Daily Archives: April 5, 2008

General

A Safe Port

Leave a comment

61  bar falls 29.66 2mph SSE dewpoint 37  Spring

                       New Moon

A nap.  Reading more in permaculture, now into the design chapters.  I’m going to post some stuff on the Permaculture page tomorrow.  The thinking of Mollison fits mine. 

Two Woolly birthdays this week, Stefan Helgeson and Bill Schmidt.      

A workout watching UCLA get manhandled, literally, by Memphis.  I’m not sure why, but I wanted to see UCLA win.  Oh, well.

Ruth got sick at her birthday party so a Skype call from Grandpa got shelved.  Kate’s out there, so she’s been seen by a pediatrician.

Time with Kate gone changes the texture of the house and the yard.  Her energy puts a certain spin on the day, her presence is a comfort in times of trouble.  As long as there’s no trouble, I can use the time without her to focus on projects.  If there’s trouble, life becomes more difficult.  We are each other’s safe port.

Garden, Our Land and Home, Weather +Climate

Tulips and Daffodils, Oh My!

Leave a comment

54  bar steady  29.77 3mph ENE dewpoint 32  Spring

                            New Moon

This is a fecund time.  I spent a couple of hours today putting down pre-emergent weed prevention in the flower beds, moving some mulch completely off now, the garlic, and putting Cygon on the Iris to prevent borers.  Cygon is now a prohibited insecticide so my stash is pretty much it.  Our beds are not near running water and we have a storm drainage basin to catch run off so I don’t see my limited use of Cygon, once or twice a year on about 40 Iris, as a great health hazard.

Just being outside is wonderful.  Where the snow melts back, as it has begun to do even here, we often  find tiny tunnel systems in the grass.  Voles dig these under the snow all winter.  At first it seems that they might kill the grass, but in fact, I think the opposite is true.  Where they go, the soil gets aerated and the grass continues to grow.  It looks strange and possibly harmful when you first see it. 

The Iris have grown about six inches and now is the time to get those damned Iris borers.  If you raise Iris, you know what I mean.  If you don’t, well, they’re slimy and icky and eat the rhizome.  Yeck.  

Tulips and daffodils have also begun to press through the snow and frozen earth.  With the showers we get this week I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some blooms, especially if it warms up, too.   

General

This and That

Leave a comment

49  bar rises 29.77  0mph ENE dewpoint 32 Spring

                           New Moon

Kate’s either in the air or just on the ground in Denver.  Jon will pick her up and take over to his house for Ruthie’s birthday party, or some kind of celebration.  I will call them about 6PM tonight.

After dropping Kate off at the airport, I turned around, drove all the way through St. Paul, onto 94, then 280.  At 280 I connected with 35 E, then 694 to 10, 10 to Round Lake and Round Lake to 153rd.  I do this so often, in one combination or another, that the drive feels normal, but it’s actually several miles.

On the way home I diverted to Costco to get gas, $70.00!, for the truck, then over to Home Depot for some Preen, a couple of buckets, Brush-B-Gone and kitchen garbage bags.  That took up the time between 8:00 AM and the 8:30 opening bell for the Anoka Post Office.  Mailed a package, then came back home for an egg, some yogurt.

160 pounds today.  The upper end of acceptable, so I have to be more vigilant this week, still in good shape.

Geez, this is domestic.