Post Tempest Mammatus*



I'm blogging away on a rather dry post about tomato cages, look to my left and out my window I see the world is yellow-orange. Grab camera, go outside!


The house across the street is catching the glow of the setting sun bouncing off the storm clouds.


I turn the corner and see that all is gold. Are those gold mammatus clouds I see, visually poked by ol' glory's pole?


Why yes, they are. Mammatus clouds are often associated with tornadic thunderstorms, and can appear quite menacing or eerie.


There was one storm to the north and one to the south of middle Brooklyn that carried mesocyclonic radar signatures at some time while passing our area.


Close up.


Back on my corner, the mammatus are breaking up.


Can you see the plane?

*Tempest Mammatus was a Roman porn star.

Temporary Tempest




Since I have little to do now, but wait for flight status changes...why not watch the weather.



These kids, across the street, are always out when the weather turns tempestuous. Me too.



Weathering Heights

I am not a fan for flying and so it is that I appreciate the caution in delaying or canceling all flights into the area airports because of weather.


Image courtesy wunderground.com

On the other hand, my wife was due in at 4pm, and is now sitting in an airport in Richmond, Virginia due to weather that has not happened yet. So, I do hope it had something to do with weather conditions in flight, and they steered south. Because two hours ago she was supposed to be in and now that lovely dinner I had all planned is thwarted. *#@!*

Not Only Guts, But Brains

I got so many earthworms in my vegetable garden that I got two earth worms in my shoe on the same day!


Okay, what's this all about? What we got here is a couple of earth worms partin' ways.


With the light behind them you can see their guts.


After I planted a tomato, they wanted out of the planter. Over the side they go. Stretch, stretch, s-t-r-e-t-c-h, plop. On the ground and squirm away.


I was cutting my last bit-o-mesclun, and a worm squiggled along and said, yo -I'm outa here. He squirmed through the dark crevice in the planter you see here and this is where it gets interesting.


What you see here is this worm's method used to drop itself safely down the planter box. Once through the crevice in the previous photo, it hooked itself in the crevice between the stake and the box, and slowly let itself down. The whole process took a few minutes. When it got down to about three inches above ground, it squirmed out of the crevice and squiggled away!

All this from a creature with no eyes.

Front Yard Flowers


I think the broccoli 'calabrese' flowers are quite nice with their blue-green foliage.


Its ugly out there. I needed to hack back the New Dawn climber rose (on the left) to let light and air to the plants beneath. Now there's sort of a New Dawn grotto.


But my Allium sphaerocephalon is beginning to blush.


It's egg shape appeals to me over the globe-shaped kind.


My Sidalcea, I believe 'party girl'.


I'm not that happy with the look of the front yard this year, but compared to 4 years ago...


It's a mess.

Heat's On


Feeling moist? Wait till the heat is turned up. Sticky jeans.


Image courtesy Wunderground.com

Persistent lows over the Northeast often mean persistent highs over the south/southeast. Eventually that hot, humid air starts pumping north as the high slides east.

The Order of Things


I finally got the side vegetable garden organized.


I put two layers of "landscape fabric" underneath a layer of wood mulch. You can see it here where I brushed away the mulch. The roots of the tomatoes reach through the wooden planters and tap into the soil beneath, which has a higher concentration of some heavy metals. So I placed this barrier to assist in my effort to contain the tomatoes.

I finally got the path cleared. Also, quite late, but finally got the gleaming white bush bean seeds in underneath the soil, underneath the squirrel-protection-screen.


The basil and other herbs are doing quite well. This year we have thyme, oregano, sage, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, and chives. In a lot of ways, the garden is all about the herbs -they're used every day.

And the side yard broccoli 'Calabrese'. C'mon little guy, you can do it.

In Memorium



How many things do you actually miss from time to time? I do miss my truck. I had it for almost 10 years. My Ford 1977 F250 Camper Special was mostly parked at my mom's place and not getting much use. I sold it in 2004 because, believe it or not, I had another pick-up truck -an 87 Toyota. It seemed outlandish to have two trucks and I needed to buy my first computer, the one I type on today. I felt more attached to the Ford, but it got 10 miles a gallon, hauling or not. This truck was a workhorse. Loaded with stuff, pulling my Toyota also loaded with stuff, I drove it back to NY from New Mexico. No problem. This truck has seen both coasts and everything in between when gas could be bought for 85 cents a gallon. I loved this truck, but I was changing, needs were different and the Toyota was efficient and small.

I sold the Toyota three years ago at 270,000 miles. It lives in Maine and I hear its still running. I sold the Ford to a musician who was moving to Vermont and wanted to look the part. I thought of it as truck retirement. I wonder where it is now?




The Compost Trap



I cut back the baby mesclun one last time.


Here's the bounty.


While organizing the garden I've seen lots of slugs. But no damage to the vegetables or plants.
This one is on a Yew tree branch that I pruned out and threw on the compost pile.


This snail is on the climbing hydrangea leaves I clipped off the vine and added to the compost pile. These two photos add more anecdotal evidence to my theory that the mollusks like decaying matter over living, as neither has been seen on the living yew or hydrangea. The compost trap.

The pile does have these guys flying around it. I haven't identified them yet...

Streets and Studios Paved With Green


This weekend has been dominated by journeys to new studio locations. Often enough doubt creeps to the surface and I question why I blow my budget on a studio instead of saving for...insert thing worth saving for. On the one hand it is exciting to think of exploring new neighborhoods and meeting new people, reorganizing my space and jumping into new work. On the other is the rental market that seems still a little stuck in 2007. I don't think the people who are tenants subletting artist studios are coming to grips with the changed market. I am having difficulty choosing a new space, difficulty accepting the terms they offer, and just feeling I am not getting my money's worth. See below for A Brief Explanation of the Artist Studio Market.


Incidentally, I am considering a small studio in the building at the center left.

On my way to Sunset Park to see a few studios, the bus passed this once-paved area which is now a "green street." It seemed to "grow" overnight. I was intrigued by it because of the water management feature I have not yet seen in any NYC Parks street applications.


This is the view from the triangle's point.


Here the water is let in. There's another 50 feet away.


The trench runs the length of this leg of the triangle. I think this captured my attention because it is just the sort of space I would have been playing in as a child. Captive water, an imaginary river, making boats. I like the planting here, but was a little confused by the Stella D' Oro type day lilies. That said, I think it looks pretty good from this angle.


Amongst the plantings was irrigation, another thing I am not sure I've ever seen in a green street planting. I suppose it has something to do with plants that like wet feet, but could potentially suffer drought? Probably over-thinking it.


These two views of the other legs of the triangle are not as pleasurable. Four types of plants here. The shrubs are not doing well -not only the browning ones you see, but many of the larger shrubs in the back are dying. The trees will eventually overtake much of the one leg. I did notice there was irrigation here too. I much prefer the part with the storm water catch. Click on these photos for a bigger view.


And Now...If You So Desire...A Brief Explanation of the Artist Studio Market:

A building owner leases a large square footage space at a low square foot price to a tenant. The tenant then builds it out (some better, some worse), breaking it into many little pieces, and sublets those smaller spaces out to artists. This way the tenant disperses their investment risk amongst many subtenants. On a smaller scale, tenants simply subsidize their own larger space with the profit from several subtenants, while on a larger scale it is intended to be an income generator. Most artists can't afford big spaces and so are willing to pay a much higher cost per square foot for a smaller space.

In Dumbo, where I am for two more weeks, the lord of the land Two Trees sees their rental market as going up (despite an inability to fill retail), and is raising rents. This creates a migration of artists without means (AWMs) to other neighborhoods (Sunset Park, Bushwick, Gowanus, Red Hook) creating demand and opportunity for those initial investing tenants. But, in a faltering economy, people are also packing it in, saving money, losing jobs (calls/txts/emails to me looking for work from artists has increased). Galleries are beginning to close, artists selling have stopped selling. Some artists are leaving studios and we are beginning to see persistent vacancies. This creates a dilemma for the optimistic studio investor.

The tenant's investment is beginning to look like a mortgage that is worth more than the property. People who do have a regular paycheck, but a limited budget like myself, feel less pressure to sign on to high rent tiny spaces (a friend asked me to sign on to a 90 sq/ft space at $400 just a month ago)(get in now, today's expensive is tomorrow's cheap!). However, I want to save too and these spaces are overpriced. But the tenants would rather maintain vacancies, over dropping prices to keep subtenants. Their business model is built on rising rents. They have some cushion...but how long can they hold out? How long can an artist without a work space?

The Disarray

The messy re-organization -because I perennially plant too much.

I have so many earth worms, I wish I was gone fishin.


Slug meat. Do you think it would be like snail meat? Should we eat? They generally leave the plants alone. I offer them fresh scraps in the form of a nearby compost pile. I think they prefer the decayed and wilty over the firm and healthy. I'm just speculating here.

I visited my corner nursery to get some landscape fabric for under the tomato planters. They gave me some free lilies in gallon pots. How nice!

Brooklyn Veg Out



I pulled the Asian Greens Mix, most went to flower. I need the planter for a tomato.


But, quite surprisingly, the Renee's Garden Baby Mesclun Lettuce is still producing leaves. I will cut some today and enjoy a salad (I do not do this very often!)


The broccoli 'Calabrese' in the side veg garden has not bolted, like it had in the front yard. The leaves are a little wilty from the sun, but otherwise extremely healthy. No aphids, no worms, nada.

A floret is forming. The stems are long and I think I will eat them too as they are quite tender.
I think the cool and wet weather has staved off early bolt on these. The side garden gets morning to noon sun, unlike the front yard which is morning to late afternoon sun. Its much cooler.


I don't remember if I posted a photo of the egg sac on the tomato support, but these little mantids are jumping all over the place. They do jump, quite springy! Its on the rusty tip of my long-handle trowel. I should take better care...


I begun moving planters around for the fabric that I will lay underneath them. Lots and lots of fatty earthworms. I've seen this always, but decided to post it. The activity of the creatures under the planters seems to create these little soil balls. It looks like fecal matter, but I don't think it is. I think its from movement and what else? Any body?

Extraordinary Rendition, Torture, and Other Policies in the Effort to Rid the Civilized World of al-Sciurus


Do you have one of those little counters on your blog or website that tells you how many visits you've had? You do, oh -okay, then you probably get for free the report that shows you which search keywords led to your blog. Can I tell you, I have a few keywords that send people to my blog regularly: free compost, garden center NYC, lead in my city garden, plastic deer, etc. But one startles me because of its frequency: Drowning Squirrels. Yep. So, sometimes I copy and paste the keywords and Google them to see what shows up.

My blog is often on the third page, but I am awed to see so many web logs, message boards, forums, how-tos, and articles that deal specifically with the killing of squirrels and often drowning. I do not know what to say other than this: If you must spend Memorial Day weekend drowning ten squirrels, obviously it is not an effective method of control. Ridding themselves of squirrels is all the rage in the UK, with the native fervor that goes along with alien species (Eastern Grays are from North America).

All it does is satisfy weak, immature, and undoubtedly pathological thought processes when dealing with squirrels this way. If you were a 16 year old boy, the psychologist would be called in to question your future psychopathic potential. Although some say they are as intelligent as dogs, squirrels will do what squirrels do without much regard for your gardens or soffits and they cannot conceptualize the world the way people do. Get smarter, your brain is heavier than the weight of two squirrels. Figure out how to stop them short of torture and death, figure out how to live with them, short of being driven to insanity. Despite their allegiance to the Dark Side, we are better than this.


People are sheepish about posting photos, but you will find them, some gruesome death shots.

Do not feed them. Begin a neighborhood information campaign about not feeding them. Adapt by planting things they don't care for. Use mesh on top of fruiting trees. Ugly yes, but fruit will be there when its time to pick. Put lids on your trash pails. Keep your exterior woodwork in good shape. Keep it well painted, rot free. Consider not feeding birds (attracting birds because you like to look at them, while killing squirrels because they like the free food is, well, twice as bad). Squirrels have teeth that keep growing, and they need to gnaw to grind them down. They are not eating your deck, they are using free and easy wood to do the trick. Consider a stone patio in a high squirrel area. Adapt. If you insist on killing, Good God Man, do it in a way that appreciates the awareness of life all living creatures have! Good luck.

The Colicky Gardener


I should've darted out to the garden this morning, but I stalled. By the time I got out there, I felt unmotivated, disabled from making decisions. I need to re-organize the vegetable planters for tall tomato growth and green beans. The soil beneath has lead amongst other things, so I need to put a barrier in so that the tomato roots do not tap the soil beneath as they did last summer. June is the worst time to organize the garden. Everything is in its prime and I'm fussin with it all. Its worse in the front yard perennial garden. All that heavy rain and quick growth led everything to surge forward into the fence and leave the back sparse. I do not like the look. Other things are overtaken, plants need to be tied up.

I blame it on post-residency depression. I suppose its only natural to swing low after the high of time in a new place, with all the time to do whatever you want. Now I must show up at work and while that isn't so bad, it makes me cranky -at least this week. And the work to do to catch things up to where I would like them to be seems overwhelming.




Locally Eaten



This is my broccoli, and I must say, for near bolted, it tasted pretty darn good. Nutty is how I would describe it with a slight bitterness that I attribute to its near-bolt status. Tomorrow I'll get to photographing the garden in its current state, full of stuff that it is. Being away, I missed the front yard broc -is now tall and an aphid magnet. My side yard broccoli is tall, mostly without florets, and completely pest free after a mini-bout a month ago with some green cabbage worms. I squished em. I got this floret from a small-potted broccoli in the side yard. Tomorrow into the garden, and as much as you may not like this -I hope the sun don't shine.

The Needy Gardener

I am back to NYC, with all its glories. When we pulled up in the car, all the hot colors of summer were ablaze in the garden. To my surprise, even New Dawn was still blooming some. The color was welcoming.

But now to the work to be done. The rain has been heavy, the plants overstepping their bounds. Sun-loving perennials are shaded, and reaching. Old spinach needs to be pulled, green beans should've been planted. Broccoli, time to cut you down, ol' boy. Time to rid the garden of those last strands of spring bulb not-so-greenery. Time to remove those odd things that people leave in the garden. Time to pull all those tomatoes that seem to sprout after seeds' overwintering. Need to prepare the trellising for the tomatoes and trim that over-heavy New Dawn. Need to turn the compost pile, need to rid the kitchen of the fruit flies that have developed since my departure. Need to laugh at how much gardening is high maintenance, even when you think its not.

But then... Need to go to work tomorrow. Need to move my studio into storage (ciao Dumbo). Need to say goodbye to my wife, who I've seen for only two days and now is off to another place for the rest of summer. Need to clean the house and pet the cats. 

But also... Need to enjoy the summer. Need to see some movies in the day time by myself (a favorite, but less frequent in recent years). Need to go to new parks I've yet to visit. Need to grow.

I hope the weather stays like this. Its comfortable, maybe a bit too wet, but cool/warm. Today was a nice day, at Brooklyn Bridge Park saying my goodbyes to Dumbo.