Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wild Blue Lettuce


I have 2 of these growing in the shade of my apricot tree--one is 7 feet tall! Luckily, KSU identified it for me and I will let it produce it's blue flowers...and NOT cut it down!

Update in August: Let's try 11 feet tall!

White Prickly Poppy



'Bout got in a fight over this lovely one:
I brought in a section of this plant to show Skinny Farmer Guy, as it was growing beside his gooseberry bushes 3' high, fallen over. (and because our County noxious weed man has retired as of last week-drats!)
I believed it to be related to a poppy because of the leaves and flower formation and not a thistle or burr as some of the old-timers predicted.
I was correct; thank you Google!

Pottawatomi County Berries and Jam

No time to write; been making jam for days: raspberry, gooseberry, blackberry, rasp-goose, black-goose, rasp-black-goose.
To be honest, I've never had blackberries before and the mashed juice isn't the same brilliant purples of my own black raspberries....more lilacgraypurpleblack. GOTH Purple!
and my freaking fingers are SORE!
All of these berries have radical thorns, but my expression must of been dumbfounded when a friend told me to use a stick--'to lift the branch while you pluck'!
All I can say is 'for cryinoutloud, I must be an idiot'--even chimpanzees used a stick as a tool. I am sheepishly ashamed!
However, despite covering my legs, the thorns still draw blood, but its worth the taste of all the jars of jam cooling on my counter (and the pies)!