We were up at 6:00 AM and had our coffee. Scout skipped his coffee and chose to go water the grass instead!
For some strange reason, my BP has been hanging in around 130/82 for the past two days, and I am giving the procedure second thought. We dressed in our grubbies and headed to battle with the garden, an ominous challenge. There are only two square feet of us and five-hundred square feet of the garden; we are outnumbered.
We plan to update and possibly correct our current markers!
We worked in the garden first thing, but soon I ran out of “poopies,” otherwise known as steer manure. The dirt in the planter was good, but without particular soils to break up the earth, it became compacted even with 40% compost. It will have a few seasons to get the dirt like we want it.
We got a call from the doctor about yesterday’s visit, and we found out we both have worms!
Oops! I need to punctuate better and clarify that last sentence. We got a call from the doctor’s office telling us the report was on the computer. While digging in the garden, we both found hundreds of worms Mary planted the last time I was in the hospital. That sounds better!
We dug in six cubic feet of conditioner *manure) before running out.
We went to Home Depot and went shopping. Mary also found a camellia tree along with some additional veggies.
We have to leave; the cart is loaded!
The back of the van was stuffed with gardening supplies and a most exciting smell! I asked Mary if she had showered before we left home then I remembered what I was hauling in the back of the van. I was in trouble again!
Manure isn’t the best fertilizer, but it is a solid number two.
The van comes in very handy! This is after six bags were already moved! The new camellia tree just barely fit inside, and it had its own safety belt!
Mary wanted to plant it next to the patio, but we read the label and, oops, we had to find another spot! We may have to obtain another one for symmetry!
It can get ten feet tall!
We stopped by Ralph’s to get some milk, and of course, we were two blocks from Jan’s, so we got her some sushi (California rolls) and Cape Cod potato chips. We had one glass of wine with her before heading home to continue our gardening efforts.
When we got home, it was warm but windy, so we dressed for the occasion. But after a few minutes, we were coatless and working up a sweat! Our St. Patrick’s day flag is now flying, and our neighbors love the flag changes every holiday.
The wind was blowing, but in the backyard, our trees stopped much of the wind!
Work began, and thanks to the two-wheeled wheelbarrow, I only needed two trips from the van to the garden, a 200-foot trip! I stopped to examine what we had yet to do!
Farmer Paul surveying the garden
Mary and I work together; it’s like we have been married for twenty years. We can almost read each other’s minds. I turn the soil and add the manure plus some additional fertilizer, and she comes behind and does the planting. Scout barks when she needs to adjust the location of the plant. He is a good vegetable dog.
Scout is supervising Mama!
Sometimes he comes to help, and when he does, he brings his gardening hat and his own tools!
He does a great job of digging!
Today, he was only supervising us, and herding two humans is a lot of work. Scout likes to talk when he works and asked us, “Which dog breed loves living in the Big Apple?” We had to think a while, so he answered, “A New Yorkie.”We got a lecture from Scout, who asked us to post the following sign in the garden.
He does own his humans! When he smiles, you know all is well! He does smile a lot! Scout is thirteen years old and often acts like a puppy!
“Move the last one of those zucchinis a little to the right, please!”
Today, we did 100 square feet using eight bags of manure and 18 cups of dry fertilizer. We dug in the old mulch, so Joe, our son, will bring us three bales of straw on Monday since it is a holiday. Then we will mulch next week!
The new potting bench and washing sink came in useful.
I remember I bought some ammonium nitrate fertilizer one year, but it smelled weird, so I put a sample in a pan and brought it to the nearest USDA branch. A security guard saw the pan full of fertilizer and yelled, “bomb,” but it was just panned ammonium.
The sun is going down, so Mama heads to the kitchen to fix the vittles!.
Mary went inside and prepared a wonderful beef stew dinner and a spinach salad. I never want to miss dinner, so I went to Amazon and got a dinner bell to put on our patio.
Thank you, Amazon; it will arrive tomorrow, so I won’t miss dinner again!
I came in when she called, and it was perfect timing as I had maybe three square feet to turn before being done. I was done, so her call was appreciated.
Today was a “dry day” (three times a week, we refrain from wine), so we had water and diet fruit juice to drink! I always cut up a fresh orange to add to dinner. We even had a yogurt popsicle for dessert; life does not get better than this!
We watched three movies before crashing. The first was “Decoration Day” from Hallmark. The movie was from 1990 and was excellent; we love James Garner!
In summary: James Garner plays a retired judge and recluse who comes out of “hiding” to investigate when his childhood friend (Bill Cobbs) refuses to accept a Medal of Honor awarded decades ago in World War II. His reason is kept in confidence, and Garner’s character files a motion to deny the ceremony. Meanwhile, the personal lives of the other characters have issues of their own to work out. At the end of things, Cobbs’ character is told of something he didn’t know about, and the two romantic side stories resolve positively.
The second movie was with Reese Witherspoon and was named “Your Place or Mine.” Summary: “Your Place or Mine” is a 2023 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Aline Brosh McKenna in her directorial debut. The film stars Reese Witherspoon (who also produced) and Ashton Kutcher as best friends who decide to swap houses for a week.
Finally, we watched another Hallmark feel-good movie called “Magic Of Ordinary Days.” Summary: Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
It was now 10:30 PM and time to crash. We fell asleep before our heads hit the pillows. Tomorrow we work in the garden some more and get things prepped for the first week in March, Tomatomania!!!
