Tomato Blight

Every summer I look forward to canning tomatoes and making spaghetti sauce, but this summer my kitchen will be quiet.  The flooding rains and cool temperatures of June and July stunted tomato growth and provided Phytophthora the optimal conditions for growth. 

Phytophthora is the genus of fungus that causes late blight.  It's the same genus responsible for the Irish potato famine and sudden oak death in California.  It is not a true fungus, meaning it does not belong to the taxonomic kingdom of Fungi, but is instead a member of the Protist kingdom.  Commonly called a water mold, Phytophthoras spread by flagellated spores that swim through water.  If one wet plant is infected and it touches another wet plant, the fungus spreads, feeding on the photosynthates of its host.  Photosynthates are sugars and other chemicals that plants make through photosynthesis.  Usually, these chemicals are used for reproduction and the plant produces fruit.  But if a parasite attacks, those chemicals get sucked away, and the plant won't be able to make fruits/tomatoes.

So all this means that tomatoes (plants and fruits) have suffered in New England.  A New York Times article published in June predicted this crop failure, as did others I am sure.  And now it is late August, and local tomatoes cost an arm and a leg. 

Thankfully, tomatoes are just one crop grown in my region-the Pioneer Valley.  Kale has done wonderfully, and I have a freezer full of steamed greens for winter soups.  My own kale plants have gone above and beyond my expectations (maybe they can sense my disappointment about tomatoes), and have provided me with POUNDS of leaves. 

I am glad that the theory of farm diversification has been put into practice in my area.  The Pioneer Valley has several small farms, and many of them plant a variety of crops.  I hope the loss of the tomatoes doesn't cause too much economic stress for any farmers in my area.  I can survive without tomatoes, and I hope the farms can.

Hiking on Summer Vacation

High 82.  Cloudy and humid.

New England has been drenched by rain storm after rain storm this summer.  Consequently, I haven't been getting outdoors as much as I would like.  I don't mind hiking in the rain, but the trails can't take it.  They start to erode with rain, washing down hill, and hiking on them only exacerbates the process.  So, I've been staying on the pavement-running and cycling. 

After a spell of dry weather 2 weeks ago, I went hiking in the Berkshires with an old high school friend.  It was great to catch up after so many years apart, seeing how we both have changed and how we both have stayed very much the same.  I liked high school, and I like looking back on myself at that time.  It's reassuring to realize that my personality and temperament have remained fairly constant.  And the hiking was great.  We climbed Alander Mountain, and the trail was very easy to follow.  There were great views from the summit, and we enjoyed the sunshine amid the blueberry bushes there.

Luckily, I planned a vacation to a tougher landscape.  My husband and I spent last week camping in and exploring Acadia National Park.  The granite that is so prominent in the mountains and sea cliffs is very resistant to erosion, so the paths and trails of the park were in fine shape for hiking.  And hike I did.  Up Mansell Mountain, the Beehive and on various smaller paths.  I even saw a program on how crews build the paths, cutting each granite stone by hand.

[caption id="attachment_84" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Trail up Mansell Mountain"][/caption]

 We did so many things on vacation, and I am not going to list them all here. 

Happy Hiking!

Turtle Season

Cloudy and warm.

During early summer you can catch turtles out and about, looking for love.  On a five mile run a couple weeks ago, I spotted (and almost touched!) a snapping turtle that had at least a 10" diameter carapace.  All dark and spiky, the shell looked wet, as if the turtle had climbed right out of the stream a hundred yards away.  (I know I should use metric...)

Here is a picture of some painted turtles I caught sunning themselves on a branch overhanging Perfume Pond in Easthampton, MA. 

Ravenel's Stinkhorn

This is the second summer in a row that I have found these beauties outside of the Bartley Center on the Holyoke Community College campus.  Stinkhorns are named for their shape and have a characteristic odor.  Some say the odor is of rotting flesh, others say it smells like semen.  To me, it's a toss up.  They just reek!

[caption id="attachment_68" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Phallus ravenelii"][/caption]

Here is the emerging stinkhorn.  Caught in the act!!

Keepin' up with the rain

High 75.  Cloudy and rainy.

I don't complain about the weather.  This is because my father, a rugged yet sensitive guy with Canadian heritage, always told me not to complain about things you can't fix.  We all have to live with the weather, and there's nothing we can do to change it, so I might as well just move on with my life.

That said, this has been a rainy June.  So much so that I am starting to get concerned about the tomatoes and basil I am expecting in August.  And what makes me even more concerned is that my farmers are disheartened by the weather.  Farmers!

Nevertheless, between rain drops I went down to the Manhan River trails and saw a lovely belted kingfisher (female)!

Pictures

[caption id="attachment_61" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Columbines"][/caption]

And the visitors...

[caption id="attachment_62" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Racoons!"][/caption]

Revival

High 74 (expected), Cloudy!

Summer is upon us!  This past spring, I taught Zoology for the first time and loved every minute of it.  Well, not the minutes that were filled with the smells of the preserved animals.  Some of those really stunk!  But it was a pleasure to learn and teach about the animal kingdom.  I am currently teaching an Anatomy and Physiology lab (during the first summer session for the college), and I am having a great time with it.  The course is challenging for the students since it is an upper level Biology course, but the students are dedicated and strong.  Their patience, enthusiasm, and dedication never cease to surprise me.  I get to teach some real good people.

Out of doors, I have been coaxing my garden to bloom.  I had an amazing bunch of huge columbines, fragrant lilacs, vibrant tulips and fluffy apple blossoms (in no particular order).  As I look out my office window, I see the salvia, astilbes and feverfew all in bloom at the moment.  The yellow aster-like flowers of lovage are on their way. 

Although I haven't been hiking much this summer due to the rain and other distractions, I have seen some fantastic wildlife!  Cardinals and catbirds are plentiful this spring.  I saw an oriole in Monson, and a few woodpeckers around the house in Easthampton.  On my way to work yesterday, I saw a bear in Holyoke !  Maybe that's what inspired me to get back into writing this blog!  It was a young bear, and it seemed confused that it had found its way out of the woods and onto Jarvis Street.  This morning I was visited by a family of racoons.  Two young racoons pushed their way through my fence gate, followed soon after by their mother.  I got a couple  pictures of the babies, but of course my camera died when the mama came through.  She hissed at me for disturbing her morning stroll.

Pictures will be up shortly!