garden — Page 115

Scrubbing, Cleaning: Time for Spring

April 21, 2018 at 8:53 am by Claudia

Well, that was a resounding success, don’t you think? The conversation is still going on as I write this new post and I couldn’t be happier! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about where you are from, about your individual journeys. And I have loved seeing the dialogue that has taken over the comment page. I figured I would just sit back and enjoy.

Connection. We all need to connect.

Thank you, Judy, for the idea, and thank you all for taking part. Much love to all of you.

And now to the mundane.

I worked like the dickens yesterday, if I do say so myself!

I cleaned the porch railing and the individual spindles and everything. Since our outside hose connection is not working at the moment, this involved hauling buckets of water from the kitchen to the porch. Over and over. But it looks so much better!

This is a chore that is not on my favorites list, which is why I ignored it for a few years.

Then I started to clean up the porch – still in progress as I write this – sorting through the accumulation of crap that built up over the autumn and winter. I drove the now 17 year old CR-V to the storage facility, retrieved the adirondack chairs and a few other things. Then I cleaned the glider and the chairs. I stopped for the day around 4 pm, so I haven’t added the cushions to the furniture. That will happen today.

It just felt good to start making the porch into our extra room for the spring and summer and fall. No potted plants yet – too early – but that will come. Today it will be sunny and reach 60 degrees, so I’ll be out there again working on the porch and the garden beds.

It’s slowly getting there. Slowly.

Don informed me that he wants to come home for his day off. He’s homesick. So I won’t go in, obviously. I’m just as happy to have him here. And it will be sunny – no rain! I’ll go in next week as we have tickets to listen to one the guys in the cast perform at a club on Sunday evening. By the way, Don signed up for access to a community garden around the block from the apartment. It looks lovely. There are benches to sit on, flowers blooming, birds singing, plants thriving. I’ll be sure to take photos when I see it next weekend.

Happy Saturday.

Loveliness (and Madness)

April 14, 2018 at 8:49 am by Claudia

A favorite view.

Another tense evening, with you-know-who desperately trying to distract us from his very real problems at home. Question: if he cares so much about the people of Syria (and he should) why did he do everything he could to close our borders to Syrian refugees? And what about the horrors going on in Yemen?

You don’t have to answer. They are rhetorical questions. We know the answer.

Anyway, this happened late in the evening so yours truly had to run a bubble bath in an attempt to relax my rigid muscles. Sigh.

I did more work outside yesterday, slowly uncovering the big garden bed and completely uncovering the garden bed right next to the porch. I’ll do more today and then we’ll be in the middle of two days of rain starting on Sunday. It will be heavy rain at times, which makes me think it is the midwest storm moving east. Those of you getting snow: I’m so sorry. It will melt quickly, but it really is the final straw, isn’t it?

It was very warm yesterday and that warmth is going to continue in NYC today, but not here. We’re back down to the fifties. It’s so wonderful to hear lots of birdsong in the morning. This morning, when I got up and walked to the upstairs bathroom, I could hear a symphony of singing birdies. Last night, when I went to bed, I could hear a symphony of peepers, with a bass accompaniment by the bullfrog.

That makes me smile.

I got called for jury duty! But as it was going to be the week of April 23rd, I postponed it. That’s smack in the middle of trying to get the garden up and running and I can’t spare the time – what if it became a long trial? I’ve postponed it until the end of June. and I will perform my civic duty then.

It’s sunny today. Slowly, ever so slowly, I feel the shackles of a long winter easing their grip. I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend.

Happy Saturday.

Cleanup for Spring

April 12, 2018 at 9:53 am by Claudia

Jumping Jacks with (I now see) chalk dust on their heads/hats from the chalkboard which is just above them. Time for a little cleaning!

I worked outside yesterday for a few hours, starting in on the cleanup of the big garden bed. Clearing all the old growth, cutting back, getting down to the bare soil is always a huge task since I’m the only one doing it. I stood there, looking at everything, thinking, “Oh crap. How can I do all of this?” But I can. I just need to take it day by day.

Don and I were chatting this morning and both of us agreed that we need to see green things growing, flowers blooming and also: scent – we need to smell lilacs, etc. Perhaps because this winter has been so long, longer than usual, that feeling, that need, is more intense for us than ever. I hope that by the next time he comes home for a visit, things around here will be very different.

News flash: I saw Henry yesterday! He was lounging on the ramp to the shed. That’s how I know it was him – he loves to do that. Of course, in the space of time it took me to go get my camera (30 seconds?) he was spooked by something or other and disappeared. So maybe that was Henry I saw the other day. I’m always so happy to see he’s still with us.

And I saw a tiny little bird take a drink from the birdbath. A sure sign of spring.

Today I’m having lunch with Rick and then we’re going to look for some houseplants for his sunroom. That will be fun!

Happy Thursday.

Scrubbing, Cleaning: Time for Spring

Loveliness (and Madness)

Cleanup for Spring

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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