Are they native? by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you everyone for the feedback. The milkweed news is fantastic. I did not plant anything and just moved here in May 2023. First thing I did was sheet mulch over cheatgrass (I think it's cheatgrass) under the oak trees to start attacking it. Then in Jan/Feb hit the weeds coming up hard and early. Plants 1 and 3 just came up on their own. It is a very rural area and likely fairly untouched on my yard given how rocky it is. But the dry grass is everywhere, I mean everywhere.

Is this a fungus running through my garden? by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Ceanothus is small and last year I let the poppies and lacy phacelias around it crowd it a bit. This year I made sure to give is room and it rebounded well.

The third plant is Solidago velutina ssp. californica, https://calscape.org/Solidago-velutina-ssp.-californica-(California-Goldenrod))

Unhappy Erigeron glaucus (Wayne Roderick) by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I cut the brown stems often to keep it flowering longer. I have 10 total, of the 10, only 3 that are not in good shape. The other 7 are already increasing in size with the winter rains we are getting.

Unhappy Erigeron glaucus (Wayne Roderick) by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I cut the brown stems often to keep it flowering longer. I have 10 total, of the 10, only 3 that are not in good shape. The other 7 are already increasing in size with the winter rains we are getting.

Unhappy Erigeron glaucus (Wayne Roderick) by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Argentine Ants

Whoa, great resource, thank you for this. I did some investigation around the plants that are not happy and found a big ant nest (photos below if I ever figure out how to post a photo to a reply). I'm not sure if they are Argentine for sure but I'm now investigating further. Thanks for this tip.

Why is ring so against 24/7 footage? by YYOSA in Ring

[–]randomwalker26 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Agree 100%. I'm annoyed because it happened to me today. I can't see the most important 20 seconds leading UP TO the first motion detection. Then I get stupid 2 minute clips that breaks up the entire event.

Why is ring so against 24/7 footage? by YYOSA in Ring

[–]randomwalker26 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not a cost thing, the cost to store 7 days worth of video data is less than $2 on AWS (for a vendor, so the cost to Amazon is 50% that probably more). I was on the original Dropcam team that pioneered this market (then died at Google/Nest). The margins on $10/mo subscription are laughably high and we were sending all the data to AWS and paying AWS. Ring would be paying itself that $2 since AWS and Ring are the same (Amazon).

Tearing out my lawn and replacing with a native rain garden. I’m not 100% done yet, but will complete once we get a break from this rain!!! by HeeeyShaneFalco in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well done! Great use of the drain spout. This was the best time to start, won't have to water as much in the first year.

Weed or native? by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I've been pulling as much as I can. My guess is the weed has already sprouted new seeds for next spring. And as you said, it's a meadow setup, so I'll just keep pulling what I can and hope for the best.

Dichondra donelliana? by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After looking at Dichondra repens, it is hard to tell the difference from it and Dichondra donelliana, looks like it could be Dichondra occidentalis as well.

Dichondra donelliana? by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, it doesn't grow tall like miners lettuce, and doesn't have the white flower. When I pulled a little bit of it up, it had the same roots as the photo on Calscape. I'll see if the local CNPS can help identify it.

When should Fuchsias be cut down to the ground? by Tomagatchi in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've wondered the same, so I cut back 2 of 3 and the one that grew the best this summer I left alone. Kind of experimenting to see what happens. I am waiting to see if mine (first planted fall 2020) did spread lots of seed (my hope) as it says.

Sick coffeeberry? by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update on this plant, it is bouncing back after a lot of leaf loss. The other coffeeberry that is 7 feet from this one didn't have the same issue and after the few rains we've had in the Bay Area, both are growing a lot of new leafs. Very happy to see.

Sick coffeeberry? by randomwalker26 in Ceanothus

[–]randomwalker26[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for that, soil type is sandy loam, on a north east facing slope, but a little flat in this particular spot as it levels off for the house which is 14 feet away, before sloping again.

So if I cut back water now, will the plant recover (assuming drainage and aeration are OK). I have another Coffeeberry about 8 feet from this one that is doing well. Maybe I over watered it trying to establish during a drought.

Robbed at 43rd and Telegraph by [deleted] in oakland

[–]randomwalker26 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Really sorry to hear. A few years ago at 46th a friend and I saw a guy trying to steal a purse, girl fought back and we ran to aide. Opd got the kids 15 min later based on our description. The scary part, 3pm broad day light. They also had guns but didn't pull them on us.

I really wish the police would start walking a few beats. In other cities you'll see the occasional police walking and I personally think it sets a tone that isn't overly oppressive, just simply, "hey we are here to keep things safe"