Catchup: RBG At Bear Tooth, May Day Tree Invasion In Back Yard,

The much abbreviated (from last year) bike rack at Bear Tooth Cinema was packed when I rode over Sunday to see RBG, the movie about Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  What I didn't know about her (well there was a lot of personal stuff too) was the key role she played in winning cases at the Supreme Court that broke barriers for women before she got on the court.

I did think about how conservatives might view this movie.  But then we would probably need a couple of hours to define conservative.  After all, Orin Hatch (certainly we'd classify him as a conservative) seemed convinced (in the movie)  that she was well qualified to be on the bench, even though he didn't agree with her on many issues.  I also wondered how I'd react to a similar film on Antonin Scalia, who also had some screen time in RBG.  I was also encouraged by the scenes of her working in the gym with her personal trainer.

I've written in the past about the May Day Tree (also known as choke cherry) invasion in Anchorage.  They've snuck into our backyard.  Last summer I clipped off the branches of one I discovered blooming profusely on the other side of the fence way in the back.  I had to get all the flowers and put them in the garbage.  I didn't want any stray seeds growing in the yard.  The I let the leaves die and fall off and cut up the branches.  Some I've shown out in the garbage, most I've been able to scatter in pieces around the yard.

I was planning on cutting down the tree, but someone - I'm guessing the utility folks since it was growing into the power line - did that for me.  But what they left has green shoots growing out of it this year.

Blooming May Day tree well hidden on left

There is another one near our deck. Last summer I clipped all the flowers off it as well, but decided to leave it for the rest of last summer because the leaves were green and partially blocked the neighbor's yard.  My plan was to get rid of it this summer.  It's green now - and lovely - with only one bunch of flowers. It's going soon.

 But to my dismay, I found another tree, about 14 feet high - full of flowers.  It's well hidden by the other trees - it's on the left in the picture.  But I can't see it, which is why I didn't spot it last summer I guess.  Our yard is just a normal 1/4 acre city lot, but it has a hill and lots of trees.  But I was checking on what's growing and found it.  So yesterday I clipped all the flowers, put a few in vases in the house and bagged the rest.  Cut off all the branches and I'll cut that one down too.

Cut branches of Choke Cherry (May Day)  flowers

The problem is that these trees, which are not native to Alaska,  thrive in Anchorage.  They grow fast and spread seeds all over choking out native plants.  And they make moose sick.  The older post explains the details and how it kills moose.


There are other invasive species as well.  The one I've come to terms with is the dandelion.  Especially now as the new ones start growing; soft and tender leaves make a nutritious mea.  So I go out and pick very fresh greens for omelets and salads.  Here's some nutritional information from an earlier post.

cooking dandelion greens

I also used dandelions as part of blog contest much earlier in this blog's history.