One More Detour on the Writing Road

There will be no raised bed garden this summer.

I first installed it back in 2009. The first few tomato crops were incredible–I had 6-7 plants, and spent most every weekend from early August through early fall making marinara or tomato casserole or salads with fresh basil (I grew that, too). When the chill weather came, I picked the greenies and stuck them in paper bags to ripen, and had fresh tomatoes into December.

I added compost to the soil and added fresh soil every so often, but for whatever reason–weather, poor choice in plants–the harvests fell off. Last summer’s was the worst–it was so cool that even the farmstands struggled. I managed a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes and some mesclun. Part of me missed the buckets and buckets of harvest, but part of me didn’t care. It had stopped being fun.

I gave the plastic framing to the chimney repair guy, who had a friend who was planning a raised bed garden. That left the dirt, two squared-off mounds of tightly-packed topsoil. Today, I shoveled it into the wheelbarrow and dumped it around the plants near the deck. Over the next few weeks or months or however long it takes, I’ll trim the area with the edger and add more soil and mulch until it looks neat and proper. I have spirea and hibiscus growing there now, and would like to add a few more things. Some of the daffodils in the front yard are putting forth nothing but greenery, which means the bulbs have birthed bulblets that are sucking away the strength; I’ll separate those and stick some near the deck. Look for some shorter shrubs that flower. I am thinking about moving the birdbath garden to the sideyard outside the fence given that the seed that falls to the ground has attracted skunk for the last few years and Gaby has never met a skunk that she didn’t want to harass, the results of which you can guess. If I do that, I can move the astilbes that are growing there now to new homes near the deck….

That will be the outdoor project for the year. Get the backyard in shape.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

…it has been a while.

Not much to report. Snow every few days, followed by shoveling. Bouts of cabin fever. 4-5 inches of weighty powder fell yesterday. Today, however, temps have reached the 40s(F), and there is sun. Stuff is dripping off the roof. I went out and got a massage, then had lunch. Amazing how revitalizing even a hint of Spring can be.

Gaby’s outside now, curled up atop a snowbank. Other times, she lurks beneath the bird feeder and waits for a squirrel to make a mistake. She’s nailed at least 5 that I know of since the first of the year. Buries them in the snow. I expect I will encounter them as the snow melts, unless night critters scavenged them.

She is a Winter Dog. I let her outside yesterday before the snowing and blowing began, and after it started, she still did not want to come in. Instead, she curled up in the snow. I had to go out and leash her to get her inside.

In other news:

…because I am 12 yo again. And because Loki. And because we need a Black Widow movie, Marvel.

Fave song of the moment: After the Disco–Broken Bells. I have it on repeat on iTunes.

It’s a Spring song.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

I will be offline for most of the next week. Nothing wrong. Just busy.

First hint of autumn in the air today. A cool front moved through yesterday, dropping nighttime temps to the lo 60s. I had left the bedroom windows open all day and into the night, and actually needed the comforter. Nice sleeping weather. The morning proved so cool that I wore long pants for Gaby’s walk, which was a good move because on the way down the street to the bike trail, I stepped on a hickory nut Just Right, and wiped out. Just some road burn on left elbow and right hand. Also a scraped left knee, which would have been much uglier if I hadn’t been wearing the rip-stop cargo pants.

I can’t believe it’s September already. The lawn is still green, but the growth has slowed to practically nothing. Tomatoes are still ripening. Acorns etc have been falling like crazy, and the squirrels are gathering them and digging holes everywhere. I have a slew of canned pumpkin in the pantry, and I’m tempted to make some pumpkin soup. I know you should ideally use fresh roasted pumpkin, but I have to do something with the stuff and I love butternut squash soup so I figure I should like pumpkin soup, too.

Autumn used to be my favorite season. Now it’s late spring/early summer, but I do still have a weakness for crisp mornings and such. Hate the shorter days, though. The wet windy chill, and knowledge that soon there will be snow. Not ready for summer to end.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.