Wilson!

My little side yard, formerly a driveway leading to my nearly useless 80 year old garage, has become a haven for migrating birds. Today I was able to photograph through my kitchen window this Wilson's Warbler, Wilsonia pusilla. It's mate, less colorful and much more cautious about sitting still, was also nearby. Here is a link to the Cornell Ornithology project.

My sister Vanessa (see bug blog link) asks: Who's Wilson? Anyone know? She points out that they are very fond of leaf hoppers which are in abundant supply right now, evidenced by all the holes in my Brugmansia.

Answer to above question came from Vanessa herself. The genus (wilsonia) is named for Alexander Wilson, known as the "Father of American Ornithology." In the early 1800s he published nine volumes of notes on birds, their habitats, and their ranges. Alexander Wilson, a Scot, is recognized as the greatest american ornithologist before Audubon. Here are a few links:

New World Warblers by Curson, Quinn and Beadle, ISBN 0-7136-3932-6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson%27s_Warbler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Wilson

YO! Saturnalia!

The ancient sun worshiping Romans celebrated the winter solstice originally to commemorate the dedication of the temple to the god of farming, Saturn...hence the name. The festival was so much fun, they extended it to a week. As centuries went by, the original meaning of the holiday, celebrated with a huge public banquet, came to include cutting and decorating evergreen trees and exchanging gifts of silver and food. "It became one of the most popular Roman festivals which lead to more tomfoolery, marked chiefly by having masters and slaves switch places, which led to widespread drinking and debauchery so that, among Christians, the word 'saturnalia' (lower case) came to mean 'orgy'." ( Saturnalia wikipedia)

No wonder the Christians co opted the date!

Moving on to the 21st Century, despite the proclaimed "War on Christmas" I see no such evidence. Here in my little corner of Orange County the houses are festooned and everyone seems to be of reasonable good cheer. My sister Vanessa is busy pumping out the annual family calendar. The Clan is preparing the traditional banquet for both vegan and carnivore celebrants. (We are hoping Jorge and Nice Cracker our Celtic vegans, are not on the FBI list of vegetable eating terrorists!)

A lot of the old houses in my neighborhood have Meyer lemon trees. Meyer lemons were popular before being supplanted by the much more sour commercial lemons. My friend and fellow gardener Sue remarked to me how they were like Christmas (or Saturnalia) trees, pre-decorated with ready to eat treats, evergreen in our mild Orange County climate.

Here is a recipe for a wonderful cup of cheer from the bounty of this little tree.

Celebrate Christmas, Saturnalia, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Fitzmas, New Year with:

Lemony Lemon Things
juice of two Meyer lemons
a shot of vodka, or more if you are really feeling Saturny
sugar to taste...about two heaping spoonfuls works for me
crushed ice

Place in cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.
Either strain into a martini glass
or dump the entire tasty concoction into a rocks glass.

Then Toast!

Praise Saturn, god of farming! May next year's garden continue to be a haven for birds, butterflies and bees. May the grasshoppers stop chewing on my brugmansia. And may the lemon tree continue to grace my garden with it's tasty and decorative fruit.

Cheers!