outdoors 1-6-2013

it's january and the wheat grass domesticates are giving some signs of the onset of dormancy...but...it's supposed to warm up in the coming week and that may call a halt to that...the forage wheat grass is exhibiting a little less chlorophyll than my last visit and the eastern gamagrass is just about done going dormant...quite a variation in behaviors...however the wheat grass is not native to northwest indiana and the gamagrass is...evolutionary biology may be playing a role in the different behaviors of distant relatives...the winter wheat planted in the fields around here ( i did not plant any this fall for a number of reasons...but i do believe i will find some space for some spring wheat ) shows no signs of dormancy either ( haven't found a field of rye yet ) so, perhaps, there is a closer wheat grass/wheat relationship ( which probably goes without saying...but i said it anyway ) always curious about triggers, i will be paying attention to both the weather and plant behaviors...more as it comes up.