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Monday doings

April 17th, 2012 at 04:10 am


The gymnast.

Today was a pretty good day. I did start off the day with a wasted trip to Aldi's, just the second time I've been there since they opened last year. I was attracted by a cheapie outdoor plant hanger, which I never got becus the sales circular I saw it advertised in isn't good for another week. About 80% of aldi's is processed food in a box, jar or can, but I did pick up some cheap onions and sweet potatoes.

I went to browse Home Goods with my $25 gift card, wandering up and down every aisle. While they had the usual pretty dishware and glassware, I saw nothing that I felt I MUST have, and was surprised I might be leaving the store without buying anything. That is, until I saw something I really liked, a pagoda-like structure, vaguely Asian, that stands about two feet high. Not sure if it's meant for the outdoors, but that's how I'm using it, in one of my perennial beds near the blue milkweed and lamb's ears. I'll have a shot of it tomorrow. I really love it, and it was just $25. I'm embarrassed to say what I spent several years ago online for a much smaller pagoda elsewhere in my yard.

in other news...

I have a gazillion daffodils in my yard becus the deer don't like to eat them, and just a single red tulip. Where I got that bulb I don't know, but when I planted it, I figured it had the best shot at surviving if I planted it near my front door. True, the deer don't come quite that close, but chipmunks do, and most every year, that little tulip grows and grows, inching taller, getting ready to bloom and then CLOMP. I find it beheaded one day by the darn chipmunks that patrol my yard. In 17 years, I don't remember seeing it bloom.

Until 2012...







Saw another good movie tonight, The Savages. A grown brother and sister (she's from NYC, he lives in buffalo) are forced to spend time together when their elderly father ends up with dementia and they have to find a nursing home for him. It's not totally depressing, and it's really more about the relationship between the brother and sister. Very realistically done, I thought. They weren't close to their father, in fact, they hadn't seen him in years, and they each come to grips with their unhappy childhood in different ways. It's got its sweet spots.

I also managed to fill in two woodchuck hole with some sod I was digging up as I expand the vegetable garden. I hope and assume the burrows were vacant when I filled them; I guess I'll know tomorrow if the clumps of sod are moved. Although I must say as I stuffed the sod down the hole (don't worry, there is always an exit hole, too so I'm not burying anyone alive), I thought I smelled a faint whiff of...skunk. But no one came out, so I don't know. Like I said, I should have a better idea tomorrow when I inspect the holes.

So I continued work in the vegetable garden, planting another row of lettuce and working to dig up the sod. I also had to dig a ditch to put in a strip of flashing, about 6 inches wide, in an attempt to deter the many moles I have. They're really getting out of hand and are making a mess of my yard, but I don't think I want to use the usualy pellets or spray, which are usually made of castor bean oil, since it is poisonous. and I've read that if you miss a spot when you apply it, the moles will all huddle in the area that you missed, and I don't want that to be my veggie garden, which I can't spray. so I could make matters worse with that stuff. The other alternative is live traps (or not), and I think I'm moving closer to trying that, much as I'd rather not.

Anyway, I don't have enough flashing to put all aorund my veggie garden, and it's a lot of work diggintg the trench/ditch to fit in in the ground.

I had the soaker hose going for a bit watering everything and discovered that the reason why the 2 previous soaker hoses I had burst could be becus I used them during the heat of the day. Apparently, very hot water will damage the hose, which is made of recycled car tires. I don't know why it would be any different than a regular garden hose, except that it is porous and i guess a thinner material, which lets the water soak through, rather than spray into the area. This is the whole point of a soaker hose. Having water seep into the ground is better than getting leaves wet, which makes it easier for plant diseases to start and spread.

But anyway, the directions said don't run it with very hot water, which I can deal with if I remember to just use first thing in the a.m., but then it also said not to have water just sitting in there, becus i guess again, the sun will heat it up and possibly damage the hose. But for gosh sakes, most people use these in a veggie garden, which is going to be in the SUN, and it isn't at all convenient to have to pick up and drain the whole hose each time you use it. There's got to be a better way. I may call the company to discuss.

5 Responses to “Monday doings”

  1. CB in the City Says:
    1334666922

    I saw "The Savages" several years ago and liked it very much. I think Laura Linney was nominated for an Oscar.

  2. SicilyYoder Says:
    1334671305

    I love Aldis. They have very cheap produce here: Italian red onions, Pears, and mixed Artisan lettuce. I get the food bank's milk from there. It's $1.79 here, as is shredded Colby Jack, Sharp Cheddar, and Taco cheese. OJ is $1.99 a carton here. I like your photos.

  3. baselle Says:
    1334692704

    Re: soaker hose. Would shading it help? I was thinking along the lines of mulching over the hose with bits large enough to keep the holes/thin spots on the hose from clogging and deep enough so that the mulch bakes, not your hose.

  4. Looking Forward Says:
    1334696020

    Thanks for the photos! Big Grin

  5. LuckyRobin Says:
    1334987180

    I buried my soaker hoses about 3 to 5 inches deep in the garden. They don't get hot that way and the water gets where it needs to be without having surface evaporation. It's something to consider, especially for a garden you are going to have long-term. A little extra work now to save you the expense of new hoses.

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