On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 15:11:03 -0700, chaniarts wrote:

right now, i have a 2" scorpion in a jar on my office desk. creeps a lot
of people out, though that keeps the traffic into my office down.

I just shipped this lovely lady to you, via USPS Express Mail:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411163.jpg

What I really need is a square-sided large thin-walled glass jar
to take better pictures of my captures...

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 02:01:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

"Natura abhorret a vacuo"

Well, there's plenty of sunlight, poor soils, and no water to speak
of ... so, you're right - the only thing that grows are the weeds.

In fact, as you surmised, on my unwatered lawn, are basically these
two plants (wild mustard and some kind of other nasty looking thing):
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411202.jpg

Looking closer at the nasty looking thing, it has nasty leaves:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411200.jpg

And, a nasty purplish headress:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411198.jpg

I think it's some kind of horrid thistle all over my fescue lawn:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411201.jpg

On 6/25/2013 11:21 PM, Danny D. wrote:
On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:39:00 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote:

You could always let her run for Congress.

Couldn't be too much worse than Pelosi or Boxer!




Sorry, I couldn't help it. ^_^

TDD

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 04:42:03 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
wrote:

And, a nasty purplish headress:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411198.jpg

....purple thistle weed

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.gardens.]
On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 04:42:03 +0000 (UTC), Danny D. wrote:
On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 02:01:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

"Natura abhorret a vacuo"

In fact, as you surmised, on my unwatered lawn, are basically these
two plants (wild mustard and some kind of other nasty looking thing):
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411202.jpg

Looking closer at the nasty looking thing, it has nasty leaves:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411200.jpg

And, a nasty purplish headress:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411198.jpg

I think it's some kind of horrid thistle all over my fescue lawn:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411201.jpg

Try pulling one up... you may find they're attached to an underground
root and stolon system, in which case you may be dealing with
Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense, a noxious weed* in California, and
you might want to consider some minor chemical warfare, as fragments of
the underground portions of the plants about 3/8" long can start new
ones, as can all the seeds. http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management...mber=182.ph p
They can basically take over an area in a few years.

Seeds last up to about 20 years in the soil, and can travel miles on the
wind because they have a little "parachute" of hairs (pappus), and also
many songbirds eat the seeds.

*Noxious weed is a legal definition, meaning the plant is a peril to
agriculture. I think C. arvense is a class B, but it's been 30 years
since I lived in CA, so you might want to check it. In some counties,
everyone may be required to control it, in which case you're legally
obligated to deal with it.

I control it here in my Oregon yard with heading the flowers**
as soon as I see them, and spot applications of glyphosate on
established plants in the fall. Heading has to be done vigilantly--
at least once a week.
**Canada thistle is a member of the Asteraceae (also known as the
Compositae) the dandelion family -- each of those purple "petals" is an
entire flower, and the flowers eventually develop one-seeded fruits
that are dispersed by birds and wind.

FWIW, I had a bunch of downed trees a couple of years ago, and burning them
was the only practical means I had to get rid of them. So I built the
bonfire on top of a big Canada thistle to get an idea of what might happen
in a wildfire. The fire burned for about 6 hours, got very hot, and left
a lot of very alkaline ash. Next year, guess what I had under the bonfire
site? Only the Canada thistle survived, and it was doing well.

On 6/25/2013 9:24 PM, Danny D. wrote:
On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 15:11:03 -0700, chaniarts wrote:

right now, i have a 2" scorpion in a jar on my office desk. creeps a lot
of people out, though that keeps the traffic into my office down.

I just shipped this lovely lady to you, via USPS Express Mail:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411163.jpg

What I really need is a square-sided large thin-walled glass jar
to take better pictures of my captures...


thank you, but i already have my own set of these, along with brown
recluse spiders, so need no more. what i also have a lot of and
encourage are funnel spiders and tarantulas, but not indoors.

http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nh...web_spider.php

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 02:01:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

Turn the flower upside down and you'll find there are 4 green sepals,
then the four yellow petals.

Thanks for that information.

Here's a picture of the underside of the wild mustard flower:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419875.jpg

Is the green arrow pointing to a (football-shaped) sepal?

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:42:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

Try pulling one up... you may find they're attached to an underground
root and stolon system, in which case you may be dealing with
Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense, a noxious weed* in California

Hi Kay,

I started pulling one up, then another, and another, and another,
until ... after a long while ... I filled my chest-high green recycling
bin with the thistle!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419889.jpg

I'm not sure how they process those things at the town recycling
center - but those thistle thorns are nasty!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419894.jpg

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:43:21 -0700, Oren wrote:

And, a nasty purplish headress:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411198.jpg

...purple thistle weed

Worse. Purple *thorny* thistle weed!

And, I might add, the photos below should show why I've grown
to instantly hate pulling out this purple thorny thistle weed!

1. I knew these dainty rubberized garden gloves didn't stand a chance:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419898.jpg

2. And, I instantly realized these leather & cloth gloves wouldn't work:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419899.jpg

3. I wasn't shocked when the thorns went right thru deerskin gloves:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419901.jpg

4. But, I was surprised thick pigskin was no match for the thorns:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419902.jpg

5. At the pressure you need to grasp & pull, even the thicker
cowhide gloves were painfully allowing thorns to puncture me:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419905.jpg

6. I was almost out of options, when I grabbed my heavy gas
welding gloves - which hadn't been used in years, so they
were as stiff - and even they allowed a few thorns in - but
for the most part, they were the *only* gloves that weren't
too painful to use to grasp the thorny thistle plants tightly
enough to pull them out of the dry ground.
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419911.jpg

Rarely have almost *all* my gloves failed me - but, the thorny
purple thistle weed was a challenge that dared to be overcome!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419913.jpg

Any neighbors must have looked at me oddly when I finally figured
out how to pull them out without bleeding, as I held them up in
the air in my gloved hand exalting in my thorny triumph!
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419920.jpg

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:42:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

Try pulling one up... you may find they're attached to an underground
root and stolon system, in which case you may be dealing with
Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense, a noxious weed*

Hmmm... I don't know what a "root and stolon" system looks like.

Most looked like taproots - like this:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419976.jpg

Or this:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419977.jpg

And this:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419978.jpg

However, some came out as 'clump' roots - like this:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419980.jpg

And this:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419981.jpg

PS: It was only half way through the eradication task that I
belatedly realized shoving a garden hose nozzle into the center
of the plant and blasting the roots loose was the way to go!
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419992.jpg

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:42:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

Seeds last up to about 20 years in the soil, and can travel miles on the
wind because they have a little "parachute" of hairs (pappus), and also
many songbirds eat the seeds.

I didn't see songbirds eating; but I did watch this one bee with interest.
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13420046.jpg

I'm not sure what it was looking for - but it kept digging away on
the purple stuff (which is just about the only non-thorny thing):
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13420047.jpg

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:42:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

I control it here in my Oregon yard with heading the flowers**
as soon as I see them, and spot applications of glyphosate on
established plants in the fall.

Hi Kay,

I have 5 gallons of concentrated 40-something percent glyphosate, so,
I do have plenty to go around ... but what does "heading" mean?

I guess that means to chop off the purple 'ball' at the top?
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13420064.jpg

What about the green balls that look slightly different?
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13420070.jpg

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:42:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

*Noxious weed is a legal definition, meaning the plant is a peril to
agriculture.

At first, I thought lovely thorny plant was a "Purple Starthistle",
(Centaurea calcitrapa), which is an invasive weed in the San Francisco
Bay Area:
http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management...mber=182.ph p

But, now I think it's a Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), which is also
prominant in the bay area, based on the fact that this looks like it:
http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management...um_vulgare.php

This site says it has a taproot and that "cut flowerheads can still develop
viable seed", but I would have no idea how:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/ipc/weedinfo/cirsium.htm

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:43:21 -0700, Oren wrote:

...purple thistle weed

I think it's a "Bull Thistle" (Cirsium vulgare).

Apparently it only reproduces by seed, but, the seeds must be
removed from the area...
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13420241.jpg

http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management...mber=182.ph p
Plants from Yosemite Valley that were cut at the root crown a few days
after their first flowers appeared and then laid on the ground produced
abundant viable seed (Randall pers. observation). Thus it may be
important to remove cut stems from the area.

Danny D. said:


On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:42:03 +0000, Kay Lancaster wrote:

I control it here in my Oregon yard with heading the flowers**
as soon as I see them, and spot applications of glyphosate on
established plants in the fall.

Hi Kay,

I have 5 gallons of concentrated 40-something percent glyphosate,
so, I do have plenty to go around ... but what does "heading"
mean?

I guess that means to chop off the purple 'ball' at the top?
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13420064.jpg

What about the green balls that look slightly different?
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13420070.jpg

Heading -- yes, cut off the flowers (purple) and buds (green).

More often seen in the phrase 'dead heading' which is to cut off the
spent (dead) flowers on an ornamental plant, so it does not 'waste'
energy on setting seeds.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

email valid but not regularly monitored

Danny D. said:

This site says it has a taproot and that "cut flowerheads can still develop
viable seed", but I would have no idea how:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/ipc/weedinfo/cirsium.htm

The part you cut off is still alive, for a while. The last bit of energy and
moisture in the cutting is given over to finishing the development of any
viable seeds.

It's not only thistles that are capable of this. I suspect that most
of the plants that have this ability act like weeds in other ways, too.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

email valid but not regularly monitored

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 07:58:46 -0400, Pat Kiewicz wrote:

The part you cut off is still alive, for a while.

Well, I've read about a dozen pages on the bull thistle, and, it
seems relatively easy to control (as long as you don't let it get
to the level I did).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirsium_vulgare

Apparently mine are two-year old plants (for the most part).

The yearlings only form low-lying rosettes, of which I have a
few. These radiating leaves don't produce a stem, so they lay
below the (lawnmower) radar, but otherwise don't reproduce.

The second year is when they produce the flowers, and then when
they flower, they die. The seeds don't appear to travel all that
far but they have an amazing germination rate (over 90%) so I'll
be weeding them for a few years to eradicate them.

The flowers are a rich nectar source, hence my bee will go
hungry in the next few days:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13422848.jpg

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 07:50:26 -0400, Pat Kiewicz wrote:

Heading -- yes, cut off the flowers (purple) and buds (green).

Thanks for clarifying. I've never headed a plant before.

It seems that the seeds only last about 5 years, so, of the
noxious weeds I need to deal with, this one won't be too bad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirsium_vulgare

It *only* spreads by seed, and I can prevent that with heading.

Plus, it shows itself a year earlier (as the rosette), so I
*should* have pulled them last year - and then they would never
have gotten to this second-year stage.

Apparently I can eat the stems, but, the kitchen already has
mustard plants all over the counter, as I experiment with what
is said to be tasty and what is not:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13422867.jpg

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:12:12 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

Apparently I can eat the stems

This says we can eat the roots, but, they contain "inulin", which
is apparently a non-digestible starch.
http://montana.plant-life.org/species/cirsium_vulga.htm

It also says the flower buds, young flowers, stems, and leaves
can be eaten. Even the seeds can be eaten, roasted on a grill.

This one says the inner bark can be used to make paper:
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?...irsium+vulgare

This one says the flower base can be eaten like an artichoke:
http://www.survival.org.au/bf_cirsium.php

This one says the purple flower petals can be used as chewing
gum and the seeds can be used to make a light oil:
http://www.survivalplantsmemorycours...-prickly-vase/

For the Scots out there, it's the national emblem of Scotland
(because a barefoot invading Viking stepped on one, alerting
them to the attack).

Danny D. wrote:
On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:43:21 -0700, Oren wrote:

And, a nasty purplish headress:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411198.jpg

...purple thistle weed

Worse. Purple *thorny* thistle weed!

And, I might add, the photos below should show why I've grown
to instantly hate pulling out this purple thorny thistle weed!

1. I knew these dainty rubberized garden gloves didn't stand a chance:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419898.jpg

2. And, I instantly realized these leather & cloth gloves wouldn't
work: http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419899.jpg

3. I wasn't shocked when the thorns went right thru deerskin gloves:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419901.jpg

4. But, I was surprised thick pigskin was no match for the thorns:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419902.jpg

5. At the pressure you need to grasp & pull, even the thicker
cowhide gloves were painfully allowing thorns to puncture me:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419905.jpg

6. I was almost out of options, when I grabbed my heavy gas
welding gloves - which hadn't been used in years, so they
were as stiff - and even they allowed a few thorns in - but
for the most part, they were the *only* gloves that weren't
too painful to use to grasp the thorny thistle plants tightly
enough to pull them out of the dry ground.
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419911.jpg

Rarely have almost *all* my gloves failed me - but, the thorny
purple thistle weed was a challenge that dared to be overcome!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419913.jpg

Any neighbors must have looked at me oddly when I finally figured
out how to pull them out without bleeding, as I held them up in
the air in my gloved hand exalting in my thorny triumph!
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419920.jpg

Wouldn't shoveling it at the root base first to loosen it help out?

--
Natural Girl //(**)\\

On 6/27/2013 1:46 AM, Danny D. wrote:
On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:43:21 -0700, Oren wrote:

...purple thistle weed

I think it's a "Bull Thistle" (Cirsium vulgare).

Apparently it only reproduces by seed, but, the seeds must be
removed from the area...
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13420241.jpg

http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management...mber=182.ph p
Plants from Yosemite Valley that were cut at the root crown a few days
after their first flowers appeared and then laid on the ground produced
abundant viable seed (Randall pers. observation). Thus it may be
important to remove cut stems from the area.


Danny, I want to complement you on your picture taking. It makes it much
easier for others to understand what you are writing about and
you really seem to enjoy photography. I have to Email lots of photos
of the work me and JH do to the service corporation we do work for and
I've gone through two inexpensive digital cameras this year. I'm going
to see if I can find a darn rubber coated drop resistant camera. ^_^

TDD

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:54:17 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote:

Danny, I want to complement you on your picture taking.

Thanks. I've been on USENET for decades and on forums for years,
and I believe in being responsive, providing enough detail, and
that a picture is worth a lot more than a description.

BTW, along those lines, I took my black widow spider to a friend
who is writing a book on how to photograph hard-to-photograph animals,
and you should see the excellent closeups he got of her red hourglass
belly and her spinning silk threads out of (her belly?).

Mine are on the top; his are on the bottom:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424306.jpg

Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 10:32:42 -0500, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl wrote:

Wouldn't shoveling it at the root base first to loosen it help out?

Yes.

Due to those spines, and the fact most people don't keep gas welding
gloves around the house, I don't recommend pulling them out anyway
if you're faced with a clump up to your thighs of this size or bigger:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424423.jpg

For some reason, I had it in my mind to just yank them out (like I
do most weeds). It's only the *challenge of the gloves* that got me,
since I pride myself on finding the best garden-use gloves for the
lowest price I can locally (my hands are big so not all gloves fit).

I ended up soaking them with the garden hose, shoving the nozzle right
at the root, and going down, oh, about six inches, which allowed them to
be pulled out easily *with* very (very) thick (and long) gloves.
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424351.jpg

If you didn't have long and thick gloves (absolutely nothing in the
box stores would protect you); you'd resort to more mechanical means.

Even with excellent gloves and a good soaking, I had to dig at one
bull thistle clump with hand equipment, to get it out:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424369.jpg

Based on my reading of the habits of bull thistle, it seems that
they only live two years, and that their seeds don't generally
travel all that far (only a few feet as they're very delicate).

So, had I headed the flowers, then I'd only have to worry about
these yearlings (which only form low-lying rosettes):
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424354.jpg

On Thursday, June 27, 2013 11:27:25 AM UTC-6, Danny D. wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:54:17 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote:



Danny, I want to complement you on your picture taking.



Thanks. I've been on USENET for decades and on forums for years,

and I believe in being responsive, providing enough detail, and

that a picture is worth a lot more than a description.



BTW, along those lines, I took my black widow spider to a friend

who is writing a book on how to photograph hard-to-photograph animals,

and you should see the excellent closeups he got of her red hourglass

belly and her spinning silk threads out of (her belly?).



Mine are on the top; his are on the bottom:

http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424306.jpg



Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

It is not necessary to send such HUGE pictures though. That last one
faltered three times and I have high-speed service.
Geez, If one had dial-up it would take an hour to download.

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:14:04 -0700, Roy wrote:

It is not necessary to send such HUGE pictures though. That last one
faltered three times and I have high-speed service.
Geez, If one had dial-up it would take an hour to download.

My mistake.

BTW, the photopush site I use always does a 640 pixel photo.

So, for example that photo of:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424306.jpg

Is also found at:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...0/13424306.jpg

Notice the (img) vs the (640).

I could just always paste the 640 images.
Would that be better?

On 6/27/2013 8:32 AM, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl wrote:
Danny D. wrote:
On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:43:21 -0700, Oren wrote:

And, a nasty purplish headress:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411198.jpg

...purple thistle weed

Worse. Purple *thorny* thistle weed!

And, I might add, the photos below should show why I've grown
to instantly hate pulling out this purple thorny thistle weed!

1. I knew these dainty rubberized garden gloves didn't stand a chance:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419898.jpg

2. And, I instantly realized these leather & cloth gloves wouldn't
work: http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419899.jpg

3. I wasn't shocked when the thorns went right thru deerskin gloves:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419901.jpg

4. But, I was surprised thick pigskin was no match for the thorns:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419902.jpg

5. At the pressure you need to grasp & pull, even the thicker
cowhide gloves were painfully allowing thorns to puncture me:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419905.jpg

6. I was almost out of options, when I grabbed my heavy gas
welding gloves - which hadn't been used in years, so they
were as stiff - and even they allowed a few thorns in - but
for the most part, they were the *only* gloves that weren't
too painful to use to grasp the thorny thistle plants tightly
enough to pull them out of the dry ground.
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419911.jpg

Rarely have almost *all* my gloves failed me - but, the thorny
purple thistle weed was a challenge that dared to be overcome!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419913.jpg

Any neighbors must have looked at me oddly when I finally figured
out how to pull them out without bleeding, as I held them up in
the air in my gloved hand exalting in my thorny triumph!
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419920.jpg

Wouldn't shoveling it at the root base first to loosen it help out?


http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...,44822&p=54671
http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/p...,40706&p=10418

Danny D. wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 10:32:42 -0500, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl
wrote:

Wouldn't shoveling it at the root base first to loosen it help out?

Yes.

Due to those spines, and the fact most people don't keep gas welding
gloves around the house, I don't recommend pulling them out anyway
if you're faced with a clump up to your thighs of this size or bigger:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424423.jpg

For some reason, I had it in my mind to just yank them out (like I
do most weeds). It's only the *challenge of the gloves* that got me,
since I pride myself on finding the best garden-use gloves for the
lowest price I can locally (my hands are big so not all gloves fit).

I ended up soaking them with the garden hose, shoving the nozzle right
at the root, and going down, oh, about six inches, which allowed them
to be pulled out easily *with* very (very) thick (and long) gloves.
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424351.jpg

If you didn't have long and thick gloves (absolutely nothing in the
box stores would protect you); you'd resort to more mechanical means.

Even with excellent gloves and a good soaking, I had to dig at one
bull thistle clump with hand equipment, to get it out:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424369.jpg

Based on my reading of the habits of bull thistle, it seems that
they only live two years, and that their seeds don't generally
travel all that far (only a few feet as they're very delicate).

So, had I headed the flowers, then I'd only have to worry about
these yearlings (which only form low-lying rosettes):
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424354.jpg

Those thorns are crazy!! I've seen something similar to those growing on
the side of the highway, but I don't think anyone cares to dig them up. lol

--
Natural Girl //(**)\\

Danny D. wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:54:17 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote:

Danny, I want to complement you on your picture taking.

Thanks. I've been on USENET for decades and on forums for years,
and I believe in being responsive, providing enough detail, and
that a picture is worth a lot more than a description.

BTW, along those lines, I took my black widow spider to a friend
who is writing a book on how to photograph hard-to-photograph animals,
and you should see the excellent closeups he got of her red hourglass
belly and her spinning silk threads out of (her belly?).

Mine are on the top; his are on the bottom:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424306.jpg

Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

{{{{{{shudders}}}}}}}

--
Natural Girl //(**)\\

chaniarts wrote:
On 6/27/2013 8:32 AM, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl wrote:
Danny D. wrote:
On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:43:21 -0700, Oren wrote:

And, a nasty purplish headress:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13411198.jpg

...purple thistle weed

Worse. Purple *thorny* thistle weed!

And, I might add, the photos below should show why I've grown
to instantly hate pulling out this purple thorny thistle weed!

1. I knew these dainty rubberized garden gloves didn't stand a
chance:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419898.jpg 2. And, I
instantly realized these leather & cloth gloves wouldn't
work:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419899.jpg 3. I
wasn't shocked when the thorns went right thru deerskin gloves:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419901.jpg

4. But, I was surprised thick pigskin was no match for the thorns:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419902.jpg

5. At the pressure you need to grasp & pull, even the thicker
cowhide gloves were painfully allowing thorns to puncture me:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419905.jpg

6. I was almost out of options, when I grabbed my heavy gas
welding gloves - which hadn't been used in years, so they
were as stiff - and even they allowed a few thorns in - but
for the most part, they were the *only* gloves that weren't
too painful to use to grasp the thorny thistle plants tightly
enough to pull them out of the dry ground.
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419911.jpg

Rarely have almost *all* my gloves failed me - but, the thorny
purple thistle weed was a challenge that dared to be overcome!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419913.jpg

Any neighbors must have looked at me oddly when I finally figured
out how to pull them out without bleeding, as I held them up in
the air in my gloved hand exalting in my thorny triumph!
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13419920.jpg

Wouldn't shoveling it at the root base first to loosen it help out?


http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...,44822&p=54671
http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/p...,40706&p=10418

Nice tools!

--
Natural Girl //(**)\\

On 6/27/2013 12:27 PM, Danny D. wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:54:17 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote:

Danny, I want to complement you on your picture taking.

Thanks. I've been on USENET for decades and on forums for years,
and I believe in being responsive, providing enough detail, and
that a picture is worth a lot more than a description.

BTW, along those lines, I took my black widow spider to a friend
who is writing a book on how to photograph hard-to-photograph animals,
and you should see the excellent closeups he got of her red hourglass
belly and her spinning silk threads out of (her belly?).

Mine are on the top; his are on the bottom:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424306.jpg

Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!


Cool, macro-photography. My cheap Vivitar digital camera had a Macro
setting. ^_^

TDD

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:58:23 -0700, chaniarts
wrote:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/p...,40706&p=10418

That tool reminds me of how fertilizer is applied for deep
penetration.

Same basic principle...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:05:59 -0500, "Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl"
wrote:

http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424423.jpg

snip

Those thorns are crazy!! I've seen something similar to those growing on
the side of the highway, but I don't think anyone cares to dig them up. lol

*Almost* like cactus thorns.... they hurt

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:07:27 -0500, "Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl"
wrote:

Mine are on the top; his are on the bottom:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424306.jpg

Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

{{{{{{shudders}}}}}}}

Our friend Danny runs with at the back of the pack, with the dark
horses G

In A.H.R. he is a real hoot.

Oren wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:07:27 -0500, "Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl"
wrote:

Mine are on the top; his are on the bottom:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424306.jpg

Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

{{{{{{shudders}}}}}}}

Our friend Danny runs with at the back of the pack, with the dark
horses G

In A.H.R. he is a real hoot.

aaahhh Dark horses are good entertainers!

--
Natural Girl //(**)\\

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:07:27 -0500, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl wrote:

Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

{{{{{{shudders}}}}}}}

Here's the last rattler, a few weeks ago, that was snuggled up against
the house right at the door steps where the grandkids play ...
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...0/13218290.gif


Note: For a larger picture, substitute "img" for 640.

On 6/27/2013 9:49 PM, Danny D. wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:07:27 -0500, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl wrote:

Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

{{{{{{shudders}}}}}}}

Here's the last rattler, a few weeks ago, that was snuggled up against
the house right at the door steps where the grandkids play ...
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...0/13218290.gif


Note: For a larger picture, substitute "img" for 640.


uhh ...at your door steps?????? What are you? The snake whisperer?

Funny thing happened to me some years ago. I saw this tarantula running
across my front porch. It was the real deal and huge. Silly me
thought..."No one is going to believe me!" So I ran in the house and
grabbed a mason jar to catch it so people would believe me, and when I
got out there and took a look at that spider and then a look at my mason
jar ... the spider was bigger than the mouth of the jar was, and I
thought to myself .. "this isn't going to work". About that time, the
tarantula decided it didn't want to play dead any more in the corner of
my front porch and it took off running. It 'bout scared the @#!$# out of
me when it did that, soooooooooooo... I let it go it's way, and I ran
into the house thinking .. "you dummy! WHAT were YOU thinking???" I
hate spiders and I was going to try to catch one THAT big?? smile

--
Natural Girl //(**)\\

On Thursday, June 27, 2013 12:50:26 PM UTC-6, Danny D. wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:14:04 -0700, Roy wrote:



It is not necessary to send such HUGE pictures though. That last one

faltered three times and I have high-speed service.

Geez, If one had dial-up it would take an hour to download.



My mistake.



BTW, the photopush site I use always does a 640 pixel photo.



So, for example that photo of:

http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/13424306.jpg



Is also found at:

http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...0/13424306.jpg



Notice the (img) vs the (640).



I could just always paste the 640 images.

Would that be better?

Yes, it would be better Danny...it is not necessary for quality
on these forums. If you were entering a contest then the
image would of necessity be your best.

Danny D. said:


On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:07:27 -0500, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl
wrote:

Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

{{{{{{shudders}}}}}}}

Here's the last rattler, a few weeks ago, that was snuggled up against
the house right at the door steps where the grandkids play ...
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...0/13218290.gif


Oh, I hope he plans to release them somewhere. What a lovely snake.

(Our only family pet is a big, fat albino corn snake, Ms. Ruby.)

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

email valid but not regularly monitored

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:44:17 -0500, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl wrote:

aaahhh Dark horses are good entertainers!

Naaaah. I ain't no dark horse; I'm just a responsive polite experienced
inquisitive friendly erudite nntp poster who likes to learn & teach.

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 22:20:19 -0500, Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl wrote:

I was going to try to catch one THAT big?

I've never caught a tarantula - but that story of the spider being
bigger than the jar is interesting!

My penultimate black widow was huge - but - she turned out to be pregnant!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...0/13430013.jpg