THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN - An Exclusive ongoing Plymouth School Garden series 
By Michael & Little Amber Spinetta
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens - Summer 2008
(August 08 issue)
PLYMOUTH, CA - Amber and I welcome you to read this, the first in a series of articles about the Plymouth Elementary School Gardens. Since my daughter is just two years old, she'll dictate and I'll take notes. Here is some background information to introduce you to the project.
In the early nineties, a wire fence was put up around the school. Though the garden wasn't even a mere thought back then, without that fence the deer would have free reign. A decade passed, and a couple of teachers thought about having an outdoor lunch and activity area with a little garden near it. With some effort, grants, and donations, their ideas came to light. The Swason family built the newly dedicated shade pavilion that the garden is centered around (and it's a pretty neat building for those of you who appreciate architecture). Bruce Peccianti, the former principal, put the older kids in charge of the upkeep of the garden, and made time for them during school hours to work in it. I've begun to apply the concept of an art/butterfly garden to the entire campus, and it looks like it's going to work.
I'm utilizing various organizations for materials and guidelines to establish these gardens correctly, and to secure a good future for them. For example, the gardens are registered with the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Backyard Garden habitat. This was earned because the gardens provide food, water, cover, places to raise young for wildlife, and have somewhat sustainable gardening practices.
It's also known as Monarch Waystation #1544 because of the natural and manmade nectar sources, milkweed varieties, sunning rocks, and other attractants for monarch butterflies. The project is a fledgling member in the Farms of Amador and registered with the Ag Department so the kids may sell what they raise at Farmer's Markets. This garden has the potential to fund itself if kids take the initiative to sell cut herbs, seeds, cut flowers, and baby plants to local businesses and the public. I'll write more about all this in future articles.
The intent of the gardens is NOT to have a perfect display: 40% of crop damage is due to butterflies and moths, so some plants will look ragged. We are all learning how to raise "pests" in this garden, while raising mantises that may eat those pests, near a shade pavilion that is home to birds that will eat both predator and prey. There's even a cat that sleeps in a tree that eats the birds - one of the many cycles of life in this garden.
Some teachers take the kids on insect hunts. Amador County Waste Management has visited to talk about worms and composting (a popular session!) Once the gardens are more established, guests will give lectures about nature-related topics. We visit the school most Mondays and Tuesdays and come up with projects that involve the kids. Amber is the boss of these projects, and points to where we need to work next. The best loved job was when tons of sand, soil, manure and mulch were shoveled into the flower beds - because of all the worms, of course. The students help install the drip line, set up the arbors, and even weed (though they sometimes 
extract good plants, too.) They choose where the plants go, and some plants will surely have to be trans-planted one day soon.
It's never ending - just watch those weeds grow - but it's for the kids to help maintain, and that's where their pride comes from. Two eighth graders came up to us the other day and asked how the cedar tree they planted was growing. They remember. During the summer, we got the opportunity to work with the preschoolers who were taking a three-week course that readies them for kindergarten. When we first met up with them, they sowed some seeds on the ground and into containers. A couple weeks later, they saw their seedlings and now they're anticipating some blooms when school starts. We also brought in all the kids from Sweet Pea Educare to eat daylilies, taste different kinds of mint, and drink butterfly juice.
In July, we planted a dozen flowering trees and shrubs with the help of one of the students and some of the neighbors. We traded plant stories and methods of tree planting during those (long) days. Amber got to enjoy a movie in an air-conditioned room while we worked outside...the luxuries of being the boss. In all, this area is much more active than the pile of puncture vine-laden soil that it used to be. The dream of it is to speed up the students' minds and to slow their hectic world down in general. It is special to them because this garden is not one for the general public's viewing - it is all theirs.
Hopefully, these articles will encourage the gathering of support, grants, and maybe even volunteers. We need parents or adults who really know plants (so we don't kill the good seedlings) to weed right now. Questions regarding donations of art (we REALLY need some sculptural artists!) or materials or volunteering to work or teach a lesson can be sent to michaelspinetta@yahoo.com - That reminds me - thanks to Renee at The Wild Goose in Plymouth for her work with the arbors. Thanks are also extended to Jeff, the president of the Grape Growers, for his help with the new trees. Last, thanks to Jim in the Plymouth-Foothills Rotary Club for raising funds for the murals through the Farmer's Market in Plymouth.
Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to “Amador Community Foundation” and note in the lower left corner "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund" and send to ACF, P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642.
Photo at top: The shade pavilion surrounded by a "cover crop" of tithonia, teddy bear, and other varieties of sunflowers and butterfly attractive plants in the summer. Photo by Michael Spinetta
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#2 Plymouth Elementary School Gardens (October 08 issue)
PLYMOUTH, CA - Amber and I welcome you back to read this, our series of articles about the Plymouth Elementary School Gardens. This month was all about preparing for the future. A while ago, Amber and I visited Hallberg Butterfly Gardens in Sonoma County, and Louise there said that a project like this has to be sustainable. She is in charge of a butterfly garden planted in the 1920's by her mom, and we learned quite a bit from her. The least important of which was not to touch stinging nettle, but what's in a name? That plant will not be in this garden, unfortunately, but Dutch Pipe vine likely will be. 
The most important was how to try to establish the gardens in the social spectrum of a community. As a result of biding by Hallberg's wisdom, we've spent time putting in order the grants, wildlife groups, and people that best suit the school's needs, and what to ask from each of them. There's a twist that we learned with this initial research. Pictured left to right: Lydia Clem, Little Amber Spinetta, Adrian Leal, Everardo Lopez, Gary McGehee, Gracie Goldsmith-Ding and Laura Spinetta. Toni Linde's second graders harvest sunflower seed to plant next year around the fence line of Plymouth Elementary School. Photo courtesy to the Gold Country Times
Many school gardens focus on fruits and vegetables as their main output, and those funds are readily sought. A garden like this, where pollinators, flowers and herbs are the focus, has different sources from which to draw support. We are pretty lucky to live in California where many experts in wildlife reside.
For example, a few of them in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.C. Davis, and other places are offering their services for this project based on what we have so far - how exciting! However, there are things to do to properly utilize the expertise and funds of these resources. For example, in between dressing up dolls and cleaning up spilled milk, I am typing up a master list of the plants on campus. Hundreds and hundreds of plants, what they attract, and what products come from them for potential fundraising.
This list will be used by John, a talented fellow U.C.C.E. Master Gardener, who will draw up a map showing these plants at maturity. This map will get used by the Weed Warrior volunteers so they know what's where rather than guessing at every leaf coming out of the ground. And, most important, the men and women in maintenance will be able to see what's happening and lend their personal knowledge of the campus to the project.
In late summer, I traveled with my 2 year-old daughter in our quest for lepidopterical ideas. That required going to a few zoos — for research, of course. The Sacramento Zoo horticulturalist, Renee, showed us a butterfly garden project that was changed into a xeroscape/local flora and fauna project. Along with two heads full of info, she gave our school dozens of plant signs used on the former project. Thanks, Renee - they look really cool. We also went to the California State Fair and met Viola from Fish and Wildlife, and talked to fellow U.C.C.E. Master Gardeners about a possible field trip up here. Most fortunately, Amber and I met Judy, the executive director of the Farm Bureau’s California Foundation for Ag in the Classroom. She was promoting CFAITC's "Imagine This: Stories Inspired by Agriculture" annual school writing contest publication. We talked about the California School Garden Net-work and other resources while Amber sat and ate an apple. To be fair to her, we then went and rode the midway rides for the first time in her life!
With school starting again, so too did our agrieducation sessions as well as the grape harvest. Agriculture is important to local families, as Amber attests to in these quotes from her field notes: "Grandpa's grapes got harvested by all of Grandpa's friends. Everybody was singing and we ate cookies. I like grape juice from the press." We visited Mrs. Carson's kindergarten class the following day. Amber pretended she was a grape vine and held bunches in her hands while I picked them off. I never knew a vine ate its own fruit, though. A girl there said that her father was picking that day, and that it was very hard work but he liked it.
The next week, Amber, my mom and I recruited Ms. Linde's second grade to harvest sunflower seeds (photo below). The kids learned about seeds - the uglier flower, the better - and the prettier, the worse. Kind of opposite the general aesthetic of a garden. A couple of kids clipped, another threw detritus in the barrow, another wheeled it out, and another played with Amber. In spring, we will plant sunflowers and pigweed along the fence line and sell 100’s (1000’s?) of cut flowers later.
On another day, Mr. Peterson’s third graders planted a row of flowering pears outside their classroom. Anne, a representative from the National Association of State Foresters, fielded dozens of questions and showed everyone the right way to plant a tree. In those couple of hours, the kids formed their own teams and took pride in their work - and got to run through the sprinklers to cool off.
And thanks - to Village Nurseries for help with a plant list and more; to Barbara and Becky and ‘Anonymous’ for all the plants; to Amador Flower Farm for all their help and niceness; to Skip and more people for volunteering to weed - any time you're ready; to the mystery person who put plants on our porch again; special thanks to Brian, our Supervisor, for help with the trees, too; and to the skateboarders for protecting the gardens (enjoy the quarter-pipe, guys.)
Hopefully these articles will attract support, grants, and volunteers for this and other school gardens. Questions about art donations, materials, lectures, e-mail to michaelspinetta@yahoo.com any time. Visit Michael Spinetta's website at www.michaelspinetta.com
PESG is officially a 501(c)(3) under the care of Amador Community Foundation! ACF’s President, Shannon and I decided that this project’s purpose is to “create and maintain art and butterfly gardens with a theme of gold mining on the contiguous lands of Plymouth Elementary School.” Because of this fund’s formation, the method for making a donation has changed. Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to “Amador Community Foundation” and note in the lower left corner "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund" and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642.
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Plymouth Elementary School Gardens - November 2008 - #3
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
PLYMOUTH, CA - Amber has decided that tea with her dollies is more important than writing this article, so I will take her place. Some very good news to begin - PESG is officially a 501(c)(3) under the care of Amador Community Foundation! ACF’s President, Shannon and I decided that this project’s purpose is to "create and maintain art and butterfly gardens with a theme of gold mining on the contiguous lands of Plymouth Elementary School." 
Because of this fund’s formation, the method for making a donation has changed. Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to "Amador Community Foundation" and note in the lower left corner, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Photo: Cazandra Lozano watches Emily Platt, Cyrus Newton, little Amber Spinetta, and Ana Tarvin help Michael Spinetta plant a jujube tree in the Kindergarten Garden. This land was historically the garden site for the Ming Store, visible in the background. Photo courtesy to the Gold Country Times
Some of the first monies to enter this fund are earmarked for art projects because they come from the sale of paintings. The Plymouth Library (on Main Street) is graciously displaying my acrylic on canvas images of flowers, grapevines, rock walls, and more right now. Stop by to see what is still available. This month at school, the ELP and State Daycare kids adopted the lone baby sycamore tree that will one day shade their playground. When the third graders planted this tree in September, it went into shock. It was truly sick-a-more than it should-a-been. But, with TLC and one gallon of water every day, a new batch of lime green leaves decorates its branches.
A fellow volunteer gardener, Betty, taught me how to train butterfly bushes into trees. She said to braid the branches from the base, but I am too lazy, so I had Sid (a student) hold the branches together while I wrapped an old rag and some wire around the plants about 3’ off the ground. The bark will grow together in the next ten years and form a solid trunk. The fourth graders, first graders, and friends, Amy and her son Cyrus, planted the Kindergarten Garden. The seeds sown by the Bridge kids in summer were planted alongside dusty miller, daisies and more. The bed is centered around a jujube tree, and gives way to a "grove" of various fruit trees along the north fence line. It was messy, but the muddy knees, dirty new shoes, and worms will be worth it in spring when the first grader’s Tigger and Pooh Seeds bloom.
The Weed Warriors took over the school one bright Tuesday morning, armed with muffins, watermelon and apple juice. We got three beds weeded - and boy does it look great. But, sorry guys, we’re gonna have to do it again - the best thing is to call each other, show up and weed while the gates are open - you know where the compost pile is back by the shed. On another day, Amber and her cousin Sierra supervised while her Aunt Becky and I planted agapanthus in the daycare’s Pineapple Guava Bed. They got to ride in the wagon and have a pasta lunch -- all their effort and hard play was recognized. Special thanks to American Meadows for always having good seed, and their generous gift to us is going to look great when it grows - we’ll send you guys pictures of the different plots.
Thanks also to Lindsay from the Pentecostal Church in Plymouth - the shed is finally organized with that new shelf. Thanks to Sid who said there should be a representative from each class and two backups to organize class activities. Thanks to Jamie for volunteering your father-in-law’s land to house our compost piles - he’ll enjoy the healthy soil and flowers that come from it! And a big whopping thanks to Mike and the other teachers at Amador High School. If some seniors sign up for community service for the garden, we’ll appreciate it -- and in the spirit of reciprocity, we have lots of goodies here for the culinary, floral design, art, welding, FFA, and other kids to use to your school’s benefit, too!
Hopefully these articles will attract support, grants, and volunteers for this and other school gardens. Questions can always be e-mailed to me at: michaelspinetta@yahoo.com
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Plymouth Elementary School Gardens - December 2008 - #4
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
PLYMOUTH, CA - Amber finally agreed to type something for all of you this month: merry cjhhhhhristtttmas.
Chris Taylor was PESG’s original UCCE Master Gardener four years ago. One of her intentions was to have the kids keep records of plant growth and cycles. Back then, the fifth and sixth graders learned plant care from visiting MG’s, with the idea being they’d pass it along to their younger peers. Currently, we’re mostly working with 3rd graders and below, but there was a playground rumor that the gardens belong to the fourth graders and no one else could work in them. That’s almost the kind of spirit we want. It’s a kind of pride, I guess.
That spirit really came out during California School Garden Week, a program launched by California First Lady Maria Shriver back in 2006. This year, A.G. Kawamura, Secretary of Food and Agriculture; and Karen Baker, the Secretary of Service and Volunteering, planted wheelbarrow and windowsill gardens with students from another elementary school. What did we do locally for CSG Week? A dead Chinese Pistache was cut down and its rings were counted. Anna and Allison installed an aerial drip line for the flowering pears. The first graders revived some wooden flower beds with hummingbird/butterfly attractive seed - that sprouted a few days later, thanks to that rain! An alligator lizard was passed around at lunch time and later stashed away where all the toads live. We also bought some bedding forks to pitch compost - a little differently - we spread the compost thin so the seeds might take root. Photo: Toni Linde’s (far left, back row) class hopes to paint the 2013 Sixth Grade Mural. Murals, like the 2008 project shown, are sponsored yearly by the Plymouth-Foothills Rotary Club from sales at the Farmer’s Market. Photo courtesy to the Gold Country Times
Speaking of compost, Jim at Waste Management called upon the MG’s for help. Jim is planning good ways to promote composting to the residents of Amador and neighboring counties. A couple years ago, Jim gave a class about worms here at PESG - and asking around last week, no one forgot that class - it’s worms, what do you expect with kids? He’s been invited back to give that and another class on composting techniques. If all works out, we’re hoping parents might be invited to the classes on campus, and there may be a class at the MG’s plant sale in spring - but it’s all tentative. In the meantime, I’m just letting the cat out of the bag of leaves here so we’re all aware. Check out more resources and Recycler Ricky at www.co.amador.ca.us/depts/waste before you throw something away! Amber and I visited our friends Linda and Elizabeth at the school admin building in Jackson to check up on an extension of the butterfly garden. A couple years ago, Hometown Radio personality Jim and his son helped plant a bunch of butterfly bushes there, and they look spectacular. There’s a neat old sundial there, too - we’re going to work with local glass artist Dave, to envision what to do with our sundial and other pillars at PESG.
Afterwards, we had lunch at Mel’s where Amber got to see the picture of her Grandpa (#17) and his undefeated 1957 Jackson High football team. The Oro Madre Moose Lodge in Fiddletown offered its resources to help build "Selby’s Rock Garden." We want to put small metal sculptures and a gold mining cart upon a track on a berm in the middle of a pile of quartz and other rocks. If you, the reader, know anyone who has a cart that might donate or sell it, please contact us!
Toni Linde, the 2nd grade teacher, and I went to a school gardens class at Taylor Mountain Gardens in Douglas Flat. Wendy, the coordinator (see www.creec.org for info) and gardening reps from Mountain Oaks, Waldorf, Michelson, Mark Twain, and Copperopolis elementary schools joined us. Christine and Eric guided us through their acreage, and we discussed plans to coordinate school gardens in the tri-county area into one coalition. There was talk of a seed bank, and curriculum from Life Lab, TWIGs, CFAITC, CSGN and other resources - we’ll see what happens.
Special thanks to the inventors of the acronym and Internet for making our lives more complicated through simplification. Thanks to Jennifer and Susan for doing an incredible amount of work in the garden. Thanks to http://butterfliesandmoths.org for the use of Amador County sightings to know "who" to expect to visit.
Thanks again to Ray and the other Moose. Thanks to the scientists who invited us to create electron microscopy photos of butterfly scales for an art project. Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to "Amador Community Foundation" and note in the lower left corner, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642.
Hopefully, these articles will attract support, grants, and volunteers for this and other school gardens. Questions can always be e-mailed to me at: michaelspinetta@yahoo.com
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Plymouth Elementary School Gardens #5 January 2009
'Not a Bed of Roses'
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Instead of writing this, Amber’s eating a homegrown pomegranate at the site of a rock wall I built for her in December. 
The construction had not yet commenced in the photo, and that thirty-year old Manzanita tree now has hundreds of narcissus under it. Mostly sand and gravel were added to the inside area of the wall to allow drainage for the roots. The site is about 28' x 12' and is on a hill crest, directly in front of the moon rising above the Sierra Nevadas in fall. We buried a secret time capsule there, too. Onto the 'real' article, now. Photo courtesy Michael Spinetta - Amber
One task of a UCCE Master Gardener is to diagnose other people's garden bugaboos. In this article, I'll tackle my own problems that I'm contributing to and am delinquent in solving. Weeds. Birdhouses and bird seed feeders are banned within twenty feet of the garden beds. Not all bird seed from stores is treated and noxious weed free. If we are to sell plants, they must be weed free. Plus, birds eat our baby caterpillars. Also, more than once, the hummingbird/butterfly attractive plant seed was used to fill the feeders. That seed mixture is planted far away from the beds because it has morning glory in it. The beds were not originally lined with weed cloth nor were they filled with 3/4" - 1" large wood chips to allow for easy weeding. However, a lack of cloth lets flower seeds like daisies and Echinacea spread easier. Photo: close-up of Amber
One theory of weed maintenance is to choke them out with ‘good’ plants. On top of all that, or rather, under all of that, most of the drip line is buried and breaking - that drowned one tree this year. Thankfully, more fellow MG’s are helping, like Heidi, who will organize student volunteers for this and other tasks. We wish to avoid paying a gardener to per-form simple short-term maintenance, and better use said money for materials.
Fundraising. 600 narcissus, 200 crocus, 150 Bella donnas, 50 Egyptian Onions, and 50 calendulas were planted recently by the third graders, fifth graders, and by Shanel, an Amador High School senior. The pathway between the two small arbors will be gorgeous in spring, and we can cut half of the flowers for two to four bits each to raise some money. There also might be an opportunity through First Five to get a mini grant to get parents (along the lines of "Dad and Me") involved more in this project. A local plant group has also invited PESG to ask for donations of books, loupes, and more.
Butterfly Habitat. One MG, Larry, found butterfly farmers - Lish in Buena Vista, and another raising Monarchs in Woodland. With them and Kathy, an MG from El Dorado County who works at a butterfly garden, we are going to build an enclosed outdoor butterfly habitat kinda vivarium thing.
I have photographs of indoor habitats, but this structure must protect the butterflies from the elements, especially wind and rain, while providing view ability. Small out-door butterfly houses (essentially, birdhouses with slits instead of holes) from what I’ve read tend not to work as well as building eaves and woodpiles. Ours currently has milkweed, a water fountain, large rocks, while elements like sand, a screen or net under the roof for chrysalises, natural cedar planks and other things are being thought about.
Drought Plants are off schedule. Before the freezing weather, there were little sunflowers starting to bloom. Some seeds were shocked and we’ll probably lose some established plants. We have three buckets of various seeds in the shed, and we’ll sow more in March. (Visit www.proquestk12.com/curr/snow/snow1002/index.htm http://drought.unl.edu and many other sites)
The water is rationed via the timer on the drip line, and all the leaks are fixed. (Oh look, a soapbox.) Droughts are normal - we all must care more about impacts on agriculture and the needs (not wants) of an increasing population. For example, way up in the Great White North only flowering plants and crops are allowed to be watered, and lawns are brown - will we do that? Studies of long-lived, drought-sensitive bristlecone pines show "Mega-droughts" - 20+ year events like those in the U.S. around the years 1000, 1300, and in the 16th century - evaporate alarmists’ theories and show even worst case scenarios are part of nature. We now have increased population and pollution demands intermingled with weather patterns, but at least we’re trying to improve some technologies and adapt as a result. And let’s remember, California isn’t known for being cold and wet.
Zero Budget. More manipulatable than a drought. In a time of naught, plan for a bounty and realize the value of the good seed possessed now. One pro-verb says: "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." As the epicuric/stoic poet Jon Quil might have penned, "Spend less time on computers and learn to work outside for fun, for survival, and for each other." Maybe that’s too daffidyllic for modern monitor-headed narcissists to pick up on, or maybe it’s too many puns to make the situation lighter. No matter, I’m a hypocrite for publishing this online - it’s all Greek to me, anyway.
Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to "Amador Community Foundation" and note in the lower left corner, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Hopefully, these articles will attract support, grants, and volunteers for this and other school gardens.
Questions can be e-mailed to: michaelspinetta@yahoo.com any time. Michael Spinetta. www.michaelspinetta.com
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Plymouth Elementary School Gardens, #6 February 2009 Art and Arboretums
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Amber has something more important to do than earn her byline this month - she’s starting to read! Oh, oh, oh. Funny, funny Amber.
Art and Gardening with Kids. There’s a speaking engagement Amber and I will put on at the Main Branch of the Amador County Library at 530 Sutter Street in Jackson on Monday, February 23, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. I’ll be giving it under my two hats as a UCCE Master Gardener and representative of the California Foundation for Ag in the Classroom. It’s about how it’s fun to pursue one's hobbies with a little buddy there to help. We’ll bring "co-created" paintings and show how landscaping can turn into life lessons for kids. We’ll have bookmarks and goodies to hand out, too!
A "co-created painting" is sort of like this. At some point in each of my paintings, Amber does some of the work, whether it ends up a painting we do together or a painting I do "by myself" after she helps. For example, I hate wasting paint, and I use little 5" x7" canvasses as palettes for my larger paintings - I get one, and she gets one. Our Valentines to each other are two of these little canvasses.
I’ll bring many little canvasses and glue sticks and each parent and child will choose a picture from a nature-related book to create a scene with construction paper and other materials. On the back of each piece, the parents will write their family name and the title and author of each book. Afterward, I’ll combine these canvasses into one big piece and hang it at the library with a list of the names and titles for people to see. See you there!
Arboretum All-Stars 
I’m excited to write about the involvement of the UC system in our school garden. The UC Davis Arboretum approved our site as a field trial for their program called "Arboretum All-Stars." These plants are currently not in widespread use, and field trials will lead to their commercial introduction in regions appropriate to each plant.
Quoting their website: "The horticultural staff of the UC Davis Arboretum have identified 100 tough, reliable plants that have been tested in the Arboretum, are easy to grow, don’t need a lot of water, have few problems with pests or diseases, and have outstanding qualities in the garden. Many of them are California native plants and support native birds and insects." Photo: the arboretum all-stars plot - in front of Toni Linde's classroom: 'A' Plot
Our plants have a high level of pollinator attraction, and bloom from early March till November. They are as follows: Acacia boormanii, Snowy River wattle (tree - spring bloom); Ceanothus 'Marie Simon' (shrub - spring, sometimes again in fall); Pacific Iris 'Canyon Snow’ (perennial - spring); Leucophyllum 'Lynn's Legacy’ (shrub - fall); Mexican Deergrass, Muhlenbergia dubia (perennial - summer); Santa Margarita Foothill Penstamon Penstemon 'Margarita BOP' (perennial - all year!); and a Hybrid Soapwort, Saponaria 'Max Frei' (perennial - spring to fall.) Visit online to download the pdf booklet. Learn about "valley-wise gardening" at www.arboretum.ucdavis.edu/arboretum_all_stars_redirect.aspx
Emily, a fellow UCCE Master Gardener, and I are required to keep monthly observations for at least one year, and hopefully two. For example, this means I’ll have to keep track of the gallonage emitted from our drip lines, and that I’ll have to finally listen to my brother Jim about proper watering. Our own twist on the experiment is that we are training one fourth grader (and a third grader for next year) to work side by side with us for our observations. If all things work out, the fourth grade class will make quarterly observations and see how closely they correlate with ours.
The El Dorado County UCCE Program Coordinator, Christie, is going to check out what we do with this and the rest of our gardens, and see what they can do with a couple of community and school gardens. There is a long-standing relationship between our two counties’ ag departments, and this’ll hopefully ‘hybridize’ us once again. And here’s a shout out to Amador County’s new UCCE PC, Sean! Thanks to Chris at the Sutter Gold Mine - we’ll need your advice on gold mining related art projects in the future, too. Thanks also to Suzanne, a PTA president from San Juan Unified for her input and resources. Thanks to Linda for helping me shop and figure out the best way to use landscaping fabric.
Thanks to Lynda and Rey at the Library for the opportunity to speak and teach - it should be fun and messy! Special thanks to Rosalie, Erika, Emily, Christie, Marissa, and Amy for partnering up with the AAS experiment. Double thanks to Karrie and Lorence for whatever happens in the future with this experiment! Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to "Amador Community Foundation" and note in the lower left corner, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642.
Hopefully these articles will attract support, grants, and volunteers (right now we need people and groups who want to perform community service!) for this and other school gardens. Questions can be e-mailed to: michaelspinetta@yahoo.com. Back to Top
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens, #7 March 2009 Nectar and Lectures
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Amber isn’t writing the column this month - she’s sitting in her new "princess" chair telling dolls and monkeys what to do. The Mardi Gras-themed chair was hand painted and upholstered by Millie the art teacher and her students at Amador High School.
Art and Gardening with Kids The presentation at the Jackson Library
went well. Folks working on Victory Gardens, the Children’s Art Association, and School Gardens at Sutter Creek Primary, Sutter Creek 
Elementary, Pine Grove Elementary and others showed up. Even my first grade teacher was there! The 5" x 7" canvasses the kids drew on will be combined into one piece and hung soon in the Jackson Library to promote a six-week summer reading course at the Plymouth Library on Tuesdays - dates TBA. Photos above: Art and Gardening with Kids, the Jackson Library presentation. 'Amber's Portrait #3 - Two Years Old' is visible in the foreground of the uppermost photo (painting dimensions 3' x 4'. Photos by Tim Dunn
Raising Butterflies
PESG-acquired caterpillars from somebody local for our 
upcoming dedication ceremony. Toni Linde, the 2nd grade teacher, Larry, a fellow Master Gardener, and we two visited the supplier to learn how the butterflies are raised properly with the utmost care. We brought each other up to date on the status quo of butterflies, bees, birds, and blossoms, and brainstormed about the outdoor vivarium/screenhouse. When we left, we exchanged seeds, and got a heaping helping of white ginger, aloe, and more. We'll visit again in late summer to see if the little buggers will be dressed in their winged formals for the ceremony! Chrysalis photo by Toni Linde
Toni handed out flyers for butterfly nectar (a recipe from our butterfly friend) at Amadoropoly. Here it is: 2 lbs. granulated fructose in saucepan with about a pint of water. Boil for a few minutes then add 2 teaspoons of rich dark soy sauce. Allow to cool, then bottle in a sterile glass bottle. This will last forever in the refrigerator. When ready to use in feeders - Dilute 10% of nectar base to 90% water. You can also do a taste test. If the sweetness is close to that of about 2 teaspoons of sugar in a cup of coffee, it will be the correct dilution. Get a yellow plastic scrubby (with all the holes in it) or sponge and put it and the nectar in a tall glass garden flower, and clean it often.
Arboretum All-Stars
Karrie from the UC Davis Arboretum visited, gave a presentation to Toni’s class, and talked to Maritsa, Amy, Amber and myself about the project's methodology. We’re supposed to let the plants remain more "natural" than manicure them. We’re to give subjective ratings, like how pretty or healthy each look, and objective observations like measurements, precipitation, etc. Hopefully the girls can stay on for the entire two years of the project, and acquire many community ser-vice hours while learning real-world science.
Unbeknownst to us, at the exact time Karrie was here, her cohort (plant pun!) Missy, the program coordinator for the UC Davis California Center for Urban Horticulture, did a presentation for MG's on AAS in Jackson.
Read more online at www.arboretum.ucdavis.edu and at the newspaper's site, www.goldcountrytimes.com to see our list of plants in last month’s article.
Thanks
Helping pollinators is so important - I’m talking with folks everywhere from Victorville (thanks Christie) to BC, Canada (thanks Gail) about water policies regarding flowering plants in times like these. Our drip lines are repaired from the state they were in last year (thanks Emily).
Thanks for the loads of plants to a butterfly friend and to UC Davis. Thanks to the sky for its outpouring of support - though it’s not a record year like '06-'07 with 60" of precipitation (Shenandoah valley and Ply-mouth records), we’ve beat the dozen or so 22" years since 1892 (Jackson records.)
Thanks to those who read the studies on droughts from a previous article -- we’re not having a crisis of epic proportions, just one that challenges what people believe their means to cope are.
Donations are tax deductible. Checks should be written to "Amador Community Foundation" and note in the lower left corner, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Hopefully these articles will attract support, grants, and volunteers (!) for this and other school gardens. Comments to: michaelspinetta@yahoo.com Back to Top
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens, #8 April 2009 These Flora Grows (Where my Butterfly Goes)
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Amber’s playing an April Fool’s semantics joke somewhere in this article...
Arboretum All-Stars
Maritsa and Amy are up to date on the plans for the plants while student volunteers are vigorously turning the new com-post into the ground to meet the April bed prep schedule! Soil sample results soon! Busy, busy times!
Steiner Road Daffodils
Check out the spring 2009 bloom of Steiner Road’s narcissus laden route. The display is accented by fiddleneck (must be a good year for it!) and more wildflowers. Check out the growing collection of photos at: www.charlesspinettawinery.com/Wine/
WineNewsletter/SN2009/shenandoahvalleynarcissus.html and visit other pages of the site to read about more flower- related projects. Lilacs are blooming in April; gladiolus, Red Hot Pokers and more bud out in summer every year. Photo: Facing North at the Manzanita Wall (shown in article #5 Jan. '09) just before the last storm in March. Tens of thousands o every spring along Steiner Road in Shenandoah Valley. Photo courtesy Michael Spinetta and Copyright © Spinetta Family Vineyards.
Flora from Farms of Amador for the Fair
Local UCCE Coordinator Sean Krilitich through the Farms of Amador donated 18 trees and all the materials to get water to them to PESG’s neighbor, the Amador County Fairgrounds. These trees are located on both sides of the Main Gates of the grounds. Sorry, they won’t fruit out this year or next, but you will be able to view them when you get your tickets for the Fair (the days have moved - check it out - July 30 through August 2: www.amadorcountyfair.com) and have "A Grape Time to Hukilau."
This mini orchard is the first of a few farming-related projects meant to enhance the fair’s agricultural theme. More of these projects, including the future category of completive host plant and nectar butterfly gardens, will be explored in following articles. Something to note, though - within 24 hours, a quarter of the trees were vandalized - it’s up to everyone, not just the kids, to take care of this kind of resource.
Plymouth Parks
A dozen new butterfly attractive shrubs and trees are grounded at Sharkey Park on Main Street, Plymouth. Eight different color buddleias, various crepe myrtles, a cottonwood, and narcissus will give a good show. Fellow Master Gardener Bernice, and City Hall friend Gloria are in charge of these, other plants, and of the memorial rose garden here. It might be a nice site to hold the future MG rose pruning demonstrations! Soon, new photos will be posted online at this site:
www.michaelspinetta.com/PlantProjects/sharkeypark.html. I’m waiting for the roses to bloom before they’re online. Veteran’s Park along the scenic Highway 49 corridor is in full bloom with its iris, California poppies, narcissus, and more showing their fluorescence. Little cuttings of PESG’s biggest flowering buddleias are there.
CFAITC Dinner
Flowers were cut from PESG to make gorgeous arrangements at the annual National Agriculture Week Dinner in Sacramento for the Farm Bureau’s California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. See the flowers and the signing of the student-written and illustrated 2009 contest winners in the Ag themed book "Imagine This" at
www.cfaitc.org/gallery/index.php?year=2009&e=naw&k=dinner
UCD Experimental College Garden
There's a 4+ acre organic community garden on the UC Davis campus where anyone may rent a 200 square-foot garden plot. The EC Garden has been at its present location since 1970, and its coordinator is Tim. The plot 
(that is 6 plots combined) I'm working at off and on for Russell Park Child Development Center is directly across from Student Farm. Teachers ("Hello!" to Judy and all of you), parents, and kids there helped erect an arbor of branches cut from Amber's Manzanita on our ranch. They've also planted annuals, wildflowers, bulbs, and have done much to make it a potential wonderland. Read more about it at: http://asucd.ucdavis.edu/experimentalcollege.
Photo: UCD Experimental Garden Coordinator Tim Quick and Little Amber Spinetta in Front of the Manzanita Arbor of the Russell Park Plot at the EC Gardens in Davis. The wood is from the above pictured shrub and some of its large relatives.
Thanks
Thanks to more City of Plymouth workers and to volunteers that keep our local parks beautiful. Thanks to the Fair for everything and the compost, too - when they are mature, the two cherry trees closest to the exit will be ripe around fair time - a good snack for you! Thanks to Carol at Arrow Magazine and Rick at the Sacramento Bee for their recent articles on the local flowers. Thanks to Amador Flower Farm - the Stella d’Oro daylilies are for erosion control on the south slope near the library’s lawn. Thanks to Ione and Jackson parents interested in starting school and community gardens. Special thanks to the Painted Ladies for migrating right at the start of spring -- in like a lamb, out like a butterfly?
Amber wants to say hello to a tuber and also say, "Less ‘E’! Mor ‘D’! Hola, potato name of A.Ted Eli! Ms. Ava took a lid off a daffodil? A kootava smiled! Eat, foe man! O, tat o’ pal’ oh drome." Happy April Fool’s, palindrome fans.
Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to "Amador Community Foundation" and note "Ply-mouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF, P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Hopefully, these articles will attract support, grants, and volunteers for this and other school gardens.
Send to: michaelspinetta@yahoo.com comments any time. Back to Top
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens, #9 May 2009 The Stories of Rosemary, Stella and Charlotte
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Amber has something to say about the garden this month. "It’s my favorite place to play with the kids!" Arboretum All-Stars - We're laying out the weed cloth and getting everything "pretty" for Open House on May 12th. Only one plant was killed while preparing the plot - a Texas Sage - but we had a replacement. The frost kissed the plants, too, but they’re okay. We’ve planted and numbered the plants, had an informal inspection by Karrie Reid, drawn up a map, started the experiment on May 1, and it’s time to grow! So you know, the closest nursery carrying AAS plants is Amador Flower Farm in Shenandoah Valley.
Charlotte's Story - Every spider in the school gardens and at home is Charlotte. Amber got to watch kids from Plymouth Elementary School act in the opening night production of "Charlotte's Web" at Sutter Creek Theatre. After reading the book with me, she wants to join 4-H and raise her own pigs and rabbits (easier than the horse she wanted after watching "National Velvet") To note, if this were a non-fiction account of "Zuckerman’s Famous Pig," we'd be witnessing the fiftieth generation of Charlotte's grandchildren - that's 514 to the fiftieth power of babies! The World Wide Web might be something else altogether with all those literate spiders. Maybe it would exemplify E. B. White’s notions of clarity, clarity, clarity in all things written.
Stella's Story - The following Monday, we saw kids leaving by the busload to a matinee showing of the play. Only the kindergartners were left -- there wasn’t room enough in the theater. Amber led groups past aromatic freesias and clover, and planted Stella d’Oro daylilies, sunflowers, and more with them. One of the kindergartners is named Stella, so everyone laughed when they were told not to step on Stella, to put Stella in the ground feet first, etc. Later, everyone laughed when I lost my cell phone after moving six truckloads of compost. Imagine, ten of us listening for it to vibrate underneath fresh compost. We found it, eventually.
Rosemary and Costmary's Story
Plymouth Elementary Good News Club (sponsored by Sutter Creek Church of the Nazarene) is an outreach ministry that teaches boys and girls about the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through exciting Bible lessons, songs, Scripture memory, mission stories, and review games. GNC helps children grow spiritually - including having a positive impact on their personal and home life, school performance and decision-making skills. Photo: Left to Right: Front Row: Ulises Romero (1st), Phillip MacClanahan (1st) Justin Cain (2nd). 2nd Row: Hanah Elliott (1st) Chealsea Stringfellow (K) Little Amber Spinetta (Special!!) Corinna Newell (2nd) Jessica Stringfellow (1st); 3rd Row: Faith Poor (5th) Jacob Crocker (4th) Angelina Grubb (4th) Andrea "Andy" Romero (4th) Lydia Clem (2nd) Michelle Culver (GNC Teacher); Last Row: Michael Spinetta. Photo by Cory Culver
GNC got to place two Bible-related plants in the garden. A butterfly friend let me divide her costmary (chrysanthemum balsamita), and boy, the fragrance of the chopped roots was so strong, it took my breath away. I read descriptions of costmary and white rosemary to the group, quoting from "The Rodale Herb Book." The book states, "In Colonial times, the costmary leaf served as a bookmark. When the long sermon grew boring and drowsiness set in, the sleepy listener treated herself to the minty flavor...in an effort to stay awake." Apparently, it is also good for German sausage. It is a rarer plant nowadays, and is used to take over weedy places.
The White Rosemary we planted is used traditionally at Christian weddings as a symbol of fidelity; and at funerals, "as a pledge that the life and good deeds of the departed would not soon be forgotten." The legend of the flower’s color goes, "Mary draped her azure cloak over a white-bloomed rosemary bush during the flight from Egypt, whereupon the noble plant embraced the hue of the Virgin’s garment." More likely, the name is a derivative of the Latin "ros" (dew) and marinus (of the sea) "I also remembered hearing legends of how Roman scholars rubbed rosemary behind their ears to pay attention and clarify their thoughts. Wonder if E. B. White did, too?
In a related theme, there was a double rainbow in Plymouth on Good Friday, 
and I got a really nice picture of a cross on a mausoleum in the Catholic cemetery with the rainbow behind it. The photo is visible here.
Thanks and No Thanks
Thanks to Rosa and her family for weeding all those beds - and building up the compost pile. Thanks to Jennifer at True Value Hardware in Jackson, who donated so many seeds! And to Gracie’s mom who donated some, too!
No thanks to mealy bugs and wind-borne frost, topics at Grape Day on the Fairgrounds. Thanks to Steve in the California Native Plant Society for the Jepson Manual and other media; we’re making a special place for them at school. And no thanks to the heat and frost for toasting the lilac blooms at our winery last week; they’ll come back next April.
Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to "Amador Community Foundation" and note in the lower left corner, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund". Send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Email michaelspinetta@yahoo.com; send your comments any time.
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Plymouth Elementary School Gardens
#10 June 2009 Little Blue Eggs and Painted Ladies
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Amber is busy waiting for her painted lady chrysalises to hatch, so she will not be writing the column this month.
Arboretum All-Stars
The experiment for UC Davis is continuing well, mostly. Somehow, I killed the replacement Texas Sage, and a fragile Santa Margarita Penstemon couldn’t take the old falling stepping stone test. An unidentified flying object, possibly a basketball, broke the back halves off of two other plants. We had to prune back the plants to remove natural and man-made damage. We also installed some multicolor solar LED lights that look like butterflies from Plymouth Hardware. With all the moving around and manipulation of the plants, the first readings we took are junk, since most gardeners wouldn’t have done what we did. Now that the plants are established, the June readings will be the first "accurate" assessments – and a better month to start for our curricula's sake.
Amador Community School Food Garden
Speaking of curricula, it looks like the goal of more agrieducation is expanding into Amador Community School on the outskirts of Plymouth on E16/Shenandoah Road. The site, formerly my kindergarten back in the day, is shared by the Sierra Boys Ranch School from El Dorado County with our local school district. The Sierra Boys really want to utilize a 33’ x 33’ raised garden plot there, and since they're in class nearly year-round, they can care for it well. So, while you are reading this, I am e-mailing a request to Farms of Amador for funding, based on an itemized list and plan that my brother Jim drew up. Farms of Amador is a marketing and education program designed to assist agricultural producers promote their products. Visit www.farmsofamador.ucanr.org and buy an FOA T-shirt!
6th Grade Mural 2009
In 2006, the "F-Los Murales" bed was full of puncture vine. In 2007, miniature squash, sunflowers, yellow buddleia, yellow mums, yellow violas, fish mint, poppies, Stella D'Oro, and more plants were introduced. In 2008, "Ms. Marchand" and that 6th grade class painted the right hand side of the mural. Two rare, expensive Buddleja Globosas (hopefully orange when they bloom), and a goldenrod buddleia were added that year, too. Now in 2009, my nephew Matthew's class completed this formerly nondescript flower bed with a mural and made it the most colorful. It is hard to take a photo of – dozens of 14-foot tall, white hollyhocks in the "G - Goldie" and "H - 4H" beds block the view.
May 2009 Garden Photos
You can view the newest photo survey of the gardens at http://michaelspinetta.com/PlantProjects/butterfly-garden02.html.
Then again, I’m not faster than a speeding publisher. Give me until mid June to post them online, okay?
Butterfly Farmer, Pig Farmer
A woman who is most patient, Alicia "Lish" Baylor, owner of Buena Vista Butterfly Farm, will likely run the school’s booth at the Amador County Fair – which will be a butterfly vivarium! Toni, Amber, and I purchased many "cups" of Painted Lady caterpillars from her in early May. Some hatched on Open House night in Toni's classroom, which was full of butterfly life cycle exhibits the kids made! Many others that were tiny blue eggs, born on May 6, have been released in the gardens onto the first blooming butterfly bush. You can purchase educational caterpillar kits and butterflies from Lish if you call her 209-274-2538. It is smart to purchase these kits locally because you are supporting neighborly agrieducation, it is less travel stress on the caterpillars, and it's a much better value than those "as seen on TV's." kits.
Next month's column will be split between an interview with Lish and an FFA girl raising a pig – Mmm, bacon (don’t faint, this pig is not named Wilbur.)
Thanks... & No Thanks...
Thanks...To UCCE Master Gardeners for the water meters and timers–think conservation! Thanks to people at the school for letting this whole thing go on for another year somehow. To my personal editor for saving my publisher some time, and for making me find the right way to italicize plant names last month at http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/sci-names.htm. To the guys who brought over the loads of compost. To the Plymouth-Foothills Rotary Club for sponsoring the mural again.
No Thanks... To the light brown apple moth for showing up in California (yes, we don't have to like all lepidoptera.)
Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Checks should be written to "Amador Community Foundation" and note in the lower left corner, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund"; send to ACF, P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642.
We need a big financial supporter to "catch" us right now. Hopefully these articles will attract support, grants, and (!) volunteers (!) for this and other school gardens. Send michaelspinetta@yahoo.com comments any time. Back to Top
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens
#11 July 2009 The Good, The Bad, and the Piggly
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Not only is Amber taking a break from writing (again) this month, so am I. Counting on my sprained fingers, I have at least four good excuses to relax with ice tea in my left hand and a bag of ice on my right.
Light Brown Apple Moth - Part One
The bad news first. This column and the school gardens are connected in many positive ways with the city of Davis: i.e. the UCD Arboretum All-Stars experiment. Now, that city is under quarantine because of an invasive species of moth. Photo: Kalea Henderson, second grader, helped release sixty Painted Lady butterflies from Buena Vista Butterfly Farm on the last day of school. Photo courtesy Lish Baylor.
Jay Van Rein, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) says the negative impacts of the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) include a quarantine of approximately 38 square miles 
in Davis following the detection of a second Light Brown Apple Moth in the area. The quarantine applies to residential and public properties as well as plant nurseries, farms and other commercial enterprises. Residents are asked to consume fruits and vegetables from yards and gardens in the area rather than removing them from the property. Landscapers and yard maintenance companies are among the businesses placed under compliance agreements to allow for inspections and to ensure that yard waste is disposed of properly. Photo: Adults.jpg: Invasive Light Brown Apple Moths. Photo courtesy CDFA.
What’s going on in Amador, El Dorado and Calaveras counties? These counties are not in the infested/quarantined areas of the state. State and county officials in the non-infested areas focus their efforts on early detection so that any new infested sites can be discovered quickly and eradicated or controlled in the smallest possible area. In these counties, officials are monitoring an intensive array of insect traps, and are also looking for LBAM and other pests during regular inspections of nursery plant shipments, harvested crops, commercial shipping ports (airports, package facilities, etc.) and so on. CDFA works to keep LBAM out of these areas altogether, but it is the nature of an infestation to tend towards spreading over time, so officials perform a lot of inspections and set a lot of traps to keep track of it and stay ahead of it. If you think you have caught an LBAM, identify it using the site www.cdfa.ca.gov and call your local ag department. More information will appear in next month’s article, including strategies to fight this pest from a soon to be released Environmental Impact Report.
Buena Vista Butterfly Farm - Part One
Now the good news. In past months, this column has referred to a helpful “butterfly friend” – it’s time to pull back the wings and see who’s fluttering around back here! Alicia “Lish” Baylor and her husband Daryl have resided in Amador County for 29 years. As a child, Lish's family raised dairy cows, corn, and soy on their farm in Iowa. Her parents were 4H leaders, encouraging her participation in girl's 4H for cooking and home furnishings, and boy's 4H raising baby beef, dairy cows, and more. In her youth, she was the Tama County 4H representative at state meets. To pay her way through a double major of Family Environment and Art at Iowa State (class of '75), she was part of the 4H staff, utilizing her knowledge of sociology at nursing homes as an aid and working with the developmentally disabled. Lish honed her photography skills Ohlone Junior College in Fremont -- and she sure has some beautiful, yet impatient subjects for her art fluttering about her home. Lish and Daryl, married 23 years, live among the thousands of residents of Buena Vista Butterfly Farm (BVBF).
Lish will have a 6' x 6' outdoor “butterfly vivarium” (in this case, a pop-up tent) in Plymouth Elementary booth at the Amador County Fair (July 30 - August 2). Kids – and only kids – will be allowed to walk around the tent and closely observe the fragile creatures. The booth will promote PESG's goal of pollinator education, and it will be located between the wine gardens and the bunny building. Educational caterpillar kits will be for sale, and butterflies will be on sale for on-site release (if they smartly choose to direct themselves) into our neighboring school gardens. Sean Krilitich, of Paloma Pollinators, will have an observation beehive on display in the booth, too. To note, the butterflies (not the bees) will be spending each night in the refrigerator at my house, so I will be cautious with my midnight snacking. For orders, contact Lish at (209) 274-2538. BVBF is not open to the public. More about the BVBF butterflies next month.
Get Yer BLT at the Fair 15 year-old Argonaut High School student Leanne Weese writes the following:
"I am showing a pig at the fair in Plymouth. BLT is my very first pig and he is the pick of the litter from Power House Farms in Los Banos. He is a cross between Yorkshire and Yorkhamp which makes him a Bluebutt. He is so loving and cute, and likes to be soaked with the hose -- not sprayed -- and he loves to suck on my fingers. The thing he loves most is to get his nose dirty and put it up against my cheek.
"I'm the first ever Historian for the Argonaut Future Farmers of America (FFA) and my advisors are Mr. Mendosa and Mrs.Clark. The FFA was founded in 1928 by 33 delegates representing 18 states at the Hotel Baltimore in Kansas City, MO. The FFA has over 500,000 members that strive for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. The national convention held in October is the nation's largest student gathering. The Historian is a "hidden officer" who puts together a scrap book, rights reports, and keeps kinda like a record of the FFA and how much fun we have had and what we are going to do. Being in the FFA has made me go towards my goal a whole lot more -- that is -- to become a vet. I want to attend Columbia Junior College, and after that, UC Davis, and from there I am going to be a small / big animal vet. "My supporters are my parents Jim and Kelli Branyan. If you want to bid on my pig, you write me a letter at: 1631 Goose Creek Road, Ione, CA 95640 or call me at (209) 663-0656. I will send you a "yellow card" and a letter stating why I want you to bid on my pig."
B. Troy Bowers, Amador County Fair CEO, calls on us to get into the spirit of "A Grape Time to Hukailau" and buy a pig to roast in a pit oven. So, go and participate in the auctions at the Fair! You can't beat local food raised by the kids in the 4H, Grange and FFA - there's pride and care there that no one can beat. Support them all!
Thanks...
To all of you who typed this for me. To www.serve.gov for promoting better volunteerism - and for using a California elementary school as its prime example. From June 22 to September 11, "United We Serve" will begin to engage Americans from coast to coast in addressing community needs in education, health, energy and the environment, and community renewal.
Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Write checks to "Amador Community Foundation", note in the lower left, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Hopefully these articles will attract support, grants, and volunteers for this and other school gardens. Send michaelspinetta@yahoo.com comments any time. Back to Top
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens
#12 August 2009 CSI: Caterpillars’ Secret Identities
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
After a year's worth of bylines, Amber wants to learn to write words! Candy corn incites her to scribe her important words like “Pebbles,” “Cat,” and “Supergirl.”
Buena Vista Butterfly Farm - Part Two
Lish Baylor reveals the secret lives of her friendly neighborhood butterflies. The Red Admirals were moody in their ‘mating cage’ this year. These strong flyers needed their wills tempered with soft music and a change of ambience. One week after mating, the eggs on stinging nettle cuttings were moved into the ‘hatching container’. One morning when Lish went to clean the container, she was surprised to see over 500 of buggers wriggling around. (This year, Lish plans to raise 3-5,000 total butterflies, and maybe double next year.)
Tiger Swallowtails are very, very patient. A chrysalis may take three years to hatch. One way to tell its viability is to touch it to your nose – if it’s cold, it’s alive. (I agree, that’s weird.) In the School Gardens, we have a spot the kids can stand as the Tigers drowsily float from fennel to fennel in circles. Lish wants to raise Buckeyes as her late-season livestock. I’ve told her a great attractant for Buckeyes are the fallen grapes on the ground after we harvest our family’s vineyards, especially on the perimeter of the fields. One can see hundreds fluttering the very evening the winegrapes are harvested – obviously, these enthusiastic Lepidoptera have the most distinguished taste of all. Photo: Dubbed “Survivor” – the mourning cloak. Photo courtesy Buena Vista Butterfly Farm
Short lived (about a month) Painted Ladies are widespread throughout the world. They love cheeseweed, and are very easy caterpillars for kids to raise. Mourning Cloaks play dead when threatened. They can have a long life span (over nine months) and over winter here as a butterflies beneath loose bark (they like eating tree sap). They are survivors. Lish was featured in the Stockton Record on July 12 - visit www.recordnet.net and search “Madame Butterfly.” For orders, contact Lish at (209) 274-2538. BVBF is not open to the public for the safety of the butterflies.
Arboretum All-Stars, etc.
The weeds (!) are beneficially shading the newly established UC Davis All-Stars squadron of plants to get them through summer. The soapworts had a nice bloom, but their seed pods are somewhat bulbous and grotesque. The deer grass and sedum we expect to perform the best of all over time. 22 more months...!
Something inspiring to glean from the experiment’s intrinsic benefits. The AA-S program applied for a USDA grant that valued basic volunteer time at $21 an hour; gave more value to more sophisticated work; and accounted for the value of the land the plot is upon. This means that school garden volunteers contribute more than the children’s agrieducation and the aesthetic – they perpetuate the economic life of the garden and projects therein. Thousands of hours of work are documented on the PESG / PEP Club Pavilion project, and many thousands since 2004 (and before!) are not. Our school district can take advantage of opportunities like the Lowe's Outdoor Classroom Grant Program, or others from Starbucks, Wells Fargo, the Junior Federal Duck Stamp Program, and many others we’ve found available from our immediate corporate community. Costs (i.e. drip irrigated water) and conflict will occur, and we can try our best to mediate.
To utilize those corporations’ social responsibilities, volunteers and the school need to coordinate. By forming a chain of command to ask permission for public, Cooperative Extension, and scholastic garden projects to occur; by having a good means of communication including phone lists, workable email communication between volunteers and school staff (many government based email systems bounce private emails); by applying similar volunteerism structures from other districts; by utilizing www.csgn.org and www.cfaitc.org for standards and curricula application; and by communicating with parents in the students’ weekly packets of the garden’s needs – a collective structure can be achieved.
These articles Amber and I write are about communicating this learning experience to the public, working together in tough times, and showing how you can support your schools by teaching kids fundamentals of life like growing your own food while creating wildlife habitat. Photo: Little Amber Spinetta and Little Mitchell Kendrick Received Medals for their costumes in the Kids Parade at the Amador County Fair
Thanks and No Thanks
To you for visiting the "Pollinators in Paradise" fair booth – and esp. to Sean 
Kreilitich’s bees who almost made it there – he was unloading his beehive when a passing truck stirred a rock up, breaking the glass hive, loosing the bees into Sean’s vehicle – the bees were "not to bee", no question. To the buyer, at $6.50 per pound, of Leanne Weese’s 258 pound BLT and to all who support FFA, 4-H, and The Grange. To Arthur Shapiro at www.butterfly.ucdavis.edu for the future conversations I hope to have with you. No thanks to my cell phone (and Sean's) for breaking. Photo: Leanne Weese and BLT compete in a Showmanship Event.
Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Write checks to "Amador Community Foundation", note in the lower left, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Send michaelspinetta@yahoo.com comments. Photo: Little Amber Received First Place for her costume in the Kids Parade at the Amador County Fair
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Plymouth Elementary School Gardens
#13 September 2009 Danaus Plexippus
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Amber is very busy with the fly swatter evicting the unwanted guests that show up about a week after the Fair comes to town, so she can’t help write this month’s column.
School’s In
And so we begin again. We’re digging most of the cannas out of the "Cafeteria Bed" so there’s a better line of sight for the teachers to see the kids -- those things were growing over nine feet in the air. I should say a friend, Ian, is doing the work, My hand is still sprained so I’m the good supervisor leaning on a shovel. ELP (Extended Learning Program) is getting a bunch of seeds to plant in pots, too.
Going into the Wayback Machine
A short time ago, I got to wondering why all this interest of mine about butterflies. So I asked my mom. When I was just starting school, I raised Monarch butterflies for a handful of years. Although my kindergarten teacher in Plymouth was June Vaira, I did this as an extra-curricular activity with Ruby Anderson at the Sutter Creek primary school. Apparently, I wrote a paper about it for the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program, of which I am told I was the first person at Plymouth Elementary School to be in. I do remember Gretchen Kingsbury teaching us quite a bit, especially the great literature, but I sure didn’t remember the butterflies. Now a little bit is coming back.
Raising Monarchs
From memory, so you’re gonna have to look this up online, there’s a good way to harvest Monarch butterfly eggs from the wild and raise them. One can also order the eggs. Whichever way, the funny thing is un-knowingly, the same patch of milkweed that I monitor now is the one that my mom harvested from when I was a kid. I’m not going to say exactly where, but it is near the Dean Family’s South River Lavender farm between the Shenandoah Valley and Fair Play wine regions. I remember having a cardboard box, about two feet tall, 16" deep and 16" wide, standing tall with all of the flaps folded in. A piece of plastic wrap was its face so I could look in and watch the little buggers grow.
The box was always in a window that let in the morning sun, enough to enliven the critters but not get them too hot. It’s important to clean out the frass - the solid waste from the caterpillars. Still one of my favorite objects in nature is the Monarch’s chrysalis with its curious little gold dots at its neck and base. (There is a cool pendant online where the artist used 24K gold on jade colored glass to replicate its beauty.)
It’s great when the butterflies hatch – they are so slow, weak, and precious, and more delicate than when aloft. Don’t be alarmed by their meconium - that weird gooey stuff that comes out when they hatch. Also, if you happen to be a bird that can read, the reason why Monarchs taste so foul is that cardenolides don’t set too well with you. Reading some more from Field Guide to Butterflies by Arthur M. Shapiro and Timothy D. Manolis (a recommended buy for all birds with cash) one finds the myriad of plants Monarchs are attracted to. So when you release that butterfly from your box (or beak) deposit it near a thistle, goldenrod, zinnia, marigold, or buddleia.
Some tips from Lish Baylor of Buena Vista Butterfly Farm. "Anyone can create their own habitat for Monarchs. Monarch Watch will certify all "Monarch Waystations" in the United States. If you order eggs, the confusion is the USDA regulations that restrict shipping Monarchs across the Rockies. There is a belief that Monarchs don’t cross the Great Divide – however – there have been tagged Monarchs which have not followed those rules. Anyway, Plymouth Elementary School Garden’s Monarch Waystation Program plaque is perfect. The organization here in California is Monarch Alert. Its primary focus is research of the migratory patterns of the Western Monarch – they are more involved in the tagging and recovery of tagged Monarchs."
Web sites to visit: http://www.calpoly.edu/~bio/Monarchs/index.html; www.ventanaws.org/conservation/monarchs.htm; www.xerces.org/california-monarchs; and also this site:
www.butterflyschool.org/teacher/raising.html – whew!
Thanks
To the Llich family for the money raised at your annual Kentucky Derby "Fun"draiser for school gardens. I will try to make it next year and bring a bunch of stuff to show all of you. To Heidi especially for the help! To the grapes for once again ripening. Amber and I munched on orange Muscat through the whole first day of harvest, August 24. To assemblywoman Alyson Huber and folks from her office for touring the garden. And to mom.
Donations tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Write checks to "Amador Community Foundation"; note in the lower left, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund". Send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Comments/questions, please e-mail me anytime at: michaelspinetta@yahoo.com Back to Top
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens
#14 October 2009 PEP Club’s Playground Project
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Here is an idea for everyone who sits in front of a computer, strains their eyes to see their Smart phone, and still tells their kids it’s bad to sit close to the 3D, HD, LCD TV. Leave the closed captioning on for the grandkids to read while they watch – that is my dad’s idea. Amber is busy watching, and reading Between the Lions right now so she won’t be writing this month’s column. In fact, I’m busy right now with harvest, so I won’t be writing either. Sara Dentone is writing to let the public know about our school’s dire need for an updated playground.
Help the Kids Play
The PEP Club (Plymouth Elementary Parent Club volunteer group) is raising funds for a new play structure and other playground amenities. Our community pulled together twenty years ago to erect a play structure for the children and we would like to accomplish this again.
The current one has been well loved, and it is definitely not broken nor worn out, nor was it built incorrectly, but it is out of compliance with California state safety standards and is thus not insurable. Compliance standards have changed radically since about 1995. For example, the top of the structure’s posts are flat, but the State maintains they should be rounded so kids don’t climb on them. A retrofit is not a cost effective option because the only parts that could be reused are the main posts... which would have to be relocated anyway. We estimate at least $60,000 is needed to meet our goals.
PEP Club actively fundraises to support programs like music and the arts, busing and sponsoring children for field trips, and helping with general needs at the school. The immediate necessity and high cost of the playground project overshadows these regular goals. (As a side note, Amador School Arts Foundation, a nonprofit, fields the goal to support the arts in all the County’s schools.) Play structures are not seen by law as a necessity, so they do not get funding through the district and state.
Our play structure is the only playground that some of the elementary children will ever play on. With the need of physical activity everyday for proper growth and stimulation, parents and educators at Plymouth Elementary see these grounds as a vital need for our students. The area is also utilized by the community before and after school hours.
We have a vision for how the plan can be accomplished in three phases. PEP Club almost has enough money to have the first phase finished over Christmas break. With support from the community, the second phase could simultaneously be achieved, saving money to go towards the third phase which includes replacing the swing set that was torn out last year, not because of wear and tear, but due to compliance standards.
Other ideas we are thinking about are replacing the (recently torn out) handball courts and the dilapidated tether ball court. We also envision more active games painted on the asphalt and we have other great ideas being discussed. We have hopes our plans are the best we find through our research, and that they, too, do not fall out of compliance in the near future. If the school can procure non-matching playground grants and other funding, we’d be exceptionally grateful.
If you would like to donate to this project, please mail a check made out to "PEP Club" and send it to PEP Club c/o Plymouth Elementary School, P.O. Box 847, Plymouth, CA 95669. You may also drop it off at the school office located at 10601 Sherwood Street, Plymouth.
For more information and to become involved in the playground project, please call the school at (209) 257-7800 and leave a message with your information and someone from PEP Club will contact you. Thank you! Sara Dentone, PEP Club President, and Proud Mommy.
Lucky Lorquin’s Admiral
When the "fun and yummy" Zinetta grapes were harvested a month ago, a Lorquin’s Admiral showed up at the crush pad. It glided along low to the concrete for a few hours that day until we cleaned everything up. For the next four weeks, it showed up every day we harvested - it was the same one because a small piece of its right forewing was broken off. Some butterflies have excellent taste, even though they do taste with their feet.
Thanks
To the anonymous family who dropped off a donation to Amber and me - it went to buy some gardening tools for the school. And thanks to Rosalie, the principal, for taking over the job of having volunteers weed the gardens – just give me a call to supervise!
In the past, this job was handled by the 4th - 6th graders as a means of instilling school spirit, and there is no way the school nor faculty can afford to pay someone to do this job right now... so...give her a call!
Donations for the garden are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Write checks to "Amador Community Foundation", note in the lower left, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. E-mail michaelspinetta@yahoo.com Back to Top
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens
#15 November 2009 Mr. Tarantula, The Wolf, and the Ballerina
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Amber did help with this month’s column because she reviewed a ballet!
Arboretum All-Stars
That wind thrashed a half dozen AA-S plants. The iris is winterizing, the "Texan" narrowly escaped death, the soapwort is blooming again, the deer grass is crazy, and the penstemons a beautiful ground cover. During the great winds, I was chopping back, staking, and tying up every butterfly bush in the garden as they all blew over. We’re also dealing with line-of-sight for security, so that will affect some things.
Mr. Tarantula
I spotted a tarantula crossing the road and brought him to the Extended Learning Program. Amber named it Mister Tarantula – it has hooks on its forelegs. At soccer practice after school, one of the mom's had a pet tarantula. It likes to be warm, have mixed vermiculite/peat/ potting soil for burrowing, and needs a smaller terrarium, since bad falls can kill it.
It likes to have a rock or stick to hide under, and feasts on store-bought crickets. Tarantulas have urticating hairs (they make you itch) on their abdomens, and they do bite, so respect them as any other wild animal, and maybe let the native ones back into the wild, one day. A good book on local wildlife is The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada by John Muir Laws, available at my family’s wildlife art gallery in Shenandoah Valley. The book shows plants and animals coordinated by color, not necessarily by relation; check it out.
Pollinator Ponderable
From a discussion with a student. Basically, a bee and a butterfly do the same job. The bee gets saluted for honey and the butterfly gets praised for beauty. Is it best to be known for how one looks doing a job, or to be feared but known for a job well done? If honey tasted bad, would we admonish the bee for stinging us and making sticky messes? If butterflies were all dull and camouflaged, would they be as loved? Hmmm...
Peter and the Wolf
Amber has seen or heard at least a dozen different versions of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, including: Disney’s Make Mine Music; Suzie Templeton’s animation; David Bowie’s narration; a live puppet/orchestral show, and the Sunnyvale Public Library performance online.
We have toys that correspond to each of the characters with one vital difference – the stuffed wolf (from her dentist, Susan) is mute. When the Sacramento Ballet performed at the Crest Theatre on October 24, she was in heaven. Right before the ballet, Amber asked me if this duck would live or die. We scrutinized the events on stage: the duck made the sign of the cross (the prey prayed), got eaten whole, the wolf spit out feathers, the duck returned with a halo on its head – but we listened closely, and still heard it in the wolf’s stomach. Conclusion: she died.
Amber’s Review: "When the Wolf was playing with Peter, they were playing jump rope with the lasso with the kitty cat; that was really silly. And when the hunters were dancing. My favorite person was all of them. I think the bird [Nicole Haskins] was dressed the prettiest and she danced the nicest. It was really silly when the Wolf ate the Duck alive. I liked when he [Jeffrey Callison] talked about the bird." After Peter, other short bits were performed. "When the kids danced, I liked Clara." About Kirsten Bloom’s Sugar Plum Fairy dance, "I don’t know." Amber talks about the Sugar Plum Fairy all the time. As for Jump Jive, "They wore bloomies!" Photo: Nicole Haskins as Bird with other dancers and Amber (L), photo by Adevia Mackes
Dad’s Review: Children’s games like jump rope, patty cake, and rochambeau were used in the action - to really make it for kids. Each player was active at all points in time, spread around the entire stage. Everything Heidi Zolker, as the duck, was hilarious, and she even made a duck’s waddle graceful. Amber and I talk about the different kinds of conflict in each version of Peter. Here, the lightheartedness made me forget that. I believe since there was no live music playing, the oral introduction of each character and ‘their’ instrument was dismissed, though that’s just my conclusion, I forgot to ask. After Peter, the Sacramento Zoomobile brought a macaw, hedgehog, and desert tortoise. 
The Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier showed some moves on stage for kids to see up close.
Dancers were dressed up at the coloring table and all around. Like other plays by the Sacramento Ballet, generally everyone involved mingles with the crowd afterward – check that out at The Nutcracker in December. Amber took home a slipper autographed by Haskins and a magic wand. What will she dream about tonight?
Photo: Noah and Nicole Mackes in their Nutcracker costumes, photo by Adevia Mackes
To help buy new playground equipment: write a check to "PEP Club" and send to PEP Club c/o Plymouth Elementary School, P.O.Box 847, Plymouth, CA 95669 or call (209) 257-7800.
Separately, donations for the garden are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Write checks to "Amador Community Foundation"; note in the lower left, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. michaelspinetta@yahoo.com. Back to Top
Plymouth Elementary School Gardens
#16 December 2009 Monarchs in Space
By Michael and Little Amber Spinetta
Amber is too busy writing her letter to Santa and will not be co-writing the column this month.
The Portrait
Amber went to bed very early a few weeks ago. Dumb-founded, I sprung at the chance and painted until 2:30 a.m., using Star Trek episodes online as my muse. This concluded a multi-media art project you can follow in the column online at www.goldcountrytimes.com One better memory happened last December. While building the rock wall around the Manzanita, Amber pretended the rows of grapes were shopping aisles – and that I was her baby – and she bought me imaginary candy and milk. Three portraits and paint encrusted photo studies will be on display in the library on Main Street, Plymouth, from December through spring.
Monarchs in Space
The November 16th Space Shuttle Atlantis launch carried three 4th instar stage monarch caterpillars to the International Space Station (ISS) in a small rearing chamber. This chamber was placed in an incubator onboard the ISS and the developing monarchs are monitored with still and video cameras. The most interesting part of the experiment are the ‘five major challenges’ the monarchs face in the nearly weightless environment. Observers will notice how the monarchs deal with crawling and clinging, selecting their pupation site, emerging from their chrysalis, and more challenges.
A partner in the project, the University of Kansas outreach program Monarch Watch was founded in 1992 by Chip Taylor. (Our gardens are Monarch Waystation #1544 – another Monarch Watch project you at home can join in!) Mr. Taylor answered a few comments some students and I had about whether the monarchs would meet all their challenges. “No, not all five. Space is a challenge and most gravity dependent organ-isms are going to have difficulty adjusting to conditions in which normal gravity is not present. The purpose of a project such as this one is to see how the organisms adjust to the near weightlessness of space and how they are limited by these conditions. The final challenge - emergence and full extension of the wings is certainly going to be difficult in space, particularly so in this case, since two of the chrysalides are now free floating.“
Happily, on December 3, the first monarch emerged! More will be gleaned from the butterflies when they return in February 2010. The entire experiment, Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science Insert - 03 (CSI-03) allows the K-12 community to care for and examine the same organisms on Earth that are simultaneously studied in space. Scientific objectives include the comparison of the life cycle of the painted lady butterfly on Earth to the life cycle in micro-gravity. Also looked at is the comparison of the ability of an orb weaving spider to spin webs and catch food on the ground to its ability to perform the same tasks in the microgravity. Educational goals include that students will conduct controlled experiments, practice humane animal handling and experi-mental procedures, and compare their control experiment results to those obtained in the flight experiment. Visit Online
www.monarchwatch.org/space www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/CSI-03_prt.htm
Merry Christmas from Earth
Santa Claus visits the Shenandoah Valley Community Club every year. My job is to go out and take care of his reindeer. I never get a chance to take pictures of Amber on Santa’s lap, but Rudolph and company really work up an appetite and get to eat the potluck dinner leftovers! Otherwise, they’d try to look for food in the vineyards, and ten foot fences don’t keep flying deer out! Well, and least when I come back in, Amber tells me all about Santa and how he knew everything that she wanted for Christmas.
Please Help the Gardens
For new playground equipment: write a check to "PEP Club" and send to PEP Club c/o Plymouth Elementary School, P.O. Box 847, Plymouth, CA 95669 or call (209) 257-7800. The school carnival was great fun – Tim’s music for Mrs. Carson’s Cake-walk took the cake.
Separately, donations for the garden are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Write checks to "Amador Community Foundation"; note in the lower left, "Plymouth Elementary School Gardens Fund", and send to ACF at P.O. Box 1154, Jackson, CA 95642. Thanks, Kelly, for those tools!
Send holiday cheer to michaelspinetta@yahoo.com or you’ll get coal in your stocking and grapevine moths in your figgy pudding.
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Enjoy these links to articles on Plymouth's Elementary School Gardens (PESG):
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/datastore/detailreport.cfm?usernumber=119&surveynumber=236
http://www.charlesspinettawinery.com/Wine/WineNewsletter/SN2008/plymouthbutterflygardens.html
Published in Sutter Creek, our paper is a positive example of journalism with an eclectic assortment of articles and reviews ranging from health and wellness to the arts.
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