There are days…

…when a girl’s best friend is her chainsaw.

Cut up spruce branches that fell over the winter. Bagged up the pieces. Nice to get that chore out of the way.

A few hiccups with regards the vegetable garden. I’ve been growing tomatoes for 4-5 years now, and always started them from seeds, in a tray, with a growlight. Tried a couple of storebought Roma plants the first year, only to find they carried late blight. So it was seed starts from then on.

Except for this year. The seeds I started–Paul Robeson, Black Cherry, and Sweet Basil–sprouted well enough. But over the last couple of weeks, the tomatoes lost their little leaves and the basil yellowed. Maybe it was the potting mix, or some disease that invaded the watering pad. Maybe the mix became too wet. Whatever the reason, they’re a wash. I stuck them in the ground, but they’re less than an inch tall, and I will be amazed if they survive.

So yesterday after work, I went to a garden store/nursery and bought plants. Two lovely Sweet Basils. Three tomato plants, a Black Crim, a Juliet, and a Kellogg’s Breakfast. A cool front is pushing through tonight, but it’s supposed to warm up after that–I will plant them then. Meanwhile, the mesclun have sprouted, and there are other little sprouts that I think came from the seeds the finches picked off the lettuces and chard last year.

Feels like cheating, going with started plants. But if I go with seeds again, I will have to use a warming pad, or get a little greenhouse, or something.

Took Gaby for a long walk this morning. Then I took her shopping, and left her outside while I worked. A long day, in other words. She’s asleep now, and may sleep through dinnertime.

I’ve eaten. Made a pizza, using a ready-made flatbread crust. A little sauce, asiago and mozzarella cheeses, artichoke hearts. Had it with a salad. It worked.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.