Walnut pollination

No bees needed here. Two walnut flowers seen in foreground with catkins behind.

It is pollination time for walnuts! Our sinuses are plugged and we go about sneezing all day. We are asked occasionally how the walnuts get pollinated. Do they need bees? What color of flowers do they have?

Walnuts have both male and female flower parts on the same tree. The pollen does not have to be transported by bees but is simply shed from the male flowers, called catkins. The pollen is physically very small and light and is moved throughout the orchard by wind movement. Pollen can travel quite some distance. Studies have shown that in certain orchards the pollen came from trees over a mile away.

With walnuts, the time of pollen shedding does not always overlap well with the time of female flower receptivity to pollen. Hence, although most walnuts are self-fertile, they sometimes require another walnut variety that comes out later for pollination. This condition is referred to as dichogamy.

The female flowers are very small, with two feathery leaves open to receive pollen. They are not a typical flower with petals, and do not have a flower color as such, being green with a slight tinge of pink. When the flower is pollinated, a nut will develop in that place.

Nearly all commercial orchards are co-planted with a pollinator variety to ensure the main crop gets enough pollen to set nuts. In fact, at this time of year the pollinators can be readily identified in an orchard by the fact that the other trees will be putting out some leaves while the pollinators do not yet have any. In some orchards, entire rows of trees are put in as pollinators, which now appear as rows of leafless trees.

The pollen shedding characteristic of walnuts is a very efficient way to spread pollen. It is even sometimes over-efficient. Certain walnut varieties are very susceptible to being over pollinated. When that happens, the flower withers and falls off. This is bad because where there is no flower, there is no nut. In some orchards overall production can be decreased by half or more because of this problem. There are some steps that can be taken to mitigate the effect of over pollination and there are some chemical treatments which have proven effective.

All kinds of plant pollen are present all the time. There is really no way to get away from pollen altogether. People used to move to desert areas to get away from pollen, with the idea that desert plants are sparse and thus produce generally less pollen. That does not work anymore now that so many people live in the desert and have taken their favorite plants with them.

Walnut pollen has been identified as one of the worse offenders when it comes to people being allergic. In areas where walnuts are commercially grown, such as Red Bluff, there is an enormous quantity of walnut pollen in the air during the months of March, April, and May. Continual exposure year after year eventually leads to allergic reactions in most people.

There is really no easy solution for the pollen exposure problem. Most of us can not take a three month vacation. So we just have to make the best of it. For us taking an allergy pill and wearing a dust mask while in the orchard helps alleviate some of the reactions.

Our October 19, 2007 blog discussed walnut varieties.

Book reviews

Books written by Geraldine Brooks include "March" and "People of the Book."
New books to read are always something we are on the lookout for. World magazine has a section called “Notable Books.” One recently caught our attention called “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks. We also went online and read a few reviews before ordering.

At the same time we noted that her previous book “March” also had good reviews along with winning the 2006 Pulitzer Prize. So we decided to order both books.

Brooks is an excellent author and gives through and detailed descriptions of the characters and situations in her books. We read “March” first. It is a follow up story to Louisa May Alcott’s book “Little Women.” In “Little Women” the father is in the army and is stationed in the South somewhere “where the fighting is.” But very little information is given concerning him, his experiences in the war and how the war changed him. “March” attempts to answer these questions.

The story begins with Mr. March, and army chaplain, writing a letter to his wife. He has just survived the battle of Ball’s Bluff, an early Union defeat, and has managed to cross the Potomac to safety. March is an idealist, one of the many Utopianists of that era. He acts on what he believes, and sometimes pays the price when it becomes apparent that the object of his belief is faulty.

An example of this is his association with the actual historical figure John Brown. He not only looses his fortune but is very nearly caught up in the criminal investigation aftermath. The story is told in the first person from March. It is arranged in a series of flashbacks interwoven with present events.

Early in his army experience, March is completely confident that the war is a just war. He is an ardent abolitionist and believes that the use of force is justified in freeing the slaves. But soon the lines between good and evil are not as clear as he once thought.

Many of his fellow soldiers on the Union side are just as racist and condescending to the blacks as any Confederate. March experiences war in its fullness and he is haunted by what he has witnessed, and tormented with guilt over the many people he feels he should have been able to save but did not.

“People of the Book” was a delightful story of the Sarajevo Haggadah. The book is generally arranged similar to “March” with chapters that occur in the past interspersed with chapters of the present.

A haddadah is a book which is used in the Jewish ceremony of Passover. It contains various stories from the Old Testament, such as the stories of creation and Noah’s flood. The Sarajevo Haggadah is unique in that it was created in the mid-fourteenth century in Spain and is richly illustrated. Jewish books often were destroyed in the past, yet this book survived. That it has survived over 500 years is astounding.

“People of the Book” tries to fill in the unknown portions of the history of this book, especially focusing on the people that were in some way connected to the production and protection of it.

One caution we would give is that the author in describing relationships between characters uses explicit details. Also the way people were treated in conflicts described in the book are sometimes very graphic.

More than pasta

Pasta machine helps make crackers thin like ones bought in the store.
Crackers are something we like to make but they do not usually come out crispy like those purchased commercially. That is until now.

Recently our daughter came up with the idea of using her pasta machine to help roll the cracker dough thin enough to come out like commercial crackers. This sounded like a great idea. We decided to try it out on a recipe we found on the internet.

Savory Gluten Free Crackers is a recipe we found at bobsredmill.com. It is a savory cracker without corn, wheat, yeast, milk or egg. Sprinkled with sea salt is becomes a saltine-type cracker. We altered the recipe slightly to adjust the spices to our tastes.

Ingredients as we made the recipe are:

3/4 cup amaranth flour

1/2 cup arrowroot starch

1/4 cup almond meal/flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 to 4 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 teaspoon crushed dried oregano leaves

Sesame seeds to sprinkle on baking pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly crush caraway seeds using a mortal and pestle.
Place all dry ingredients except the sesame seeds in large bowl and stir to combine.
Mix oil and 3 tablespoons water together and add all at once to flour mixture. Stir only until a ball forms. If ball appears dry and crumbly add a little more water, one teaspoon at a time, until ball hangs together. The moisture content of flour can vary.
Roll half of the dough at a time, rolling quite thin using wax paper if needed. This is where we put the dough through the pasta machine until they are the desired thinness. Cut into 1-1/2 inch squares or triangles and prick with fork.

Sprinkle sesame seeds onto un-greased cookie sheet and transfer cracker cut-outs to cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Place crackers on wire rack, place it back on the cookie sheet and return it back to the oven to crisp another 5 to 7 minutes.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Repeat with other half of dough. This recipe makes 3 to 4 dozen crackers.

New recipes are always fun to try. If anyone has a favorite cracker recipe please share it in the comment space below.

Date your mate

A game night is one way for married couples to spend time together.
People usually date before they are married but stop after they are married. We think it is even more important for couples to date after they are married. Couples need to learn to enjoy each another.

We can let the realities of life – work, responsibilities, obligations or even spiritual growth – blind us from enjoying each other’s company. Life gets so busy that we miss setting time aside for pure enjoyment. “Date nights” seem to be impractical when there are bills to pay, dinner to cook, errands to run and more.

When was the last time you took a step back and admired your spouse, giving thanks to God that you didn’t have to walk this life alone? Now is the time to enjoy a good conversation, a shared walk, reading a book together or another just-for-fun activity.

We suggest that couples set aside time for a date at least once a week. Below are suggestions of fun things to do on those nights.

1. Romantic dessert for two by candle light.

Ideas for discussion while enjoying dessert can include the following questions. When you were a child, what did you want to grow up to be? Describe one thing you most want to accomplish in your life. What makes you feel masculine/feminine? Listen closely; this is the tender him/her being shared.

2. Photo Date: Take pictures of yourselves as a couple in front of scenic places, such as in a park, at the river, in front of old buildings, etc.

Use a camera with a self-timer or go on a double date and take turns snapping photos. To extend this date after the photo shoot stop at a coffee or ice cream shop for a treat.

Other photo date ideas can include the following. Go for a walk in the neighborhood and taking photos of the flowers in bloom. While walking along the Sacramento River find nice scenic shots. Take a drive in the mountains and look for scenic shots.

3. Cookie making: plan what cookies you want to make. Together, shop for ingredients. Then create delicious goodies.

Package them up in individual serving sizes and put them in the freezer to make them last longer. If you don’t want all the calories for yourselves, take them to a shut-in or a family with children.

4. Take a walk together holding hands (at least 30 minutes). During your walk tell spouse three qualities they possess that in your opinion other people most enjoy.

5. Games for two: spend the evening playing games. Add to the fun by making a prize or a penalty for the winner and loser. For example: If he wins, she must wash his car. If she wins he must make a special dinner the next night. No cheating!

Suggested games to play include: Aggravation, Cribbage, Chinese checkers, Backgammon, Chess, Parcheesi, Boggle, Checkers and Scrabble.

Dates do not have to be expensive or complicated to plan. Take the time and be creative in planning a date night each week. Keeping the relationship close is the main objective. Marriage can be fun when couples remember to set aside time to be alone together.

We listed other ideas to keep romance alive in marriage in our July 13, 2007 blog.

Easter Lily History

Easter lilies are grown to be ready for Easter.

In last week’s column we looked into some of the common Easter traditions – how they got started and what they mean today. Another Easter tradition confronted us when we went shopping a few days ago: Easter lilies! How did a tradition like this get started, we wondered? Many people bring these plants with the large white flowers into their homes a week or so before Easter. Churches also use them as decorations. What does it all mean?

After a little research we found an interesting story. Traditionally, the white Easter lily flowers symbolized purity, virtue and innocence. They are often called the “white-robed apostles of hope.” Lilies are said to have been found in the Garden of Gethsemane after Jesus’ agony. Legend has it that they sprung up where Jesus’ drops of sweat fell to the ground. Many churches carry this idea forward in the placement of Easter lilies in their sanctuaries, commemorating the resurrection and hope of eternal life.

The tradition of the Easter lily, however, is one of the newest Easter traditions. The lily tradition dates back to around the 1800s. It came in with the rise in the Easter observances in America after the Civil War. Even then it took time to find widespread acceptance. The American lilies available then bloomed in the early summer. They could be forced to bloom earlier using hothouse conditions but it was considered more trouble than it was worth. Decorating with Easter lilies did not happen until an early blooming lily was imported.

The current use of the Easter lily is really less of a religious tradition and more of a marketing success story. The lily itself is native to the southern islands of Japan. In the 1880s lily bulbs were grown in Bermuda and shipped to hothouses in the United States for growing and flowering in time for Easter. In the early 1900s, Japanese production of lily bulbs undercut the Bermuda growers and so by the 1920s Japan dominated the Easter lily market. World War II, of course, changed all that.

American production of Easter lily bulbs began when a World War I veteran, Louis Houghton, brought lily bulbs to the southern coast area of Oregon around 1919. By the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, production was already established. As a result of the war, lily bulb prices skyrocketed and many early growers, who were doing it mostly as a hobby, went into the business. By the end of the war, in 1945, there were an estimated 1,200 growers up and down the Pacific coast, from as far south as Long Beach, California all the way to Canada.

But it seems that producing quality bulbs was harder than it looked. Easter lilies have very specific growing requirements which require enough rain, sun, and just the right temperatures. Today there are only 10 farms that grow lily bubs. They are all located in the coastal region of the California-Oregon border from Smith River, California to Brookings, Oregon. This region is called the “Easter Lily Capital of the World.” Almost all the Easter lily bulbs used for potted Easter lilies are produced here. Even after World War II was over, the Japanese growers have never been able to regain any substantial market share.

We enjoy having our Easter lily on the window ledge. However the tradition came to be, Easter lilies are beautiful and charming plants that we think deserve to be admired.

Easter history

Bunny and eggs are two traditional symbols of Easter.

Easter time is here. We decided to research the history of Easter and how it all got started in the first place. Today Easter is celebrated in nearly every country, most with their own variations and traditions. The differences being mainly what types of food are eaten on Easter Sunday.

The Easter season used to refer to that time of the year from Easter Day until Ascension Day, a period of 40 days, but it now is generally considered to last for the 50 days until Pentecost. Ascension Day was the day when Jesus ascended, or went up to heaven as recorded in the Bible in Luke 24:50. Pentecost was the day the Holy Spirit was given, as described in Acts 2:1.

But it wasn’t always that way. Easter, as most of us know it, is a Christian holiday, or holy day. It is celebrated by all Christian churches and it primarily and historically celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

In the early years of Christianity, Christian missionaries encountered various people groups, mostly in Northern Europe, that celebrated the return of spring with a big festival. These parties would go on for days and they worshipped their goddess fertility and springtime, in the hopes that their fields and livestock would be more productive.

That particular goddess, like many false gods, was known by a lot of different names. The one that stuck in connection to the springtime festival was Eastre. The symbol of the Easter bunny also originated with the worship of this goddess. Her earthly form was apparently a rabbit.

When some of the tribes converted to Christianity, they could no longer celebrate the goddess, so the pageant was changed to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection instead. The church Council of Nicaea in 325 AD issued several rules regarding Easter, one of which was changing of the spelling from Eastre to Easter.

The other main ruling they made was to regulate the day Easter fell on each year. It was decreed that all Christians should follow the Church of Rome by observing Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring, that is, after March 21. If the Jewish Passover falls on the same day, Easter was to be moved to the following Sunday.

Easter eggs have also been around for a long time, considerably predating Christianity. The egg was a symbol of rebirth in many cultures. They were often decorated and given as gifts, a tradition which is still with us today.

One of the widely observed traditions of Easter is that of Carnival and Lent. Lent starts 40 day before Easter and is a time of sacrifice where people give up some enjoyable activity or food item, such as watching TV or eating chocolate. The idea is to make it a time of inner cleansing and reflection upon the sufferings of Jesus Christ before his resurrection.

Carnival, or Mardi Gras, gradually developed with the idea that the 40 days of Lent would be easier if everyone got all their merry-making out of their system first. Carnival is usually celebrated on the Tuesday (known as fat Tuesday) before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

Today most Americans choose to partake in the traditions they see as fun and ignore the other parts. Christians who take their faith seriously tend to focus on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Decorative birdhouses

Decorative birdhouses made mostly out of recycled materials.

One sign spring is near are birds looking for a place to build a nest. We made some decorative birdhouses to use as decorations to bring the feeling of spring indoors. The birdhouses are made with mostly recycled materials.

The birdhouse itself is made from either a one pint or a one quart size milk carton. The one pint size is perched on a one-inch diameter by four-inch high tree branch. The first step is to paint the milk cartons.

We used a crackle medium to get a textured look. The process for this is to first paint a layer of acrylic paint in color of choice and let it dry. Then apply a coat of crackle medium. After it dries another coat of acrylic paint is applied in a second color. As the last coat dries it crackles exposing the first color.

A hair dryer can be used between layers of paint to hasten the drying time. Also, while waiting for the paint to dry other parts of the project can be worked on.

For the roof we used old wood shingle pieces. These are cut at random widths from about a half-inch to one-inch wide and about two and a half inches long. Cardboard cut to similar sizes could be used in place of wood shingles. These are placed on the slopes of the milk cartons at the top.

We used a hot glue gun to put all parts together but craft glue could be used. If craft glue is used extra time should be allowed for drying before adding more items.

Popsicle sticks and twine are used for the fence around the bottom of the tall birdhouse. The fence posts are cut about one and three-quarters-inch in length. First a length of twine is glued around the painted milk carton about one and a half inches from the bottom. Then the posts are glued three to a side. The fence can be painted white or left wood colored.

The holes for the birds are one-inch in diameter. They are cut out with an X-Acto knife. For the tall birdhouse we cut two holes on front and back and one hole on each side. For the short birdhouse we cut one hole in the front. To edge the holes we glued on twine. We also made bows from twine and glued them to the top of each hole.

For nesting material in each hole and around the base of the tall birdhouses we used wood moss or excelsior moss. We also glued some to the top of the roof to cover the center of the milk carton. Small silk flowers and leaves were used on the roof as well as the base of the pole under the short birdhouse.

The bases for each birdhouse are rounds cut from large tree branches. They measure about 10 to 12 inches in diameter and about one to two inches thick.

To finish the look we placed mushroom birds, one per birdhouse in one of the front holes.

In the past we have made birdhouses like these for table decorations for large get-togethers. To dress them up a length of ivy, silk or real, could be circled around the base. We have also made birdhouses to be sold at fundraisers for non-profit groups that we have been a part of.

If this project is used with children the holes in the birdhouses can be precut by an adult. Adult supervision is also suggested if using hot glue guns.