I would rather be posting about what’s blooming around here right now instead of about …ahem…… snakes. But in light of today’s events, this topic definitely warrants a post. Regular readers of this blog may know that I am very afraid of snakes. Before moving to the country I was afraid of all snakes, even garter snakes (which were thick on our tiny city lot in Mt. Vernon). Over the 4 years out here in the Bohemian Alps, I have gradually become desensitized to the “smaller” garter snakes. I still don’t care for them, and some aren’t exactly small, but I now save my anxiety for the longer and thicker in diameter bull snakes. Bull snakes sightings have been rare in previous years. And I saw two last week! up until today, that is (and by the way, I have lost many hours of sleep over this and can no longer enjoy myself entirely in the garden). The first and scariest sighting occurred in our green shed (which I now would like to torch!) I went in the shed and heard a buzzing sound. I happened to look up and saw a bull snake in the rafters, above my head! To be fair, bull snakes are not poisonous and generally will not strike unless provoked. They simulate the rattlesnake’s rattling sound when they are afraid. Alan came to the rescue and relocated the snake. I had a feeling it would be back since mice are plentiful in this shed.
Today my helpers, Cat and Joe, removed not one, but FOUR! bull snakes from this shed while I took pictures from a safe distance away. The snakes were caught in some mesh deer fencing that I chucked into the shed recently. Their heads and bodies were stuck in the mesh to the point where they could not free themselves, or even open their mouths in at least one case. One was dead, two were quite weak and the fourth had probably just gotten trapped and was still rather feisty. Despite my intense fear for these creatures, I wish them no harm and felt twinges of guilt for having inadvertently trapped them.
I could not have employed 2 better people for dealing with this situation. Cat has 2 pet snakes and Joe has rural roots, and both were very comfortable handling them, as you can see in the photos below. The snakes had to be cut out of the mesh. One of the snakes Cat freed had to have the mesh carefully cut from his around its head in several places. The freed snakes were finally transferred to a pillow case (now on the burn pile), which was tied shut and placed into the back my old Chevy pickup. The snakes were then driven 10 miles away and released. Apparently they cannot smell their way back if relocated 10 miles away. I hope this information is correct! If it isn’t, it will probably take them a while to get back here.

Each snake managed to get itself super entangled in the mesh.

Who knew Cat was such a BAMF? She is my new hero.

There are more action shots featuring Cat, but Joe handled them just as much. Plus he decapitated the dead snake with a box cutter because there was mesh around its head. The mesh could be fatal to another animal if it ate the head. Notice, Jake is not helping and doesn’t even seem the slightest bit interested.

Thanks Cat and Joe!

Surprisingly well, thank you.

It’s surprising to us in that we didn’t really do this right and continue to make classic blunders. We do not spray them consistently with copper (anti-fungal), and would rather not need to spray them at all. I do not know really the best way or the best time to trim them (I experimented with later trimming this year). They are on a nice hill, but the slope is also home to incredibly invasive quack grass (and other nasty weeds). And some vines have been “accidentally” hit with the mower. I think it’s safe to say we’ve been a tad neglectful and borderline abusive.

And yet I expect them to appease me. I want them to pose for these photos and more to come. I want them to produce lots of tight little clusters this year. I do not want then to succumb to a late frost as we had last year – and just barely managed to avoid a few nights ago. I understand my irrationality. I want them to produce with little help from me. I want them to want to live and fend for themselves. Some of them probably can and will… at least for a time. And as a spot is vacated, perhaps an apple tree, tomato plant or blackberry will take it’s place. I think I’d be okay with that.

Asparagus is amazing. It’s tough, grows in ditches, tastes incredible, grows quickly (once established), comes back year after year (perennial), has attractive foliage and winter interest, good raw or cooked, early Spring crop, nutritious, and it makes your pee smell.

Here are a couple of ways we have enjoyed asparagus lately.

• Raw with capers and mustard vinaigrette dressing
• On pizza with roasted garlic-white bean sauce (more of a paste really)
• Omelet with cheese
• Lightly steamed with pasta and olive oil
• On a grilled cheese sandwich (haven’t done this yet, but it sounds great)
• Just steamed, grilled, or raw with a bit of salt

What are we missing? Is there some kind of cream of asparagus soup recipe anyone enjoys? I also wonder about freezing asparagus – how well would it hold its flavor and texture? And so it is with everything we grow – always curious to know more.

I know it rained some in April, and by the looks of our blooms it was a decent amount. Yay, it’s May! Always so much to do in May with cleaning up the garden and building new garden and rearranging old garden, that the blooms sometimes escape capture. They can be missed in our hurry to prepare for the next series of blooms. Anne and I often play the did you see game where someone says, Did you see the species tulip in the bed outside the door? And then someone replies, Yes, it’s awesome! Did you see the little mini-irises next to Buddha? Yes, how about the daffodils down by the bridge? They look great this year.

Images on Flickr

And now as I type this Anne tells me there is a new bulb, a fritillaria, open next to Jane Magnolia in the front bed. I’ll need to check it out in the morning. Sure enough, there it is.

Anne often wins at this game.

I picked up our 3-pound package of bees last weekend. I ordered from Ebert Honey Company in Lynnville, IA — conveniently located (for us), nice customer service and knowledgeable people.

I chose a Carniolan Queen as they were described as rather docile. They also have a tendency to swarm, so we will need to monitor for that carefully. Installation went smoothly. The only hiccup was when the cork holding the queen in her cage fell into her cage rather than pulling out. It had been knocked a bit sideways. Anne quickly shoved a mini-marshmallow into the hole and all was well.

I dumped a pile of bees over the hanging queen cage with the marshmallow stopper. The remaining were dumped into the cavity beyond — I might have over-sprayed them with sugar water or maybe it was just a cold day, but they were not coming out of the box too willingly. A day later we noticed two clumps remained in the box huddled together. I’m hoping they find their way to the hive before too long.

We are hoping much our way through this first year as beekeepers. It’s a fascinating new addition.

Thanks to everyone who made the plant sales enjoyable this weekend. Anne even told me someone mentioned enjoying the comic postings. That’s nice. Thanks.

Our magnolias are blooming, but the flowers are fleeting. They are a magical sort of tree/shrub.

I planted the first round of peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots in the garden yesterday.

I’ll try some successive planting this year. Rather than plant all packages of peas and spinach, I only planted a few. Give them a couple weeks head start and then plant another batch. The theory is ripening and harvesting will also be staggered. For crops that do not really keep, like lettuce and peas, this makes good sense. Maybe not so much for carrots. I have so many carrot seeds though, it’s a nice experiment to see how they do when planted this early.

First Plant Sales of the year: Friday, April 8, 2-6 pm and Saturday, April 9, 9-1 pm (every Fri. & Sat. throughout April and May)
Location: 318 24th St. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA  (2 blocks off 1st Ave.)

I will be selling primarily trees and shrubs at this first sale, more perennials will become available once it warms up a bit. The following plants are available and ready to be planted now. See the Buy page for images & descriptions of many of the plants below.

TREES & SHRUBS  $7-$25
Yellow Curly willow
Coral Bark Curly Willow
Japanese Fantail Willow (Salix udensis ‘Sekka’)
Black Pussy Willow (Salix gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’)
Giant Pussy Willow (Salix chaenomeloides)
Fothergilla Mt. Airy

BARE ROOT TREES
Trees planted “bare root” often establish more quickly and ultimately better than containerized trees, since their roots grow out rather than continuing to circle (like in the pot). Since these trees have not yet leafed out, there is MUCH less transplant shock, enabling the tree to put its energy into new growth rather than recovery. Bare root trees are also much easier to plant!
Katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) 3-4’  $24
Catalpa 2-3’ (Catalpa speciosa) 2-3’  $5
Korean Mountain Ash (Sorbus alnifolia) (no relation to the trees susceptible to the Emerald Ash Borer) 3’ $19
Redbud (Cercis Canadensis) 12-18” $2
Vernal Witch Hazel (Hammelis vernalis) 2-3’ $10

PERENNIALS
Angelica gigas $4-$7
Sedum Autumn Joy $4-7
Purple Sensation Allium $6
possibly more, depending on temps

Also available: Fresh pussy willow & curly willow bouquets.

Thanks for your interest and please tell friends!

The catkins are swelling. And willow cuttings are growing well.