Tag Archives: garden

November 3, 2013 · 8:53 pm

Romeo and Juliet at Folger Shakespeare

Tonight, my daughter Jessica and I saw a delightful production of Romeo and Juliet at the Folger Shakespeare Library here in Washington D.C. I am visiting the nation’s capitol with the TechWomen mentors and 78 emerging leaders from 16 African and Middle Eastern countries. Our formal meetings at the US State Department start tomorrow!

Opened in 1932, the beautiful Folger Shakespeare Library, theater, and garden is located on Capitol Hill. “Home to the world’s largest and finest collection of Shakespeare materials and to major collections of other rare Renaissance books, manuscripts, and works of art, the Folger serves a wide audience of researchers, visitors, teachers, students, families, and theater- and concert-goers.”

WP668 Caboose Clinic – Questions?

I am signed up to give a “Caboose Clinic” to the Coast Division of the National Model Railroad Association on 8 December 2013 in San Leandro, California. More event details are on the Pacific Coast Region Master Calendar. Check out the website of WP668, our San Jose backyard caboose for more about our family project.

Last Friday, I joined my husband John Plocher’s model train lunch group to interview the target market for my clinic. Here are the questions the train lunch guys want answered:

How did you find WP668?
How did you install WP668 in your Willow Glen backyard?
How much did the caboose project cost?
In restoring WP668, what did you discover that was unexpected or odd?
How did you match the paint color? What went into the original paint? How did you get the original paint off?

They also asked me to show many many pictures and to include the following:

Tell the story of getting the city permit submitted and approved.
Talk about restoration materials – how you got wood to fit the 1916 old-growth fir tongue-and-groove original boards.

Please add more to this list of questions and topics – and come to the event if you are available.

Bee Exercise Routine

Since July 2012, I have walked over 1,250 miles, according to my FitBit activity tracker – that comes out to about 4 miles a day. On my long walks in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose, California, I often see fellow exercisers, such as the bumblebee pictured here. She seems to be doing calisthenics while collecting thistle pollen.

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Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as garden, insects, San Jose, Willow Glen

May 27, 2013 · 5:08 pm

Craig’s Crimson Cherry

In 1999, I planted a bare-root Craig’s Crimson Cherry semi-dwarf fruit tree in our Willow Glen backyard. Our dog promptly bit it in half. Despite this rough start, the little tree is flourishing and just gave us a our annual large bowl of deliciously sweet red cherries.

The fruit a week ago – not quite ripe:

Cherry flowers in April 2013:

The tree tags:

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Filed under Home & Family

Tagged as garden, House Work, San Jose, Willow Glen

May 14, 2013 · 10:08 am

Local Animals

I was suggesting images to my artist son Paul for his current animal series of water colors and thought that a blog with pictures of some of our local Willow Glen, California denizens would be of interest. Not pictured is the horrible towhee bird who is flinging himself repeatedly at my caboose office window as I type.

My cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus), Guapo and Sparky, eating a dried pepper:

Jerusalem Cricket (Stenopelmatus) in the side yard:

Big garter snake (Thamnophis) in front of our house:
(picture courtesy of neighbor Jamie Lynch)

Alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea) on neighbor’s sidewalk:

American swallowtail butterfly caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes) on fennel in the front yard:

Redda the dog (Canis lupus familiaris) trying for a lick through her kennel fence:

Beggar dogs hoping for a handout:

Cat (Felis catus) dominating the neighbor’s car:

Garter snake picture Copyright 2013 by James Lynch, other pictures Copyright 2013 by Katy Dickinson

Cottonwood Storm

For the last two weeks our house and garden have been in the annual dancing seed storm from the female Cottonwood poplar trees along San Jose’s Guadalupe River. Thankfully, we are now almost done with blowing fuzz for the year. All of my cactus have fluff caught in their spines. I will be watering down the garden all weekend. At least the white seeds make it very obvious where the spider webs are – giving me a target for the hose.

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Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as garden, San Jose, Willow Glen

April 25, 2013 · 10:45 am

TechWomen and International Visitors at Home

Yesterday, the TechWomen mentors gathered at my house in San Jose to cook a dinner for eleven guests from the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the Institute of International Education (IIE West Coast). Our guests arrived from Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Here is more about the IVLP program:

IVLP at IIESF works to promote citizen diplomacy in the San Francisco Bay Area. Community supporters and IIE members are called “Citizen Diplomats” and promote international understanding through person-to-person interaction with emerging foreign leaders from around the globe. Through direct contact with these visitors, members have an opportunity to share unique aspects of the Bay Area and/or their professional field, while increasing the visitors’ understanding of local and national culture and institutions. In the past 53 years Citizen Diplomats have had direct dialogues with tens of thousands of emerging international leaders from more than 145 countries.

These particular ladies are part of WISE (Women’s Innovations in Science and Engineering), invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Their program was arranged by World Learning.

The TechWomen prepared a delicious potluck dinner, I showed them WP 668, our backyard caboose where I have my office, John and Paul helped and served as local guides to the house and kitchen, and everyone had a delightful time talking and learning. As always, I feel blessed in the community of my TechWomen sisters and look forward to our continued work together!