Draining the Swamp

Weather: Cold is measured two ways. I usually look at the morning temperature, which has been well below freezing since October. That, after all, is what kills plants.

The other way is to look at the afternoon high. Temperatures have only reached 50 or more a few days each week. That makes it hard to work outside.

It’s only after the solstice, that woody plants have begun to show the effects of cold. Many arborvitae have turned brown, and the color in other evergreens has faded. Weeping willow branches are more yellow, and sandbar willows are more red. Also, some rose canes have turned red.

Last snow: 1/16. Week’s low: 15 degrees F. Week’s high: 58 degrees F in the shade.

What’s green: The junipers, yuccas, and other evergreens, grape hyacinths, vinca, and coral bell leaves

What’s turned red or purple: Sandbar willow and some rose branches; alfilerillo and coral beards tongue leaves

What’ turned brown or yellow: Weeping willow and arborvitae leaves

Tasks: Men have been cutting Siberian elms that grew up along a fence line in a field they’re renting for farmer’s market crops. Since they’re cutting the wood to lengths, I assume they are using it or selling it for firewood.

Animal sightings: Small birds

Weekly update: When I first heard the expression "drain the swamp" in Detroit auto factories in the 1980s, it referred to a method for solving problems. It was at the time when Japanese productivity ideas were being adopted.

The assumption was one could not know every reason something wasn’t working. All one knew was what one could see. So, you fixed that, and then looked to see what new problems had been unmasked.

It was compared to draining a swamp. When you looked, all you saw was a few leaves on the surface. When you removed a foot a water, submerged tree roots became visible. When you removed all the water, you found the alligators.

As with anything taken up by Washington, the need to work in stages was lost. Instead of fixing one problem at a time, politicians talk like you can do it all at once. Since Washington was built in a swamp, it became a punning way to refer to removing people who did not bend with the wind.

In my yard, it’s fix one problem at a time. I’ve mentioned the problems caused by my neighbors killing a winterfat that kept soil from migrating from their drive to mine, and making it impossible to open my gate last winter.

I spent the spring building a low retaining wall to stop the movement of dirt, and scraped the ground until the gate would swing freely. I added a layer of pea gravel, making sure the gate would still open.

After the first snow, I discovered I had solved the obvious problem, but not every problem. The gate would open - but only a foot. I never saw the higher area as a problem because I couldn’t get the gate that far before.

I spent time kicking out stones and dirt to get the gate open. Removing enough dirt so I can lay new gravel can’t happen until spring.

Then, I discovered I had created a new problem. The retaining wall created a shadow that nurtured ice. It’s still there at the base of the wall, but I broke the rest up. I’m not sure how to solve that one, since ice formed on top of gravel elsewhere.

There are no instant solutions to problems caused by Nature.

Notes on photographs:
1. Area arborvitae have turned different shades of brown, 2 February 2020.
2. Area ornamental juniper has begun to yellow, 2 February 2020.
3. Wild rose canes have turned red, 27 January 2020.