Yet Another Stormy Sunday

Another unnecessary inch of rain overnight. The grass is spring green and growing faster than we can mow. But the trees know it’s almost autumn, dropping leaves like crazy.

Out of the house most of the day to hear Madeline sing the blues at One Block South. Boy howdy, that girl can wail.

Tomorrow is Monday and back to the grind of cleaning up veg and flower beds, along with final preparations for #PitchWars on Tuesday. Or maybe it’s Wednesday. I should check.

A happy new week to you all.

Frustration in the Garden

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It’s been a frustrating day in the garden.

March was a wet month, and it looks like our potatoes have rotted instead of germinating. They’re hilled, in raised beds, so that shouldn’t have happened. So, darn.

All our soaker hoses–we use them for irrigation–have humungous holes. Time to invest in five new 50-foot long soaker hoses.

The black plastic mulch we put down for the scallions blew away in the wind, despite anchoring with earth staples and bricks. So hmm… that didn’t turn out the way I thought it would.

And the red plastic mulch I bought to save me from excess weeding of tomatoes? It’s just too windy to even try. My new tomato babies need protection from the wind more than I need a break from weeding. Today, we planted them, with old kitty litter boxes as windbreaks. Jim cuts out the bottoms (drill a hole, then cut with a saber saw).

In the photo, you’re seeing a newly planted tomato, grown from seed and nurtured in the basement under fluorescents. It’s inside one of those bottom-less kitty-litter box. Most years, I’ve left the plants in the boxes until the tomatoes grow taller than the tops. If it’s windy where you are, these plastic boxes are a great hack.

For new folks to the blog, welcome. If you are following for #amwriting, that’s Thursdays. Lately, I write about the novel querying process.

If you’re following for #amgardening, that’s today, Mondays. I write about what it’s like to garden in Kansas–today it’s been disappointing.

 

 

 

Windy Sunday

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Maybe I should’ve called this blizzard Sunday. Snow is predicted for later today. Last night, the weather said a dusting, with 7 inches up north. This morning, the prediction was upped to 2-3 inches for us, with 14 inches farther north.

No rain or snow yet, but the wind is 20 MPH and my pin oaks are bending ominously.

Another pink sky last night–beauty before the storm.

 

Fall Over No More

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Found this pair in a junk store four years ago. Problem was, they kept falling over in the wind. Now they have no feet, but they are impervious to the Kansas wind.

Thanks, Jim!

Face Book still sends me birthday messages. Avner, Renae, and Janet–hope you see your HAPPY BIRTHDAY on the blog! Hope this is your best year ever.