Munichmaedchen

Country Roads

We took a trip into biker's paradise today from Hollister to the town and Inn of Little Panoche. Of course we stopped at historic Mercey Hot Springs before we headed back into civilization towards I5 and back to Gilroy. This was a neat little trip on country roads and through beautiful forgotten valleys.

An Inch A Day

My Banana Tree
Originally uploaded by Munichmaedchen.

Remember the photo above which I posted when I got my banana tree 10 days ago? Well, the pic below shows my naner plant this very morning. It grew one inch per day - amazing. I will post photos every 10 days to document the growth of this plant.

Today

Thursday

Thursday is like in between
Well out of Monday’s darkness
On tip toes reaching out to the warming light of a Friday sun
The joy of il dolce far niente only arm-length away
Welcome Thursday, bearer of hope.

Copyright: Silvia Bichler, June 25, 2009

No Writers Block - Just Busy

I know, my blog entries don't appear as regularly as usual. Right now, creative writing gets a little bit neglected by me as there is so much other stuff to digest. How about a brainstorm of what is going on in my life to keep you up to date? Here it is:

Thyroid surgery on Aug. 5th - I either wake up with half of my thyroid (benign) or without one at all (malign); they will decide during the operation.

Something to look forward: Aug. 19 - ZZ Top and Aerosmith Live in Concord.

New addition to herb garden: ginger scented geranium. New addition to vegetable bed: Red-leaf Amaranth (use is similar to spinach). I am in the aromatherapy business and hooked. It is fascinating to dig out my grandmother's recipees and infuse healing and massage oils. Even sewing sachets and fill them with dried herbs is fun.

If I Knew The World Will End Tomorrow, I Would Still Plant...

My Banana Tree
Originally uploaded by Munichmaedchen.

... a Naner tree!

No, not the zero fruit ornamental one you see around the swimming pools in NorCal - I want to pick the real deal. 

When I read an article about a guy in Lodi who grows banana trees in his garden, I got hooked. Unfortunately, the article did not reveal the sort of hardy enough tree that would survive here in Gilroy. The Lodi guy simply stated that his brother-in-law, a Modesto banana farmer, had given him his first tree as a present. I really wanted to know what sort of banana tree those guys were growing as most of the fruit trees only strive in a tropical environment.

I researched, even went on banana tree list-servs and when I had almost given up, I found an ad on craigslist offering banana trees. It was the brother-in-law from the Lodi guy and the sort he grows is Apple Banana. The offshoot or better pup as they call the 8 week old baby banana tree was not available anymore, but I found a tiny 1man-1mother nursery who shipped one to me within two days to a very competitive price. It arrived in perfect condition with a long list of how to raise this little puppie.

My very own banana tree developed one new leaf and has now survived 8 days in our garden, protected by a fence from dog urine and a certain destructive grand-toddler, bedded in fluffy high drainage miracle growth. I keep my fingers crossed that the tree will get big, develop a flower and later the bananas and then...die. Yup, that's what a banana tree life looks like. They won't survive after bearing fruit but they will have offspring, pups who will grow into a new banana tree and carry the family genes into the future.

Garden Talk

Vegetable/Herb Garden Corner
Originally uploaded by Munichmaedchen.

It's time for an update, don't you think so? I've got a lot of news for you and my garden is changing almost on a weekly basis. Since we put the little bench in my vegetable garden corner, I spend a lot of time there on the weekend, with the vegetable growing in the high riser behind my back and herbs and flowers covering the corner in front of me, sipping my coffee, watching ladybugs and butterflies and inhaling the scent of lavender, pineapple sage, thyme, lemon balm, roses, honeysuckle, woodruff, and many more. It gives me so much peace. "

I can finally harvest cucumbers from my potted plant. To avoid my cucumbers getting eaten by snails (happened last year), I planted the cucumber into a big pot with a climber in it. It is doing extraordinary well and is even taller than the one I planted into the ground (I also put a climber on that one to avoid having the fruit growing on the ground where the snails get them). It's harvest time!

Have a Happy Monday Y'all!

I read in the Wonderland, that Elke had only songs starting with an F playing on last Friday. What a marvelous idea did I say to myself and started designing my Monday i-tunes following her model. Here it is:

1) Monday Monday (of course) - Mamas and Papas

2) Manic Monday (of course) - Bangles

2) Mendocino(oh no, not again!) - Michael Holm

3) Mississippi Queen - Mountain

4) Midnight Rider - Allman Brothers

5) Music Was My First Love - John Miles

6) Mamma Mia - Abba

7) Maxwell's Silver Hammer - Beatles

8) Mighty Quinn- Manfred Mann's Earth Band

9) Mixed Emotions - Rolling Stones

10) Mademoiselle Ninette (hilarious was my boyfriend's comment) - Soulful Dynamics.

Virtual Mudslide

I just came back from Greg's and Dana's virtual mudslide party during which Greg showed us how to make the best drink ever, alco and non-alco version. It was nice to chat with everyone I got to know at the World Wild Wedding and my friend prepared Greg's mudslide following his live streamed instructions to a T - including forgetting to put the blade on the blender. Thank you for the evite, Dana and Greg! Watch live video from gregster51's channel on Justin.tv

Now That's What They're All Using Their I-Phone Buttons For!

... I can't wait until Jobs presents the model with the built-in microwave - or maybe a little espresso machine?

Iron Burka

The Iron Burka was definitely one of the more attention catching pieces of Sculpture Is: 2009 at the Sierra Azul nursery in Watsonville.You gotta go and see yourself how art and nature can melt into eachother. A spectacular event at a gorgeous place. My compliments to the organizer.