I've lost my drive.

It happened last year in mid February. I didn't notice if it happened this year, it was too cold to do anything constructive outside. Now that the weather has improved significantly, I don't want to do anything.

This afternoon, I came home from work and pulled the edgers from the two beds Carla and I laid out this afternoon. I don't like them. I removed one of the beds completely. They don't match the house. They are too pink. It's adding a new material in a yard already full of materials. I prefer the wooden raised beds. It looks more natural and blends with what I already have. Before I plant any tomatoes this year, I'll be building at least one, maybe two, new raised wooden beds to match the three I already have. In the morning, I plan to take out the rest of the edgers. Free or not, they just don't work with my palette. I'll have to reconstruct the one bed we moved. It shouldn't take long.

My materials in the yard include stone



Concrete



Brick



and wood.



There's another thing or three that's bothering me too. Besides being nearly disgusted by the sight of the dead oak tree and the surrounding carnage I created by removing it this year, the activity level on Brown Avenue is increasing. Loud shouting, mopeds, and car traffic can be heard everywhere in the yard. It's too bad. Last year, even without leaf cover, the lower corner of the yard was pretty quiet and private. I'm going to have to do something about that this year. I need to learn to propagate evergreen plants like arborvitae. I'd really love a Hemlock, more Magnolias, and a weeping willow, but I don't have the 30 years it would take. The willow is actually in the plans already. I hope they grow fast.

At least the privet in the gully will regrow without any assistance from me. And who knows what seedlings will pop up back there now that the soil is exposed to sunlight. I'm expecting a few hundred mimosa trees. The hummingbirds will be happy.

I've still got oodles of seeds left to sow. I managed to sow 36 six packs this evening before I gave up. I'm just not feeling it. If I knew they would grow, I would just scatter them. I know from experience that never works out well for me. Plus, my anal-retentive nature won't allow me to just let things grow where they want. I need to be in control of my gardens, as much as anyone can be in control of what grows where.

I'll get the seeds sown soon. I'll stick the 36 containers in the hoophouse tomorrow. At 71 for the forecasted high, those petunias and marigolds should sprout quickly. I'll also get my plans in order for the rest of the spring. I know there's still a chance of nasty weather, so I'm not too concerned about not being motivated just yet. I don't want to get behind though. Six months of blooms don't happen by themselves, or overnight.

In the meantime, I'll just settle for watching the garden come alive. Although, I was disappointed by the "hyacinth" that has turned out to be a little less stunning than I expected.



At least there are crocuses.





It's still 59 degrees.

Snow More.

The snow is melting quickly. The roads are nearly completely clear. It's 36 degrees and sunny. There is a cold wind blowing from the West.

Friday, I got the strings laid out for one of the lower potager beds.



The hoophouse hasn't been bothered by snow, ice, or wind.



The gully still has plenty of snow.



The stream is a great source of water for the birds.



I noticed on Friday that I had poppy seedlings in the meadow.



There's lots of standing water everywhere. The soil is saturated.



The camellia shed all her blooms.



Another crocus has bloomed. When the sun hits it, it will open.



I'm off tomorrow. The forecast is for sunny and 47 degrees. I'll spend part of the day removing the leaves from the meadow bed. I need to mulch them and respread them. I'm hoping the sunshine next week will cause more poppies to sprout along with whatever other seeds remain.

Tossing and turning.

Sunday night, I went to bed early, but found it difficult to sleep. Instead, I spent most of the night staring out the window toward the raised beds I built this fall. In my head, I made plans for where things would be planted this spring.

In the upper bed, I will plant squash every two feet along the southern edge. In between, cucumbers will grow on a trellis I need to build. To the north, I'll plant pole beans. The trellis will span the beds leaving room in the center for a few companion plants like nasturtiums and herbs. They'll help protect my squash from certain bugs and provide flavor for summer recipes.

The two lower beds will hold tomatoes. Last year, I started my tomatoes on February 8, indoors, under lights. I'm waiting two more weeks this year. Spring is forecast to be cooler and arrive later than normal. That being the case, waiting makes sense. I just hope the Farmers Almanac is right.

This is the plan. I'll have 36 tomato plants, each with 1.5 square feet. Since they are all indeterminate varieties, they will need to be staked. I am still working on that problem. The goal is to grow enough tomatoes to can one quart for each week during the winter. I still can't eat what grocery stores try to sell us.



The upper bed needs more amendments to the soil. I'll take care of this in April when I remove the hoophouse. If my compost isn't ready, I'll buy bagged compost, peat, and perlite. I'm hoping for a dry spell in the near future so I can pick up some horse manure from a coworker. There's still a chance that I will build one more 4' x 8' bed next to the two lower beds. That may have to wait until fall again. Getting the soil right is the most important part of the equation. Lots of nutrients are needed to grow vegetables in such small spaces. I feel pretty good about what I've done so far. My cabbages will be planted out this week, if I can get the bottles to use as cloches in the lower beds. Carrots have germinated too. They'll mostly be harvested by the time the tomatoes are ready to be planted. But just in case, I'll plant these along the grid lines rather than in the spaces that the tomatoes will occupy.

It's another cold, rainy day here. It's 36 degrees and cloudy. By noon, the rain will be moving in. High wind advisories are in effect for this afternoon as well. The ground is still soggy and wet. The 10 day forecast shows us finally returning to normal February weather in about a week. Highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s are the average. I can't wait.

Dust

It's 30 degrees and sunny. It's going to be a beautiful day. There was a light frost.

I woke up this morning with an urge to clean the rest of the house. The kitchen, as far as it can be done, is spotless. I've spent the morning dusting, mopping, sweeping, and am about to start laundry. There's a lot of dust.



This afternoon, once the neighbors have risen, I'll be back outside splitting the last of the usable wood from the oak tree. My dad is coming to get his chainsaw. There are three trees he knows of back home that need to come down. He's going to have help doing it Friday. On Saturday, they plan to bring the wood to me. I guess I'll have a nice stack somewhere all summer long. I wonder where I can hide it.

I've got plans to head down to the basement in the meantime. I still need to take cuttings from my overwintering pineapple sage and stick them in the cloner. I've got to do something about all the dirt in the basement. Half of it is on the floor, the other half is still sitting in penny pansy containers. Some of them will be tossed into the two lower veggie beds and tilled in, whenever the soil dries out a bit.

Somewhat related to the video, I'm back down to 215lbs as of yesterday morning. By the end of summer, I'd like to be back to a 34" waist hovering somewhere around 200lbs. Time to shed my winter fat.

12:34pm - Lunch, tuna on toast.

I've done very little of what I set out to do this morning. Pineapple sage has not been stuck. The pansies are almost gone. Last night I started with the very dry 6" containers. I used 1/2" screens to remove the root clumps and any remaining top growth. I'll use this soil to fill the wintersowing containers my mom is bringing this afternoon.



The 6-packs and some of the moldy 6" containers were run through the leaf shredder. I used that soil to fill the two lower garden beds.



I turned in all the leaves that have been out there since the fall, tossed out some 10-10-10 to speed decomposition, and layered the shredded pansies and soil on top. I used the pitchfork to aerate the soil as I watered. It seemed very odd to be watering after 3" of rain fell just a day ago.



I'm thinking of using this space as a place to grow herbs in the summer. Basil, dill, and cilantro are my favorites. It depends on where I plant my tomatoes.



Behind those beds, there's new growth on the 15cent asters. I got 10 of them this past fall. There were supposed to be 15 10cent asters, but someone swiped a few after I had paid for them. It's a buck fifty, I won't complain.



On the front slope, I counted about a dozen daffs pushing through the soil. 188 more to come.



Unfortunately, inconsiderate neighbors made me do it. I like dogs. I just don't like some dog owners. I've got enough trouble with the feral cats that live around here. Walk your dog somewhere else.



It's 41 degrees. Heading back outside in a bit to split the firewood.

Problem Child

Under the dining room window, on the front of the house, there's a bed that gets little sun. Any rain that falls runs off the soil and into the "lawn" area in the front yard. This bed is a very dry, shady spot where little grows well. Not even the privet seedlings can take hold here.

Last winter, I amended the soil with leaf mulch and wood bark from the landfill. This morning, I mulched around my two rooted gardenias, the single rooted Aucuba, and the tea olive I planted. Nandinas have always (and will forever) be here. The camellia was one I chopped down in the spring of 2008, as I didn't know what it was then. It's been recovering since then, but it's being slow. It's a sasanqua, I believe.



I still need to do something with the front steps.



The coleus and impatiens were getting ragged. The cold mornings have taken their toll. They came out. I need two more bags of mulch for this bed. The tiny hostas I wintersowed and planted out in July are still very small. I don't expect them to come back next year, but I have been wrong before, once.





With rain in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, I raked and collected another sack of leaves for the upper potager. I'll spread horse manure over this bed on Thursday if the rain stops by then. If not, it will be another week or more before I have a chance to get out there.



I've already started spreading wood ashes on the lower potager. There'll be lots more over the winter for all the beds. I noticed last year that I had fewer slugs where I had spread ashes too.



I resprayed the periwinkle on the front slope.



Much of it seems to be dying.



Not a foot away, other plants are rebounding happily.



In the basement, the confederate rose cuttings are doing well. The brugs are doing better. I'll pot the brugs sometime this week. The CR will remain in water a bit longer.



Lots of leaves still to fall in the backyard. I think I want the fence to be purple, like the shutters and doors.



It's 63 degrees and overcast. The high today should be in the mid 70s again. Wednesday, we'll be lucky to break the 50s. Three more wheelbarrows of wood have been moved into the basement. I need to spend some time very soon splitting more of the cut pieces for the rest of the winter. The low last night was 39 according to AccuWeather.com.