Had some spare time yesterday so I made this little .32 caliber cannon just for fun.
Post A Photo, A Real Photo
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Its been a month or so since I worked on the corral. So this afternoon I checked out the area where I'd cleared all the brush out, getting the plan back in my mind as to what needs to be done.
This is what happened in the last month... Almost every leaf in the photo is poison ivy! There is a carpet of pi about 30ftx50ft and about a foot deep covering the whole area.
I'll have to dig out a long sleeve shirt/pants, old work gloves and a face shield. Then tackle it with a weed eater. When there is this much poison ivy I won't even attempt to wash the clothes or bring them in the house, they go in a trash bag.
This is what happened in the last month... Almost every leaf in the photo is poison ivy! There is a carpet of pi about 30ftx50ft and about a foot deep covering the whole area.
I'll have to dig out a long sleeve shirt/pants, old work gloves and a face shield. Then tackle it with a weed eater. When there is this much poison ivy I won't even attempt to wash the clothes or bring them in the house, they go in a trash bag.
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Yikes I've never experienced poison ivy, but have experienced poison oak, growing up in california, way too many times. I swear I can just walk near it, and I'm covered head to toe. I remember having to go in to get shots to dry it up when I was a kid.
That's interesting. Two of us brothers were immune, and 2 were not.
When we got tired of being beat-up by our older brothers, we would pull out ivy vines.
You woulda thought we had fired up Darth Vader's light saber!
Vwoom!, Vwoom!!
Just one hit would be totally devastating as we swung them around like swords.
After we chased them off, we extended the protection to ourselves by rubbing our entire bodies with the leaves.
...Guess where they got the idea for the TV show "The Untouchables"... that would be us
.Good times.
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Any chance of renting some goats from a local and let them clear it for you?
Don't touch the goats tho.
If you can a break from rain Roundup works good. That is the technique The Princess uses along with muttering the phrase "die die die" as she goes.
She is able to to wash my clothing afterwards but treats them as hazardous waste with rubber gloves etc.
This is a good video on identifying poison ivy etc .
Hopeful thinking would suggest that maybe that is young boxwood trees.
Ben
No chance for goats...
Good Video on identifying poison ivy? You're kidding right?
He talks about urushiol for 3:40 then spends the next 4 minutes giving a basic botany lesson on general leaf structure in the plant kingdom... From the start 7 minutes and 50 seconds pass before he says one thing that could help anyone identify poison ivy.
Then he only spends about 20 seconds on PI before moving on to poison oak.
Not up to it tonight but if I think of it tomorrow I'll find a good video on PI. In the mean time, "Leaves of 3, let it be"!
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Good for me.
I have a lot to learn when it comes to plants and recognizing parts. Probably was kindergarten for you but but good enough that I watched it twice just to learn the the vocabulary.
Aside
I purchased a book on every plant that grows in my state. It is basically a decision diagram that asks specific questions about the plant and systemically narrows down the possibilites to ID the plant.
.
The hurdle I encountered was the terminology. Basal, oposite, palmerite... I am at a loss
But show me a perovscite structure I can do that.
So maybe not good for tou but for a novice like me...
Ben
I didn't mean to offend... I actually thought you were playing a joke, sort of. I was expecting a video on PI... and only PI.
But yes, by all means, basic botany is a great foundation for really learning about plants. And I really disliked having to learn it, tried to avoid it for years. But at the end of the day it's the only way to put all plant life together in a sensible fashion.
Here is a good crash course book... its actually a lot more useful than it appears. I find it to be a handy reference book. I don't use it often but it has in-depth material when I need it.
Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel - The Patterns Method of Plant Identification... An Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families of North America.
But yes, by all means, basic botany is a great foundation for really learning about plants. And I really disliked having to learn it, tried to avoid it for years. But at the end of the day it's the only way to put all plant life together in a sensible fashion.
Here is a good crash course book... its actually a lot more useful than it appears. I find it to be a handy reference book. I don't use it often but it has in-depth material when I need it.
Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel - The Patterns Method of Plant Identification... An Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families of North America.
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You didn't offend me and I am glad it didn't offend you.I didn't mean to offend... I actually thought you were playing a joke, sort of. I was expecting a video on PI... and only PI.
But yes, by all means, basic botany is a great foundation for really learning about plants. And I really disliked having to learn it, tried to avoid it for years. But at the end of the day it's the only way to put all plant life together in a sensible fashion.
Here is a good crash course book... its actually a lot more useful than it appears. I find it to be a handy reference book. I don't use it often but it has in-depth material when I need it.
Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel - The Patterns Method of Plant Identification... An Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families of North America.
Am I ok with excepting what that video presents as as fact to be true and accurate?
Was it a factual tutorial?
Ben
He lost my attention after about 20 seconds. After that I listened to excepts going forward looking for what he had to say on PI. The parts I heard, were factual.
@Peanut , you seem very knowledgeable on plants. I see this one everyday at work. Two bushes frame the entrance of my workplace.
I always wondered what they were. The plant has a look to it that looks plasticky. It often makes me think of fake Christmas trees. And in comparison to a lot of plants, trees, bushes, foliage, I see here, this one looks a little out of place.
So, I'm just curious. Do you know what it is?
Aww, congratulations! They're so adorable.
@Newbri It looks like a juniper, in the Cypress family (Cupressaceae), genus Juniperus. There are 50+ species of junipers world wide. I'd be guessing as to the actual species you posted. Today many of them are used in landscaping, as hedges, shrubs like the ones outside your building.
They have little blue seeds on them at different times of the year like in this photo. This juniper (below) is medium sized tree is in my chicken pen. The whitish substance on the seeds is actually yeast. Yeast that can be used in baking, someone would have to sample many trees to find such a strain but it has be done.
Almost all of the junipers are medicinal. The medicinal uses go back to ancient man, especially tribes in the northern hemisphere near the arctic circle. But these medicines can be harsh to our kidneys so care should be taken.
The juniper in my chicken pen (Juniperus virginiana) is a very gentle species medicinally speaking, not only great for helping people but small livestock as well, especially goats and chickens. A few times a year I break off a few twigs and drop them in the water tank of my chickens, it keeps them very healthy.
And the favorite use of juniper by many people? Gin! I've heard many people say drinking Gin reminds them of a pine tree. Its not a pine tree they taste, its juniper!
Sorry I can't help you with the exact species out side your building but there are a great many species of juniper, and 3 times that many sub-species that are shrubs and used in landscaping. Oh, and it is out of place at the equator... most grow in snow country.
They have little blue seeds on them at different times of the year like in this photo. This juniper (below) is medium sized tree is in my chicken pen. The whitish substance on the seeds is actually yeast. Yeast that can be used in baking, someone would have to sample many trees to find such a strain but it has be done.
Almost all of the junipers are medicinal. The medicinal uses go back to ancient man, especially tribes in the northern hemisphere near the arctic circle. But these medicines can be harsh to our kidneys so care should be taken.
The juniper in my chicken pen (Juniperus virginiana) is a very gentle species medicinally speaking, not only great for helping people but small livestock as well, especially goats and chickens. A few times a year I break off a few twigs and drop them in the water tank of my chickens, it keeps them very healthy.
And the favorite use of juniper by many people? Gin! I've heard many people say drinking Gin reminds them of a pine tree. Its not a pine tree they taste, its juniper!
Sorry I can't help you with the exact species out side your building but there are a great many species of juniper, and 3 times that many sub-species that are shrubs and used in landscaping. Oh, and it is out of place at the equator... most grow in snow country.
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As another mentioned, I would recommend a weed killer. If you use a weed eater, they're going to come right back.
I haven't studied plants native to Africa other than a few transplants that made it to north america or native plants that share common ancestry with african plants.
But... the foliage of your plant got me thinking about the cypress family of plants so I did a little reading. There are cypress trees that are native to africa. The genus Juniperus and the genus Cupressus are very closely related and share many similarities. The genus Cupressus contains what most people consider cypress, including many native to the Mediterranean.
The shrub outside your building could very well be a true cypress instead of juniper, in some cases their foliage is difficult to differentiate.
The tell... (a card game term) would be how they fruit. The fruit I posted above is small berries with a whitish coating. A true cypress has small cones that contain tiny seeds.
How you ever seen little cones or berries on the shrubs outside your building?
Once I repair the corral and fencing in that area I'm going to open it to cattle... they will trample any PI that tries to come back.
This morning I was wondering if I could inset the back of a cartridge case into a knife handle.
So I chucked up some 9mm and 223 cases and cut the head of the cases off so I just had a thin disc. This is the result.
So I chucked up some 9mm and 223 cases and cut the head of the cases off so I just had a thin disc. This is the result.
Wow. Thank you for doing all that reading. They definitely have little cones. I don't think I've seen any with berries.
Then they're of the cypress family, huh. Thank you.
I really like wall art... someone who can draw or paint something 4 stories high is a special kind of talent. Especially something simple like the girl with the water can, no bells, whistles or flashing lights. Just simple colors, lines and everyday life.
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The doom buggy and the daughter in the driveway today. Someday I'm going to actually finish this thing:
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Not my photos, just a couple shots of a beautiful Rhodesian ridgeback.
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When you live in the country, it is a 101 degree day, and you've been working in the hay fields, you get creative about cooling off.
