunch on the lawn was delicious--Darlene had prepared it and brought enough for everyone--the friendship these ladies feel for one another is so infectious I felt like I had been a part of the group for years. When they left there were hugs all around, and a firm desire to see each other again. It is my hope that we can spend some time doing a fun activity with this terrific bunch in the future.
The more dirt, the merrier!
Wavecrest and Crane's hours
Okay everybody--here are the hours for the places we are going to visit in Michigan on Aug. 15th.
Wavecrest is open 12 to 5
Crane's Pie Pantry is open 11 to 8. Just think about all the plants you can buy and all the pie you can eat in that length of time!
If you look back through the blog archive you will find a post that is titled "Mark your calenders (sort of)". The links to both places are listed there. Check them out.
Hail to the dirt!
Wavecrest is open 12 to 5
Crane's Pie Pantry is open 11 to 8. Just think about all the plants you can buy and all the pie you can eat in that length of time!
If you look back through the blog archive you will find a post that is titled "Mark your calenders (sort of)". The links to both places are listed there. Check them out.
Hail to the dirt!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Riding the Rails with Rob
Hey folks! We had a great time at the meeting. Thanks so much to everyone who attended, the daylilies were nice enough to put on a lovely show. It seems like peak bloom officially started just today and I am so glad you all got to see it. We were lucky enough to have two guests, who became new members--a nice big dirty handshake and a sweaty hug to Hayden and Rosie. You will get your membership packets in due time--just like Maggie said--wait about a month. That will give me time to loose and find the papers and stuff at least twice. We send best wishes to Marianne for a quick recovery from her summer bug. There was a lot of business to cover and thanks to the fact that nobody is real big on being ultra businesslike, it didn't hurt too much. We voted in our bylaws, so now that is taken care of and I don't have to keep trying to remember not to forget it. We didn't have a Secretary's report thanks to the fact that I am a complete spacehead, and Shirley didn't have anything to report as Treasurer either, except to say that next week she and I will have a conflab and get our club its own bank acct. I attended my first ever board meeting, now that we are officially federated, and tried to impart what I learned there in a manner that approaches coherence. Sue asked that I post the dates of the upcoming district and state meeting, and suggested that we make an effort to attend these events so we can begin to learn about how our club fits into the overall group. So the dates are as follows (I will also put them in the "upcoming events" section in the left sidebar): The North West District is hosting the State Convention in 2011. This will be held in Merrilville on April 6 and 7 of 2011. Joan Stone (our District Director--North Central District) would like as many people as possible to attend this meeting so that when our district hosts this event in 2012 we will begin the process with a good idea of what has been done in the past. I did forget to say that the initial idea for location of this (2012) event is to have it at "Das Essenhaus", although the exploratory process is still ongoing.
The Annual District meeting (the one our group is slated to host in 2016) will be held in Middlebury on Oct. 20 of this year. This is another meeting that we should make an effort to attend--the people I have met so far are really just wonderful. Dirty Hands Happy Souls doesn't describe only us. And if we are going to have a positive impact as a club, we need to start making these connections, so we can learn how to effectively contribute to the organization in the way that suits our group's personality. The link to the state club's event calender is:
http://www.gardenclubofindiana.org/stateeventsgarden_club_of_indiana.htm
There isn't a lot there yet that is specific--as the dates draw nearer, there will be more information about each event.
We also talked in brief about ideas for future meetings, and Sue came up with some great ones: a visit to an Amish garden in Rentown (hopefully one of this fascinating sounding family will attend a meeting so we can get to know her) a haywagon tour of Mckinley Nursery's Production fields, a trip to a Christmas tree farm, like Hunzikers,visiting another perennial grower in the Plymouth area. Other ideas that floated about were a possible travelogue from Cindy about her recent FABULOSO trip to Alaska, where she smuggled rocks and probably made friends with all the squirrels and bunnies in the far north, maybe a trip to Lurie Gardens for a tour of the area, a night time walk at Fernwood, and a trip to Nelson's Herb Farm. And now that Rosie is a member, I see programs from her in our future too! Keep the ideas coming! This group is filled with intensely interesting, creative people and the more everyone throws in the pot, the more fascinating the stew becomes. Think about what you can contribute yourself too--we are all friends here and nobody could care less about acting snooty and official than us. If you know something fun or interesting--we all want to hear about it. And we want you to tell it in your own way--with your own personality shining through.
We also decided on the date of Sunday, Aug. 15th for our Wavecrest trip. We will meet once more before that time and we will firm up the travel times and exchange cell phone numbers and get transportation sorted out then. Right now the plan is to leave here at 10 am and converge either at Wavecrest or Cranes Pie Pantry. I need to get a firm grip on the hours of both places--which I will do and post it here. Then when we meet next we will get it all figured out.
Sue asked about posting pictures to the blog--its fairly simple--if you can send me jpeg files, please do that--I can probably manage if you send something else, but jpegs make my head hurt the least. Just send the files as attachments to robfraney@aol.com and I will take it from there. If you send me pet pictures, please label the pic with your pet's name so I can put it with the pic.
Patrick--Betty and Betty are pets, so take their pictures pleeze:-)
And Bobbi reminded us that we should be thinking about making up a bulk order for bulbs--if you haven't gotten catalogs yet--check for a previous blog post with the links to Van Engelen and Scheepers, and come to the next meeting with anything you want to order figured out. Come bearing funds so we can place and pay for the order as a group and save shipping.
I think I am going to have to get someone to "volunteer" to coordinate this--if I think abou
t handling this myself, very bad pictures come into my head.
After all that--my brain was exhausted and I was very glad to have Rob take over so he could tell you all about the Clumberton and Lilyfield Railway. Rob has wanted to do this project for a very long time, and it pleases me no end to see his dream realized. Its also great for him to be able to tell his friends about it and have them be interested and appreciative. A lot of thought and hard work has gone into the little world he is building--and its always good for people to see the evolution of a project like this. Any time you listen to how someone made something, you celebrate their creative spirit and further your own. The train brings movement and sound to the garden in a way that is different from moving water or rustling grasses. Its just another layer of interest that can be added--and you can be as simple or intricate as you like with it. A garden should be the fulfillment of one's spirit--and while all of our gardens are expressions of both of our spirits, the train is the most significant to Rob. It represents a lot of things about who he is and how he has come to this point in his life. When I look at that train, that is what I see--just like when all of you look at your gardens you see that part of yourselves that was speaking when you made it. Its what makes our souls HAPPY (that and fingernail grime, which is also a necessary ingredient).
Hail to the dirt! THANKS TO SUE F AND BOBBI D FOR THE PICS!!!!
The Annual District meeting (the one our group is slated to host in 2016) will be held in Middlebury on Oct. 20 of this year. This is another meeting that we should make an effort to attend--the people I have met so far are really just wonderful. Dirty Hands Happy Souls doesn't describe only us. And if we are going to have a positive impact as a club, we need to start making these connections, so we can learn how to effectively contribute to the organization in the way that suits our group's personality. The link to the state club's event calender is:
http://www.gardenclubofindiana.org/stateeventsgarden_club_of_indiana.htm
There isn't a lot there yet that is specific--as the dates draw nearer, there will be more information about each event.
We also talked in brief about ideas for future meetings, and Sue came up with some great ones: a visit to an Amish garden in Rentown (hopefully one of this fascinating sounding family will attend a meeting so we can get to know her) a haywagon tour of Mckinley Nursery's Production fields, a trip to a Christmas tree farm, like Hunzikers,visiting another perennial grower in the Plymouth area. Other ideas that floated about were a possible travelogue from Cindy about her recent FABULOSO trip to Alaska, where she smuggled rocks and probably made friends with all the squirrels and bunnies in the far north, maybe a trip to Lurie Gardens for a tour of the area, a night time walk at Fernwood, and a trip to Nelson's Herb Farm. And now that Rosie is a member, I see programs from her in our future too! Keep the ideas coming! This group is filled with intensely interesting, creative people and the more everyone throws in the pot, the more fascinating the stew becomes. Think about what you can contribute yourself too--we are all friends here and nobody could care less about acting snooty and official than us. If you know something fun or interesting--we all want to hear about it. And we want you to tell it in your own way--with your own personality shining through.
We also decided on the date of Sunday, Aug. 15th for our Wavecrest trip. We will meet once more before that time and we will firm up the travel times and exchange cell phone numbers and get transportation sorted out then. Right now the plan is to leave here at 10 am and converge either at Wavecrest or Cranes Pie Pantry. I need to get a firm grip on the hours of both places--which I will do and post it here. Then when we meet next we will get it all figured out.
Sue asked about posting pictures to the blog--its fairly simple--if you can send me jpeg files, please do that--I can probably manage if you send something else, but jpegs make my head hurt the least. Just send the files as attachments to robfraney@aol.com and I will take it from there. If you send me pet pictures, please label the pic with your pet's name so I can put it with the pic.
Patrick--Betty and Betty are pets, so take their pictures pleeze:-)
And Bobbi reminded us that we should be thinking about making up a bulk order for bulbs--if you haven't gotten catalogs yet--check for a previous blog post with the links to Van Engelen and Scheepers, and come to the next meeting with anything you want to order figured out. Come bearing funds so we can place and pay for the order as a group and save shipping.
I think I am going to have to get someone to "volunteer" to coordinate this--if I think abou
t handling this myself, very bad pictures come into my head. After all that--my brain was exhausted and I was very glad to have Rob take over so he could tell you all about the Clumberton and Lilyfield Railway. Rob has wanted to do this project for a very long time, and it pleases me no end to see his dream realized. Its also great for him to be able to tell his friends about it and have them be interested and appreciative. A lot of thought and hard work has gone into the little world he is building--and its always good for people to see the evolution of a project like this. Any time you listen to how someone made something, you celebrate their creative spirit and further your own. The train brings movement and sound to the garden in a way that is different from moving water or rustling grasses. Its just another layer of interest that can be added--and you can be as simple or intricate as you like with it. A garden should be the fulfillment of one's spirit--and while all of our gardens are expressions of both of our spirits, the train is the most significant to Rob. It represents a lot of things about who he is and how he has come to this point in his life. When I look at that train, that is what I see--just like when all of you look at your gardens you see that part of yourselves that was speaking when you made it. Its what makes our souls HAPPY (that and fingernail grime, which is also a necessary ingredient).
Hail to the dirt! THANKS TO SUE F AND BOBBI D FOR THE PICS!!!!
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