...a long, but accomplishment filled day

fortified with coffee & a stubborn determination...
I attacked the garden prep today...
I didn't get started as early as I had wanted to...
but that's another post...



the first thing I attempted to do...
was to "fix"...the whirlygig...
that had been ravaged...
by the winter storms...

I tried superglue...
but it didn't work on the ripped cloth wings...
I guess I'm going to have to get some cloth glue...
but it's up & working for now, tattered wings & all...



then I turned my attention to the task at hand...



weeds to pull [birdseed, milkweed, Johnson grass...]
& old black fencing to move...
as well as stacked tomato cages...



and the little plot where cherry tomatoes...
have flourished in the past needed weeding,etc...

so I got busy, & before too long...



the weeds were gone...



the fencing & cages were moved...
and the hose had been pulled up & taken out...



then it was time for my cultivating tool of choice...



"the CLAW"



[actually, first I took a break...
& went to Port Mudville Nursery...
to get some soil amendments...
as well as a few more plants(more on that later...)
most is going to be delivered tomorrow...
I brought this one home with me to use today...]

so after cultivating the soil...
I added the compost & Morcrop, mixing well...
reburied the dripping hose...
put the stakes in the bean box...
[as well as raising the repaired whirygig...]



then, I planted/staked/caged the four cherry tomatoes...
including a "black cherry" heirloom I got at PMN...
as well as the 3 I got at OSH...
["sweet 100","sugar sweet" & "yellow pear"...]



and then turned my attention to the "Blue Lake" pole beans...
and soon had them planted next to the stakes...
[string goes up tomorrow...]



leaving me with a big pile of weeds & trash...
a very sore body & a satisfied feeling of accomplishment...



here you see a view of both...
the planted cherry tomatoes & pole beans...
[I left the "drip" on since all the recent heat & wind...
has really dried out the ground...]

and the next project ?



*SIGH*

[after I mow the lawn, that is...]

...time to get moving on the garden

we've had 4 days of record breaking heat...
[mid 90's in April is hot]
with the accompanying humidity...
but the weather has changed...
after all, it is only April...



and now, a cold front is swooping down...
out of the north...bringing clouds...
expected to drop daytime temps 15-20 degrees...
here in the sunny central valley of Nor Cal...

I'd been putting off the inevitable work...
not wanting to incur heatstroke...
so today's the day...



I have to start with the bean box...
the 4 hot days of warmth have started to awaken the pole beans...
and being pole beans, that means that their tiny, cute tendrils...
will soon become long, strong, grasping tendrils...
permanently attaching themselves to everything...
in the search for a pole to climb, up to reach out to the sun...

I learned the hard way, NOT to wait too long...
before giving them a place to spread their roots, and grasp & climb...
[it is almost impossible to not damage the seedling...
if you attempt to untangle the intertwined tendrils...]



the bean box, seen here on the right...
has to be freed of weeds & sprouted bird seed plants...
the underground drip hose removed & tested for leaks...
then the soil turned & amended...
[I still need to get compost...]
fertilizer added & then the hose reburied, fairly deep...
[so the stakes won't damage the hose...]

after turning on the water to make sure it works...
then a new sheet of black weed block is anchored in place...
and the stakes placed [pounded in with my 5 lb hammer...]
hopefully NOT cutting the newly buried hose...
the location of which is now invisible...
due to the covering weed block sheet...



only then, can the beans be planted...
after the planting...
which will be a mere augenblick* compared to the bed prep...
I'll sprinkle snail bait, string the twine for the climbing beans...
and probably collapse...

though if I have time & energy [HA !]...
I may start to de-clutter/weed the next target area...
as the squash & cukes tend to bolt rapidly too...
and need to go into the ground...soon...

the tomatoes can set for a bit...

anyway, I'm really glad to have cooler weather to work in...
not just for me...but for the plants...
which need to graduallyget used...
to the full sun so all my work won't be in vane...
seeing my little plants burned to a crisp right away...

so now, it's time...to get an early start...
[not 0-dark thirty, but close...I do need light...]



I've got my coffee, water & a radio...
my tools, gloves and Molly nosing about...

time to get to work ! I get my hair cut at 5:30 PM...

update & pictures later this afternoon/evening...


[*augenblick = "blink of an eye"...]

...ummmm...green chicken enchiladas

every once in a while...
I get the enchilada urge...
for the recipe, go here...



of course...any excuse to whip out the "digi macro"...
[maybe I could get a job, photographing food...]



some people clean out the 'fridge & make soup...
[been there...done that...]
I always seem to be able to make enchiladas...
and there's always a lot of them...
but they keep well in the fridge...



huh...for some reason, now, I'm hungry...

...what big cat am I ?

You Are a Snow Leopard
[yes...that IS incredulity you see on my face...]

You have learned that you must rely on yourself,
and yourself alone, to live a happy life.
[like I have much of a choice...in this world, anyway...]

You understand the world better than most people you know.
You are very perceptive and intuitive.
[Oh, Pulllease!]



You need lots of space to think.
If you don't get the space you need,
you're likely to bite someone's head off.
[ouch !...guilty, as charged...]



Because you are so thoughtful and solitary,
people find you to be intense and mysterious.
[yeah...right....]
You're even seen as intimidating.
[more to the point...]

OK...so these quizzes are generally silly...

but...bottom line...?
this description hits pretty close to home...
anyway, it seems so to me...

the Himalayan Snow Leopard is a solitary hunter...
the total numbers are unknown due to it's stealth...
it is known to the natives as "sabu"...
["ghost cat"...]

so it is a mysterious & solitary cat in many ways...
much like me...

I guess I need to work on my "cuddly/awwww factor"...

anybody got a catnip mouse handy?

...now it's official

here's the Fluffinator on 9/27/08...



enjoying a snooze in her "warm weather nest"...
between the open windows...
and above the AC/heat vent...

when it's cold, she sleeps elsewhere...
moving here when the warmer air lures her to "get some air"...

so even without looking at the thermometer...
I knew..." that the winter was past...
and it was time for the singing of birds..."



Fluff had "moved to her summer home..."


of course, I wanted to document this momentous occasion...



let's just say that,"Herself was NOT amused"...
[but doesn't her eye look good, though ?]

...the "plots" have thickets

yes...I can hear some of you groaning...
it is a bad pun...but it got your attention...
and it is, unfortunately, true...

the raised beds, or "plots", my garden has to go in...
have "thickets" of weeds...
not to mention, junk piled on them...

all of which has to "go"...
before I can prep the soil & plant...

so to bring you, gentle readers, "up to speed"...
here's what I have gotten myself into...



this large square box once had corn...
and even was an herb garden for a while...
the last few years, it was home to the beefsteak tomatoes...
since they get so big...
there is also a smaller box for my cherry tomatoes...
which I put in a "square cage"...
adjacent to the bottom corner of the larger box...

now, the larger box has a bunch of Japanese maples...
a volunteer fig tree & a tangerine tree in residence...
all of which have to "go away"...
to a different home before I can start to prep this plot...
where I think I'll plant the 2 crookneck squash...
the 2 zucchini and the Armenian cucumber this year...



this the pathway between the "bean box" on the right...
and the tomato box on the left...
all that stuff that looks like wheat...
is some sort of grain from the birdseed spill...
there are alo a couple of volunteer sunflowers..



this is the long, narrow "bean box"...
before I moved the bag of weeds to the path...
to the right, you can see the bottoms of the bean poles...
just waiting to be driven into the ground...
and strung with twine for bean climbing...



here is the main tomato area...
with an old wooden arbor/fencing in parts...
they have to be moved,"out"....
beyond the bean box is another tomato area...



here you can see an axillary tomato box...
just below the bigger one...

all the boxes have underground drip irrigation...
several of which are in need of replacement...
after the top is cleared off of each bed...
then the drip has to be pulled up & checked for leaks...

the soil has to be tilled...
[I use a Garden Weasel]
then amendments added...
[I don't have any compost yet...]
then the Morcrop fertilizer...
finally, the drip hose has to be "buried"...
and tested...

then there's the black plastic weed block sheets...
that has to be fitted & secured...
and in the bean box, the stakes have to be driven in...
and string strung...

only then can I actually plant my garden...

I will then "cage" the tomatoes & cucumber...
put down snail/slug bait...
[too small for the cats or dog to ingest...]
then crawl inside & collapse...



in the meantime, here they wait...

I'll do the beans first...
since I know how they will grow & attach themselves...
to each other, making a giant mess if I wait too long...

then the squash & cucumber...
before they "bolt"...

& finally, the tomatoes...
they will "wait" the best...

if I had more sun...
I'd do peppers & eggplant too...
maybe even corn...
but my trees are too big...
so I'll content myself this year...
with that most summery of smells...

warm tomato vines...
sending out their intoxicating scent...

I'm hoping there will be plenty to share...
especially the "cherries"...

yum...

...more urban gardening

a few more gardening macro shots...



a blood orange blossom reaches for the sun...



a squash seedling...up close & personal...



the beginnings of a bean stalk...



a "sweet 100"...already in bloom...



"durango red" marigolds...



a volunteer Japanese Maple I rescued...



joined by 2 others I found struggling up near the redwood tree...



and what would these be?
[hint: extreme macro...]



they came from one of these...



which came from these...



and have been planted in this...
to see if they'll sprout...

when I lived in Chicagoland 30-something years ago...
I planted some grapefruit seeds that actually sprouted & grew...
the little tree eventually died...
but it was fun to grow it...

since much citrus is grafted...
even if it grows...
it probably would never bear fruit...
but it will be interesting to see if it sprouts...

I hope tomorrow to start the soil prep...
so stay tuned for thrilling exploits in the back yard...