The newly purchased galvanized container that sits along my side yard fence outperformed itself for yet another season. In addition to last year's abundance of summer vegetables, I'm now enjoying winter vegetables. As you'll notice from the photos, I'm harvesting Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) and bok choy (Cruciferae Brassica chinensis), and soon will be picking snow peas (Pisum salivum). Frankly, I can't ask for more in such a compact space. 

This galvanized stock tank works for me. Available in a variety of shapes and sizes, this container sits at just the right height for tending vegetables and means less back-breaking work and fewer insects. 

If you've never tried growing bok choy, give this member of the chard family a try. With its tasty, tender leaves and stalks, the charm of this cole crop lies in its versatility. The entire plant is edible, whether mature or immature. Simply snip off a few stems from each plant, chop up both the leaves and stems, then add to a stir fry or omelet. Within days new stalks will sprout on the old plant. Last fall I ordered two six-packs of bok choy from Vacaville's Pacific Hardware and look forward to a harvest through March.       

The reasons for pruning trees are to maintain health and the appearance of the tree; to direct growth and remove undesirable growth; to increase the yield of flowers and/or fruit; to maintain safety and to shape into espaliers, topiaries or hedges.

The three “D's” are worth remembering. Dead, diseased, and damaged are the branches to be removed per instructors when pruning classes are taught. There are several types of pruning cuts, commonly referred to as ‘thinning cuts', ‘heading cuts', and ‘shearing cuts'. Thinning cuts will open the canopy of a tree for light and will encourage the least amount of re-growth. Heading cuts will produce clusters of shoots from the buds locate below the cuts. Shearing (commonly called random heading) will produce an outer layer of dense, twiggy growth and allow the tree to be thicker and healthier.

Driving around Vacaville, I have noticed a new version of pruning and it appears it stops short of actually removing the entire tree. This new version involves using a chain saw on every branch until the tree resembles a naked statue-no branches, no leaves, no greenery. I'm wondering if this is being done because the homeowner doesn't want the bother of raking leaves or as a water conservation step? Whatever the reason, these massacred trees stand out in the landscape and are not attractive.

Yesterday I watched as two men cut down a landscape tree. One was on top of the ladder with a chain saw and he cut through a large limb until it split and hung vertically. The second man would grab the branch and pull until the branch released and tore away from the trunk. He then lifted the limb over the fence into the back yard. I'm sure they wondered what I was doing taking photos of their handiwork.

It breaks my heart to see previously beautiful trees mutilated with a chain saw. There are homeowners who take excellent care of their landscape trees. They have been pruned with thinning cuts and shaped to protect their trunks.  These trees stand out beautifully in the landscape enhancing the entire yard.

I'm not sure what can be done to discourage the practice of using chain saws in the landscape. There are several Master Gardeners who teach FREE pruning classes. In a perfect world, more people would educate themselves before pruning.

It will take a lot of education to teach others that trees are their friends, providing shade in our hot weather, homes for wildlife and to beautify our world.

“I would like to go to the Pacific Orchid Exposition, for I have never been,” she said.

“You should go,” he said.

“But it is far away, and the children need tending, and the weeds need pulling,” she said.

“I have pulled many weeds,” he said, “and I will drive you, and find a babysitter for the children.”

“I will buy just one orchid, for I know my limits,” she said.  “Not pink.”

“Ha,” he thought.   And rightfully so.

Many years ago my husband and I purchased 85 acres north of Red Bluff on the bluffs of the Sacramento River. The views of Mts Shasta, Lassen, The Trinities, Yolo Bolly Mountains, the old iron bridge that crosses the river and of course the Sacramento River itself are outstanding. However for me, getting down the 45' bluff to the river's edge was impossible because of my disabilities, not my lack of desire or trying. My husband Pat decided that a pathway down to the bottom of the bluff was in order!

What we learned during this process was interesting. Ultimately all of the agencies agreed (once we paid them) that we could build our pathway because it was for ADA purposes.   Our pathway ended up approximately 300 linear ft. long with one switchback and is 6-8' wide depending on the location in the pathway. From the bottom of the pathway it's approximately 150' to the river's edge with 2/3 of that being above the “mean high water mark”. All of the above information was essential to the agencies who we worked with. Those agencies are as follows:

1)      Fish and Game (2 visits to look at the site/ approve plans/complete application and pay $$)

2)      Water Resources Board

3)      Tehama County

4)      Cal Fire

 We also had to follow the STREAMBED ALTERATION AGREEMENT . Their guidelines were as follows:

• Choose site to minimize impact on soil and trees (their wording “ideal route”)
• Couldn't push products down bank or into water. The soil and rock removed had to be drug up and over the bluff.
• Decomposed granite or concrete were our only 2 choices for the pathway-we chose D.G.
• No retaining wall or Riprap allowed without further approval and probably more $$. (we still need to do this) We did use waddling to help minimize silt/mud runoff and did hydro seed the bank when the pathway was completed.

We now must reapply with those agencies to apply more D.G. because of rain erosion. Yes, this was a lot of time, energy and money for a pathway. However, when you are standing at the river's edge, looking at and listening to the rapids, feeling the coolness of the water, watching the wildlife in the water and trees—it's worth it.

Now…..just ask me that again when we start the application to redo both the D.G. and seeding!