Winter Movies 2013: The Milagro Beanfield War

Two times a year, I like to take a look at movies that feature plants as movie stars. In summer, I try to capture the youthful days of childhood and college, when the long days of summer vacation stretched out before us. In winter, I try to beat back the dark days while waiting for the longer, warmer days of spring. In past posts, we've seen some great (or so-bad-they-are-great) movies centering on plants, the plant world, and landscapes. This time I'm reporting on "political" movies, typically revolving around some environmental issue. Don't worry - the movies are entertaining and deal with their issues in unique ways.

The first movie is from 1988 - The Milagro Beanfield War, and is based on the first novel of a trilogy by John Nichols, directed by Robert Redford, and filmed on location in Truchas, New Mexico. In the movie, an under-the-table land deal involving a golf course leaves local farmers struggling without water for their fields. In frustration, one of the farmers kicks a water valve, inadvertently breaking it and starting the flow of water to his bean field. This kicks off an uprising of sorts by the locals, against the water use laws that favor a few.

The movie got mixed reviews, but I enjoyed the story telling, the dry sweeps of New Mexico land, the odd characters, the flights of mysticism, and the bigger issues of poverty, underhanded deals, and use of public resources for the private gain of a few. I also enjoyed seeing the cast, including many of today's popular stars, all 25 years younger. It is definitely worth a watch while waiting for warmer days!

Mushrooms

Winter in the San Francisco Bay Area typically brings rain. Native plants in the area are adapted for the long dry seasons of summer and fall, and the rainy season of winter and early spring. During this brief wet period, the dry hills turn green and vegetation becomes vibrant. Mushrooms emerge, and are a familiar sight in winter gardens or regional parks from November to January. They sprout up in the middle of the lawn, compost pile, or planting bed, leading some people to wonder if their soil has been infected with some disease.

Delicate capped mushroom emerging in November.

Pale mushroom muddy from early November rain.

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Mushrooms can be harbingers of bad news, such as the clusters of brown-capped mushrooms close to the trunk that may indicate Sudden Oak Death, or the decomposers that may indicate below-ground decomposition of dead roots. But they can also simply be the fruiting body of fungi growing in healthy soil. We learned about mycorrhizae in a past post, the fungus that lives in symbiotic relationship with tree roots. The mycelia of the fungus extends the reach of tree roots to moisture and minerals, while the tree uses photosynthesis to create nutrients mycorrhiza can use but not produce.

Gilled mushroom emerging from moss in December.

Bright orange mushroom cluster in late December.

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Mushrooms are members of the Fungi kingdom, in the Ascomycota or Basidiomycota phyla. In the past, fungi were thought to be plants without chlorophyll, but research showed the cell walls to contain chitin (similar to a crab) rather than cellulose. This makes them more closely aligned to animals than plants, so have their own kingdom. Mushrooms are composed of densely packed mycelium, with gills or sacs that produce asexual spores. They come in all shapes and sizes, and are fascinating to study. Caution should be used, since some are poisonous.

Looking Ahead to 2013

Happy New Year! Another year stretches ahead – a chance to try something new, to improve what was already started, or to just start fresh. I’m looking forward to having some extra time, since I won’t be taking classes, and reconnecting with neglected family and friends!

Looking ahead, I’m continuing my quest to learn more about gardens and gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area. This includes getting dirt under my nails! Some gardening goals for 2013:

• Learn more about native plants in the Bay Area, and visit them in situ.
• Identify common plant diseases that attack our Bay Area gardens.
• Understand how European gardening history influences gardens of today.
• Visit local gardens through the seasons to learn how to plan for year-round interest.
• Rejuvenate my garden beds, plant a few native shrubs, and replant my vegetable garden.

Plant diseases - pests in the garden and landscape.	Gardens - changes in the landscape through the seasons.
Garden history - the influence of European gardens.	Native plants - of the San Francisco Bay Area.

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I'm also planning to experiment with the blog a bit, so hang on! You might notice changes in look and feel, and in the publishing schedule; some may become permanent, others may be fleeting. As always, I hope you will join me on this quest!