Well we did it! Or I should say E did it, as I’m the mechanically challenged one. We got lumber, had it cut to size, got lots of topsoil, brought it home, where she did her drill magic and turned it into a frame in a few minutes. We laid out the weed barrier, the frame on top, and filled it with soil. Ready and waiting to receive veggie seedlings and seeds.
While I was out there, I dug my bed along the back fence and composted it. Now comes the frustrating part: waiting.
“A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or a bissextile year) is a year containing one additional day (or, in the case of lunisolar calendars, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year.[1] Because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat in a whole number of days, calendars that have the same number of days in each year drift over time with respect to the event that the year is supposed to track. By inserting (also called intercalating) an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. A year that is not a leap year is called a common year…..
February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the Earth does not orbit the sun in precisely 365 days.”
Wiki
Yes, i too thought it said “bisexual year” at first! Or maybe it’s just my twisted mind. At least I don’t seem to be spinning today, like the earth revolving and orbiting, so that’s progress. Anyway, happy leaping.
I think we shall attempt to get our second raised bed lumber and supplies today. I’ll keep us posted. If my URL is debugged and whatnot. Here goes nothing…
just a test to see if new posts publicize to fb after debugging/scraping URL blah blah tech-speak etc… just disregard.
Let me rephrase that last post: when my head stops spinning like a dreidel, we’ll go get supplies for our raised bed. I woke up very dizzy for no apparent reason, and I don’t mean just my usual ditz-brain.
Which reminds me how fortunate I am to be ‘retired’, though it wasn’t my first choice, and doesn’t pay much. It makes me think of all the hard-working mothers with children clamoring, and jobs to be done, who don’t get any relief just because they’re exhausted and don’t feel well. It brings to mind all the tired working poor, who don’t dare take a sick day, if they even have those, which many don’t.
I’m very lucky to have a roof over my head, a friend with whom to share daily and future pursuits, a garden to keep me off the streets, and a family that is still speaking to me! I’m very fortunate to not be in a caregiver role for the moment, a state that many of us don’t get to choose or opt out of.
Caregivers don’t get to take a day off to be sick or take care of themselves. I was headed for the fate of many caregivers, total exhaustion or worse, but was granted a reprieve to recover some balance before it was too late. I was lucky to have brothers who were able to step in and take some of the load. Not everyone has family who can or will get involved.
I anticipate assisting with more caregiving roles in the future, but it will be by choice and intention, not by coercion and pressure. Likewise, I resist being in the “caregivee” role, because I’ve been on the other end, and can’t bear to put anyone else in that position, especially someone I love and care about. I know how all the “giving” can eventually drain all the “caring”, if it was even there to begin with. I believe that mutual respect and care is to be earned, not forced or presumed. Children are not for the sole purpose of providing long-term care insurance. In my humble opinion.
As I told E, mostly this blahg is for the purpose of daily writing practice, whether anyone else reads it or not. If you do, it’s a bonus, which I appreciate. Please feel free to give feedback on either content or style; it helps me improve. We may or may never write our book, but if/when the time comes, somebody’s got to do the actual writing and proofreading, and that would be me. There’s certainly more than a book’s worth of material, just not the wherewithal to articulate it.
Well, back to spinning.
Today I did garden things, yay!
First I planted my tomato and pepper seeds indoors—five heirloom varieties of each.
Next, since it was in the 50s out, I dug a long narrow bed along the backyard side fence and worked my homemade aged compost into it. After a little more prep, eventually I’ll plant all my perennials and native wildflowers along it. Later, I’ll do the same along the back fence, planting two varieties of heirloom corn, and a mix of sunflowers.
Lastly, I cleaned up and raked the front shade bed, where all my shade perennials are coming up. I will add more spring bulbs, and a mix of shade perennials, wildflowers, and annual herbs.
Soon, I’ll plant the perennial herbs that wintered over indoors along the back of the house, where it’s sunny and sheltered. We may put a tomato trellis up there, too.
Tomorrow it will be in the 60s, so we’re going to pick up supplies for the second raised vegetable bed, parallel to the first, out back. Some veggies and herbs from last year are coming back up in the original bed. All my indoor seedlings (which are all germinating!) and direct-sow seeds will go out there as soon as it’s warm enough. Our frost-free date here in SW Ohio (zone 6A) is a whole month earlier than the east/mid-atlantic, hard to believe! So instead of mid-May, it’s mid-April.
I just realized my blog is turning into a farmer’s almanac of sorts, but that’s ok. Gardening is my therapy. I feel so much saner afterwards.
Testing again because WP mysteriously won’t auto-share to fb as usual. It won’t even let me cut/paste the URL. If anyone knows what’s going on, please help! thx.
updated test–after disconnecting and reconnecting.
Erev Shabbat Shalom from Skully and the gang. Seedlings are coming up! (Pictured are arugula.) Flowers are being forced! Spring can’t be far behind. L’chaim!
This evening’s menu is: a whole roast herbed chicken and carrots in wine sauce; an Italian lasagna-style pasta casserole; roasted Mediterranean green beans and fresh veggies and herbs; E’s fresh homemade whole grain nuts-and-seeds bread; and a fruit salad. Food photos may or may not follow.
I just had to post again, because E has totally mastered the art of bread making, all on her own. This is some serious whole grain bread with nuts and seeds, perfect consistency, flavor and crust. She is the Bread Queen. And I don’t bestow that award lightly.
testing again…
Yippee! My lettuces and greens have germinated and sent up sprouts! So exciting. Especially as it’s been snowing and slushing all night and day. It keeps me sane.
Totally off subject, on line with the oldsters at the pharmacy today, this 73-year-old man started cheerfully reciting to me the usual litany of open-heart surgeries, cancers, etc., etc. He’s still working doing hard physical jobs, used to be a tree-cutter (he showed me his chainsaw scars!), and loves to dance. He was practically dancing with me in the line there. His family who lives not far from him never visits. But he maintained his cheery demeanor. All this from a total stranger. I must give off listener (or caregiver) vibes, because it happens a lot. Or else people here are just very lonely.
E is making bread in the kitchen, so I’ve evacuated to my safe desk with my security Yuengling B&T (shoutout to PA peeps). Don’t we sound like a couple of boring grannies? Which I suppose is what we are. All we need is the cats and the garden. Maybe a porch with rocking chairs. But you won’t catch me knitting. I’ll be the one out back harvesting hops or brewing up something at the still.
But for now, I’ll just watch my seedlings come up, and plan my native wildflowers garden. Yesterday, mourning doves were doing their thing on our windowsills, and I hear all the frogs and salamanders are out migrating to their vernal pools, so I know spring is just around the corner.
Ok, enough mundane trivia, I’m putting myself and you to sleep. Here are some more photos from the fen.
