Links for you from Arugula Too

The connection between gardening and food is so primal, it's not surprising I gravitate towards posts on food and brew. Beer made at home is part of the new frontier at Casa de Turling. For dessert, it's all about who cares what is it as long as the main ingredient is chocolate, which is how I see this post on double chocolate mousse cake.  Drool. Across the Atlantic, we have this how to on carrageen pudding, not something on my radar before but I'm willing to think about it.

I think we are all in the middle of gearing up for the upcoming gardening year, at least I am. I came across a tutorial on how to clean pruners, something I have yet to do, ever, so I thought it was a good idea to earmark this post.  I have yet to save chili seeds so I'm posting this for my next season, certainly not this year.  For butterfly lovers, I found these beautiful plans for a butterfly garden. If you might be a bit late on tomato seeds like me, good news. One of my favorite commercial sites selling heirloom tomato seeds, Tomato Fest, finished their heirloom tomato seed sale but I see on their site that some of their seeds will still be at sale price for a bit longer. 

Gallivanting around the hillsides studying natural history is on one those long wish lists I have buried somewhere.  I do it the lazy way, wandering around the web instead. Mycology 101 is the topic du jour, with a lesson on birds nest fungus over at Curbstone Valley. I found the post on how to make your own nature journal at Appalachian Feet to be quite inspiring. Instead of blogging, maybe I will end up wandering around the hillsides with my very own homemade diary.

A blessing for the new year

Something just beyond the horizon beckons us forwards to become who we already are but do not know it yet... Rilke

This natural impulse for growth: I see it in the seeds I sow, the plants that grow, the flowers that bloom. What is that all about? I don't know but this drive for growth seems to be something quite fundamental about life. With that thought in mind, sending this blessing out to all: may this new year be a good year of growth for all, in whatever form it may take!

The Hummingbird Wars

During our amazing December warm spell, right before the record-breaking big rains in southern California, I noticed intermittent buzzing sounds in my bicolor tree mallow, followed by feathery swooping things whizzing by my head.

malva and the bee, originally uploaded by luvarugula.

No way could I ID them visually as all I saw was a blur, the usual for me with hummingbirds. Although a novice birder, I use sound so I knew they weren't Anna's nor Costa's. When it escalated to be quite the epic battle I wandered over to the tree mallow and came upon one fearless hummer, refusing to budge as he sat on a nearby branch as though daring me to do something. Fine, I thought, I'll get a shot of you so I left to get my camera. When I came back, he was still there so here he is, giving me the evil eye. An Allen's, I think.

Then along came the other hummer, a bit larger and greener. It chased Allen number one off but hummer number two was a bit more elusive after he secured the tree, so skittish so I couldn't get a better shot.

hummer number two, originally uploaded by luvarugula.

Allen number one, of course, came back in full attack mode. At which point, I needed to leave. But all throughout this month, even in our epic rain, I could still hear them battling even though I couldn't quite see them.

I'm wondering if they are migrating through. I usually don't see Allen's as much as Anna's hummingbirds.