But I have a lot of pain, mostly in my back, and vertigo is ever-present. Also my son in Austin surprised me by telling me his divorce is final, when I hadn't even known they filed 6 months ago. Such a shock! Now he has no money, no place to stay and limited access to his kids. Heartbreaking. He's such a super person. Many years of child support and spousal support (the latter he did voluntarily) lie ahead. Had I but known I could have persuaded him to stand up for himself a little bit. He wanted to spare me the pain, but I think the pain is worse now that it's a done deal.
Here is a photo I took today of a thorn-less acacia. I'm pretty proud of it because it came up by itself. It bloomed better earlier but I kept forgetting to photograph it. I think it might be a Schott's Acacia, but any input is welcome.
So sorry about those woes. I know family issues can be a stress. In his blog at least he talks about having his sister around and loves to work with here so that's a plus somewhat.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of watering, I would NOT water anymore anything native like the Acacia. This plant is in the pea family and their genetic instruction when germination occurs forces them to put all of their energy into a strong tap root, often before anyone ever notices any above ground evidence of their existence.
All of the usual riparian plants like Cottonwoods, Willows, Sycamores I understand, but anything like Mesquites, Paloverde Acacia, etc leave alone now and concentrate on the water lovinf. Even the mature cottonwoods could maybe be deep watered for just once a month.
There is a method I used when establishing native plants in remote habitats and it involves using a very long PVC Pipe into the earth and pumping the water deep into the ground to be stroed and later utilized by the plants as required. I created this method for myself back in the 1970s and it was successful. The surface watering only encourages shallow root systems. The deep water method encouraged the plants to go deeper into the soil which is ultimately what you want. SDSU conducted a a Mesquite dune experiment near Hwy 78 & Hwy 86 near the Salton Sea and used the same deep pipe watering system. The underground is a great storage resevoir. Don't worry about it perculating away, it will always be there for the plant.
Eventually if the root systems have been trained properly and the correct MYCORRHIZAL (sorry, but I'll always keep harping on this) mechanisms are in place, any rain which does come will be pumped into the earth by means of a little known phenomena called Hydraulic Descent. This is where the tree will actually reverse pump flow water even when they are dormant into the deeper layers of the earth only to be resued during the hotter months of summer.
Let me give you a link to the SDSU Mesquite Dune Projects.
Mesquite Dune Experiment Area in the Yuha Desert, California
Irrigation
for Remote Sites
This last link is an index for further techniques and studies done where there were successes and failure. Update last on May 3, 2001
Soil Ecology and Restoration Group
Hope all of this helps. Try and simplify and that will alievate the stress on your project. Understanding the mechanisms of an ecosystem will not only aid you and deepen your appreciation but will aslo add to your satifaction of helping to educate others.
Cheers, Kevin
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Wow, Kevin, I had no idea my son even had a blog. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. It certainly puts a more cheerful spin on his life. As for my trees, I should have put pipes in the ground originally. Never dreamed we'd have the worst drought on record. A couple of the native hackberries that I didn't water seem dead. Out in the land away from the oasis the sotol and juniper died plus half the yuccas. My soil is real sandy and the water I put on probably goes down quite a ways, but whatever, I'm pretty well stuck with what I have. I've only managed to keep one cottonwood alive. I'm not too worried. I'll always have a habitat there, maybe just not the way I envisioned. Thanks for taking the time to explain things. If I wasn't old and worn out I would probably try something different, but I'm just going to keep alive what I can and pretty much let nature have its way on the rest. Is there any way you could visit in person? Maybe actually seeing the place we could come up with a better plan.
ReplyDeletePS- I have no way to put pipes in now. I'm a weak, sickly, 72 year old woman with no help.
ReplyDeleteWeak? Carolyn, you are a force of nature. Maybe you don't feel it at the moment, but between your sheer dedication and presence, you have done what it would take a dozen 'young whippersnappers' to do.
DeleteHang in there, and bask with the heron in your yard!
::hugs::
I have to agree with Heidi! Although I also feel physically weaker as I get older, not many can match your fortitude, determination, work, and love of the land! You chose a stark and dry environment and have blessed many creatures and plants alike with your presence over the years! The drought has really taken its toll across the state, but it continually amazes me at what CAN survive. Hang in there and I am praying for a rain cloud over your oasis.
DeleteThanks, Heidi and Carla. I'm in bed sick today, probably a virus. I'll be better soon I'm sure. I seldom get sick anymore. It's been a long long time.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your interesting blog and about your nature journey for awhile now. I hope you feel better soon.
I wanted to comment on the tree that appeared on your property and thought that it might be golden-ball leadtree which looks like its acacia relatives but is thornless.