The Survivor

The Survivor

This experience is not unique. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But it is a first for me. I've been planting and nurturing summer vegetable gardens in numerous backyards for a very long time. While I have heard stories like this before, I've never counted myself as one of the "lucky people" to receive this gift.

I can't tell you what I did. Whether it was "right" or "wrong," I do not know. It just happened. I chanced upon this "gift of gardening" while clearing out the very last portion of last summer's garden about a month ago. The section of the garden where pepper plants, both sweet bell peppers and hot varieties like the time-tested Jalapeño, are planted here. I always tear these out late because they keep producing right through fall and the first part of the coldest winter months.

Mother Nature usually delivers the "coup de grâce" or death blow to the entire garden at some point. It's usually after winter temperatures drop into a sustained freeze level. I live in a cold area of Northern California. The weather can deliver a whopper of a freeze every winter and often does. Several times. The tomato plants that I had not removed yet are normally finished off by a good freeze, and that includes the mighty pepper plants. Peppers love heat. They normally cannot stand cold winter temperatures, but some do perform better than others.

 

Imagine my surprise when I found this guy. It was located in last year's pepper bed, which contained about 25 different pepper plants. There was nothing special about this guy. It is your normal, ordinary Jalapeño pepper plant. It produced about the same number of spicy peppers that the two other Jalapeno plants did. However, unlike the other two, this one was not brown, barren, twig-like, or dead. For some strange reason it survived. No other garden plant did. Every single other plant in my expansive gardens kicked the bucket over the winter. Which is a normal development for most plants in a summer vegetable garden. But not this one.

 

New Growth Emerging

When I discovered it, in fact, it was in the process of sending out new growth through extensive vines that had intertwined with the branches of other peppers and the tomato cages I employ to support these plants in the garden area. Hidden by tall weeds and two dozen or so dead pepper plants, here was this one lone survivor. It was not planted anywhere near a heat source. It received no protection whatsoever. It just survived. For some reason, it decided not to give up the ghost. As for the two other Jalapeño varieties that were planted just inches away, they were long gone. They had become a collection of brown and crispy twigs.

 

Color me amazed. This is the first time I've encountered anything quite like this. But I did not let it stop me in that day's quest of tearing out the old garden to make way for the new one that will soon be planted. I nearly pulled this survivor out of the ground and tossed it into the large and expanding pile of dead pepper plants and various weeds. But I was struck by an epiphany. I've never encountered anything like this before. Why should I take action to kill a solid garden producer that obviously isn't quite done producing yet?

 

It would still be forced to survive a brutal haircut. Which it did receive. All of those long vines with new green growth were pruned away and tossed on the growing refuse pile. Those vines had grown into other plants that were dead. Plus, I had to remove the tomato cage support. So, if this mighty garden survivor was going to see another growing season, it would be forced to survive some fairly brutal treatment. It received a solid haircut, just like you see pictured above.

 

2023 Pepper Garden
Survivor is Front and Far Left

The "Survivor" refused to perish. Even in the face of the abuse that I just outlined. It lived through the brutal destruction and clearing of last year's pepper garden. It survived my onslaught of pulling and tearing out every last weed that had grown around it. It even took on the brutal haircut I delivered and laughed it off. Today, the survivor stands tall. The base of this plant looks like a small tree stump. It's gnarled and carries a none-too-pleasing brown color. Yet, green growth is springing forth from the survivor as I type this blog missive. It is the Jalapeño pepper plant that refuses to die.

 

I did make sure to show it a little bit of love this past weekend. As I chopped, mowed and chopped down even more spring weeds with a furious purpose, I dragged the garden hose over to the survivor. It received a slow drip of nourishing water, plus a sprinkling of garden fertilizer sprinkled at the base. It has reacted with a pleasing spurt of green growth over every section and branch that was not pruned away.

 

The Survivor may have survived the first onslaught of summer garden prep. But the abuse isn't over yet. It still may not make it. It will be required to survive the absolute injustice of whirling blades from the Mantis Rototiller that I put to work in the garden area every spring. I will make every effort to spare The Survivor from those churning blades that cut up the soil, but who knows how it will react.

 

Rat Exterminator on Patrol

I do consume my fair share of Jalapeño peppers from the garden. Sometimes I seed them. Sometimes I do not. They are chopped and placed into a collection of summer dishes such as soups, stews and even the occassional summer turkey burger. Even more find their way into the tomato salsas and sauces that I create from the abundance of a summer vegetable garden. Neighbors far and wide can expect a bounty of Jalapeño peppers. Provided they want them.

 

What kind of production can I expect from The Survivor? I'm not sure. I've never encountered this type of good luck charm before. But, provided it survives, I will keep my eye on its progress. Hopefully, it will provide a bounty of peppers. Just as it did last summer. Time will tell.

Late to the Summer Garden Party!

Sugar Pea Pod Vines

I'm late! Late to the Summer Garden Extravaganza. That picture to your right is the reason WHY I'm so late to the summer party this year. This, and two other sad plants that are not pictured, are all that remains from my fall garden planting efforts. My fall garden doesn't normally look quite this sad, but California's epic amount of rain this winter drowned just about everything EXCEPT what you see pictured to the right.

This spot happens to be the highest spot in the backyard garden. Not pictured is the rest of the garden. Why not? Because for much of the winter that section of the yard was under several inches of water. That's what happens when an area that had not see much rainfall in two or three years suddenly receives TWICE the amount that normally falls in any given year.

That was the winter we needed in Northern California. Unfortunately, a lot of good comes with a little bit of bad. Two to three inches of rain can be very good for fall and winter gardening efforts. Thirty inches of rain is a different story entirely. You needed a rowboat to pay a visit to some areas of the garden this past winter. I could only watch as the fall and winter greens drowned following one epic storm after another.

Lake Northern California!

BUT, there was one bright spot. It was that high section of garden that I'd set aside for the sugar pea pod plants that I'd received from a gardening friend. 12-of those starter plants went into one cirle. 12-others went into another. The plants in the lowest section of the yard, like many other fall garden plants, drowned after the backyard turned into a lake. But the other 12 did just fine.

The unusual winter weather not only covered some sections of the garden completely, it also stunted the growing efforts of those plants that remained above water. So, when the time came to start prepping the garden for spring and summer exploits, the sugar pod pea plants that survived the lake-like conditions were just starting to flower.

Spring Peas

I had a choice. Pull the plants out and declare the fall and winter season to be an entire bust, or wait. I chose to wait. While other gardeners were prepping garden areas for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other summer efforts, I patiently waited for those blooms on the sugar pod pea plants to turn into garden peas. That patience would be rewarded.

The wait resulted in a weight of 1.1 lbs. of sugar pea pods. That's enough pea pods to fill up a collander. Which is a lot of peas. The vast majority of those were added to some sliced mushrooms and put into a soup creation which resulted in a lot of leftovers. I will be eating the last of that soup for lunch today, which will put a finishing wrap on the rain-challenged fall and spring gardening efforts.

The sugar pea pod harvest did finally allow for some summer garden prep. In fact, that prep started the moment that the pea harvest ended and the plants were removed. But, I will admit, I'm a solid month behind the efforts of many others. The tomato plants are already beginning to produce pea-sized tomatoes, but there will be no "early harvest" this summer. If I get a cherry tomato to ripen up by the 4th of July holiday I'll consider myself lucky.

Spring Pea Harvest

Fortunately, I get to benefit from a special climate called "California Weather." As unpredictable as it has been this year, you can still count on a long summer growing season out west. So, even if you are like me, a month behind schedule, it doesn't matter for us California types. The garden planted in late May will eventually catch up with those gardens planted in late April. When the month of September rolls around, you won't be able to tell the two apart.

The real benefit, however, is all that water stored behind our massive Northern and Southern California reservoirs. Plus, a massive snowpack that is slowly melting in the Sierra Nevada. It's a snowpack that is so very large that all of it may not melt. Our fantastically warm summers won't be warm enough or last long enough to melt all of that water trapped in the high country.

Which is fine by me. That's irrigation water for backyard vegetable gardening efforts!

That Instagrammable MUTT!!!

Bandit's Instagram Moment

There he is! In all his glory: I give you the Instagram Moment of the elder generation (this means old). This is Bandit. He is a rescue mutt from the from the Bradshaw Animal Shelter. I believe he is a Border Collie or at least a Border Collie mix. He is in his element. Among the wildflowers currently in bloom at Marco Dog Park in Roseville.

I snapped this photo a few days ago and placed it on Instgram. It has all of seven likes. Bandit has gone viral. Or, as viral as Bandit is going to become. I am not a social media darling and never will be.

For most of the year, Marco doubles as a drainage ditch smack dab in the middle of the busiest of commercial district in all of Placer County. It was built as a flood control facility, but also does double duty as a dog park. After a winter of record rain and snowfall, followed by a few warm spring days, the so-called drainage ditch begins to take on the look of a pristine Northern California foothill setting.

Marco Dog Park-Roseville, CA

This was Bandit's second visit to this park. This is about the time he discovered the well-worn dog trail that multiple other dogs have created. It's a ring of a trail around a park high above the ditch below. This trail gives mutts like Bandit and others an unprecedented view of the countryside. It's also about the time that Bandit would discover this trail and dog park are alive with gophers and other critters that he can chase to his heart's content.

A rescue mutt hath no greater joy than this. Unless, however, a jackrabbit should cross his path.

I am a fan of the many dog parks in Northern California. I am required to be fan of them. That's the price you pay for adopting a Border Collie or any other Border mix such as an Aussie Shepherd or a McNab Shepherd. These are "working dogs." They are a working breed. They need a place to work. Since there are no sheep or cattle nearby for them to run after or herd, a dog park offers the next best thing.

Looking for the Chase

Marco is unlike most dog parks that I've visited. Many of these parks are square or rectangular in nature. There are usually two of them joined together. One side is for small dogs. The other is for larger breeds like Bandit. Most are covered by a large expanse of grass. Others, like C-BAR-C Park in Citrus Heights, feature an undulating hill and a sprinkling of native oaks and other trees.

Marco, however, is unique. If a dog wants to vanish in the undergrowth, he or she can. They can run up a steep hill to the rim of this park and run among the trees, bushes and other plant life that dominates this park. They might be less than 25-feet away, but you will never see them. This is Paradise for a dog. They can run. They can sniff. They can play. They can be safe from trouble. The comfort of a chain-link fence keeps them away from busy city streets and within the confines of the park area.

But the best feature of this park, at least in my option, is the drainage ditch itself. As of right now, it's full of water. It really is just a ditch. But with nature's overgrowth on both sides of this basin, it doubles as a stream cutting through the park. If Bandit isn't chasing a gopher or two on the trail that rims the upper portion of Marco Dog Park, he's playfully splashing after any unfortunate bird that dares to land in this drainage area.

Seasonal Stream (Ditch)

A good hour of running the dog park trails, bounding through high grasses and chasing after gophers or birds produces the required result: a tired herding dog. Tired herding dogs tend to sleep at night. If you don't tire a herding dog out during the day, they might spend the night chewing your favorite shoes into pieces. Or, chasing the cat all over the house.

I do imagine, at some point, the water will stop running through this ditch. The intense heat of summer will turn those green grasses brown and gray. It won't be as pleasing to look at, or for a dog to play in. But, if you're looking for a unique dog park that offers some unique dog exercise, this dog park fits that bill and more.

It's all GRAVY!

Courtesy: NOAA

February 26th or 27th (depending upon where you live in California) turned out to be a seminal moment in our wacky and wild weather history. It doesn't happen very often, but it did happen this year. It was on these dates (again, depending upon what area of the state you call home), where most communities in California surpassed the average rainfall amount that falls in a *normal* year.

Any rain that falls between now and the official end of the rainfall year (June 30, 2023) is "gravy."

By the way, if you have lived in California for any length of time, you know by now that nothing is *normal* when it comes to the weather in this state. It can be either very hot or very cold, OR, very dry or very wet. If there is one thing you can count on when it comes to the weather in California, it's this: You Cannot Count on Anything.

C-BAR-C Park-Citrus Heights, CA

What does the term "average rainfall amount" mean and why is it important? Again, depending upon where you live, it's the amount of rain that falls over the course of 12-months (one year). In the Sacramento area, an area which I call home, that "official" number is 19.20 inches of rain. The climate station located on the campus of CSU-Sacramento hit that number on February 26, 2023 and has since zoomed past it.

Similar stations located in nearby communities all zoomed past normal rainfall amounts, according to the climate stations created and maintained by the California Nevada River Forecast Center. This is a division of a federal agency called the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA. Large cities and small communities alike in Northern, Central and Southern California have all blown past the *normal* amount of rainfall they receive in any given year and are now entering uncharted territory. This can be a bit nervewracking.

Mammoth Lakes, CA

Where it will stop, nobody knows. The rain continues to pelt Northern California day after day after day. That rain turns to snow as you head east of Sacramento. There is so much of that snow in the higher elevations at this moment that some homes are completely buried in it. They look like giant lumps coated in white. Snow walls are as high as ten feet in some communities. They are about to get a lot higher.

"In the Central and Southern Sierra, the snow amounts are really remarkable," said Dr. Daniel Swain, a Climate Scientist with Weather West. "Buildings are starting to collapse under the weight of the snow. This is notable because these are buildings built in places that are historically very snowy. For them to collapse under this snow load says a lot about this sequence of events."

Dr. Swain, who is now holding weekly briefings on YouTube in response to the series of storms slamming into California, confirms that the state is on the precipice of breaking some long-term weather records. This includes the most recent record set during the winter of 2016-2017. Rain and snowfall amounts, should they keep increasing, may even threaten the 1982-1983 deluge, which triggered both landslides and flooding in Northern and Central California.

NorCal Forecast

It would be useless to list actual rainfall numbers on this blog posting. Why? Because, by the time this blog posting is published those numbers will be "old news." The local weather forecast indicates Northern California is going to get slammed with seven straight days of rain as I write this. Whether we actually get seven straight days of rain is anyone's guess at this point. But, the forecast is rather ominous.

I'm kind of glad that I bought that sump pump for my garage last December. This garage rarely floods. Yet it has flooded five times this winter alone, and may flood again (several times) over the next week.

Yikes.

The rain and snow has resulted in some positive news. The giant Northern California reservoirs in Shasta, Trinity and Butte Counties should be full of water this summer. Reporters who cover news events can switch from "drought" coverage to "floods."

Courtesy: Christine Beal

But the most positive development is plenty of irrigation water for agricultural interests (hopefully), environmental concerns, summer vegetable gardens and fruit and citrus hobbyist efforts. You might even be able to water a lawn this summer without feeling a tinge of guilt over water waste. You would hope that a deluge of rain and snow like this would put at least a temporary end to California's water wars.

But that may be a bit of wishful thinking on my part. There's absolutely no proof that Mark Twain ever wrote or uttered such a line, yet, despite this, it is a true statement: "Whiskey Is For Drinking; Water Is For Fighting Over."

My thanks to the Facebook page The California Water for Food and People Movement for providing some great photos!