Had to change the theme

 Due to not finding the blogger button in order to make a new post. Very annoying.

Anyway, haven't been out to the garden but took other pictures and have been bundling up at night due to it getting really really cold. Remember that previous post where I said I doubted it would get down to 50? Well...... it got to 50 by 11 pm. It's been dipping into the mid to high 40's at night and early morning the last few days so it's definitely winter now. The great rain storm dumped some badly needed water and snow in the higher elevations but still not enough.

The day after it rained I noticed this. These are the herb planters I snitched cilantro seeds from and they are in front of the apartment office. Manager put them out to get some watering and they were still sitting there the next day. Take advantage of water from the sky every chance you get.

It's been dry the last two days but still chilly enough to wear a jacket. Might have even gotten some drizzle or frost overnight but by the time the sun comes up it was just damp. Oh and remember the Norfolk Pine and how I showed it wasn't very stable?

All fall down go boom, well more like a thud or quiet crunch. Poor thing (Rocky is checking out wondering what happened.) So yet another example of poorly placed plants poorly performing. Hoping they find somewhere to replant it, repot it or more likely as they did with the Camellia, just kill it by cutting it up and throwing it in the dumpster. Hoping they repot it and maybe I'll sneak some ornaments and garland out to dress it up for Christmas.

On that topic, knowing the mature size of a plant/tree will be when planting near a fence, exhibit A:

Eucalyptus citriodora (I am behind on my taxonomy because it is now called Corymbia citriodora). Yes they smell lemony when it rains or you crush the leaves. This is likely the source of medicinal lemon/eucalyptus throat drops but don't take my word for it. Anyway, these can get trunks that are at least four feet across at the base, sometimes bigger. Likely when this was younger it was about two feet from the fence.. well it's bulging the fence out now because the base of the tree expanded that much and more. The neighbors on that side have small dogs so had to put in extra barrier to keep them in. It is doing quite a number on the fence which is likely the same age as the tree... thirty plus years old I suspect.

Something else I discovered walking along the fence was winged insects.

These are an ant nest that is swarming. It happens when there's been an extended dry period and then rain. Typically we see them in the spring but it happens this time of year as well, the rain triggers queen ants to hatch with wings and spread out to find a new nest site. It was on the other side of the fence so I couldn't do anything about it but even if it was on our side, can't do anything about it. Rocky found them fascinating fluttering all over the place had to brush them off his fur or he'd bring them in the house.

This is something to watch for in any case, it also happens with termites but those are white, these were definitely black and the size of ants but thicker.  Plants and insects benefit from the rain, the world weather patterns are changing and we need to be aware of it and adapt. It's too late to do anything about it, the best we can do is try to mitigate any future changes and the problems it may cause.

Meanwhile another tree that needs to be eradicated is oddly enough called 'Tree of Heaven' (Ailanthus altissimus) it is anything but that. It grows like a weed and is considered invasive, seedlings come up everywhere, the seed pods are obvious and obnoxious. Birds don't eat the seeds and the branches are barely strong enough to hold a large bird. The flowers smell all right I guess but that's about it. (You can see the bulge in the fence from the Lemon Gum tree at this angle).

Our street has several spots where this invasive tree has sprung up and people think 'it's a free shade tree, not going to cut it down'. Lazy man's landscaping can cause headaches and cost money down the road.

New year is around the corner and hopefully better days ahead for us all.