Rewind

Rethinking

After reading more on the subject, I decided even if we can propagate one of the mimosa trees into our back yard (found out how – it’s a lot easier than what G tried to do), we shouldn’t and won’t.

They’re an invasive species.

A really, really invasive species.

In fact, most nursery-sold trees here are imported and invasive. Native species are great, in theory. Unfortunately most of them have drawbacks, too. I looked at mesquite, ironwood, and palo verde, all of which cost a small fortune, when you can find them at all. They’re also somewhat fragile. A good summer storm can split one in half or uproot it altogether. I’d love an Arizona elm, but the closest place that sells them is in Phoenix, plus it wouldn’t fit inside Stormtrooper unless we left my power chair at home. Not gonna do that when we’re going far as Phoenix.

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Revising

New plan of action: I settled on willow acacia seeds from eBay.

They’re an Australian import, but not on the invasive side. Acacias grows well in the Arizona desert, too. At least this version does. We had one in the front yard at our place in San Tan Valley. The photo below was taken when we bought the house in 2012. By the time we sold the place four years later. it had more than doubled in size.

Its biggest drawback, a tendency for branches to give way in heavy winds, can be helped by watering them less. We’re talking cutting it back to one deep watering every other month, once established. They do need occasional pruning by a professional, and get to be around 30 feet tall (though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them taller). They grow moderately fast, too, about 2-3 feet per year.

Incidentally, while you can’t tell from the photo above, it’s called willow acacia because as it gets bigger, it bears a strong resemblance to a weeping willow. It’s especially noticeable after a good pruning.

Of course, it’s one thing to say, “I’m gonna grow me a tree!” It’s something altogether different to actually plant and get the thing to grow. I have yet to get a moringa to do more than sprout.

For the record, I also seriously considered eucalyptus. It’s likewise native to Australia, grows fast, and has no issues with our climate. But eucalyptus is problematic on a couple of points, primarily related to size. Those things get to be ginormous — and if/when one of those topples, it’ll take out a house with it. Maybe two houses. (Not kidding — they’re that large.) Besides, we have such a small yard, a single eucalpytus would completely overwhelm it. The trunk can get to be a few feet across. My sister had one in the back yard of her old house. It cost them several thousand dollars to have it removed, because it was on the verge of failing and taking out their entire house with it.

And yes, I thought about seeding a native tree. Trouble is, nobody reputable sells seeds for the native stuff. I may get some mesquite seeds from the neighbor this fall. Unfortunately theirs is the thorny variety. Not my first choice, but if we can get one of those going in the front yard, we’ll deal. Incidentally, citrus trees also have thorns, including the lemon growing in our front yard.

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Re: Munching

This week started with experimental cooking. As I said on FB, I made a bastardized version of tzatziki and we had it with steak rolls. But this week is historically one of my company’s busiest (the week after Memorial Day). I’m going for easy-fix for the rest of the week.

In other food(ish) news, we discovered that the rabbit population LOVES our Mexican petunias. They’ve stripped one plant almost completely of leaves. I don’t know why only that one — but glad they’re not going after all of them! (We have five planted and the others are all doing well.) I’m gonna start calling it “bunny-nip”. The bunnies like them well enough they don’t dash off the instant I walk outside, not when they’re munching on those. The only leaves left on their preferred plant are at the top — and when I went out tonight, a rabbit was on its proverbial tiptoes to get at those leaves.

No photo so far, though I may stalk them this afternoon with my telephoto lens.

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Re: Picturing

A handful of quick photos to wrap things up. I’ve been going through some of my older pictures. It’s been slash-and-burn, so to speak, and I’ve got a long way to go. I’m dumping duplicates and bad pictures (lots of bad pictures). But I found a few I actually like.

This is down the proverbial road, another one in the middle of nowhere. Not a super fancy photo, but I liked the calm it exudes.

This peacock is a super old photo. I thought he was unsalvageable but Photoshop came to my rescue. I can live with that outcome.

A local empty storefront. It was begging for a sepia treatment.

This tattered stagecoach is from the Dewey-Humbolt area, so I think 3-ish years ago? I can’t recall for sure when it was taken but it’s been a minute.

I didn’t love the original of this, but after removing a big and obtrusive sign, I actually like the result. These tiny dancers made a colorful parade across the crosswalk.