Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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garden boot camp

Hello again! I am so glad you stopped in today. I have lots of farm stories, recipes, and even crafts to post, but while I have a minute I am quickly sharing a great gift idea for the gardeners in your life. Particularly the Oklahoma gardeners. It’s more than just new rubberized gloves or even rare seeds; it’s the gift of knowledge that will inspire and inform the plant-loving devotees in your life.

Oklahoma Country Master Gardeners hosts garden boot camp in January.
Oklahoma Country Master Gardeners hosts garden boot camp in January.

Every winter the Oklahoma County Extension hosts a Gardening Bootcamp for locals to attend and bone up on their growing skills. For just $40 you (or your Mom or your best friend or your Grandpa or your neighbor) can enjoy a hefty dose of the expertise, guidance, and inspiration of Master Gardeners without making the full semester and volunteer hours commitment. The boot camp is for three consecutive Saturdays, all in the dead of winter while your planning, plotting, chlorophyll-craving brain is in restless overdrive. Perfect!

I will have finished the Master Gardeners classes by then, and will possibly be in the full swing of answering phones at the Extension office. But I am still considering attending this boot camp as well as Schroeder Wilson’s Geek School (more on that later). How much knowledge is too much, anyway? The folks who host these events are just wonderful. Smart, funny, generous, and passionate about their craft. I know that your $40 will be well spent, as will your precious Saturday time.

morning glories w cicero quote

So sign yourself up! Or purchase a reservation for a gardening loved one. Print off the flyer up top, and give it as a Christmas gift with those rubberized gloves or rare seeds. How perfect. What gardener, young or old, new or seasoned, wouldn’t appreciate that?

Okay. On to adding a hundred cotton layers to myself before another round of outdoor chores. Oklahoma winter has certainly arrived. Happy Thursday friends!

“If you have a garden and a library,
you have everything you need.”
~Cicero
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning from Steve Biebrich, Sunshine Nursery

This Tuesday at Master Gardener class we enjoyed a really wonderful speaker. Steve Biebrich, owner and operator of Sunshine Nurseries near Clinton, Oklahoma, came to talk to us about tree selection and propagation. Fun!

Steve Bieberich 06

He must have shown us more than three hundred beautiful photo slides, narrating in detail all the while, and I was scribbling fast to keep up with his comments. By the end of the day my binder held a couple dozen pages of notes on tree varieties suitable for Oklahoma, their provenance, stories behind their common names (I love this kind of trivia), and much more. It was so inspiring, not to mention flat out entertaining. Steve was hilarious! Irreverent, casual, passionate about his craft. Listening to him talk trees was a total pleasure.

I snapped this photo last month on our class field trip to the Stillwater Botanic gardens. The whole day was so magical.
I snapped this photo last month on our class field trip to the Stillwater Botanic gardens. The whole day was so magical.

Steve started learning about horticulture and ecology in the tenth grade and soon after was working for his future father-in-law in a local Oklahoma landscaping business. Fast forward through his long and fruitful career, one of the many qualities that sets him apart from other nursery growers is that he has made deliberate horticultural connections between Oklahoma and China. Our climates and growing conditions are so similar that the native plants in both places are widely interchangeable. Steve and some of his colleagues from Virginia, together with the USDA, form a delegation every year and travel to China to hunt and explore, commiserate with fellow horticulturists, and bring home new and exciting seeds. In turn, they host the Chinese delegation here in our beautiful state. For forty years it’s been a fascinating exchange, especially because Steve doesn’t speak Chinese except to count to three. (But he can do a pretty funny, if nervously politically incorrect, impersonation. He’s allowed because the impersonation is of one of his Chinese friends.)

Relaying to you all the glorious information from Tuesday’s lecture would be impractical. I would definitely botch the Latin, anyway. Instead, how about a handful of quick, simple things you might like to know, whether you live in Oklahoma, China, or some other beautiful corner of this Eden of a planet? Okay.

Nature Knows Best. 
Besides being college educated in horticulture, Steve’s expertise in propagation is made full by experience and keen observation. He has made it a practice to closely watch natural cycles then imitate them to achieve the best success with germination, rooting, and plant longevity. He seeks out suitable environments and conditions to make that plant happy, rather than dramatically manipulating the environment to please his appetite. He talked about asking himself, “How does this plant grow in nature?”  I love this philosophy!
It’s seducing when people grow exotics and tropicals, for example, but I really groove it to make the very most of natives. A wealth of beauty and learning is available to us just by watching nature. This is deeply thrilling to me.

Patience is a Virtue.
Haven’t we all made the mistake of planting a tree or shrub too close to the house, or too near each other, or too big for a garden vacancy? Yes. We all buy too many plants for too small a space because we want impact, like, yesterday. We want a full shade tree to grace the back yard of a newly built home, and we want it this season. But not too big, right?
Well, as a grower for both homeowners and developers, Steve has seen his share of over zealous gardeners. He talked about proper tree selection, keeping the long view, and being patient. He also gave us several examples of trees that are uniquely gorgeous when full grown but look miserable and puny in a gallon bucket at the nursery. I am definitely guilty of shopping too much for today and not enough for ten years from now, so his reprimand was welcome. Two trees in particular that are now on my long-term radar? Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus dioicus) and Cork Bark Elm (Ulmus parvifolia v. corticosa).

 

slow gardening Steve Biebrich Oklahoma Lazy W
Steve’s exasperated remark on impatient landscapers.

 

Drought is a Real Problem. 
What more can I say that you don’t already know? Oklahomans are painfully familiar with the wide reaching effects of all sorts of extreme weather, including drought, but listening to the perspective of a professional grower was sobering. More than once Steve made wistful mention of how things were, “back when it rained.” So sad. Of course, we are all hoping that our home state is now on the upswing with steady precipitation, but only time will tell. Here at the Lazy W we are so grateful to have enjoyed a wet, mild summer, and we are hoping our neighbors to the west get deep drinks soon.

Beware Frilly Landscaping Beneath Trees
Flower beds curving around and beneath big shade trees are so beautiful, aren’t they? We all have probably tried it more than once, with varying success. Steve points out that while it may work for a few seasons and give you the fluff and color your eyes crave, that kind of soil disturbance can in the long run be harmful to some trees. Ironically, the varieties that are most suited to our extreme conditions here in Oklahoma (drought, cement-like soil, etcetera) can be most sensitive to the impatiens-and-monkey grass trend. His message was not to never plant such beds, but rather to do your homework and learn what your trees need.

My Wish List has Quadrupled
As if this weekly class hasn’t already expanded my gardening appetite to an unreasonable level, Steve’s talk on trees has made me want to grow all of them. I also now want to take walks on our farm and do some good, solid species identification. Hitherto when I haven’t known what a tree is, I’ve just called it a “blackjack.” Pathetic, I know. But now with my long list of tree varieties and specific features to learn, I feel ready. Ready to learn everything and further populate the farm with ecological beauty.

********************

Friends, thanks so much for stopping in today! I can’t ever seem to tell you everything I want to tell you about this weekly gardening class, and I can’t believe the semester is already more than halfway finished. Such a fantastic experience. It’s been a whirlwind of information, and this week’s lecture by Steve Biebrich was a high point for sure.

the Lazy W Oklahoma forestry gardening
go explore your world, ok?

 

So tell me, what trees do you love the most? Have you ever looked to another part of the world for gardening inspiration? What is your biggest landscaping weakness?

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.
~Chinese proverb (how perfect)
XOXOXOXO

all abuzz at the oklahoma state fair

Yesterday I volunteered at the Great State Fair of Oklahoma, helping to man the beekeepers’ table as part of Ag-Tropolis. I am part of a wonderful statewide community of beekeepers, and part of the reason we are at the fair every year is to educate the public and hopefully influence more people to consider raising their own honeymakers. Just like before, I had the best time. The hours flew past and I made tons of happy memories.

To start the day, I arrived at the fairgrounds an hour early and thoroughly enjoyed walking around the clean paved streets, smelling the yummy foods cooking (but not the trash that would accumulate later in the day), gazing at the colorful signs and banners. I had so much fun recalling childhood memories of the Space Needle and Cottonwood Trading Post and so many other wonderful things. Remember when the monorail was still open?

 

Oklahoma State Fair 100 Years
A Centennial of Memories

 

 

OK state fair space needle
funnel cakes, colorful flags, and the Space Needle

 

Dan's famous Indian Tacos
I resisted the lure of fair food, but homemade Indian Tacos might have to make an appearance at the farm soon. Because YUM.

 

And like so many public spaces in Oklahoma City, the fairgrounds boasts really nice gardens. Simple, native, well kept, and lush. They might be easy to overlook if your garden philosophy is that everything has to be roses, shapely boxwood, and fancy details. But if your soul sings with wild color and free-form shrubs, then a bright, cool morning with time to stroll would be well spent at the state fairgrounds.

 

vitex and lantana bee garden oklahoma
I found this pretty little garden overflowing with vitex and lanatana, two beautiful and bee-friendly plants, both native to Oklahoma.

 

Once inside the expo building where Ag-Tropolis was located, I felt totally at home for more modern reasons. The sights, smells, and sounds of a barnyard were all around me, just like here at the farm. They had amassed chickens, goats, donkeys, and yes… even llamas. Since I’d seen horses and bison outside, the only Lazy W animal missing was a macaw.

 

oklahoma state fair butterfly house
Look at all these butterfly silhouettes! Absolutely magical. The netted room within the big expo hall mesmerized me all day.

 

oklahoma master gardeners at the state fair
These lovely ladies were working the booth next to ours, as Oklahoma Master Gardeners. They are also friends with my teaching mentor, Schroeder Wilson. I was so happy to meet them!

 

It is no secret how interrelated gardening is with beekeeping. The two arts do more than overlap; they compliment each other beautifully. Necessarily, even. So how perfect that the beekeeping booth was adjacent to the Master Gardeners’ booth. I introduced myself to the gardeners there as a current student and enjoyed all the congratulations and encouragements you would expect from passionate, happy birds of a feather.

 

bee friendly flowers
Our beekeepers’ booth had this display showing some examples of flowers useful to bees and not.

 

zinnias for honey and zinnas for butterflies
Although these are both zinnias, can you see the difference in the accessibility of the pollen? The flatter, more open one is more useful to honeybees, and the fuller, double bloom is more useful for butterflies.

 

As always, a day at the beekeepers’ booth afforded me the chance to meet so many interesting people! Of course there are the fellow apiarists. So smart, so friendly, and so open to discussing methods, histories, gardens, you name it. I love listening to how other beekeepers answer questions, too. Early Wednesday morning a gentleman asked Rick (pictured below in yellow) about getting stung, does it ever happen? Rick’s answer was priceless, “Yes. Plumbers get wet and beekeepers get stung.” Ha!! I laughed so hard. My sudden, ungraceful laughter echoed in the huge concrete room and then a donkey brayed back at me and I was embarrassed and pretended to be reading something important but my magazine was upside down.

Dang it.

This kind of thing happens to me a lot.

 

Rick Schantz Kenuc Honey Company Oklahoma
The Schantzes own and operate Kenuc Honey Company right here in central Oklahoma. They are such a warm and friendly couple, fun to hang around with, and so smart. Their adult daughter is building her apiary skills and aiming to become the state’s first female commercial honey producer.

 

manual crank honey extrator oklahoma state fair
The gentleman on the far left is a local beekeeper focused on honey production for his home brewing of mead. He was generous all day with his knowledge of honey extraction and drew a crowd over and over again.

 

oklahoma raw local honey Kenuc
Speaking of drawing crowds, the Schantzes sold jars of their raw local honey hand over fist. Isn’t it beautiful?

 

As for my contribution to the cause, even with Papa Joe’s journals to read, my apiarist knowledge base is elementary at best. But I do possess a deep well of appreciation for the craft. So I spent the day inviting people to share their stories of having grown up with bees, of having wild bees on their property now , of wanting to raise bees for their gardens, and much more. I love that so much! Talking to bee-inclined adults (especially my elders) is half of the thrill for me. The other half of my fun is talking to the kids who run up to see the cool gadgets like bellow smokers and hive tools and veils. They often start off proclaiming a hatred for bees, a fear of bees, or just the opinion that bugs in general are icky. (I think that last part is because we are the very next booth after the tables and Plexiglas boxes full of scorpions, tarantulas, etcetera.)

But with one or two encouraging sentences, young people can be persuaded to reconsider the gentle honeybee. And if you are a little girl and you want to try on my pink bee suit… then your future is sealed. You are going to want to become a beekeeper now.

Or maybe an astronaut.

Or a Power Ranger.

 

little girl beekeeper
This sweet little girl told me her aunt works on a bee farm in Mexico. She intends to visit her soon and was really excited to wear my suit, even though it was a million sizes too big! I wanted to gently squish her in my arms with hugs and kiss her pretty face. So cute.

 

We met the sweetest young couple during an extractor demonstration. They were just married and spending their honeymoon weeks on a cross-country road trip. They seemed genuinely interested in starting their own apiary, and the Mrs. kind of joked that it is on their five-year plan.

Can I just take a moment to say how much I love it when young couples make five-year plans? I’m not teasing you exactly, although it does blush of naiveté; I mostly mean to celebrate your ambition and positive outlook. May the Universe work on your behalf, in the most wonderful ways.

 

Congratulations to this gorgeous young newlywed couple! Oklahoma wishes you many decades of happiness and adventure. And may your future hives overflow with honey. xoxo
Congratulations to this gorgeous young newlywed couple! Oklahoma wishes you many decades of happiness and adventure. And may your future hives overflow with honey. xoxo

 

What a packed, informative, motivating, and happy day at the fair! I stayed a bit longer than I had planned and would have stayed even longer still if we didn’t have a lovely night at the farm to enjoy. Chores, dinner, loved ones, and quiet time with Handsome all waited for me.

Have you been to the Oklahoma State Fair yet this year? What is your favorite building to visit? What is your craziest food indulgence? Did any vendors (like me) tempt you into a new hobby?

A man only learns in two ways.
One by reading and the other
by association with smarter people.
~Will Rogers
XOXOXOXO

 

 

fun with a focus group (okc memorial marathon)

Yesterday afternoon I visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial again, this time to meet with a focus group all about the annual race events. A local consulting firm, together with the Memorial folks, had extended an open invitation for runners to come share their thoughts about our experiences overall, and I was thrilled to participate. About thirty people showed up for our afternoon meeting, and I suspect as many were there for the evening session.

I am so glad I went. Not only was it fun to relive the memories from April one more time, but I also got to meet lots more happy Oklahomans and hear perspectives from other (more experienced) running vets. You might say this made me want to travel to more destination races. Chicago, Kansas City, Austin… OKC may be ranked as among the top 12 globally, and I am so proud of that; but it has whetted my appetite to see what other events are out there. Somebody warn Handsome.

Also, they had snacks. I ate two giant chocolate-chip cookies. A rumor was floating around the room that macadamia nut cookies were available, but I could never find them. This haunted me for hours afterward.

 

focus group snack

I met Mollie Coats, Memorial Marathon Coordinator, who is as warm and friendly as any one person has the right to be. She went far out of her way to thank us all for participating. I also got to hear Kari Watkins, Executive Director of the Memorial, give a quick speech. She mostly addressed the gravity issues of planning such a mammoth event in a large city, those things which are largely out of anyone’s control and require lots of working around and teeth gritting. For example, clearing and protecting the streets for so many square miles and for so many hours. And… Oklahoma weather. Everyone laughed because no one will ever forget the sketchy thunderstorm morning and two-hour race delay of 2014.

The Devon tower in downtown OKC, surrounded thickly by black, churning clouds. Friends, this is exactly how my dream looked, minus one broad band of lightning.
The Devon tower in downtown OKC, surrounded thickly by black, churning clouds. Friends, this is exactly how my dream looked, minus one broad band of lightning.

One issue on which Kari touched was the ongoing Oklahoma City renaissance and how it impacts the race. It’s a mixed blessing, of course. As our beautiful city continues to grow and expand, deepening in local culture everywhere you look, the traffic thickens exponentially. The challenges of finding ideal race routes and keeping them both safe and cooperative with the rest of life are very real. So my hat is off to the people in charge of this. I can barely decide whether growing seed potatoes is economically viable, or shouldn’t I just stick with the 10-pound bag of Russets from Crest?

We were seated in assigned places among several round tables. After some fun introductions, the lovely ladies in charge of the study, Sarah and Amber, asked us to designate a scribe and speaker for our smaller groups. Then they guided us through a series of thought-provoking questions about specific aspects of the Memorial event, starting with the website and online registration and continuing through the Expo and all the way up to our experiences at the finish line.

focus group lists

I was so happy to get to voice the specific things I loved about the experience overall. The balloons, the encouraging emails, the feelings of suspense, the rhythm of the race especially after Lake Hefner, the Voice of The Thunder sounding off announcements, all of it. My friends and family hear from me about running ALL. THE. TIME. but yesterday I got to express how much certain little things meant to me last April, and every other runner in the room got it.

Behold the power of decorations! I am not even kidding. These balloons take my breath away. They make me emotional. Please always have them, Expo folks! Thank you.
Behold the power of decorations! I am not even kidding. These balloons take my breath away. They make me emotional. Please always have them, Expo folks! Thank you.

We didn’t all agree on everything (I personally have no need of free beer, for example, LOL, but why not?) but that part of the process was fun too. I was surprised that other races are apparently conducted quite differently. For example, one change I hope the Memorial Marathon folks take into serious consideration is a wave start. That would be amazing. Even with potential weather complications (Oklahoma will always be at particular risk for this) it sounds like this would be a great improvement.

Another improvement that seemed popular around the room, particularly with the women, was shopping discounts at the Expo for registered runners. And free massages, taping, and other interactive features.

I suggested that they ask the Wonderbread bakery to NOT bake bread that morning since we run right past it and it made me sad this year to smell bread and yeast, but some runners actually liked it. My guess is that Wonderbread does not care if they make me sad for five minutes once a year.

Oh, well.

The ninety scheduled minutes flew right by in a chattery, productive whirlwind. I do wish we had more time. I am so thankful for the invitation to give feedback and really thankful for the appreciation they showed us for attending. (Am I allowed to say what the parting gift was? It was pretty awesome.)

My favorite question all afternoon was actually offered to me by Sarah at the beginning. I had arrived early and for several minutes was the only participant in the room. She asked which race I ran and would I do it again next year, then why? Why do you run this particular race, and why will you do it again? Well, I choked back tears and opened my mouth to answer, then the double doors to the conference room parted with a whoosh of air conditioned freshness, and a flood of smiling people walked in. Our conversation was gently put on pause, and she asked me to please email my answer. They want to understand people’s different motivations.

I’ll email her. And I’ll tell you guys too, because I love you. I so appreciate you stopping to read and follow the adventures here.

Why This Race? Why the Full?

I run the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon because this is my home town.
Because what happened here in 1995 needs to be remembered.
Because we have the opportunity to maintain beautiful traditions and memories
instead of closing up around wounds from an evil day.
This event is an outward expression of Oklahoma’s resilience and loving energy.

I run to honor the victims and also
to pay ongoing respect to the first responders,
especially my parents-in-law, Harvey and Judy Wreath.

I choose to run the full marathon because it presents the best challenge.
Because for 26.2 miles you see more of this beautiful city
and feel more of the outpouring of love from its citizens.

On the full marathon course you feel more emptiness as you go,
depleting your mind and body in new ways.
Then you are washed in more joy and relief
than you ever dreamed possible.

Just like life.

I run the full marathon because it touches something primal inside me,
and I want to feel that over and over again for as long as I live.

The challenge of the course reminds me of how the first responders
had to do far more than they thought was possible.
They gave of themselves beyond what they thought they could.
They stayed. They discovered new depths within themselves.
They finished.

Four or five hours of fun for me is nothing compared to three horrific weeks.
They worked for three weeks to recover, protect, honor, rescue, identify,
and love in every possible way every person who was affected.
Running this fun, rewarding, exhilarating race is the very least
and the most selfish thing I can do to honor Harvey, Judy,
and all the hundreds of first responders.

xoxoxoxo

So thank you, Kari, Mollie, Amber, and Sarah. Thank you to all the people who organized this focus group fun and especially to everyone who makes the Memorial events so incredible. Next spring will mark the twentieth anniversary of the Murrah Building Bombing, and I know you all are intent on making the commemoration extra special. Thank you ahead of time. I wish you all the best and cannot wait to register!

She Tries to Complain, but She Can’t

   Last week I accompanied my friend Tracy to help our friend Kim do some clean up from the tornado. We all are in book club together but have known each other for many years before that. Kim and Tracy both live in Moore, Oklahoma, about twenty minutes from the farm. Kim’s house was hit directly and is without a doubt unlivable. Walking through the gutted and scarred place was chilling. Just imagining the sudden and extreme violence that would cause that kind of damage made me feel sick.

   Any mood that day would have been understandable. Any level of anger, frustration, tearfulness, or despair would have been completely natural. But Kim surprised me. I was awed by how she handled everything  She portrayed a one-woman, ground-level example of the spirit of Oklahoma.

   Kim was literally all smiles. She was a bit shaky, sure, but really she floated through the debris and glowed with thankfulness and optimism  Perhaps you’re thinking, Sometimes shock will do that; it will insulate a person and carry her through the worst, with a sort of numbness. Okay, fair enough. But there was a streak of intense awareness and gratitude in Kim’s countenance that totally inspired me. Her spirit has infused my attitude all week long.

   As we worked, Kim told us more of her story. She described how close her son was to a very painful death. He had been in one of the elementary schools that was flattened. He was injured but miraculously, incredibly, survived. His little sister was at a nearby daycare, took shelter there, and also survived. Kim told us about how much her neighbors have endured. She showed us what needed to be done to move her family out of their shredded home. She thanked us a million times for doing, actually, very little. Because no work feels like very much in the midst of so much destruction. She introduced us warmly to her other friends and coworkers who had gathered to help, playing the perfect southern hostess. She apologized for her messy house, making everyone laugh much harder than we had expected to. She made sure everyone had icy cold bottled water as they worked. She had lost her house and most of her possessions, yet she was taking care of us.

   Then she said, “I keep trying to complain, but I can’t. We are so lucky.”

   Still tonight, just recalling her soft, pretty face as she said those words gives me the best chills.

   How often do we complain about common, every day things? I certainly do. I complain about my hair. About my mile speed. The price of gas. How time flies or how it stands still. I complain about the weather, even though I tell everyone else not to. I complain about the dirty carpet in my car. And about how often the chicken coop needs to be cleaned. It’s almost an addiction. Complaining can be an easy but temporary pain relief. A sort of self medication to soothe your nerves, but it’s really like drinking salt water. Like worrying, complaining does not fix a single problem. It only causes you to magnify it.

   Walking through the Briarwood area, Tracy and I saw block after block after block of unspeakable devastation. I don’t even want to describe it; you all have seen and heard enough of it already. But I did muster the nerve to snap a few cell phone pictures of just of the good things. The sparks of humor and brightness. Not surprisingly, there were plenty.

“Welcome to Paradise.”
If you can’t see it yet, know that it will return.
And in the mean time we can find glimpses of paradise with each other.

   The loss of life and security here in Oklahoma is unspeakable. Certainly. So it is without intending to minimize the very real grief around us that I want to encourage you to focus on the good when possible. Inventory your blessings. Count the miracles around you as often and with as much gratitude as possible. Because doing this not only lifts your spirits; it lifts the spirits of those near you, and it causes the good to multiply.

   When you feel the urge to complain, remember it will not solve anything. Remember Kim and how she can’t complain because she is so aware of how blessed she is. Then take a deep breath and know that you can choose to see your life in the same joyful way.

Keep praying for Oklahoma!
xoxoxo