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Wednesday late afternoon i felt the onslaught of ick. I am thankful for my work benefits which include significant sick time, so i took Thursday and Friday off to coddle myself. If my evening suduko is a measure of mental acuity, i wasn't at my best. I read three novels and skimmed a fourth (Asimov, Scalzi, and two from Lee & Miller). I'm also thankful for library eBook systems such as Overdrive and the ease in which i could get such distractions without leaving bed. No need to watch soap operas, one of my vague memories of childhood sick days.
The weekend was magnificent for yard work, and Christine set to. I appreciated the weather, but didn't want to undo the efforts of the two rest days. Saturday i repotted some seedlings and seeded some flats. Sunday afternoon i mowed and raked: autumn is here in a droughty manner. "Fine, i'm just gonna drop leaves now, can't be bothered with color, k thanx bye."
I've a handful of little discomforts, and i think the lingering cold is causing sore throat issues. I also have discomforts in my mouth that i blame on the cold. By the end of yesterday's workday i was dragging. Christine was too - can't tell if it's from clearing the orchard area of stilt grass and autumn olive or if she's fighting the cold as well. We managed to get the evening chores done, which included a trip to the grocery store. Doing the bakery and deli at the end seemed to make a significant difference in the grocery trip. I was pleasantly surprised that such a small change could make a difference to my energy. It didn't make a large difference to the final outcome -- we still brought home sweets from the bakery -- but it felt like a choice we made instead a temptation.
The garden was ignored for much of last week. I was delighted to find the hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa aka roselle) blooming. I planted it in hopes of hibiscus tea, but the deer foraged on it rather extensively. Whether the deer have moved on or the stinky deterrent (de-deerant) is working, i'm not sure, but one of the plants finally was able to put on some growth and reach about 3' high. I thought the herbivory was the cause of the lack of blooms, but it turns out that it is an autumn bloomer.
One yellow squash actually put forth a full sized fruit: i was worried that the plants would be responding to the short days by only putting forth two inch long stunted fruit.
A caterpillar has eaten the dill seedling. I let it be, but overnight i worried about the critter: that single seedling is it. I think i can relocated it to some parsley: i've found a suggestion that it would be a suitable food source. (I'm a little greedy about my parsley, but....)
The winter garden has not really taken off. I can't tell if it's due to drought or the clay soil (or perhaps insect herbivory). I'm trying not to pout too much and remember how long the spring garden lasted. If i can keep from cooking seedlings this spring, and i can deter the deer, ....
The weekend was magnificent for yard work, and Christine set to. I appreciated the weather, but didn't want to undo the efforts of the two rest days. Saturday i repotted some seedlings and seeded some flats. Sunday afternoon i mowed and raked: autumn is here in a droughty manner. "Fine, i'm just gonna drop leaves now, can't be bothered with color, k thanx bye."
I've a handful of little discomforts, and i think the lingering cold is causing sore throat issues. I also have discomforts in my mouth that i blame on the cold. By the end of yesterday's workday i was dragging. Christine was too - can't tell if it's from clearing the orchard area of stilt grass and autumn olive or if she's fighting the cold as well. We managed to get the evening chores done, which included a trip to the grocery store. Doing the bakery and deli at the end seemed to make a significant difference in the grocery trip. I was pleasantly surprised that such a small change could make a difference to my energy. It didn't make a large difference to the final outcome -- we still brought home sweets from the bakery -- but it felt like a choice we made instead a temptation.
The garden was ignored for much of last week. I was delighted to find the hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa aka roselle) blooming. I planted it in hopes of hibiscus tea, but the deer foraged on it rather extensively. Whether the deer have moved on or the stinky deterrent (de-deerant) is working, i'm not sure, but one of the plants finally was able to put on some growth and reach about 3' high. I thought the herbivory was the cause of the lack of blooms, but it turns out that it is an autumn bloomer.
One yellow squash actually put forth a full sized fruit: i was worried that the plants would be responding to the short days by only putting forth two inch long stunted fruit.
A caterpillar has eaten the dill seedling. I let it be, but overnight i worried about the critter: that single seedling is it. I think i can relocated it to some parsley: i've found a suggestion that it would be a suitable food source. (I'm a little greedy about my parsley, but....)
The winter garden has not really taken off. I can't tell if it's due to drought or the clay soil (or perhaps insect herbivory). I'm trying not to pout too much and remember how long the spring garden lasted. If i can keep from cooking seedlings this spring, and i can deter the deer, ....