Things change.

Bear with me here, this is how I work. It's 63 degrees and sunny. I'm walking around my backyard with my large trowel in my hand, because that's what I do sometimes, and I've got this Stone Temple Pilots song stuck in my head. You can find the lyrics here. It was the last thing I heard somewhere. I'm sure of it. I'm thinking about the fire pit I want to add. And the steps that need to be built to replace my front stairs. I need to paint the trim and remove the front porch and rebuild everthing including new stairs out of wood. Two large, massive columns of stone that match the new stairs and walkway down to the driveway, which also have to be torn out and built, all for the sake of giving the house an entry more suited for the style of the house. I'm thinking a pergola, to update the look a little. A fat, round column supporting the pergola instead of a 4x4 wrapped in aluminum siding. I'll build the thing out of heavy 2x6 material. It will be substantial, but not overbearing. The steps will be painted gray to match the stone. The railings will be a bright white. I've got a lot to do, right?

Well, you know me, I was also thinking about the butterfly bushes that are germinating and will fill the back woods. I'm thinking about the castor beans I want to get started next week for the "hot" bed out near the veggies. The castor bean will represent the size of the pampas grass just in front of the bed when it's mature. Too much shade and the grass needs to go. I also want something to draw in the bees and hummers. I planted red spider zinnias, purple zinnias, bee balm, Yvonne's salvia, and every one of my cherry tomatoes in that bed. I'll add red sunflowers and purple millet to the bed as the seedlings grow. I want a bed that will change year to year based on which seedlings survived. Best of all, it keeps the cherry tomatoes from reseeding all over my other gardens. This bed can wintersow itself.

That's when I realized, I'm thinking long term again. I'm actually thinking of how it will look when I am done. And I don't have to do it all today. But I do have to pay taxes. Crap.

Rain and taxes

It's raining this morning. At 54 degrees, the sky is a dark gray and is expected to stay that way most of the day. We could have some thunderstorms moving in later this evening according to the forecast. I don't think my veggies will be planted today. Based on the almanac's suggestions, the 25-26 would be the most favorable days for planting this month. I think I will wait. That should give my seedlings a chance to catch up and I can set everything out at one time. It might even give the lime I tossed out yesterday some time to work into the soil with all the rain we've been having. The leaf mulch is somewhat acidic, so the lime is needed to bring the pH back into the correct range. The tomato bed was prepared with all the ashes from my wood heater this winter. I couldn't believe how soft the dirt was yesterday when I was planting out.

With the weather being so ugly, I guess it's a sign that I should stay inside and get my taxes finished. I hate this time of year for that reason even though I celebrate the last chance of frost at the same time. I guess a few more hours of entering numbers and calculating the results should take care of it. Last year was not a good year for my business. That's why I decided to take a job elsewhere. I think in the end it worked out for the best.