Of paper wasps and scrub jays

...honey bee from a yellow jacket from a wasp–and we won’t even start on the native bees. Yet it pays to be able to do so, because each is quite different, and we can interact peaceably with all of them if we know their ways. Paper wasps, also called umbrella wasps, are those guys who build smallish, open celled nests in protected places, often the eaves of your house. Wasp stings are quite painful, but few people know that these wasps rarely attack...

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Erik to Speak at South Pasadena Beautiful on June 3rd

...s at 3:30). In addition to the usual subjects of chickens, bees, vegetables and the home arts I’ll touch on some hot button issues I find equally important: Tree care in a drought Creating walkable/bikeable communities Gardening with native plants Throwing neighborhood parties Why hay hooks are the new hipster fashion accessory (just kidding) It’s freeeeeeee! The South Pasadena Library is located at: 1115 El Centro St. Hope to see some Root Simple...

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Backyard in Progress

...’ll remove the bar code from that pipe! We plan on planting this area with native plants in the fall. Laramee and his crew also hauled up some rock to better define the paths in our yard that lead to the bees and the chicken coop. Laramee also proposed something else we never would have thought of: 12-volt lighting. He placed the lights sparingly along the paths in our backyard. For the sake of wildlife, I don’t believe in having outdoor lighting...

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Moldy Grapes!

...ur two table grape vines are a little hesitant to really bust out, but our native grape (Vitus californica) has taken over the entire south facing wall of our garden, and is threatening the neighbor’s house. The chickens like grape leaves, fortunately, so I have something to do with the prunings, but I wanted to do more. I’m a big fan of dolmas, so thought I’d try to pickle some grape leaves. Skimming the internet for recipes, I saw, as usual, man...

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Saturday Tweets: Happy Feet and Sad Feet

.... pic.twitter.com/Qa8EBaUp8R — Nigel Dunnett (@NigelDunnett) July 18, 2019 Native, or Not So Much? https://t.co/DVO4novEGO — Benjamin Vogt (@BRVogt) July 18, 2019 Plant Parenthood https://t.co/01XQzgUiW1 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) July 18, 2019 “It is in our hands to make of our world a better one for all.” – Nelson Mandela Today let us honor #MandelaDay as he taught us that we have the power to make that change. — Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) July 1...

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