Another cold day in January

27 January 2022

These are Johnny Jump Up violas in my carport window boxed. They have easily persevered during the cold nights we have had in January. I am hoping they will do the same for the next couple of cold nights. I am using my new iPhone 13 for these photos. The portrait mode gives these wonderful close ups with bokeh effect.

My “Jon Bos” hyacinth are beginning to emerge from the containers in my carport. I also have several containers planted with daffodils. Sill waiting for them to emerge.

 

These are dried luffas. If you don’t know these, listen up. The mother plant is a rapidly growing vine like squash. Young luffas can be eaten like yellow squash. If you leave them on the vine, they eventually will dry out. Then, you can peel off the outer skin and you have these. They will replace a sponge and are great in the shower for scraping off areas of dried elbows, knees and heels.

 

Lone daffodil bloom seen at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens this past week. It is a south facing slope planted amongst some clumping grasses. Very beautiful trumpet as seen on a bright sunny day.

 

These are some benches we have been working on at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. They are dedicated benches that have become weathered and covered with mold and lichen. First, we will wash them with a solution of dishwashing soap, vinegar and water. This is about a one hour job. This is followed by sanding with a power hand sander and also some manual sanding. This also takes an hour. I will show you a finished product soon.

A bonus for you today. This is a spotted salamander. Found this photo today on an email that came from Ruffner Mountain. I have been to where these creatures live in the Homewood Forest Preserve. I haven’t seen one but this was fascinating. I have included some text from the email.

The annual Spotted Salamander migration is an incredible sight, as well as the first sign of spring in Alabama – and you don’t have to travel far to see it. A large population of Spotted Salamanders undergoes this migration each year in Homewood, AL, and there is even a festival hosted by the Friends of Shades Creek celebrating their emergence each year! This year’s festival will be hybrid, with a virtual component starting on January 29, 2022, and running through February, and in-person hikes on January 29 and 30. If you love salamanders, I highly recommend attending and asking Friends of Shades Creek how you can get involved in preserving this amazing Alabama amphibian!