From Orwell to Pink Floyd: Animals & A Fig's Tale VL p.3

ish mailian ishmailian at gmail.com
Sun Apr 19 19:34:02 UTC 2020


Light pulsing in their wings...

They swoop, they soar, they light up the sky … meet the pigeon-fancier
who has trained his flock to wear LEDs and perform a hypnotic night
dance

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jun/19/wing-commander-the-artist-putting-on-a-light-show-with-1500-pigeons

On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 3:11 PM ish mailian <ishmailian at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Yes, tough creeping green vine in the land of plenty, and, by rhizome,
> philosophically, at least,  the creeping fig, though this is certainly
> not apparent at first, is, by way of Deleuze and Guattari, an allusion
> to Nazim Hikmet, who, of course, wrote The Epic of Sheikh Bedreddin.
>
> The squadron of Blue Jays is a squadron, now that is tautological
> isn't it, but I want to place emphasis on the word Squadron.  To
> birders out in California, those aggressive Blue Jays are not a
> squadron. Depending on the season they are either a party or a pair.
> And they are contrasted with the carrier pigeons. Now Pynchon is known
> for getting stuff right. But are these carrier pigeons? As in the
> British beauties bred for show? Of are these homing pigeons? Both are
> bred from a common rock pigeon, but the homing one carries messages.
> It's Zoyds rip van winkle so I guess they may be whatever Zoyd dreams
> up, but aren't these early birds odd when juxtaposed on the very first
> page? Any birders out there ...little help.
>
> The dog should be easier. Maybe not.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 1:19 PM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Creeping fig is a wonderful ground cover or wall cover.  It is only invasive if not maintained, which isn't difficult.  Ficus trees are equally tenacious.  Left outside in a pot, it will get its roots into the ground by hook or crook.
> >
> > David Morris
> >
> > On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 11:28 AM ish mailian <ishmailian at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Invasive?
> >> Creeping fig .....
> >>
> >>
> >> Creeping fig (Ficus pumila), hardy from U.S. Department of Agriculture
> >> plant hardiness zone 8 to 9 or 11, depending on cultivar, is the only
> >> member of the fig family to slither up walls and crawl on the ground.
> >> It seldom flowers, so unlike some of its messier relatives, it
> >> produces little or no fruit.
> >>
> >> Creeping fig’s remarkable growth rate allows a few vines to completely
> >> cover a wall or pergola in a year or two. The vine grows vertically 20
> >> to 40 feet, then sends out side shoots horizontally. When young,
> >> creeping fig grows lacy patterns of small, glossy heart-shaped leaves,
> >> densely arranged along a multi-stemmed vine in a most attractive,
> >> delicate pattern. when the plant reaches maturity at about two years
> >> of age, it continues to grow aggressively sideways, producing leathery
> >> oval leaves up to 4 inches long on thick, woody stems. Grown on a
> >> tree, its aggressive habit might even begin to shade out the tree's
> >> crown.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Creeping fig is evergreen within its hardiness range, making it a good
> >> candidate for coverage of ugly walls, arbors or trellises. Happily, it
> >> withstands a few cold blasts down to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
> >> Although it will drop leaves after a cold snap, it will re-grow leaves
> >> and, with some pruning, look as good as new within the next season. It
> >> also presents an alternative where invasive evergreen ground covers
> >> might be initial choices.  it has similar potential for escape and
> >> requires attentive, regular pruning for control.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Creeping fig requires no ties, because it climbs by means of little
> >> sucker arms that hold on to wood, concrete, stone or metal without any
> >> additional help. This may be very cool, but the little suckers also
> >> hold on like grim death, taking paint or bits of concrete, stone and
> >> wood whenever they are pulled away from a surface. For this reason,
> >> most gardeners grow the vines on a trellis, topiary frame or some
> >> framework that is dispensable.
> >>
> >> Creeping fig suffers few diseases and resists most pests. It prefers
> >> part shade, but will also grow in full shade or morning sun. To
> >> complete its endearing qualities, creeping fig is highly drought
> >> tolerant. All of this is fortunate enough, but the vine also tolerates
> >> slightly alkaline as well as slightly acidic soil and actually prefers
> >> less fertile soil, thriving in infertile clay or sandy loam. To finish
> >> its list of cool characteristics, creeping figs are moderately
> >> tolerant of aerosol salt, meaning that it can be planted near the
> >> ocean, where dunes or other barriers provide a buffer for the plant.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> It can become invasive and cover structures and landscape features if
> >> not maintained and its growth contained. When climbing buildings or
> >> wooden structures, the woody tendrils can cling or root in, and damage
> >> structures and/or their surface finishes.[citation needed] The plant
> >> requires the fig wasp Blastophaga pumilae for pollination, and is fed
> >> upon by larvae of the butterfly Marpesia petreus.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Like other plant species in the family Moraceae, contact with the
> >> milky sap of Ficus pumila can cause phytophotodermatitis,[8] a
> >> potentially serious skin inflammation. Although the plant is not
> >> poisonous per se, F. pumila is listed in the FDA Database of Poisonous
> >> Plants.
> >>
> >> https://homeguides.sfgate.com/cool-creeping-fig-plants-66003.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_pumila
> >>
> >> On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 9:57 AM ish mailian <ishmailian at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > A little tale of the fig in Zoyd's yard.
> >> > Maybe you don't give a fig and maybe I don't shivagit if you do or
> >> > don't ... here, I've provided the link for the article by Karp and
> >> > I've excerpted for you if you would rather not.
> >> >
> >> > I will examine the squadron of Blue Jays and the Carrier Pigeons and
> >> > the Dog next.
> >> >
> >> > If this has been done, let me kow and I'll move on to the dress.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > By DAVID KARP
> >> >
> >> > AUG. 11, 1999 12 AM
> >> >
> >> > SPECIAL TO THE TIMES, LA TIMES
> >> >
> >> > “What fruit has the eye of a widow and the cloak of a beggar?” asks an
> >> > old Spanish riddle. Answer: a really ripe fig, revealing its honeyed
> >> > lusciousness by a teardrop of syrup at the bottom and a tattered skin.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > For millenniums, voluptuous figs, fresh and dried, have inspired
> >> > aficionados to mania. So much of the story of figs seems mythic: the
> >> > miracle of caprification, in which a tiny, frustrated wasp plays Cupid
> >> > to figs; the breakthrough a century ago that harnessed this process
> >> > for California farmers; the saga of the Los Angeles promoter who
> >> > founded a Fresno fig empire with 660,000 blasts of dynamite.
> >> >
> >> > […]
> >> >
> >> > Figs were introduced to California by Franciscan missionaries,
> >> > starting with the founding of Mission San Diego in 1769. The
> >> > dark-skinned, pink-fleshed Mission fig was the only kind grown here
> >> > until the 1850s, when settlers brought other varieties from the East
> >> > Coast and Europe.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > In 1880, G.P. Rixford of the San Francisco Evening Bulletin imported
> >> > 14,000 cuttings of this variety [the Smyrna fig, the “true fig of
> >> > commerce”]  from Turkey, which he distributed to subscribers. The
> >> > trees flourished, but, to everyone’s dismay, the figs dropped, unripe,
> >> > at walnut size.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > The problem was that, although most figs (called common figs) bear
> >> > fruit to maturity on their own, Smyrna figs must be pollinated by
> >> > Blastophaga psenes, the fig wasp. This gnat-sized insect lives only in
> >> > dry, inedible wild figs, called caprifigs.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Since ancient times, Mediterranean growers have assisted this
> >> > pollination process, called caprification, by hanging branches of
> >> > caprifigs in Smyrna fig orchards as the female wasps emerge from the
> >> > caprifigs in the spring, coated with pollen. Searching for new
> >> > caprifigs in which to lay their eggs, they enter Smyrnas through the
> >> > eyes at the bottom, and dust the tiny flowers inside with their
> >> > pollen. The wasps die without laying their eggs, since the Smyrna fig
> >> > flowers are too long for their ovipositors, but the figs develop.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Although many American fruit experts considered caprification to be a
> >> > peasant superstition, growers repeatedly imported caprifigs; each
> >> > time, something went wrong, and the wasps didn’t take hold. Finally,
> >> > George Roeding of Fresno succeeded in establishing a colony, and in
> >> > August 1899 his orchard bore large, blond, plump Smyrna figs. After a
> >> > contest, Roeding re-christened the variety Calimyrna, for California
> >> > Smyrna.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > California’s big fig boom began in 1910, when a Los Angeles real
> >> > estate developer named J.C. Forkner leased a swath of hog wallow
> >> > badlands northwest of Fresno. To this point, the area had served only
> >> > as pasture, because an adobe-like layer of hardpan lay a few feet
> >> > under the surface and the pockmarked terrain made irrigation
> >> > impossible.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > But Forkner had a vision. He hired dozens of tractors, still novel in
> >> > those years, to level the ground, blasted 660,000 holes through the
> >> > hardpan so that trees could take root and planted figs on 12,000
> >> > acres. Next he blizzarded the nation with advertisements and brochures
> >> > promising, “Own your own Fig Garden, You’ll be rich! Five acres
> >> > produce $4,000 annual income.” Chasing this lure of profits in
> >> > paradise, hundreds of aspiring farmers, many from the East, bought
> >> > into Forkner’s Fig Gardens.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > California fig cultivation peaked at 42,500 acres in 1927. Forkner
> >> > lost his land in the Depression, as did most of the Fig Garden
> >> > smallholders. He later recouped his holdings and died a wealthy man in
> >> > 1969. After a boom during World War II the fig industry settled into a
> >> > long, slow decline, squeezed by increasing labor costs and cheaper
> >> > imports.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Business recovered somewhat and stabilized in the 1970s and ‘80s, but
> >> > as Fresno sprawled northward, development gobbled up much of the old
> >> > Fig Gardens. Most growers moved 25 miles north to cheaper land in the
> >> > Madera-Chowchilla area. Today, only about 1,500 acres of figs--less
> >> > than a tenth of the state’s 16,500 acres--remain in the former “Fig
> >> > Capital of America.”
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Along California Highway 99, orchards lie abandoned, strewn with
> >> > discarded sofas and television sets, the weeds shoulder-high. Heedless
> >> > that the flanks are turned, the venerable, gnarled trees still bear
> >> > generous crops, but only squirrels and birds appreciate the soft,
> >> > sugary fruit.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Aggravating problems for fig growers, Nabisco, the dominant buyer of
> >> > dried figs, decided five years ago to pad out its Fig Newtons line
> >> > with products made from other fruit. This cannibalized sales of the
> >> > traditional cookies, and fig paste prices collapsed to $300 a ton from
> >> > $1,000 a ton. Growers had to adapt or face ruin.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Some decided to emphasize sales of fresh figs, which have grown by a
> >> > third to a half in the last five years. It’s a small, high-end market,
> >> > less than 5% of the fig crop by weight but lucrative for those who
> >> > master the tricky logistics of harvesting and shipping the delicate,
> >> > perishable fruits.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > […]
> >> >
> >> > The chief problem is that the same fig wasps that pollinate the seeds,
> >> > giving Calimyrnas their distinctive nutty crunch, also introduce fungi
> >> > and smuts that spoil a high percentage of the crop. “Naturals,” large
> >> > perfect dried figs, are rare.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > A researcher at the University of California Kearney station, Jim
> >> > Doyle, has spent nine years trying to breed the Holy Grail of fig
> >> > growers: a new variety with the flavor of Calimyrna that doesn’t
> >> > require caprification. Judging from a recent tasting of his most
> >> > promising selections, he’s tantalizingly close, but complete success
> >> > might be out of reach: Fertilized seeds seem essential to the
> >> > Calimyrna’s flavor.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > The half-dozen leading varieties of figs are well suited to commercial
> >> > cultivation, but connoisseurs and collectors around the state claim
> >> > that some of the more unusual kinds offer far superior flavor.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-11-fo-64820-story.html
> >> --
> >> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l


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