Re: [gardeners] spring walks
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Thu, 25 Apr 2002 18:05:13 -0500
The egrets are a showy and noisy sight but cattle egret nests over ponds and small lakes usually
lead to the death of the lake. Their droppings are very acidic and it only takes about a year for
the water to become acidic enough to kill anything in the water, flora or fauna. As a consequence
farmers around here use noisemakers to get the egrets to move on. As a consequence of that the
egrets nest over "wild" water and end up doing that in. The cattle egrets are definitely not native,
having blown in on strong winds sometimes in the thirties from what I've been told. I know I didn't
see them in east Texas until the sixties so they've been making their way across the US evidently.
Your walk sounds really nice Sherryl. We've got the garden all in here now and even have some Big
Bertha bell peppers producing for us along with some cherry tomatoes that have fruit on them.
The azaleas have gone back to being bushes and the poppes are no longer in bloom. Some amaryllis
remains in bloom and some Louisiana iris is still blooming. The roses are spectacular throughout our
neighborhood. We have a couple of neighbors with about 100 rose bushes each and they are a glorious
sight.
I spotted an old rose in a small town about 50 miles away yesterday. Stopped to see what it was, it
had huge canes reaching up 6 or 8 feet tall and beautiful creamy yellow, fragrant blooms about three
inches across, and was loaded with blooms. The gentleman who lived there pulled up while I was
parked in front of his home and I told him I was admiring his rose. He didn't know the name as it
had been there when he and his family moved in nearly 50 years ago. I have his name and phone number
and when I go back by in three months I have been invited to take a few cuttings. Really looking
forward to that.
George
Sherryl Fawx wrote:
>
> Hi All,
> I don't have a lot going on in my garden at home right now, but I walk
> every day during my lunch hour in the UC Davis Arboretum. This week has
> been really special and I'd like to share some of it with you. Lots of
> spring things in bloom: flannel bushes (Fremontodenron 'California Glory')
> for one. For those who aren't familiar with them, think of oak trees with
> slightly fuzzy leaves and intense buttery yellow flowers massed all over.
> The ceanothus is still blooming. Western redbuds, Salvia gregii, rosemary,
> lavender, acacias, assorted spring bulbs. We see water birds as well along
> the creek. Mallard ducks, Canada geese, a few visiting cormorants, great
> blue herons, egrets. Most unusual of all for us to see were the rookery
> trees of the egrets. I've never seen egrets in trees before. They are
> usually standing in ones or twos along the waterway. This was amazing.
> Hundreds of snowy & cattle egrets nesting all over these large trees (maybe
> half a dozen old oaks). It was a sight and sound I will always remember.
>
> Sherryl
> Davis, Calif.
> USDA zone 9b