Day 7: filbert and partridgeberry
This time as a trade with the best @ its_olsomm ❤️
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Partridgeberry earrings custom commission, 2023
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Neopronouns in action: Aix/(aed)/arix/aiv/aixelf, which will most closely follow the same rules as he/him/his/himself for this example.
Replace he with aix
Replace any contractions/statements like "he's" or "he is" or "he was" or "he had" with aed
Replace him with arix
Replace his with aiv
Replace himself with aixelf
EX:
"He is going to adopt a new puppy soon, as soon as he gets a fence set up around his yard so the puppy can go outside without him having to walk it. His uncle is going to help set up the fence, since he has a set of power tools he's letting him use, since he lost his."
Becomes:
"Aed going to adopt a new puppy soon, as soon as aix gets a fence set up around aiv yard so the puppy can go outside without arix having to walk it. Aiv uncle is going to help set up the fence, since he has a set of power tools he's letting arix use, since aix lost aiv."
= = =
Aix froze in place, stuck crouching at an awkward angle, a twig from the nearby sweetgum sapling poking it in the side of the head.
There was a brown thrasher digging through the leaves just ten feet away from where aix was sitting. Aed been crouching to take pictures of the partridgeberries almost under aiv feet, and aed heard the rustling of the leaves, only to look up and see the brown thrasher right there.
Luckily, aix already had aiv camera out and turned on, for the partridgeberries, so all aix had to do was silently and carefully tilt it to face up to the front, and carefully press the record button to start a video. But aix didn't want to risk trying to zoom in, the movement of the scope might alert the bird.
Aix was beginning to feel the strain in aiv ankles—aix hadn't actually meant to hold this pose for more than a second, but now aix was afraid to move. If aix did, the bird might notice arix and fly away.
Right on cue, the brown thrasher hopped closer, looking in aiv direction. It hopped up onto a tree root while aix held aiv breath, then, thankfully, it looked away, turning around so that its back was to arix, giving arix a perfect view of its reddish brown feathers, long tail, and the thin white bands visible on the edges of its wings. It turned its head to the side, giving aiv a view of its bright yellow eye.
Then the bird finally noticed arix crouching there, and, within an instant, flew away in a soft explosion of wings and red-brown feathers, flying up and out of sight.
Aix stayed frozen for a few more moments, just to see if anything else awesome wanted to pop out of the woods to say hi, like a squirrel or a deer or something. But it was probably too early for deer to be walking around, it was only noon.
A few moments passed, and no other animals decided to show themselves. Aix gratefully sank down into a much more comfortable sitting position, and shifted to the side enough that the sweetgum twig was no longer poking arix in the side of the head. Then aix looked back down at the partridgeberries, since aed gotten distracted from taking pictures of them the first time.
Aix held the camera close, hoping it would focus on the berries properly. The camera was old, and sometimes if aix pointed it at something particularly bright red (usually yaupon holly berries, which it hated), the screen would show the berries as nothing but clusters of red pixels. Aed never seen anything like it before, and so far, it only happened with the color red.
Fortunately, the partridgeberries were apparently not red enough to cause problems, because the camera focused on them with no problem. These ones were smaller than the other ones aed seen, which was interesting. The leaves were the same, though, lined up in pairs along the ground-creeping vine, dark green and round, with a single brighter green vein in the center.
Aix took pictures from different angles, then grabbed aiv paper ruler card out of the breast pocket of aiv vest, then got more pictures with that next to the whole plant, a pair of leaves, and a berry for scale.
Ready to leave, aix paused for a moment, considering taking one of the berries home to save seeds from, then decided against it. These ones were small, and aed rather save seeds from larger berries for the genetics.
Aix stood up, dodged past the sweetgum sapling, and started back towards the sidewalk...then turned back around and went back to take pictures of the sapling. It'd been so inconvenient, aed almost forgotten it was there!
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you don't understand. toutons. you take bread dough and you let it rise soooo much. and then you put it in a frying pan with butter (or pork fat if you're feeling fancy). and then you pour molasses all over it and you eat so many that you turn into a dough ball yourself
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The ceremonial cake I made for my friend Cassie's dissertation defense and the dichotomous key for all the snacks I brought. The cake has species from some of her research sites: tulip poplar, Swan's sedge, and partridgeberry.
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Trick or Treat!!!
Happy Halloween!
I bring you another newfoundland classic, Partridgeberry Jam.
(Photo from Newfoundland.ws)
Partridgeberries are little tiny red berries that grow very close to the ground, often around fir trees. You have to go on your hand and knees to get them, and they won't be properly sweet at all until after the first frost. And they're still very tart. But made into jam, man. The closest thing I've been able to find for it is at IKEA, you can get lingonberry jam, but I think lingonberries are slightly different.
(Photo from Orion 2 on flickr)
Scrape some partridgeberry jam over some toast, eat it as a tart filling, have a great time with it.
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I tried to move a black nightshade plant in my yard to another location because it was growing on a stump I have to remove and now it's wilting really badly 😭😭😭 it was the only nightshade in my yard. All the fresh berries were eaten off tho so hopefully the birds will spread them and another will crop up... Farewell sweet traveller
I also moved some partridgeberries to one of the hugelkultur beds. Let's hope they take and give some cover to the soil
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“A rainy day is the perfect time for a walk in the woods.”
— Rachel Carson
The photos above were taken along the Virgin Hemlock Trail at Coopers Rock State Forest following a prolonged rain. The old forest's dripping green intensity, charged by early summer's electric, stormy atmosphere, reminds us that nothing really dies here; all matter is reabsorbed and repurposed and made new again. You can smell it in the wet moss, decaying wood, and humus. The forest is immortal and sentient and relentlessly renewing itself.
From top: Little Laurel Run rushing through the old hemlock forest like a gem-filled artery; partrideberry (Mitchella repens), a trailing, evergreen vine whose fragrant white flowers come in pairs; a tall, handsome whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia) in bloom at the forest's edge; white avens (Geum canadense), a shade-tolerant perennial of forest margins; swamp dewberry (Rubus hispidus), a bristly-stemmed relative of the blackberry; wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), also known as smooth hydrangea, a rapidly-colonizing woodland shrub with high wildlife value; running clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum), an attractive, spore-bearing vascular plant; crown-tipped coral (Artomyces pyxidatus), an elegant, edible coral fungus that grows on decaying wood; and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), the forest's majestic benefactor, which can grow to over 100 feet high and live to be more than five hundred years old.
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Native Plants in Canada and Nurseries that Carry Them
Time to open my first box of new plants this year! :D
For those who would like to buy native plants for your own garden, check out the USDA site, which will show you what regions a given plant species is native to. I use it often when I find a species I’m curious about and have added many plants to my personal wishlist this way.
Just use the “basic search” on the right. Keep in mind though that the spelling of the species name has to be exact or no results will come up. Sometimes there’s disagreement on whether a species name ends in “us” “a” “is” or “um” so I sometimes just search for the genus name and go through the list that comes up to find the species.
These are the places I order from (I am in Ontario, but many of them ship elsewhere in Canada):
ALCLA Native Plants - First time ordering! They’re in Alberta but will ship elsewhere and carry a wide selection of plants, a number of which include Ontario in their natural range as well as Alberta, and some of which I haven’t found available anywhere else.
Bamboo Plants - They’re in Ontario but will ship elsewhere. They do not specialize in native plants but they do carry a number, including things like squashberry (Viburnum edule), which is very difficult to find anywhere else.
Botanus - They’re in British Columbia but will ship elsewhere. They do not specialize in native plants but they carry a few species and the ones I got were healthy. Worth giving a try.
Connon Nursery - They don’t ship, but they do have several locations in Ontario and possibly elsewhere. They don’t specialize in native plants but they do carry a large number of them. Definitely worth checking out if you drive or can get a ride.
Hidden Habitat - They don’t ship anymore, but do local delivery in their area of Ontario and offer pickups. They’re about an hour and 45 minutes away from Toronto so if you live in the GTA and can get a ride, it would be worth checking out. They have witch’s hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) and partridgeberry (Mitchella repens), which are hard to find anywhere else.
Hortico - First time ordering! They ship across Canada as far as I know. They don’t specialize in native plants but have a huge selection, including some that are hard to find elsewhere, such as squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis) and fairy spuds (Claytonia virginica).
Lacewing - First time ordering! Located in the GTA. They don’t ship, sadly but if you live close to the GTA maybe you can get a ride over. So far they’re the only nursery I’ve been able to find that carries horseflyweed (Baptisia tinctoria).
Native Plants in Claremont - They only ship in multiples of 6 (and I think only in Ontario) and the plant selection they offer for that isn’t huge (but definitely worth looking at if you’re just starting out). However, their location isn’t terribly far from Toronto, so if you can get a ride out there, the selection is much wider and includes some hard to find species.
Native Plant Nurseries - First time ordering! They’ll deliver within the GTA with a minimum order between $50 and $75 (not hard to reach if you’re really trying to fill a space) and a delivery fee as well. It’s possibly less if you’re closer to their location. Very nice selection and some hard to find species such as white lettuce (Nabalus alba) and purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea).
North American Native Plant Society - First time ordering! They have a few locations and each location as I understand it has a single day to pick up in the spring. If you become a member you can pre-order plants that you pick up that day as well. They have a large number of species, some which are very hard to find, and if you become a member they offer seed exchanges.
Nutcracker Nursery - They’re in Quebec but ship elsewhere. They carry trees and bushes which they ship bare root wrapped in clay and paper for moisture. They don’t specialize in native plants, but carry a number and are thus far the only nursery I know of that carries native burning bush (Euonymus atropurpureus). Your standard burning bush (Euonymus alatus) found in most garden centres is not native and is invasive in some areas, which makes getting my hands on E. atropurpureus a priority for me, but sadly it’s not available yet this year. Hopefully soon though!
Ontario Native Plants - They only ship in Ontario, and only in multiples of 4. They have a nice selection and every year they try out a new and hard to find species. If you’re looking for appearance and aren’t specializing in edibility, I would highly recommend their new rock harlequin (Corydalis sempervirens).
Origin Native Plants - First time ordering! They’re in Ontario, not sure if they ship elsewhere. I think their minimum is 10 plants. They have a number of hard to find species, including Canada lily (Lilium canadense), wild yam (Dioscorea villosa/quaternata), and wild basil (Clinopodium vulgare).
Paramount Nursery - They have locations in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, so if you live close to any of these areas you can get a free delivery with a $100 minimum order. They don’t specialize in native plants but carry a large number, including Canada buffalo berry (Shepherdia canadensis), and bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia).
Phoenix Perennials - They’re in British Columbia but ship Canada-wide as far as I know. They don’t specialize in native plants but have a large number, including some extremely hard to find species such as green dragon (Arisaema dracontium). They ship potted plants that they feel have grown hardy enough to survive a long trip, but there’s a greater chance of plant damage.
Prairie Originals - They’re in Manitoba and will ship elsewhere but not every year (sadly not this year). They specialize in plants native to Manitoba but many of these are native to Ontario as well. They carry a wide selection, and yes that includes some that are hard to find anywhere else.
The Pond Experts - First time ordering! They ship Canada-wide as far as I know. They don’t specialize in native plants but carry some native species, several of which are very difficult to find elsewhere, such as pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) and duck potato (Sagittaria latifolia). As many of the plants they carry are marginal plants rather than floating ones, you don’t need a pond for them, just make sure the area you put them in has poor drainage and isn’t shielded from rain. And water them extra when watering your garden. If possible, put them next to the downspout of the eavestrough.
Wild About Flowers - They’re in Alberta but ship Canada-wide as far as I know. They specialize in plants native to Alberta but many of these are native to Ontario as well. Their minimum is 8 plugs, and they’re also teamed up with Wright Nursery which is more trees and bushes and requires a minimum of 8 plugs as well.
For shipped plants, please don’t hold it against the nursery if some of them don’t make it through the journey. They’re all trying their best to make sure you get plants that will survive in your garden:
Bare root bushes are easier to stack in a long box which reduces chance of damage. It’s also very easy to dig a hole to plant them in and there’s no chance of them being root-bound. If, however, they run out of moisture on the way, they might not make it. Alternatively, being packed in clay and paper they might develop mould, which will kill them.
Plugs are extremely easy to plant, especially if you want to plant in a small space. They’re young that being mildly root bound won’t be a huge problem. They’re unlikely to be damaged in transit. However, because they’re so young and in such a small amount of soil, they can run out of moisture quickly, or perish without the sunlight. It’s also easier to mix up the species. For example, young goldenrods and asters can look very similar.
Potted plants have begun to establish themselves and so are much better able to handle a couple days without water or a week without sunlight. However, there’s a non-zero chance they’ll be extremely root-bound, which may kill them even after you’ve planted them. And it’s easier for them to get damaged in transit.
As you can see, there are benefits and drawbacks to each method, and this is reason some nurseries won’t ship live plants at all. I for one, not having a car, am grateful for those that do.
Now...to find out what’s in my box (from Hortico)!
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Partridgeberry pins with fruit (claimed) and flower (available), 2022.
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Zygs I cannot fucking believe they're all still alive
This is the luckest litter ever to exist. We are on Accurate difficulty mode. None of them have died. None of them are sick (they all got sick really young, but recovered). This is absurd.
(High hunger percent is good, it means they're almost full.)
Thicket: 66% hunger, 22.1 lbs
Boulder: 85% hunger, 21.1 lbs
Mountain Goat: 76% hunger, 22.0 lbs
Thunder: 89% hunger, 21.8 lbs
Partridgeberry: 82% hunger, 21.8 lbs
Snowflake: 85% hunger, 22.1 lbs
Flower: 77% hunger, 22.4 lbs
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Buckwheat with a little ground flax is great when you mix in a generous few scoops of partridgeberry jam
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Home, sweet home
This tiny tree frog has taken up residence in one of my miniature berry bowls/swamps. In the photo, he is exploring among the partridgeberry, mosses and carnivorous plants.
“Look, guys! It’s all mine!”
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