fuck that the future is going to be just like this!

new katspace makes me feel like this!

the future feels like this..

aaannnnd, even though I love each and every one of you...

sometimes, somedays,

some of you really stand out.

today....THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

(couldn't have done this without you)

to

JENN D, STEVE F, WARREN, EMILY, DEB M,  STEVE A, JER, and MOLLY.

my prayers for D.R.Diego.

our hopes and love

may your recovery be swift...

know that you are protected!!!

if this is what the future holds (...)

another classic.
thanks, Raccoon!
if this is what my/the future is like...i'll just stay a unicorn, thanks.

a now, a meditation of pictures...

the moon is 39% full tonight.

Squash Pollination! Hurrah!

Now that everyone has planted their fall carrots and other roots (right?)..... you might want to plant more Swiss chard in the next week or two to make sure you have enough for winter harvests. I sow leaf beet in July, which is a hardier, finer stemmed version of chard, to supplement the bed of chard planted in May. Early July is also a good time to plant kohlrabi, radicchio and various other endives for late summer through winter harvest.

Squash pollination can be a issue this time of year, especially when the activity of bees that pollinate the flowers is curtailed by cool weather.

A common problem is that newly developing squash seems to grow a little bit, but then growth stops and the small fruit falls off or rots. This happens because the flowers were not fertilized.

To make sure you have a crop, you may have to pollinate flowers by hand, at least in the early part of the season. This is particularly important right now for winter squash because the flowers have to be fertilized in the next couple of weeks so that the developing fruit has enough time to mature fully. This contrasts with summer squash, which can continue to set new fruit into early fall because they are picked while immature. 

Squash pollination can get a bit complicated so hold onto your hat:

First, you need to know that squash (and pumpkins, melons, etc.) have both female and male flowers. Female flowers have a miniature squash on the stem right below the flower. Male flowers just have a straight stem. They also clearly have pollen, which looks like yellow dust, on the centre structure. To pollinate, pick a male flower, peel back the petals and dab some of the pollen from the centre of the male flower onto the centre structure of any female flowers that are open. Flowers open in the morning so that's the best time to do the pollinating.

Early in the season, there may only be one sex of flowers present on a plant. Open pollinated varieties usually produce male flowers for several weeks before they start to produce female flowers. This gives the plant time to grow big enough to support a good crop. Some hybrid squash produce only female flowers at first. I have learned to resist the temptation to pollinate those first blossoms if the plant is small as it stunts future production. If you grow two or three plants of a few different varieties of squash you have pretty good odds of having both sexes of flowers present at the same time.

A complicating factor is that there are different species of squash. The pollen from one species cannot fertilize flowers from a different species. Three groups of species are commonly grown in this region:

Cucurbita pepo group includes all acorns, crooknecks, scallops or patty pans, zucchinis, vegetable marrows, spaghetti squash, many pumpkins and Delicata;

Cucurbita maxima group includes banana squash, buttercups, hubbards, turbans

Cucurbita moschata group includes butternuts and tromboncino

As long as you stay within the group when moving pollen around, the flowers will be successfully fertilized. If you don’t know what species you have, just stick to transferring pollen from male flowers to female flowers within the same plant.

Seed catalogues are getting much better at showing the species in the variety descriptions so it isn't hard to find this information. I make a note of what I can cross with what in my squash patch in case there is a shortage of male flowers. For example, this year I have butternuts, which can only be pollinated by butternuts and I also have 3 varieties of pepo group squash so they can all be cross pollinated as needed.

 Don't worry about what the fruit will be like from crosses--the mixed genes only show up in the next generation, which you would see only if you grew out the seeds from the fruit.

One way out of the pollination problem for zucchini lovers is to grow a parthenocarpic cultivar. These set fruit without needing to be fertilized. This year I am growing one called 'Partenon' from William Dam Seeds (http://www.damseeds.ca/productcart/pc/home.asp) and sure enough, had very early fruit from a plant when there was only female flowers present. If you only have room for one squash plant, this is your best bet!

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For info on my books [including my new best seller (I love saying that!), Backyard Bounty] or to check my 2011 schedule for talks and presentations in your area see: www.lindagilkeson.ca

joan jett....YOU are my goddess of the day.

fiine. last oh noetry for a while. more gardening to come.

UNTITLED
I am ok! 
I am fine!
I am happy
and no,
I'm not just telling you
what you want to hear!
I am great!
I am divine!
I am not sad,
and yes,
I know what it's what
you want to hear!

Untitled (but written in 2002)

pop pop pop
beat beat beat
tap my toes
dancin down the street
dreams were you
and dreams were good
until this moment
i've misunderstood
but now i'm seeing clearer!!!

brainwash (2002 wtf    

Sensual narcotics
Dripping on every page
Models in disguise,
Cocaine for the eyes
Perfection.
Perfection.
Staring back at you
From behind a glossy window,
Conform to the standards.
Mold into the ideals.
Melt away and reform yourself
Into what the people want,
It's all been laid out for you
Between the shiny pages.

oohhhhh dear.

a reminder to be silly.

missed softball tonight, boo urns!

song of the day

enjoy today.

find the good.

learn something!

bootz

today
is a day for wearing cowboy boots
on the porch on an old swing
listening to twangy old music.

le sigh...

CARPE DIEM.
Have faith in the sunshine!

ffiiiiiinnnnne.

last goddess post for a while.
Kwan-Yin
Iambe

oh dear. We are allll one.
tee heee.
It gives me pleasure knowing that my dreams can come true,
like this.
Realizing that I live somewhere where we sort of do this....

damn I remember thinking this was soooo cool when I was in like, grade 6.
1998, in some ways you were great.

july 2...20 days and counting.

Here are my/your goddesses for the day.
Kali
Artemis
Freja

Except I have one more.
Not all things come in three.

DURGA

more to come later.

but life is calling.

an old noetry though...

through these woods

i had many paths to chose from
but eventually they grew over.
i pick my way along forgotten trails
toward uncertain clearings.
i wish i had someone
to hold my hands and guide me
through these woods.
and now i've lost my way back.
am i doomed to wend through
these woods forever?

untitled.

i wake up to the bronze glistening in your hair
as you roll over to engulf me in your arms.
breathing in your affection
and wanting to sing to the world
of your perfection,
i can only cuddle closer.
you have the most exquisite, kissable spots
and i belong between your shoulderblades.
you are my safe haven and wildest desire.
you ignite me.
i'm hopelessly
and wonderfully
lost in loving you.

swimming

my words have taken flight again.
lost between the latitudes of mute and melancholy.
not sad enough to pour,
not happy enough to shine -
life is still divine,
but i've lost a little piece that was only mine.
there's no use putting up posters,
it will find its way onto the doorstep of another
who will gladly give it a home with welcome arms.
this house could never hold so much water.
it's time to float,
it's time to swim.

adventures in the night.
dance until dawn
(yawn).