The Old Woman And The Oak Tree

When she is raking the leaves of the black oak tree that is growing beside her back porch, she sighed, and muttered to herself:  It is tiring to clean after this Oak Tree, for it does not let its leaves fall all at once.  It sheds its dried leaves a few at a time from fall through the coming spring.  A gust of wind blew carrying a few leaves from the black oak tree and a dried leaf brushed gently against the old woman's wrinkled face and with the gust of wind she thought she heard the Black Oak whispered to her in response to her mutterings.
Why do you complain about my leaves falling to the ground a little bit at a time?  Oh impatient woman....lots of things must be done gradually and some things must be done all at once!  There is wisdom behind everything that happens in nature.  You only have to observe and learn.

The old woman looked up at the old Black Oak tree and she imagined its old wrinkled face and sturdy rugged knotty neck bending over her.  She is old but this Oak tree is much older than her and probably lived through lots of wonderful, terrible, sad and happy events that happened in the lives of the families that lived or are still living in this community.   This Oak tree is a silent non-judgmental witness to all the the lives lived by the people that lived there.

The Oak tree stands on a hill overlooking the little lake community of Black Oak Lake.  It stood there like a silent sentinel, ever watchful of the comings and goings of the people that live there.

Emily, the current occupant of the cabin that sits half hidden within the drooping branches of the old Black Oak, is a white haired lady whose countenance manifests a peaceful, happy disposition.  Although she had been a residence of this community for a number of years and almost every residents of the community knew her, very few people know the details of her private life.

A stranger would deduce that she loves animals for her dwelling is surrounded by feeding stations for different animals including birds.  But she does not have a domestic pet of any kind.

Making A Vegetable Garden In A Hostile Environment

We moved to the country for the love of trees.  I want to be surrounded by them.  I feel secure and it seems that my tiny cabin is cocooned in their ever spreading branches every time I wake up in the morning and look outside.

Despite my love for trees, I found one downside in living in this area.  I cannot fully pursue my love for gardening.  Flower beds and tree roots just don't mix, despite what the experts say, of dumping rich fertile dirt in the garden area where tree roots are present, to sustain both garden plants and tree roots.  The tree roots always win!  I have to break my back and purse to dig up matted fibrous tree rootlets and buy rich dirt each year!

This year I have decided to try gardening again.  My goal is to make a garden bed that would last for sometime without the invasion of unwanted garden enemies!

These are the garden enemies:  Tree roots, quack grass, rabbits, deer (occasional).  I have to protect the garden bed from all these.

How To Prevent Root Invasion:

1.  Dig and remove all tree roots from the garden area.  Prevent future root invasion by cutting the invading root several inches away from the garden bed.
2.  Dig up a 4 to 5" deep ditch around the garden bed.  Keep this area dry and prevent rich soil from it.
Monitor this area constantly for any signs of invasion of both tree roots and quack grass.

3.  Till the garden soil every year and monitor for any new root invasion.

How To Prevent Quack Grass invasion:

1.  Dig up all Quack Grass roots and remove them from the garden.  Do not cover garden area with weed block! Rhizomes of Quack Grass thrive very well underneath any kind of cover.  The best defense against it is to expose it to sunlight and dry environment!

2.  Number 2 above is also defense against Quack Grass!

3.  Dig up quack grass roots and rhizomes quickly as soon as you see it.  Do not wait until they proliferate in the garden bed.

How To Prevent Rabbits and Deers Invasion:

1.  Build a fence around the garden.

Edible Plants Of The Philippines Planted In The U.S (zone 6) -- Colocasia Esculenta

The Philippines is composed of several islands with more mountains and hills than flat lands suitable for
 raising livestock such as cattle.  For this reason the Filipino people rely heavily on greens and root crops for food.  Root crops and vegetables are eaten along with rice, fish, meat.  I don't remember eating a meal without lots of cooked green vegetables.  This post is the beginning of other

posts that will follow discussing the edible plants that are found in the Philippines.  Some of these plants are endemic to the Philippines but lots of them are found in most tropical regions of the world.  The photo above is Colocasia esculenta (Taro).  Both roots and leaves are eaten in the Philippines.  I bought a Taro root from Asian grocery store and planted it in a pot.  It was welting so bad because I was not able to water it everyday so I set it on the edge of the lake and it thrived better.

Taro or Gabi (Colocasia esculenta).

This plant is very common in the Philippines.  It can be found growing in wetlands of the Philippines.  In the U.S. it can be grown also as an annual.  The leaves and roots can be harvested for food before the onset of cold weather.  It is very important to differentiate the edible specie from the not-edible ones, because the edible and not so edibles ones look so much alike.  Before deciding to consume have it identified by reliable people who have actually consumed this plant in the past.  The roots, leaves and stems are all edible after cooking well but all parts of the plant are toxic if eaten raw due to calcium oxalate crystals in all parts of the plant.  I have tasted it raw as a precocious child and believe me, it did not even take a minute to feel the itchy stinging sensation in my mouth.  Cooking destroys the crystals and it is then safe to eat.

I understand that some specie of these plants are growing rampant in Florida but search on the net reveals that they may not be the same specie as the one shown on this photo. I miss a vegetable dish called "Pinangat" or "Bicol Express".  This dish is made out of Gabi leaves, coconut milk and fish or meat.  I decided to try cooking some of the leaves of this Taro I've grown in the pot just the way I remember it done in the Philippines, but I was very cautious and decided in advance to make sure I taste just a little bit before consuming a mouthful and sure enough, I had a bad reaction in my mouth after tasting half a teaspoon of the sauce from the vegetable.  I felt my tounge drying up and felt that I can't swallow.  So there goes the dish!  I threw it in the garbage!

I don't know whether I was just so apprehensive about eating the wrong kind of Colocasia or I just had an allergic reaction to it.  Can soil and environment turn an edible plant to a poisonous one?  I had several friends identify the plant via photo and they all said it was edible.  Anyway, I'm glad I decided to taste it before eating large amount.  Who knows what it would have done me?  I probably end up in ER.  The root is supposed to be edible but I'm afraid to try cooking the root now because of what happened.

I will just have to be happy using it as an ornamental plant.  It looks nice especially looking at its reflection on the water.