The Change in the Weather Will Keep Us Together

So here we are again with the rushing in of the fall. Back to school time, one routine I never grew tired of. Back to school: the anticipation of seeing old friends and meeting new ones, one gold and one silver, like the childhood rhyme. Pre-school, kindergarten, elementary school, high school, college, graduate school followed by law school. Fresh books, new teachers and professors, the first "grade"to be received of the semester or "quarter" as it were, the new rooms and later, new campuses and new buildings to study in all with their hallowed halls... Now, I am starting the cycle all over again; this time with my daughter, a pre-schooler and then, my son following in her footsteps.


I can't help but be nostalgic about this time. The ushering in of a new season, particularly autumn, conjures up great moments to behold. The first taste of butternut squash soup with fresh cream and cracked black pepper, a football game of your favorite team, roasting pumpkin seeds with sea salt after carving those beautiful pumpkins and that first fall hike when the season has unmistakably changed. The "er" months slowing unfolding like a "en plein air"artist's canvas.


So, what does the fall really bring to mind in those initial thoughts. For certain and in my mind, the deep imprint will forever be the premature birth of my son. It was a mostly unexpected early birth which came subsequent to an extremely filled 24 hours preceding his birth.


There was the "stress test"in the early morning; a must for any mother "over-35." The sandwich cart at UCSF; one not to be missed. Lots of work on the computer: drafting motions; preparing letters to clients; phone calls and emails. The day's "billing" to be accounted for; no rest for the weary. Then, there was the facepaint that needed to be located at the local art store on Haight; the preparation of a big steaming pot of Crawfish Etoufee from scratch; the arrival of my mother and father-in-law; then picking up my daughter from her playschool and dressing her as a brightly-colored peacock.


But, as it turns out, the day had only just begun. There began the Halloween party at our neighbors. Lots of pumpkin cut-out grilled cheeses; I ate five. Some sparkling lemon soft drinks; little hot dogs enveloped in a puff pastry assembled to resemble small "thumbs"; a sea of gourmet cheeses, some spicy Jambalaya and my spicy Crawfish Etoufee.


There was lots of good food to be had and for a pregnant person who had gained the weight of our family's Golden Retriever, it was entirely welcome and befitting. The feast of the senses did not end there. There was the onward march to Belvedere Street for all of us costumed revelers. Ask anyone and they will tell you Belvedere Street is the place to be for families with children in San Francisco. We were to be no exception. From festive orange, black and white balloons, to live human outfitted character shows in windows; to a disco circle playing EW&F's "September;" to Frankenstein on old-school large pull-down screens which projected the iconic movie, there was this real McCoy Halloween to be had in all its ghoulish glory.


I told my father-in-law as we made the ascent with our blue and green glittering little peacock leading the way, that " the baby would come very soon." Little did we know that would happen the very next day. Because after hours of climbing the San Francisco hills and taking part in more revelry at our neighbors complete with our children counting their candies which had been set out in large piles in the floor, our little boy had made up his mind to rush into the world, a whole six weeks early!


The evening then started to wind down. We made our way back to our flat and put our daughter down for the night. She wanted to sleep in her face paint. Who was I to argue at this point of the night. I was then able to soak my tired feet and heavily pregnant body in some warm water and settle down for some late evening reading only to arrive in bed and find my water had broken. With a huge sigh of exhaustion and somewhat disbelief, I made my way to our living room. I found that my husband had just opened a brew to share with my Hungarian friend (one of my dear "study abroad" old friends was visiting from across the Atlantic) and he happened to be staying with us for the week.


"My water just broke," I announced."Time to get packing and to the hospital. "

My husband just sat there staring at me like this was some type of joke. Having already been through a terribly long labor and emergency delivery of our first-born daughter, he knew what he was in for. My erudite European friend, who can play Liszt and Mozart on the piano like nobody's business, gave a perfect nudge to my husband and said, "I think you should start packing now." My husband got the picture. He set his beer down and starting running around in circles. My European friend, called Csongi, said some comforting words and gave us the strength to get going.

We didn't know the sex this time around. We were gearing up for another round in the ring.


Add another grueling day, two weeks in the hospital to account for our son's "complicated course" in his first weeks on the planet, and then, home, home at last. My European friend gone, the pumpkin cheesecake still in the refigerator (he had requested an "American dessert"when I asked if there was anything I could pick up for him,) and we finally arrived at home with this newly minted "It is son!"in the delivery room. Now, the fall will forever remind me of the birth of our son, Sebastian, and all his prefatory and colorful history.


All the Best,




Loren

stung. a teachable moment.

Yesterday I got stung by a yellowjacket. It's number 37,117 on the list of things to look out for your kid's safety.

I was running on a popular trail in Woodside, Skyline Ridge. In this race, approximately 7 out of 10 people I talked to also were stung-- some through clothing and others victimized by repeated stings inside their shirt. Yellowjackets are a kind of short, squat wasp that often builds nests out of abandoned rodent holes. It is during fall they are most aggressive.

A couple of years ago I was stung at the Marin Farmers Market as a plodding horse (with my kid on it, of course) disturbed denizens of an underground nest. I found out I am particularly vulnerable. My foot was swollen for over a week. Worse, some may be susceptible to anaphalactic shock.

The episode sparked my curiosity of the feisty, furry creature. Why the attitude?

It is a combination of several things that angers them in the fall.

Yellowjacket nests are constructed in the spring by a solitary fertile female. She cares for about 30 larvae all by herself. When they hatch, they take over constructing the nest. The queen yellowjacket continues laying more eggs. These insects feast on flies, tree sap, fruits, caterpillars, in addition to excess trash, especially sweet-smelling foods and meat left in the open. The adults chew up protein and reconstitute the food to feed the larvae. The larvae in the nest then secrete a sugary material eaten by adults. By the end of summer any one colony may reach a population of 4000 workers.

During autumn, the larvae stop secreting the sugar. The fertile male and female bees leave the parent colony to mate, whereupon the males soon die. What's left is a colony of thousands of worker adults suffering a lack of sugar. Kind of like your toddler's later afternoon inexorable demise. So if in their addled state yellowjackets hear vibrations in the ground, see rapid movement, or sense a pheromone alarm emitted by other guard workers, they will become especially aggressive and territorial.

Bzzzzzz. China Camp is a good place to find yellowjackets.

By the start of winter, all the yellowjackets in the colony die, except for the newly mated females, who fly off to survive the winter all on their own-- perhaps in a tree hollow or dry eave.

Today I received a call from our teacher at MdTL. My son was playing four-square in the play yard and got stung by a yellowjacket very close to his eye. We put a cold compress on him and watched for signs of difficulty breathing. His cheek is quite swollen but his air passage is clear. I get to tell him all about the yearly cycle of a very sociable animal. A teachable moment. He's fine, although he looks like he took a fastball to the face. Wait-- that is kids' safety hazard #37,118.

Post by IAN

GREEN TIP FOR THE MONTH

FALL: Tree Planting Time
More Trees Please…

"The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day."—U.S. Department of Agriculture

"Landscaping can reduce air conditioning costs by up to 50 percent, by shading the windows and walls of a home." — American Public Power Association

"If you plant a tree today on the west side of your home, in 5 years your energy bills should be 3% less. In 15 years the savings will be nearly 12%." —Dr. E. Greg McPherson, Center for Urban Forest Research

"A mature tree can often have an appraised value of between $1,000 and $10,000." —Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers

"One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people."—U.S. Department of Agriculture

"There are about 60-to 200- million spaces along our city streets where trees could be planted. This translates to the potential to absorb 33 million more tons of CO2 every year, and saving $4 billion in energy costs."—National Wildlife Federation

"Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20 - 50 percent in energy used for heating."—USDA Forest Service

"Trees can be a stimulus to economic development, attracting new business and tourism. Commercial retail areas are more attractive to shoppers, apartments rent more quickly, tenants stay longer, and space in a wooded setting is more valuable to sell or rent."—The Arbor Day Foundation

"The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply. Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into streams."—USDA Forest Service

"In laboratory research, visual exposure to settings with trees has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes, as indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension."—Dr. Roger S. Ulrich Texas A&M University

I’m nuts about trees. Trees in your yard can shelter and feed many different types of wildlife. Trees can also reduce your heating and cooling costs, help clean the air, add beauty and color, provide shelter from the wind and the sun, and add value to your home—tree lined streets are always the most desirable. A good fruit tree can feed your family plus 5 more and they are ideal for jams, chutneys and sauces. Nut trees can make holiday liquors for everyone on your shopping list and provide nature’s best protein source. When was the last time that you climbed a tree?

For in the true nature of things,
if we rightly consider,
every green tree is far more glorious
than if it were made of gold and silver. ~
~ Martin Luther King ~

OK, so fortunately most folks don’t need to be convinced—trees are sublime! Planting a tree in your yard is a long-term commitment and there is a lot of planning and preparation involved. If you’ve been contemplating planting a tree, well heck, if even if you haven’t--Fall is the best time to do it.

When you plant a tree in the Fall, you’re taking advantage of favorable soil temperatures and moisture conditions that promote root growth. Did you know that tree roots grow anytime the soil temperature is 40 degrees or higher? Strong root growth will sustain your tree through its critical first year in your yard. Then when spring arrives, this expanded root system will support the tree and thrive during the surge of spring growth. In other words—if you plant a tree now, you’re giving it the BEST possible start and it will reward you ten-fold for many years to come.

How to Plant a Tree

While planting each of these different types of trees differs in the details, all trees eventually end up in a hole. But not any old hole will do.

• The most common mistake when planting a tree is a digging hole, which is both too deep and too narrow. Too deep and the roots don’t have access to sufficient oxygen to ensure proper growth. Too narrow and the root structure can’t expand sufficiently to nourish and properly anchor the tree.

• As a general rule, trees should be transplanted no deeper than the soil in which they were originally grown. The width of the hole should be at least 3 times the diameter of the root ball or container or the spread of the roots in the case of bare root trees. This will provide the tree with enough worked earth for its root structure to establish itself.

• When digging in poorly drained clay soil, it is important to avoid ‘glazing’. Glazing occurs when the sides and bottom of a hole become smoothed forming a barrier, through which water has difficulty passing. To break up the glaze, use a fork to work the bottom and drag the points along the sides of the completed hole. Also, raising the centre bottom of the hole slightly higher than the surrounding area. This allows water to disperse, reducing the possibility of water pooling in the planting zone.

Planting Balled and Burlapped Trees.

Balled and burlapped (B & B) trees, although best planted as soon as possible, can be stored for some time after purchase as long as the ball is kept moist and the tree stored in a shady area. B & B trees should always be lifted by the ball, never by the trunk. The burlap surrounding the ball of earth and roots should either be cut away completely (mandatory, in the case of synthetic or plastic burlap) or at least pulled back from the top third of the ball (in the case of natural burlap). Any string or twine should also be removed. Backfill soil (combinations of peat moss, composted manure, topsoil, etc.) is then placed in the hole surrounding the tree just to the height of the ball or slightly lower to allow for some settling. Be careful not to compress the back fill soil as this may prevent water from reaching the roots and the roots from expanding beyond the ball.

Planting Container Trees.

Container trees (though subject to greater heat and drying conditions than B and B) can also be stored for a brief period of time after purchase as long as the soil in the container is kept moist and the tree stored in a shady spot. The procedure for planting container trees is similar to that for B & B trees. In the case of metal or plastic containers, remove the container completely. In the case of fibre containers, tear the sides away.

Once carefully removed from the container, check the roots. If they are tightly compressed or ‘potbound’, use your fingers or a blunt instrument (to minimize root tearing) to carefully tease the fine roots away from the tight mass and then spread the roots prior to planting. In the case of extremely woody compacted roots, it may be necessary to use a spade to open up the bottom half of the root system. The root system is then pulled apart or ‘butterflied’ prior to planting. Loosening the root structure in this way is extremely important in the case of container plants. Failure to do so may result in the roots ‘girdling’ and killing the tree. At the very least, the roots will have difficulty expanding beyond the dimensions of the original container. To further assist this, lightly break up even the soil outside the planting zone. This allows roots that quickly move out of the planting zone to be more resilient as they anchor into existing surrounding soil conditions.

Once the tree is seated in the hole, the original soil is then back-filled into the hole to the soil level of the container. Again, remember not to overly compress the back-filled soil especially by tramping it with your feet. Compress gently using your hands instead.

Planting Bare-Rooted Trees.

Planting bare-rooted trees is a little different as there is no soil surrounding the roots. Most importantly, the time between purchase and planting is a more critical issue. Plant as soon as possible. When purchasing bare-rooted trees, inspect the roots to ensure that they are moist and have numerous lengths of fine root hairs (healthy). Care should be taken to ensure that the roots are kept moist in the period between purchase and planting. Prune broken or damaged roots but save as much of the root structure as you can.

To plant, first build a cone of earth in the centre of the hole around which to splay the roots. Make sure that when properly seated on this cone the tree is planted so that the ‘trunk flare’ is clearly visible and the ‘crown’, where the roots and top meet, is about two inches above the soil level. This is to allow for natural settling.

http://www.tree-planting.com

http://www.pacificopenspace.com/North_Coast_Native_Nursery

http://www.berkeleyhort.com/

http://www.mostlynatives.com/

http://www.baynatives.com/

O'Donnell's Fairfax Nursery
1700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Fairfax, CA 94930 Tel: 415/453-0372
Wide variety of native plants, ranging from easy- to hard-to-find. Wild lilies, wild iris, beaked hazelnut, redtwig dogwood, wild honeysuckle, native willows, etc. Native seeds and bulbs.
http://www.yerbabuenanursery.com/newsletter_fall09_fall_winter_feature.php

http://www.cnps.org/ California Native Plant Society