Various

[pameladean]

Well, I was going to take a walk, but I dawdled too long fussing with Chapter 12 of Going North (now Chapter 12, or the first half of the original chapter; Chapter 13, a brand-new chapter from the other viewpoint; and Chapter 14, the second half of the original Chapter 12) and it's raining.

I found some more garlic mustard in my yard today. I had not seen it blooming before this year. I only knew what it was because Eric, who visited over Memorial Day Weekend, much to my delight, had been reading the LJ of somebody who was helping to eradicate it; and then we went to Eloise Butler and wondered what that tall leggy plant with the small white mustardy flowers was. In the plant book for Eloise Butler, there it was: garlic mustard. I know that it is Evil, because minnehaha K says so. In any case, last year I nurtured what must have been a first-year rosette, because it was quite pretty; this year it bloomed. Eric ceremonially yanked the plant out of the ground when we got home from our hike. Today I was out with my cat and saw two more blooming plants of garlic mustard near the retaining wall separating our yard from the Doggy Neighbors. I didn't yank them up because Aristophanes objects to my weeding, but I'll do it when the rain stops.

I missed a very nice party on Friday because I was reconstituting Chapter 12. On Saturday I worked on it some more. I have finally decided where to split the book. I have to write two more chapter to end the first volume properly, and at least that many to begin and then end the second volume properly. Also, I have to think of titles, which is annoying me disproportionately.

On Sunday David and I had lunch at Baja (fish tacos! Whee!) and then drove down to Northfield to see his mother. She seems to be staying pretty cheerful given that a lot of difficulties of aging are coming down on her head. Her cat, Reuben, was very friendly. We walked around the yard and admired the gigantic Persian lilac and the just-opening irises. We saw a chipping sparrow on the fence, a fine stripey-faced bird with a little rusty-red cap. We don't get them in our yard in Minneapolis. Then David and I drove to Eagan to a gaming-but-NOT-birthday party. I was there to talk to the people who didn't want to game, and that's what David did too, although in other years he has played games as well. I had spent a lot of pleasant time talking to his mother while he installed a wireless hub in her house, and this left me at remarkably low ebb for additional conversation. I sat around and grinned a lot. The Best Poodle actually jumped in my lap. She is Always Polite, but has not been so Condescending and Gracious before. She and one of her Monkeys had been groomed recently and I got to rub both of their heads.

Today has been spent revising Chapter 13, which of course was a first draft when I finished it and looked rather shoddy between the highly-polished bookends that were once Chapter 12. I hope to have it up to snuff by the end of today. Then I think I'll dive headfirst into Bartlett's Online and try to figure out some titles for these annoying objects.

I am still catching up with LJ after gleefully neglecting it during Eric's visit. (He had a cold and we were overscheduled and missed yet another very nice birthday party, but it was a lovely visit. We saw a great many indigo buntings, and catbirds.)

Pamela

Comments

we like to call it "karenbane"

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

May I suggest you do the very radical and add the leaves to your salads?

K. [it tastes pretty good, as the name suggests]

Re: we like to call it "karenbane"

[jbru.livejournal.com]

I'll have to keep an eye out, but I haven't seen anything that seems to be like the photo by timprov above.

Re: we like to call it "karenbane"

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

The flowers, 4-petalled like mustards always are, do not help distinguish the plant. It might be more useful to google up some images like these.

K.

Re: we like to call it "karenbane"

[jbru.livejournal.com]

Uh-oh. I don't have the spiky-leaved variety, but the rounder-leaved variety looks kinda familiar.

Re: we like to call it "karenbane"

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Ho, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden has a garlic mustard pesto recipe! I am so making that!

K.

Re: we like to call it "karenbane"

[jbru.livejournal.com]

Hey, that sounds like an excellent idea!

Re: we like to call it "karenbane"

[pameladean]

Oh, excellent. I don't have enough for pesto -- yet.

P.

Re: we like to call it "karenbane"

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I was indeed just saying to markgritter "Can't you eat it?"

I should read to the end of comments, clearly, before commenting...

Re: we like to call it "karenbane"

[pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, just from the description it sounds like it would be nice if it wanted to join the nasturtiums and borage in randomly appearing in my yard to provide more bits for salads.