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| Yellow Bush Lupines at Grandview Park |
I didn't want to put the graywater photo at the top, so I plugged in some bush lupine encountered on my walk this morning. I haven't been doing any nature photography lately since my wife caught the Covid-19 bug about two weeks ago, just a few days before a big gathering for a nephew's wedding. I managed to stay bug-free until a couple of days after attending the wedding solo, but then I also tested positive last Monday. I went on Paxlovid right away and, after a few days with almost no symptoms, was stoked to test negative on Saturday. Today was a beautiful day to finally get back outdoors.
As for the graywater, about a year ago I started using the rinse water from our washing machine (using as little biodegradable soap as possible) to keep our little garden alive during the drought. I fill four buckets with each of two rinses per load, and do two loads a week, which turns out to be plenty of water. The only thing I didn't like about it was pouring buckets of water on the plants. Even trying to be gentle about it, that's just not ideal. The water pressure squashes the plants and compacts the soil, and much of the water just runs off the planted area.
I figured I needed a proper watering can, and just recently I finally got around to it. I got the biggest can I could find, which holds three gallons, to save myself extra trips up and down the stairs between the laundry nook and the garden. Now I can water the plants much more gently and efficiently.
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| Drought-buster watering can, with Hazel, Bleeding Heart, Ginger, Sword Fern, Selfheal, Redwood Sorrel, and some other things growing in a garden that gets very little direct sun. |
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| Yellow Bush Lupine & Reddish Sheep Sorrel on Grandview Park |
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| Pollinated by bumble bees, yellow bush lupine is believed to be native from Sonoma County south, but is considered invasive farther north. |
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