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Flinging into spring
Apr. 18th, 2013 12:17 amWe spent almost six hours in Gloucester today. (We hadn't really expected to be there that long, but there was Stuff to do.) If we'd thought ahead, we would have planned to stay the night -- we're not going to get another chance for a while.
But we did have to get the lettuce seeds in, and the second crop of peas, and the blueberries that came from Miller Nurseries just before we went to California. Also, we had ordered the (city-supplied) water turned on, so we wanted to get it all going in the house, too.
The turning on of the water has been an uneventful operation for so long that we've kind of come to expect it. But the cold-water tap in the upstairs sink, which has often been a problem, was more than usually temperamental, and among other things the washer and the screw holding it apparently fell into the pipe; John was eventually able to fish out the washer, and found another screw. Then there was an as-yet-undiagnosed problem with the hose connection to the (new last summer) washing machine that resulted in a bucketful of water ending up on the pantry floor, so the water is off to the downstairs bathroom untiol we deal with it.
That's how![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jwg spent most of the time we were there (along with replacing the tarp over the woodpile, the old one having deteriorated uselessness). I dealt with planting stuff -- and discovered, when I unpacked the three blueberry plants, that the package also contained the 25 strawberry plants we had ordered at the same time. I carefully counted them, because sometimes a package of 25 plants actually contains some other number, and came up with 24. Twice. So I selected 24 locations in the bed and planted one strawberry plant in each of them -- and discovered that there was one more plant. So much for regular arrangements.
Planting strawberries is backbreaking work, and my back is broken. (Not too badly, but it knows that it had to work today.) But it was a lovely day, and we feel Accomplished.
But we did have to get the lettuce seeds in, and the second crop of peas, and the blueberries that came from Miller Nurseries just before we went to California. Also, we had ordered the (city-supplied) water turned on, so we wanted to get it all going in the house, too.
The turning on of the water has been an uneventful operation for so long that we've kind of come to expect it. But the cold-water tap in the upstairs sink, which has often been a problem, was more than usually temperamental, and among other things the washer and the screw holding it apparently fell into the pipe; John was eventually able to fish out the washer, and found another screw. Then there was an as-yet-undiagnosed problem with the hose connection to the (new last summer) washing machine that resulted in a bucketful of water ending up on the pantry floor, so the water is off to the downstairs bathroom untiol we deal with it.
That's how
jwg spent most of the time we were there (along with replacing the tarp over the woodpile, the old one having deteriorated uselessness). I dealt with planting stuff -- and discovered, when I unpacked the three blueberry plants, that the package also contained the 25 strawberry plants we had ordered at the same time. I carefully counted them, because sometimes a package of 25 plants actually contains some other number, and came up with 24. Twice. So I selected 24 locations in the bed and planted one strawberry plant in each of them -- and discovered that there was one more plant. So much for regular arrangements.Planting strawberries is backbreaking work, and my back is broken. (Not too badly, but it knows that it had to work today.) But it was a lovely day, and we feel Accomplished.
Mystery of the disappearing beets
Sep. 14th, 2008 08:25 pm(I meant to post about this last week, but I forgot.)
We've grown beets for years, primarily for the greens, which add a nice, somewhat bitter, accent to salads. Some years they don't do very well, but this year they came along fine (unlike, say, the lettuce). Not too long ago,jwg picked some and put them in the salad. Then last week I went out to get some to add to the salad I was making, and...
They weren't there. Well, there was one tiny beet plant. But apart from that, there was not a trace; no sign that any plants had ever been there. There were a few quadruped footprints (cat or dog, I think -- too big to be squirrel), but the ground didn't look dug up, and when I did a little scrabbling around under the surface, I found no trace of roots, either. It's rather as if someone had stolen the plants and done their best to hide any traces, which seems vanishingly unlikely.
I don't suppose we'll ever learn what happened.
We've grown beets for years, primarily for the greens, which add a nice, somewhat bitter, accent to salads. Some years they don't do very well, but this year they came along fine (unlike, say, the lettuce). Not too long ago,
jwg picked some and put them in the salad. Then last week I went out to get some to add to the salad I was making, and...They weren't there. Well, there was one tiny beet plant. But apart from that, there was not a trace; no sign that any plants had ever been there. There were a few quadruped footprints (cat or dog, I think -- too big to be squirrel), but the ground didn't look dug up, and when I did a little scrabbling around under the surface, I found no trace of roots, either. It's rather as if someone had stolen the plants and done their best to hide any traces, which seems vanishingly unlikely.
I don't suppose we'll ever learn what happened.
Maybe next year
Jun. 11th, 2008 03:56 pmI thought I had posted about this around this time last year, but I can't find it.
Anyway, several years ago, I moved five or six lilies of the valley from a place where they were more likely to be trodden on than seen, and put them in a spot near the porch steps in the shade of an old cedar tree. And they thrived and multiplied, to the point that there got to be about 40 plants. But as of last year, none of them had bloomed.
It happened that I visited my brother and my parents in mid-spring of last year, and I asked my mother, who was knowledgeable about such things, whether lilies of the valley simply needed a few years before they bloomed, or whether something was likely to be wrong. Before my mother could say anything, my sister-in-law said that, yes, they take something like five or six years before they bloom.
This year, during the week before we left on our trip, I noticed that a few of them had bud stalks. "Great," I said, "the lilies of the valley are finally blooming, and we're going to miss them." And sure enough, when we got back we could just about see the last of the faded flowers. (Not that I'm complaining about what we were seeing during those two weeks instead.)
I think only about three of them bloomed this year. I'm hoping that more of them will do so next year, and that we'll be here to see it.
Anyway, several years ago, I moved five or six lilies of the valley from a place where they were more likely to be trodden on than seen, and put them in a spot near the porch steps in the shade of an old cedar tree. And they thrived and multiplied, to the point that there got to be about 40 plants. But as of last year, none of them had bloomed.
It happened that I visited my brother and my parents in mid-spring of last year, and I asked my mother, who was knowledgeable about such things, whether lilies of the valley simply needed a few years before they bloomed, or whether something was likely to be wrong. Before my mother could say anything, my sister-in-law said that, yes, they take something like five or six years before they bloom.
This year, during the week before we left on our trip, I noticed that a few of them had bud stalks. "Great," I said, "the lilies of the valley are finally blooming, and we're going to miss them." And sure enough, when we got back we could just about see the last of the faded flowers. (Not that I'm complaining about what we were seeing during those two weeks instead.)
I think only about three of them bloomed this year. I'm hoping that more of them will do so next year, and that we'll be here to see it.
