Green shoots breaking through cracked clay

Not a new beginning, a continuation...

With permission input and enthusiasm I am planning a new garden, in a new place. There will be flowers of course, there should always be flowers.  

But amongst the flowers  will be trailing vines of peas and beans, colourful beet leaves, steel grey leeks and mustard greens whose rusty red leaves show that names are not always helpful.


 

                       

I am restless, eager to move on..
                                       to grow again and to face the sun's fire
And to let all impurities melt away.
                                     Slowly as I pick my way forward I find  myself curious..
Do I need to let go or disentangle myself...

Seeds

Maybe you'll see  them around sometimes looking like the droppings of some odd creature, with green shoots pushing through the crumbling clay.

  I wont go into details, I will give links.. What appropriate purposes could I use them for?


Some Links. I have not checked them for quality or accuracy, so use your own Judement.

Seedballs; How to grow trees without really trying

Quite a few links here!

A useful guide for those in Canberra

A census of the plants of the ACT

Should there be, or are there Murrnongs in the grasslands of Canberra? What about native grasses, there are some areas that look a bit overused which could perhaps do with a seed bank top up, using appropriate natives of local provenance of course!

Yam Daisy, Murnong: Microseris lanceolata

So my last post...

No derailment, nothing to see.... :D

I am brilliant and great but full of little mistakes,
                                          and today my mistake is not little
no matter how small it started
  and I  can feel the train begin to lurch and lean

MADAGASCAR: WHAT IS HAPPENING?

?
Research has conformed that Ringtail lemurs living amongst limestone spires sleep in caves.

From the limited information I have tracked down, the Election still seems to be undecieded, I will try and find out more.

Melons

The Melons, Cucumis melo are diverse species with many more varieties than rockmelon and honeydew, indeed there are some that are used as vegetables rather than as the sweet fruit we all know. Those however I will deal with when I get to cucumbers, because the earliest fruit used as a cucumber is actually a melon

Watermelons also exhibit some variation however they are usually readily identifiable as watermelons, while Cucumis melons vary greatly in appearance.

The wild ancestors of Watermelons grow throughout northern Africa and their seeds have been uncovered in excavations of New Kingdom Egyptian sites at Thebes (Jannick 2006).

Melons (Cucumis) Have their origins in Africa and South Western Asia, where cultivation began somewhere between 7000BC and 3000 BC (Szabó 2005).

While watermelons followed the typical route of North African plants into Europe, being mainly introduced through Spain During Moorish expansion, Other melons found a different route (Jannick 2006). 

In the 9^th Century A.D. Melons are one of the food plants mentioned in Walahfrid Strabo’s Hortulus a poem a garden, it’s contents and the virtues of the plants growing within it.

Hungary is acknowledged as a centre for melon Biodiversity with at least twenty landraces known today (Szabó 2005). This diversity made it possible for Hungarian scientists to analyse and compare melon seeds found at a the 15th century site of the royal Palace on Buda hill in Budapest, with these modern landraces (Szabó 2005). The result of this is that it is possible to say that the medieval melon in this instance belonged to the Cucumis melo inodorus group commonly called winter melons and that it was probably around the size of a large orange with belong

green flesh and pale yellow smooth skin (Szabó 2005). The inodorus group are worthy of notice for their slow ripening process which enables them to be stored for several months making them an important source of fruit for at least part of winter (Szabó 2005).

 Melons of Hungary

Rockmelons, part of the melon group cantalupensis are a later introduction into Western Europe coming from Armenia in the early 16^th Century and Ultimately becoming the most common melon type of the Renaissance  (Szabó 2005)..

Country or Region			Carolingian empire	Italy	Italy	Ferrara Northern Italy	Spain (Written in Catalan)
Date			9th century	between 12th and 13th C	between 12th and 13th C	14th–15th century a.d	1529
Source			Walahfrid Strabos Hortulus	FIRENZE-VIA DE' CASTELLANI		results of the archaeobotanical investigation of “The Mirror Pit”	Libre del Coch
	Scientific name
Melon	Cucumis melo		x		x	x	x
Watermelon	Citrillus lanatus			x	x

 melon varieties informatin from Melons Australia

And now for something completely different !

Pictures from the Canberra Show 2013!!!

 References

o   Jannick J , Paris H, 2006 “The Cucurbit Images (1515–1518) of the Villa Farnesina, Rome”  Annals of Botany 97: 165–176, 2006 doi:10.1093/aob/mcj025, available online at www.aob.oxfordjournals.org  http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/pdfs/70-2_03_villa_farnesina.pdf

o   Jannick J , Paris H, Parrish D, 2007 “The Cucurbits of Mediterranean Antiquity: Identification of Taxa from Ancient Images and Descriptions” Annals of Botany 100: 1441–1457,

o   Z. Szabó1,2*, G. Gyulai2, Z. Tóth2, and L. Heszky2 2005 Morphological and molecular diversity of 47 melon (Cucumis melo) cultivars compared to an extinct landrace excavated from the 15^th century1St. Stephanus University, 1 Institute of Botany, 2 Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Gödöllı, H-2103, Hungary * Corresponding author e-mail: Szabo.Zoltan@mkk.szie.hu

o   Strabo, Walafrid. Hortulus. Translated by Raef Payne. Commentary by Wilfrid Blunt. (Pittsburgh: Hunt Botanical Library, 1966)

o   Daunay M.C, Janick J, Paris, H.S. 2009 Tacuinum Sanitatis: Horticulture and Health in the Late Middle Ages Volume 49 - Number 3 Chronica Horticultulturae, vol 49(3),pp22-29 Accessed online

www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/chronica_tacuinum.pdf

o    

,

storm

 Storms have come and gone, leaving behind growth and memories.

All are precious the, clean sharp smell of pines on my 4am trek through the quiet city.   Today I sweltered and thought of cold air and a cleansing  storm.

MUSICAL CHAIRS: Some more ideas of what I could do on my holidays.............

I am still pondering the possibilities!

My budget is as yet unknown, although I suspect I will have enough for a modest amount of fun.
Here are some newer ideas...
Musical instrument making
 STURT School
I'm tempted by the stool making but I think I may have the basic skills. What I probably want is a green wood-turning course, or a course in Windsor chair making. I wish the Wisdom through course was closer than Tasmania. Perhaps next year!

LEARNING ABOUT TIMBER AND TREES

RED OAK

Everywhere I look these days I see "Red oak" mentioned. The large number of U.S.Asian blogs and pages I look at and of course "The Woodrights Shop" may go some way to explain this, but I have recently found this timber at the masters warehouse store near Canberra airport.
 Being  me I wondered what it was, where it came from, how useful it is to me and of course is it being produced sustainably?

Here is what I have found out:

Red Oak
 Quercus Rubra  Family FAGACEAE

Red Oak

    Scientific name: Quercus rubra L.
    Common name(s): red oak, northern red oak
    Synonym(s): Quercus borealis F.Michx.
    Conservation status: Least Concern (LC) according to IUCN Red List criteria.
    Habitat: Valley floors to mid-slopes of hills and mountains Quercus rubra is native to south-eastern Canada and north-central and eastern USA.
  
Red oak is hard timber from a rapidly growing tree, which naturally make it a good plantation tree.   It is straight grained with with large open pores. Apparently the grain is so open   that smoke can be blown all the way through a flat-sawn board.
 

Red Oak

How does it compare to Quercus robur?  (European/English oak)

  Density:

• Q. rubra :770 kg/m³
• Q. robur: 670-720 kg/m³ 

 Shrinkage:  

•  Q. rubra:  Radial: 4.0%, Tangential: 8.6%, Volumetric: 13.7%, T/R Ratio: 2.2
• Q. robur: Shrinkage:Radial: 4.7%, Tangential: 8.4%, Volumetric: 13.0%, T/R Ratio: 1.8

Average dry weight:

•  Q. rubra:  44 lbs/ft³ (700 kg/m³)
• Q. robur: 42 lbs/ft3 (675 kg/m3)  

  It would appear from these statistics that the two timbers are very similar in all but colour.

References:

•  The Wood Database.
•  Kew Gardens
• Trend Timber 
• Wood Solutions 
• Britton Timbers 
• Hardwood Silviculture Cooperative College of Forestry, Oregon State University 
•  

Sad Limerick

Ever since time immemorial
Lemurs lived lives quite arboreal
Now forest encroachment,
Without firm reproachment,
Could soon render them incorporeal.

 

 

Tip Trip pays off!

CLAMPS

I have been aware of threads cut into timber to form threaded shafts for a while. But generally I have put that process into the to hard basket. I think it's time I changed that as I want to make some of these...

Wooden C clamp detail .

Noah's Ark Cycle: 1. Building of the Ark

1588  Kaspar Memberger the Elder

 I went to the Farmers Market at EPIC and on my way back we dropped into the "green shed" (dump shop). I picked a backpack and then I saw 2 turned wooden handles caught my eye, turns out it was 2 wooden C clamps. The screws are  warped a little and only one may be functional, but what a find! even as display/ reference pieces they are very useful. I am also pleased to say that I can document the use of this form of clamp within the SCA time period!

Christmas Holidays

Those who have known me for a long time will know that I have always wanted to live life in a meaningful way, that I love nature, gardening, food, alternatives to the way mainstream society does things and want to work towards the world being a better place. I have done various things, been to courses and classes, have found my way to teaching and have probably made more of a difference than I realise.
So what I have planned to do over the Christmas Holidays this year is to enjoy these things!
here's where I need some help, tips,advice etc

-I am using meditation techniques as a means of managing stress and anxiety. I would like to spend at least a day or 2 at a place where I can learn more skills in this area, probably a Monastery or Ashram, I've found a few of options ( Hari Krishna, Benedictine, Buddhist) but would be happy to hear of more.
-I am keen to go to music events and festivals
-I want to go to events based around old skills. For example bush carpentry, windsor chair making, food culture etc.
-I want to learn more about appropriate technologies, small scale energy for instance or using c&c technology to provide communities with items they need. Cyber hippy stuff I suppose?
-I'd like to meet up with people with similar views and build on my connections.
-I'd like to do something of a volunteer nature with Wildlife.
-And catch up with friends of course!
- And festivals, gatherings etc would be awesome.

So what do you suggest? I have some ideas and destinations but nothing I'm committed to!

I am not lost
         But wandering may suit me sometime,
                            And so I plan and ponder, considering the summer and what I shall do.
                     
    I am me once again,
                    My course corrected, fog clearing.
                                                    

There's no place like home

 I'll tell you when Find it......

 

Community, sustainability, affordability: Making the life I want happen..

 I need to create a place where being me is easier, where I can have friends over and occasionally have a BBQ or party. Somewhere where my ideals are accepted an where I can simply get on with being .

Project and gift...maybe!

Am I ready for a real chair? 

Soon I will have someone to make a highchair for, although it will be no use to them for a year or so. I could always make an elaborate piece of dolls furniture which they will never be allowed to play with, or a stool for when they are 2 or 3, that said this will be useful to them at that  age.

 

I also need to decide if the style is appropriate for the house i will end up in, and that it's child safe!

There is always one like this one made by Roy Underhill.

Hmm what should I do during my 6 week break over Christmas?

Are there any particular music,  environmental, permaculture, sustainability or craft (as in woodwork, food related, hippy, country skills etc)  events which I should try to get to? 

Please make you suggestions here !!.

Now that I have more of an idea of who I am and the types of people I need to make further connections with, I need to do something about it!

My Parcel has arrived

Here are my new toys

 

Taper cutters

Pfiel sccorp, 3cm width.

I have  been watching the series "Vikings" on SBS.Now before I find myself shunned for this, just let me say one thing. GEESE.  Yes the cothing is innacurate, the view of government a little skewed and there seem's to be an awful lot of threeway action happening...But, there are geese in just about every episode. I am fairly sure that it's the same flock as well.

Well, I've been experiencing difficulties with posting so I will give a quick update. No pictures unfortunately :( So I have some of my tool, I can't complete the stools but I have being learning how to use my scorp. In other news I am really looking forward to teaching next term, I even get my own class room!

Also I happen to have got my Learners license! Bet you didn't see that one coming!

Creatures of the night:

Night Stalk: spotlighting trip 1

Went for a walk to Gunghalin hill nature reserve, which is just behind Crace and spent over an hour spotlighting.

Tonight we saw..... 3 micro-bats and heard many, 14 grey kangaroos, 3 Brushtail possums, one on it's own and a mother with a baby on her back, 1 cockatoo, three wood duck and 3 foxes. Definitely going out spotlighting for Nightstalk again!

 Another cool thing from last nights "Nighstalk" was playing recorded animal sounds and listening for a response. We had minimal luck... except for a moment in the forest of eyes where we played a recorded fox call. I don't know what the recorded fox was saying, but it made the local foxes a bit excited!

We tried the same technique with a Tawny Frogmouth call and a Southern Boobook call but had no luck.   The Museum of Victoria has produced an iphone App called the "Field Guide to Victorian Fauna". I'm not in Victoria but many of the species are the same.

 Link to: Field guide to Victorian Fauna

Carved wooden Bowls: in search of a style

I want to carve some relatively simple wooden bowls, and since my "audience" is the SCA I really need to find an appropriate style from before 1600 a..d

This is not the only reason of course, or even the main one. Trying and learning different styles will be fun and teach me more about the craft.  This will of course remain a work in progress.

The Oseberg Ship Grave wooden household artifacts ( C 834  a.d)

"kitchen utensils include four wooden trays, two whole and two fragmentary, two large cauldrons

with chains and an iron tripod to put over the fire, three barrels for storage of food and liquid, a frying pan, a set of variously sized troughs for flour and bread production, five wooden ladles, two bowls.."

 From the Viking Age Queen, an article by Kirsten Ruffoni.

The images below are from Pinterest, I had trouble finding the original sites. The lack of scale is also an issue, however I will be able to copy proportions. Some of the other wooden objects look like they could be fun too

 

casket with lid

 The Bowl is 4 to 4.5 units wide and 9 units in length,
with an outside height of 1.5 units.   What is a unit? well basically I measured the images at a certain size on the screen and while those measurements are in centimeters, I can use them to scale up or down the size of the bowl. This has no reflection on the real size of the bowls, sadly this is unknown to me.

References

• Kirsten Ruffoni  Viking Age Queens The example of Oseberg Master’s thesis MPhil Nordic Viking and Medieval Culture 2009-2011University of Oslo
   https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/26632/Ruffoni_Master.pdf?sequence=2
   

Hello

Hi,

just throwing an offer out there! Are there any topics you would like me to Blog about?

The Beets go on

A Profile of the Beets

 

Modern scientific: Beta vulgaris

Family CHENOPODIACEAE

Common names: Silver beet, Beetroot, Beet, chard, Swiss chard, spinach.

Origins

To most Auatralians the term beet, or at least beet root conjures up images of think red slices lurking in tins.  But far from being a recent introduction to our tables the Beet, it's root and its leaves have formed an important part of the human diet. Beets have their origin in the wild sea beet Beta vulgaris subspecies maritima a native of the European coast from Norway down to the eastern Mediterranean (Facciola 1998). From their seaside roots beets have been selected into two broad forms:

-Leaf Beets Beta vulgaris Cicla group, known as, Swiss chard, Chard, spinach beet, and probably even more names (Facciola 1998). These "spinaches" were in use long before true spinach arrived in britain.

-Root Beets Beta vulgaris Crassa group, containing Beetroot, sugar beets and a variety of beets called Mangel wurzels which are generally used for stockfeed (Facciola 1998).

  



A Woman collecting the leaves of beets. The illustrations are from late 14th Century northern Italian manuscripts published in The Medieval Health Handbook: tacuinum sanitatis (NY: George Braziller, 1976).  Image sourced from http://www.buttery.org/marian/14th_c_ital_baskets_2.html

Uses

Originally use may have been limited to medicinal uses, especially in the case of the root, however by the 3^rd Century AD this had apparently changed and beetroot is mentioned as a wholesome food by Apicius (Hedrick 1919).

A recipe from Apicius .

Aliter betas elixas (Beets another way)

Cook the beets with mustard seed and serve them well pickled in a little oil and vinegar.

In Le Managier de Paris  we find Black beets served  with: "Beef pies and rissoles, black beet, lampreys in cold sage soup, a German meat soup, a white sauce of fish, and the coarse meat of beef and mutton."
In addition there are several mentions of white beets and of dishes containing the leaves of beets.:

"BEET SOUPS. There are three kinds of beet-leaf soups according to cooks who speak of them, white, green, and black."

The Archaeological record.

 In the British Archaeological record beet seeds are relatively common and while differentiating root and leaf beets from the seeds is not readily done, the presence of seeds away from the coast immediately indicates that they are cultivates as the wild sea beet is only found naturally on the coast (Greig 1995).

Beta vulgaris sub-species appear frequently in archaeological finds in Britainfrom the 15^th to 16^th centuries, Alexander Neckham and several other literary sources dating from around the 13^th and 14^thcenturies also mention beets (Greig 1995).

 

A slection of sources which mention varieties of Beta Vulgaris.

 

 

 

The Varieties,
Black, red and white Beets are metioned. I would suggest that we can use this as an indicator of these colourations being available as beet leaves, if only by virtue of the leaves from root beets also being edible. I cannot say that other colours were not know but feel that I need to look into this further .
I am having trouble finding references to identifiable varieties (beyond colour) further than the 18th century. So far we have "Early blood turnip beet" known in America in 1774 a close relative of the variety "Bulls blood" which I have seen for sale as seed.

References

·         Facciola 1998 Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants, Kampong Publications ISBN-10: 0962808725

·         Greig J 1995 “Archaeobotanical and historical records compared- a new look at the taphonomy of edible and other useful plants from the 11^th to the 18^th centuries A.D.” Circaea, the Journal of the Association for Environmental Archaeology 12 (2) pp211-247

• http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Beta-vulgaris.htm
   

·         Oyen, L.P.A., 2004. Beta vulgaris L. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Resources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 8 January 2009.

 ·         Hedrick, U.P. editor. 1919. Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants. Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for the Year 1919 II. Albany, J.B Lyon Company, State Printers. [References Available]FOOD RESOURCE
COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

• http://food.oregonstate.edu
• http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/heirloom-beet-varieties-chard-zewz1303zsch.aspx#axzz2fJjiVZMH